Lessons of longtime CCW...

[jpliss]

First off "ahem" I was armed since I was 18 and ever since. PA had CCW and carried long before moving to Ohio in the 90's and still carried.

Here is a small list of mine, used to make my wife irritated until we started doing IDPA and started CCW.

Always keep back to wall with easy access to escape and defense routes even if you have to wait for that special table.

Always keep a keen eye out on your surroundings, again keeping your back covered and escape and defensive routes if needed.

Always keep weapon away from others, Never tell anyone.

If you are in unfamiliar territory do not make it look that way, do what you have to do to blend in and dont look nervous or lost.

While in your car do not drop your gaurd, anyone crossing the street is a potential threat. While on this never ever pull up behind anyone, always leave enough distance to get momentum going if you ned to leave in a hurry.

Ensure your weapon is loaded and that each magazine is loaded from a different lot of ammo. Change carry ammo at least once per year. I do mine every quarter.

Remmember to think whe pulling into that quickie mart, place your vehicle and yourself in positions that meet the above criteria.

Last but not least, if you get that bad feeling or something does not feel right it probably isn't. Take immediate actions to difuse, remove or otherwise avoid if you can.

These may seem general in nature but you apply them to any situation and they will usually keep you out of harms way or alive if the poopie hits the fan.

[ChrisK]

...with a 3 year break.

I'll add a couple things.

When hugging, "side hug" on
your weak side or immediately
wrap your arms down low around
the person's waist. This forces them
to put their arms around yours high up.

If you drop something drop down in a
squat to retrieve it rather than bending
at the waist.

Be careful in public restrooms.

Be confident and comfortable in what
you wear. If you're not it will show.

Chris

[Brian D.]

Since Chris gave this old thread a bump I'll repost a piece of advice that's pertinent in cold weather: Drawstrings in jackets and coats can tangle up things quite a bit while trying to grab (or replace) the hostered handgun. This can cause anything from minor annoyance to an unintended discharge of the gun. Drawstrings have no "up" side with regards to carry.

Just last week I bought a new fleece jacket and the drawstring at the bottom got removed and discarded along with the price tags etc. before leaving the store's parking lot.

[mreising]

Since Chris gave this old thread a bump I'll repost a piece of advice that's pertinent in cold weather: Drawstrings in jackets and coats can tangle up things quite a bit while trying to grab (or replace) the hostered handgun. This can cause anything from minor annoyance to an unintended discharge of the gun. Drawstrings have no "up" side with regards to carry.

Just last week I bought a new fleece jacket and the drawstring at the bottom got removed and discarded along with the price tags etc. before leaving the store's parking lot.

Are you sure you weren't removing the price tags before you left the fitting room?

[Brian D.]

Since Chris gave this old thread a bump I'll repost a piece of advice that's pertinent in cold weather: Drawstrings in jackets and coats can tangle up things quite a bit while trying to grab (or replace) the hostered handgun. This can cause anything from minor annoyance to an unintended discharge of the gun. Drawstrings have no "up" side with regards to carry.

Just last week I bought a new fleece jacket and the drawstring at the bottom got removed and discarded along with the price tags etc. before leaving the store's parking lot.

Are you sure you weren't removing the price tags before you left the fitting room?

Very funny Mark. There's a bus leaving town at noon--be under it, will ya?

[mreising]

Merry Christmas to you too, Brian. Where was breakfast yesterday? Didn't see you at GC.

[Mulegun]

Hope this post is not butting in on the thread in the wrong subject line.....To carry and not be made is a great thread ,but I have to ask.When all are pulled over for any small reason do you tell officer your loaded or do most of you stay quiet??

[jabeatty]

Hope this post is not butting in on the thread in the wrong subject line.....To carry and not be made is a great thread ,but I have to ask.When all are pulled over for any small reason do you tell officer your loaded or do most of you stay quiet??

Most of us obey the law.

[Brian D.]

Hope this post is not butting in on the thread in the wrong subject line.....To carry and not be made is a great thread ,but I have to ask.When all are pulled over for any small reason do you tell officer your loaded or do most of you stay quiet??

You do realize that by Ohio law we must notify if carrying, and stopped for a law enforcement purpose, right?

[SMMAssociates]

Brian:

Had a really odd one the other night. A Township Officer followed my wife home (not sure from where - she was at a restaurant in Canfield initially), and stopped to talk to her in our driveway.

He'd noticed that he couldn't see the registration sticker on the rear plate (hidden by the dealer-supplied "rim"), and when he ran the plate, it came back to a 97 year old woman with an expired license.

(Right - you either shake your head and keep on patrolling, or make the stop ....)

(I'll tell you that story another time if I already haven't.)

So, Sherri runs into the house: "STU! There's a POLICE OFFICER outside who wants to talk to you!"

With "now what the heck did she do?" running through my mind, I grabbed a jacket and went outside.

Sure enough, a nice Ford CVPI sitting there with the usual equipment. His first comment past "hello" was that he was pretty sure that Sherri wasn't 97 now that he could see her (kinda dark out), but....

I explained that mom had passed about a year ago, and as co-executor, we were using the car until the Probate mess could be settled up. (I'm not sure what the lawyer is doing, but since he's not billed us yet, I'm not asking .)

Settled that - the license plate rim had been there since the car was purchased in 1998 - and said our goodbyes.

Then I realize: "Hey, I didn't notify!" Then I realize that I had no ID at all on me.... But I was on my own property (very long story, but I'm a "renter" in what was mom's house). I'm not 100% that I had to notify since he didn't stop me, but.... Since he ignored the Pequod in the driveway, he never noticed my CHL on the MDT - it wouldn't have come up. As far as the State is concerned, mom still owns the car, which I believe is legal.

Should I have notified? Not sure.... I don't carry ID while around the house. Something else to forget when I take off the grubbies and get dressed right. This was actually the second LE interaction since we moved here - the first was a kid from the Park who was walking the border line looking for dumping & such. We border the park, and Sammy took notice .... Not a stop, AFAIK/IMHO/IANAL.... I'm sure the kid was over 21, but not by much....

Anyway, the law says "if stopped for a Law Enforcement purpose" or something like that, and you MUST notify if carrying at that point. Nasty penalties if you don't and the Officer doesn't know about your CHL first (which merely results in lesser nasty penalties)....

While I'm in favor of notification if there's any remote chance that the Officer will notice the weapon, that's where I stand. The law is basically yet another way to make criminals out of Law Abiding Citizens....

Regards,

[jabeatty]

Then I realize: "Hey, I didn't notify!" Then I realize that I had no ID at all on me.

There's your violation - the lack of ID. Being on your property isn't a valid exception (being in your house is).

If you send me large quantities of ammunition, it'll take the place of a scapegoat.

[SMMAssociates]

James:

I wonder if running the 12 steps or so into my garage and hollering that I have a CHL would have worked....

Definite oopsie, but I prefer that hazard to not having the paperwork in hand "outside" someplace.

Some people (I think the NRA, too!) were selling little holsters with "credentials" pockets in them. Not the worst idea in the world in reference to our law, but otherwise insanely stupid. Ain't it great when the law requires such foolishness, or at least tempts you thereof.

As to scapegoats, you and Rich 2.0 are already on that list. So is Brian ....

(I'm pretty sure that Rich is banned here, and mention of his name may be a TOS violation, too .)

Regards,

[Mulegun]

Hope this post is not butting in on the thread in the wrong subject line.....To carry and not be made is a great thread ,but I have to ask.When all are pulled over for any small reason do you tell officer your loaded or do most of you stay quiet??

You do realize that by Ohio law we must notify if carrying, and stopped for a law enforcement purpose, right?

Yes I know its the law and always obey the law.....but how many have been pulled over who has forgot or never thought to inform the officer and what took place if it happened to any?

[Brian D.]

That has happened, folks on here have reported such experiences, both first and seconhand. Outcomes varied from no issue to being arrested. There is such a huge amount of gray area with regards to the encounters qualifying as "stops for a law enforcement purpose" versus not that many here would like to see the notification requirement done away with, or at least knocked down to a no-penalty offense.

[Brian D.]

Since I started this thread/blog-with-lots-of-commenters so long ago, I should continue to give it a little attention even when it seems we've covered "everything" a bunch of times.

My current gripe/issue is that we still don't seem to have some governmental entities on board yet with regards to statewide pre-emption of local gun laws. While I don't let an inaccurate/illegal rule on a park sign stop me from carrying there, it must surely deter other folks who think they're obeying the law properly and leave their firearm locked up in the car or whatever. This would be especially true of folks new to Ohio, or just visiting.

I often wonder if this has caused anyone to be a crime victim, who wouldn't have been otherwise. That troubling thought keeps me in the advocacy game. If I lived closer to Columbus I'd have become known on a first-name basis on by a bunch of statehouse reps and senators over these last few years, for better or worse. As it is my communication via letter, phone, and e-mail just don't seem like enough.

Remember when we first got concealed carry and had the "plain sight while in a motor vehicle" restriction? That led to two instances in the big city where folks on the sidewalk who spotted my gun on the hip had a VERY negative reaction, angrily mistaking me for a law enforcement officer. If any of those people had been wanted criminals, a lethal encounter may well have taken place right then and there.

So, I shared that through via e-mail with my state representative at the time, who responded in an impersonal and nonchalant way. Very off-putting of my legitimate concerns.

Never told anybody this before, but that spurred me to make an angry personal visit to his office in the Statehouse. I'll omit the details and just say that it most definitely put him squarely on our side, and after that he was one of the driving forces behind getting rid of that Taft/OSHP poison pill.

My point being that we really need to keep up our advocating, especially in person when time allows. Hopefully while in a better mood than I was that one day. As much as the world is all becoming electronically wired together for communication, I maintain that nothing takes the place of in-person conversation.