Posted on 04/11/2016 4:53:38 AM PDT by marktwain
Open carry of modern handguns has been legal for most carry permit holders in Texas for a few months now. I was able to open carry during my visit in January. During cold weather, opportunities were limited.
With a new grandchild to see, I looked forward to Texas exercise without having to conceal my personal defensive firearm. I open carried from Arizona to Dallas in Texas. Interactions on the road were minimal.
In Van Horn, Texas, I was able to grab the last motel room in town, just about midnight. I was carrying in an older, Israeli Fobus holser, cross draw, which has advantages while carrying in a vehicle. The motel manager/owner and her son did notice, and did pay attention. I would do the same when a last minute guest stops in at midnight, on a day when the motels are maxed out.
The only verbal response was after I had the key to the room. It was "Are you a cop?". "Not any more." I replied. I mentioned that the new Texas open carry reform made it easy not to worry if I was wearing a jacket. Or not.
The next interaction was at a gas station off of exit 177 on Interstate 20. I paid for the gas and was leaving the store when the driver of a white truck, with a city emblem on the door, emphatically asked "Is that a 17 or a 19?" He was referring to the Glock I was wearing in the cross draw position. "17", I replied. "The cross draw works better with seat belts, and keeps the pistol from passengers." The grinning face in the city truck gave me a thumbs up and we went our separate ways.
I open carried in the Benbrook public library; nobody said a thing. I opened carried on a three mile exercise run; no comments.
This morning I was in Dallas, visiting my daughter, with her husband, 18 month old son, and the new granddaughter. Time for another exercise run.
I ran North on Marsh Drive, and turned West on Rosemeade Parkway. I was about 15 minutes into the run when I turned around and started back. About a minute later, a blue and white police SUV drove past. It was clear that the officer saw me. The unit immediately started slowing down. But traffic was heavy, and started backing up behind the police unit. The officer sped up, then made a right turn down a side street.
I did not vary my pace. I was wearing the outfit in the picture above, Glock 17 in a Fobus retention holster on the the strong side; also a IPhone 6+ in a holster, and the Cold Steel XL Voyager in the right front pocket. I had the Gun Guy red hat on, along with the ESS shooting/sunglasses. I had ID and the carry permit with me.
As I approached the side street, about 11:39 a.m., the PD unit reappeared and stopped, waiting for traffic, and for me to cross, giving them a good opportunity to look me over and evaluate what they saw.
I did not stop or hesitate. As I drew near the unit, I looked directly at the driver position and made a brief nod in acknowledgement.
I passed, the unit pulled out into traffic and then passed me for the second time. Two minutes later, an SUV with "Constable" markings went past. I do not know if they were curious, or if it was a simple coincidence.
The officer(s) handled this just right. Open carry of modern handguns is still new to Dallas. The officer saw something unusual, and checked it out. That is good police work. They made their evaluation, saw that there was no probable cause or reasonable suspicion, and went on their way.
The neighborhood is mixed. As is not uncommon in American cities, you can go from lower priced apartments to upper middle class houses, and in between, in a couple of miles of exercise run. Last year I found an expended .40 cal on the sidewalk after hearing celebratory gunfire on New Year's Eve.
I appreciate the new open carry law. Carrying concealed in exercise gear is a significant annoyance. The new Fobus retention paddle holster has an insert that keeps it from sliding on the belt. A third, center hook, and beefed up paddle hardware makes it a very robust holster. Unfortunately, it does not work well in the cross draw position, (hard to reach the release) so the old Fobus will remain my car rig.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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I don’t know how you can “run” without some serious aggravation from that pistol. I certainly don’t run with a belt and a pair of pants. I use running clothes. I am still trying to figure out how to run with my Ruger LC9S. It’s small but I still feel it no matter where I put it while running.
The holster makes a big difference. The Fobus paddle has worked well for me.
It also helps to cinch up the belt snuggly.
Lots of pistol carry is cut and try and see what works.
Lately, I've been "breaking in" my wife's S&WM&P Shield 9 and her black, soft Tagua IWB holster, worn just behind my right hipbone.The spare magazine rides on the other side in a small, cheap "Uncle Mike's" black, soft, IWB holster
In public, I often wear black Dockers and a black turtleneck or tee -- with a cover jacket or un-tucked cover shirt.
Several times, it's been warm enough that I removed my cover garment while among a sizeable gathering of people. So far, no one has even appeared to notice that I'm openly armed.
The all-black rig, belt and clothes seem to make the black weapon & rig almost invisible.
Surprisingly, the same is true when I carry my usual HK P7M8 in its outside Alessi holster...
That's in rural/small town Texas; reactions elsewhere might be different ...
I do have an IWB holster. I use it all the time. I was referring to the jogging part. I don’t wear a belt. The holster flops all around in my jogging pants or shorts. I’ve thought of a shoulder rig but haven’t tried one yet.
I laughed at the rfeference to Van Horn.
We adopted our baby in AZ and drove her home at only a few weeks old. I was scared the whole trip, as I had never had a baby before and she seemed so tiny and delicate.
We stayed in a motel in Van Horn for the night, and the clientele seemed a tad rough and meth-y.
I was glad I had my Walther P99.
It was the beginning of my policy of always bringing a gun whenever I travel overnight in TX.
Texas? Maybe so but you definitely would not like Memphis, East St. Louis, Chicago, and a host of other places.
Besides carry it all the time regardless of over-nighting or not.
IMHO, If you are going to be wearing a pistol while running, you need a belt.
I just make sure the shorts I use for running have belt loops. I suggest a sweat resistant belt.
I’ve gotten excellent service from my Bullhide brand belts.
Okay, thanks for the advice. I will consider it.
TX is full of rough places.
Rest stops are sorta iffy around here too unless they are staffed.
Spring and fall in colorado can be tricky as the temperatures can vary during the day. I IWB with a sweatshirt in the winter and aloha shirts in the summer. I keep one of each in the car so I can change as the temperature does. Haven’t done open carry except when hiking and, even then, usually have a loose cover garment.
Normalization is a good thing the more something is done the less people notice.
I have running for over 40 years I now carry my 41mag in a small of the waist pack for 20 years or so. Very comfortable but it is slow on the draw.
I live and run in an area where 4 legged predators are a bigger problem then 2 legged ones.
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