Not quite OC but baby steps

[87th PVI]

OK maybe this doesn't quite go on the OC thread but here's my little story... ya gotta crawl before you can walk right?

Today I wore a shirt that rides up & exposes my waistband if I lift my arms up high or I don't pull it down and adjust it periodically, etc. When I put my coat on to go out it exposed my .45 and I had to pull the shirt back over it. My wife saw this and gave me the look and the sigh. I said "What?" and she replied that we don't need anyone starting any BS with us if they see that I'm CCing. (I had not carried for years and started back up again at her urging this past November) I told her to relax and we went to lunch at Burger King. Once there when we sat down, I removed my coat and adjusted my shirt as I was being seated. At the same time I could see my wife checking me out, LOL.
As we neared the end of our meal, she said, I'll help you put your coat back on." I smiled and asked why. She rolled her eyes at me and I got another sigh. I asked if she was afraid I'd be joining Melanie in the future on some news station's special report program if someone caught a glimpse of my holster clip or worse yet the grips of the gun! OMG!
I stood up and put my coat on as usual and adjusted my shirt. The world didn't end, if anyone even noticed at all nothing was said, and most impressively, my wife didn't pee her pants.
As we shopped at Blockbuster, Gander Mtn and Dick's the rest of our day out, she seems to have relaxed. She didn't rag on me about it any more and I didn't see her checking me out at all.
When I felt how mild the temp was, I thought we might be able to make it up to the range so we even went back to the house where I grabbed one of the .22's and had that on me too (SOB) when we were in Dicks & Gander.
We are planning a trip to the range tomorrow since we ran out of time today. Maybe I'll sport the shoulder rig & take the GP100 along too!

[jmiro]

I wouldnt exactly call what I do OCing either. I only carry a 380 and it is in an inside the pants holster between my belt and pants. Most of the time with a shirt on you cant see it or wouldnt notice it. The wife shoots me a look some times. Oh well.

[PennsyPlinker]

It is a good start for both of you. Keep up the good work, and keep an eye on what is going on around you, especially if your gun is hanging out there in the open!

[XD40coyote]

You REALLY need to attend some OC function LOL. Or I am sure Fingers would be glad to have you come OC in Hanover with him, to just walk his dogs. That would be a great next step. LOL

I know you already said "not now" to my offers of having me get together with you and the wife down my way, but I will offer again anyway. Maybe Fingers can join too. Ah hell, anyone else who wants to can join as well. Lets all OC to Ruby Tuesdays in Shrewsbury. Chrisjames says he knows some secret about secret people there CCing or something, so these supersecret people are pro gun people, that's a start.

[headcase]

I wouldn't call that baby steps toward OC. I would call that, casual carry. Casual carry, however, has been know to lead to OC, as it tends to re-enforce the fact that usually nothing falls from the sky, including the sky itself, when your firearm is in plain view. Good post, man.

[JGeezer1986]

OK. my def of OC might be a little off from what it really is , but i dont hide my pistol. I carry a Bersa Thunder .380 Plus with a fobus Paddle holster. I always try to keep the grips under my jacket or shirt more less to make it harder for someone to snake it off my side if they suprise me. just a little uncomfortable having the grips out for this reason.

[87th PVI]

Did it again...
We decided to go to Gander the other night to check out some prospects for my wife to have her own CC gun. I don't think I'd buy there due to in every case so far, they have been beaten in price by a competetor but I do like to "shop" there since they have a fairly large selection to look at.
Had the .45 in the IWB holster as usual but instead of wearing the shirt over it I tucked the shirt in & said ok let's go. I got wide eyes from wifey poo and she shook her head. I said What? It's a gun store! Relax!
When I put the coat on it covered the grips anyway so she calmed down... but I didn't zip up so the grips were peeking out here & there.
We were disappointed by the lack of smaller .357 DA revolvers they had (like just 1)... If you are looking for a .44 magnum with a 6 or 8 inch bbl they can hook ya up though!
We strolled around to see if there was anything we should add to our SHTF bag & then we still had some time left so we stopped at Dicks to see if ammo was on sale & did a little browsing there as well.

I'll definately lose my OC virginity on 3-28 at Venice Pizza & Pasta though! Thanks for putting that together SFN!

[JohnUSCG]

Chris,
Take the time to check out John at Stony Brook Shooting Supplies on E Market. He says that if you find it cheaper at another store, he will match or beat the price. Good guy to deal with. John @ Shupps Gunsmithing on Druck Valley Rd is simply my favorite shop...you won't find a more reasonable and good guy to do business with.

[87th PVI]

Chris,
Take the time to check out John at Stony Brook Shooting Supplies on E Market. He says that if you find it cheaper at another store, he will match or beat the price. Good guy to deal with. John @ Shupps Gunsmithing on Druck Valley Rd is simply my favorite shop...you won't find a more reasonable and good guy to do business with.

Agreed! I got my .45 at Stony Brook and got a great price! My only complaint is that they are closed Mondays. I know everyone needs & deserves their days off but it bummed me out today.
today just so happened to be my only day off & one of the few my wife & I have had together in awhile so we took the opportunity to go shopping for her to look at some options...(maybe buy if she found something she liked & the price was right)
Due to our work schedules, most gun shops aren't open when we have time together... We didn't have Shupps on the list for today because I knew they were closed. We planned to go to three others & all but one place was closed. Starting to see a trend here!
I like Stoney Brook and I've been wanting to get over to check out Backwoods in Columbia & they were the two who were closed so, in turn I was bummed... not to mention that I've been wanting to check out Shupps for quite some time too & just can't find the opportunity.
Can't win 'em all I guess! Perseverance will pay off in the end.

In keeping with the casual carry theme of this thread... While putting on the coat today after lunch, my shirt rode up again & I got the wide eyed looking quickly back & forth from the waistband to the face thing from the wife. Once in the parking lot, she said "You did that on purpose didn't you?"
I chuckled at her & said, "did what on purpose?"
her- "You know what I'm talking about!"
me- "Only to get a reaction out of you & it worked. Notice how noone else in the place even noticed at all, or if they did they didn't care."

[headcase]

It makes me laugh when I read these accounts, that involve the wife giving grief. Mine does the same thing