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Brattleboro vt

NYNRA

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2010
Messages
17
Location
NY
Happened to stop by Brattleboro in route to Pisgah State Park NH, at the time I did not realize VT was an Open Carry state. Any issues with Brattleboro, its local law enforcement etc? I was there twice in a day for food and fuel. I did not see anyone open carrying.
 

CJ

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
76
Location
VT, AK, ,
Brattleboro is the fruits and nuts capitol of Vermont. Just the truth. Very anti town (anti-gun, anti-hunting, and so on). I've heard of issues down there but don't have any specific incidents I could cite. There isn't anything there to attract me anyways.
 

USAR-VET

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Joined
May 10, 2011
Messages
44
Location
Northern CT
Brattleboro is the fruits and nuts capitol of Vermont. Just the truth. Very anti town (anti-gun, anti-hunting, and so on). I've heard of issues down there but don't have any specific incidents I could cite. There isn't anything there to attract me anyways.

Yep......I've seen some well lets say, interesting people driving down Main St in Brattleboro! Like the naked college kids on a side street one summer night returning home from Rutland. Kinda looks like what a college town would have looked like in 1970, lol.
 

Irish_Dave

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2011
Messages
39
Location
Peoples Repulic of MA
Yep......I've seen some well lets say, interesting people driving down Main St in Brattleboro! Like the naked college kids on a side street one summer night returning home from Rutland. Kinda looks like what a college town would have looked like in 1970, lol.

I have family in Brattleboro and I was talking about how OC is totally legal there and their response was "that's just not right" and in the same conversation the nudity law (or lack thereof) as if that was normal and I said I'd rather see my neighbor mowing his lawn OCing than naked. It's definitely one backwards town.
 

USAR-VET

Regular Member
Joined
May 10, 2011
Messages
44
Location
Northern CT
Well, I guess i'll find out if it's a backwards town when i'm OC'ing there this summer. :lol: All jokes aside, most folks seem nice enough in Brattleboro. I think the problem is it's too close to Mass, so there's a lot more liberials and therefore more anti-gun, or in this case, anti OC'ers there.
 
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Gensai

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Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
6
Location
CT
Hey guys, my name is Gensai, im from CT right now, but looking to move to Vermont, specifically the Brattleboro area with in the next 6 months or so. I am an avid handgun shooter. I am interested in open carry, since Vermont seems to have a more open mind. But i have read some stories of Brattleboro being sort of antigun, is there anyone here whose carried there and had any issues?

As well, has anyone had any experience carrying a 1911 in Vermont? Im a big 1911 fan, and i believe Condition 1 is the way to carry but ive heard stories all over the country of people freaking out at the sight of a cocked handgun in public.
 

KBCraig

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Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
4,886
Location
Granite State of Mind
Why Brattleboro, specifically? If you hop right across the river to the Keene area, you get open carry that's even better than Vermont, with no places off limits. Yes, you do need a $10 license to carry a loaded concealed handgun, or to carry a loaded handgun in a car, but that's pretty cheap insurance. And again -- nowhere is off limits in NH by state law, except courtrooms. Full preemption, no local laws about possession or carry.
 

Gensai

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Aug 29, 2011
Messages
6
Location
CT
Mainly because my girlfriend is from Greenfield MA, so i want to be close enough to hop down there for the evening without planning it all out. And honestly i dont want to live in MA cause the gun laws are horrible.

Brattleboro puts me about 30 minutes from her, which is acceptable and easy enough to go see her. While currently, i like an hour and a half from her so.
 

KBCraig

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Aug 7, 2007
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4,886
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Granite State of Mind
Winchester NH is even closer than Brattleboro, and Keene is only about 10-15 minutes farther. You'll probably do most of your shopping in NH anyway (it's cheaper), so living there makes it handy. And like I said, NH has even better gun laws when it comes to places off limits.

In the plus column for Brattleboro, people do walk around naked in the summer. :D

Be careful in Greenfield. There are some truly evil cops there.
 

Gensai

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Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
6
Location
CT
well, whats NH law on assault weapons and things like that? I love AR's and im looking at things like that too (CT doesnt allow ANYTHING that even RESEMBLES an assault rifle, im surprised that havent banned toy guns yet)

and im SO aware of the cops in Greenfield, its horrible.
 
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Gensai

New member
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
6
Location
CT
That, i knew. Ironically, CT does allow suppresors, but bans just about everything else. Its such a horrible state for firearms ownership haha.

So there are no assault weapon bans? Well, its something to definitly give thought to then. I just need to be close to my girlfriend and not be bankrupted by my bills haha
 

xmanhockey7

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2010
Messages
1,195
Why Brattleboro, specifically? If you hop right across the river to the Keene area, you get open carry that's even better than Vermont, with no places off limits. Yes, you do need a $10 license to carry a loaded concealed handgun, or to carry a loaded handgun in a car, but that's pretty cheap insurance. And again -- nowhere is off limits in NH by state law, except courtrooms. Full preemption, no local laws about possession or carry.

No license is necessary to carry openly or concealed. You can't carry within 1,000 feet of a school or in a bank, not sure if there are any other places you can't carry.
 

KBCraig

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
4,886
Location
Granite State of Mind
Why Brattleboro, specifically? If you hop right across the river to the Keene area, you get open carry that's even better than Vermont, with no places off limits. Yes, you do need a $10 license to carry a loaded concealed handgun, or to carry a loaded handgun in a car, but that's pretty cheap insurance. And again -- nowhere is off limits in NH by state law, except courtrooms. Full preemption, no local laws about possession or carry.

No license is necessary to carry openly or concealed. You can't carry within 1,000 feet of a school or in a bank, not sure if there are any other places you can't carry.

You've quoted me out of context. If you're not familiar with the geography, please check what "right across the river to the Keene area" means. The laws there are different, and I explained them.

While you're looking things up, look up that law banning carry in banks. Get back to us in... oh, forever.
 

Gensai

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Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
6
Location
CT
So, ive started work at Advance on Putney, and looking into Brat in a couple months. Any more open carry stories from Brat?
 

vermonter

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Oct 5, 2006
Messages
340
Location
, ,
You can't carry within 1,000 feet of a school or in a bank, not sure if there are any other places you can't carry.

Now we have PPL from Michigan that are experts in VT law. When you visit VT you can stay outside if 1000 FT of a bank. I however will enter a bank with no issues as I have done every day for years. A school is a different issue, but the local cops ignore federal laws unless you are OC and walking near the school when kids are nearby. If someone calls you may get taken to the federal Magistrate - possible but not likely. As many a VT cop has told me just conceal and if you are found out in a place you are not supposed to be, just leave and there will be no arrests and issues. OC all you want in rural areas and afield.
 

Kingfish

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Apr 10, 2007
Messages
1,276
Location
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
No license is necessary to carry openly or concealed. You can't carry within 1,000 feet of a school or in a bank, not sure if there are any other places you can't carry.
Now we have PPL from Michigan that are experts in VT law. When you visit VT you can stay outside if 1000 FT of a bank. I however will enter a bank with no issues as I have done every day for years. A school is a different issue, but the local cops ignore federal laws unless you are OC and walking near the school when kids are nearby. If someone calls you may get taken to the federal Magistrate - possible but not likely. As many a VT cop has told me just conceal and if you are found out in a place you are not supposed to be, just leave and there will be no arrests and issues. OC all you want in rural areas and afield.
I would think if the GFSZ were enforced AT ALL we would be hearing about it daily in this forum. Hell, the old law was found unconstitutional and the legislature adding a couple words would not make it magically OK.
 
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RJHbolt

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May 19, 2012
Messages
2
Location
Brattleboro VT
Life in Granola-land

I've lived in Brattleboro for 15 years and have never seen one example of a citizen open carrying. Nor have I seen one gun rack in a pickup. I have seen far too many Prius hybrids with anti nuclear slogans on them.
It's legal for me to carry openly here but the local police are very twitchy and would most likely draw down on you with their .40's, slam you to the ground, cuff you, taser you and drag you away where it would be incumbent upon you to prove your right to carry openly. What a way to ruin a perfectly beautiful day. I'll keep mine concealed, thanks. However, I don't have any problem visibly showing my stun gun to the gang banger wannabees dragging their slathering pit bulls around. Often, these dogs outweigh their owners and visibly want to attack my smaller dogs. I maintain a vigilant mindset to combat situations like this.
Also, it's no longer legal to be naked in Brattleboro, a selectboard ordinance put an end to that, thankfully. It drew serious predators to the area.
One last thing: it's legal for VT residents to buy long guns in NH and I deal with a good old boy over there when I get the itch for a new black rifle. He told me that the Chief of Police in Keene told him that "yes, it's legal to open carry here, but you'll most likely be drawn upon and braced by the local police while they determine your intentions."
Being an old guy myself, I do not need this kind of problem (where I live) and am content to keep mine concealed.
Long live the South, sad to say the North is ruled by anti-gun ignorance coming out of Albany and Boston that influences the nicer areas of New England despite the laws on their books.
 

Leverdude

Regular Member
Joined
May 14, 2009
Messages
265
Location
Norwalk, Connecticut, USA
The ignorance is widespread. Sometimes innocently I guess like the OP who says anything resembling an assault weapon is banned in CT. We do, unfortunately, have an AWB, but its laughably inept & useless. You can own many AR platforms as well as most anything not on the list they dreamed up. I see guys every weekend with ARs, AKs & a bunch of other guns that certainly resemble assault rifles. I'm not defending our law, it stinks, but its nowhere near as bad as it could be. That said VT or NH are both much more gun friendly places.
 
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