tico
Founder's Club Member
imported post
Hi all,
I know we normally use the term "open carry" to refer to a holstered handgun, but I normally sling a rifle across my back when I ride my motorcycle to the shooting range or to show it off over at a friend's house. I've been doing so frequently without any incident in Houston and Austin, TX and have even passed by (and waved) at several police officers while doing so.
However, I live in an urban area near downtown Houston, where most people don't own a gun and many have probably never seen one in real life (except for cops' sidearms), so I recognize that the sight can frighten some people.
Anyhow, this morning I hopped on my motorcycle with my side-folder AK (actually an AMD-65 paratrooper AK) slung across my back and my SVT-40 slung across my chest (so they wouldn't scrape each other). (I also stuck a Tokarev pistol in a concealed ankle holster and my every-day-carry Glock in my wasteband holster). I hopped on the freeway, and passed a couple of cop cars without any problems. I'm half-way to my buddy's house when I see two cop cars flashing their lights at me, so I pull over and kill the engine (leaving my hands on the handlebars and not taking off my helmet). After a few minutes one cop approaches me slowly while the other backs him up with his gun at his side. The police officer lifts the rifles over my head and sets them down, then handcuffs me, then removes my two handguns. I get a pat-down and get led to the backseat of a copcar. I ask them if I've done something wrong, and they say that they got a call about someone with assault rifles and they're required to respond to it and check it out. Two more cops show up.
The first officer asks me where I'm going and if there's any way I can get a bag for my rifle so they don't get called out every time I go to a shooting range. I inform him that I've been doing this for years and this is the first time I've had any problems and that it's completely legal, even without my CHL. This guy is pretty understanding and tries to make sure I'm comfortable, but none of the other three cops knew that it was legal to carry a rifle. They run my plates, DL, CHL several times to see if anything comes up, and then double check with Central to make sure it's legal to carry rifles. All the while they're joking around about never having actually *seen* "Mad Max" riding down the freeway....
Then, because I'm carrying an "evil black rifle" they want to make sure with ATF that it's not Class III (though that wouldn't have affected the legality of carrying it, just owning it, as long as I had the tax stamp).
I have to spell out the makes/models of my rifles and inform the officers what calibers of round they shoot. They record the serial numbers of all of my firearms. I do not give consent to search my saddlebags, which are locked. One officer tugs on the lid to see if they can be opened without a key.
Eventually most of the cops disperse and the first one lets me out of the back of the cop car, unlocks the cuffs, and tells me I can "load up" and go on my way.
All told, I wasted about half an hour, maybe a little longer.
Uggghh.
I just came back from a road trip wherein I open-carried my Glock all across NM, AZ, NV, UT, CO without any problems. Then again, I've been carrying a rifle on my back for years without a problem. I guess there's a first for everything.
Hi all,
I know we normally use the term "open carry" to refer to a holstered handgun, but I normally sling a rifle across my back when I ride my motorcycle to the shooting range or to show it off over at a friend's house. I've been doing so frequently without any incident in Houston and Austin, TX and have even passed by (and waved) at several police officers while doing so.
However, I live in an urban area near downtown Houston, where most people don't own a gun and many have probably never seen one in real life (except for cops' sidearms), so I recognize that the sight can frighten some people.
Anyhow, this morning I hopped on my motorcycle with my side-folder AK (actually an AMD-65 paratrooper AK) slung across my back and my SVT-40 slung across my chest (so they wouldn't scrape each other). (I also stuck a Tokarev pistol in a concealed ankle holster and my every-day-carry Glock in my wasteband holster). I hopped on the freeway, and passed a couple of cop cars without any problems. I'm half-way to my buddy's house when I see two cop cars flashing their lights at me, so I pull over and kill the engine (leaving my hands on the handlebars and not taking off my helmet). After a few minutes one cop approaches me slowly while the other backs him up with his gun at his side. The police officer lifts the rifles over my head and sets them down, then handcuffs me, then removes my two handguns. I get a pat-down and get led to the backseat of a copcar. I ask them if I've done something wrong, and they say that they got a call about someone with assault rifles and they're required to respond to it and check it out. Two more cops show up.
The first officer asks me where I'm going and if there's any way I can get a bag for my rifle so they don't get called out every time I go to a shooting range. I inform him that I've been doing this for years and this is the first time I've had any problems and that it's completely legal, even without my CHL. This guy is pretty understanding and tries to make sure I'm comfortable, but none of the other three cops knew that it was legal to carry a rifle. They run my plates, DL, CHL several times to see if anything comes up, and then double check with Central to make sure it's legal to carry rifles. All the while they're joking around about never having actually *seen* "Mad Max" riding down the freeway....
Then, because I'm carrying an "evil black rifle" they want to make sure with ATF that it's not Class III (though that wouldn't have affected the legality of carrying it, just owning it, as long as I had the tax stamp).
I have to spell out the makes/models of my rifles and inform the officers what calibers of round they shoot. They record the serial numbers of all of my firearms. I do not give consent to search my saddlebags, which are locked. One officer tugs on the lid to see if they can be opened without a key.
Eventually most of the cops disperse and the first one lets me out of the back of the cop car, unlocks the cuffs, and tells me I can "load up" and go on my way.
All told, I wasted about half an hour, maybe a little longer.
Uggghh.
I just came back from a road trip wherein I open-carried my Glock all across NM, AZ, NV, UT, CO without any problems. Then again, I've been carrying a rifle on my back for years without a problem. I guess there's a first for everything.