OCing Around Home

[j4l]

I've actually never had a negative reaction by either solicitors, or visitors or contractors who've come to my home. In fact, as often as not, when it is even commented upon, it opens a conversation on OC, and sidearms in general.

The UPS guy (regular on this route) was out one day last week, and someone standing in for him was delivering my materials for knife-making. He saw the pistol,raised an eyebrow, and asked if I was with the Sheriff's Office. I merely said, "no, not at all", and he just shrugged.

 

[AAriondo]

While I do not OC at home ( much) I see nothing wrong with it and think it is great.

 

[mommaof3]

at home at night

I am big into recycling...or I am just cheap. But we went from heating a mobile home in the winter for about $2,000 a winter to about $400 for the entire year, by using recycled material to build a large woodstove, the shed around it and all of the venting inside the house. I still have about 20% fuel left in the barrel, which is kind of a miracle in itself...because I only put in $400 to begin with last August. Anyhoo...once I belatedly realized I could OC I got myself a nice gun. When the rules allowed in Wi to Concealed carry I knew I would, but didn't know OC existed until I found your site...I had no clue before...as I said in previous posts, I am a newbie to OC, but not to guns in general.
I have never had a yard light way out here in the country, and I have to go outside to feed the woodstove before we all head off to bed. It gets so dark, even with a headlight on sometimes...It's scary for a girl!
Well me anyway, I am a wimp in the dark. The very first night I strapped on my new Taurus 45/410 loaded with #6 shot...I felt less threatened by the pitch blackness of night. We have a badger that lives behind the house, skunks all over, and this far out in the country a few lowlifes that think no one will know if they 'misbehave' out in the country.
I came out one night with my gun on and opened my door on the porch to see a man standing there. I moved my jacket over in case I needed my gun and he instantly noticed and introduced himself. It turned out to be no big deal, but knowing I was protected and had years ago trained to defend if needed I felt calm....but realized that even at home you NEED to have situational awareness. I should not have just swung the door open to go skipping off in the snow to the 'woodstove house'. Had this been an intruder, I had been caught completely unaware and realized again...that you really aren't perfectly safe anywhere, at least not to the point where you can just swing a door wide open without looking around first. I OC around the house all the time and if I am not...I have my varmint gun close by. Good thread. I loved reading the expiriences. thanks for a great site that is educational and full of great people. Thanks again!

 

[nny420]

every day

My wife didn't like it at first but she is getting used to always seeing on me or right next to me. Originally I told myself I was carrying it to get used to it but I found I'm much more comfortable having quick access to my side arm at all times plus I have children 4 years old 3 year old and a 1.5 year old. I prefer to know where my loaded firearm is at all times...in my immediate possesion. I live in a relatively small town and don't have much to worry about but its foolish to be unprepared. My chl instructor told a story of his dad in a gunfight in his driveway in Portland Oregon. Apperently he had put the dog in the back yard from the front of the house and on his way back to the front door late at night in his bath robe a guy came up the driveway on the opposite side of a car presented a gun and ordered the dad to give him his wallet. He promptly took his. 25 Cal out of his bath robe pocket and started firing. The guy had several bullets in his chest and ran off. The .25 Cal had a bullet hit the handle frame next to the dads hand. You just never know what might happen.

 

[j4l]

I am big into recycling...or I am just cheap. But we went from heating a mobile home in the winter for about $2,000 a winter to about $400 for the entire year, by using recycled material to build a large woodstove, the shed around it and all of the venting inside the house. I still have about 20% fuel left in the barrel, which is kind of a miracle in itself...because I only put in $400 to begin with last August. Anyhoo...once I belatedly realized I could OC I got myself a nice gun. When the rules allowed in Wi to Concealed carry I knew I would, but didn't know OC existed until I found your site...I had no clue before...as I said in previous posts, I am a newbie to OC, but not to guns in general.
I have never had a yard light way out here in the country, and I have to go outside to feed the woodstove before we all head off to bed. It gets so dark, even with a headlight on sometimes...It's scary for a girl!
Well me anyway, I am a wimp in the dark. The very first night I strapped on my new Taurus 45/410 loaded with #6 shot...I felt less threatened by the pitch blackness of night. We have a badger that lives behind the house, skunks all over, and this far out in the country a few lowlifes that think no one will know if they 'misbehave' out in the country.
I came out one night with my gun on and opened my door on the porch to see a man standing there. I moved my jacket over in case I needed my gun and he instantly noticed and introduced himself. It turned out to be no big deal, but knowing I was protected and had years ago trained to defend if needed I felt calm....but realized that even at home you NEED to have situational awareness. I should not have just swung the door open to go skipping off in the snow to the 'woodstove house'. Had this been an intruder, I had been caught completely unaware and realized again...that you really aren't perfectly safe anywhere, at least not to the point where you can just swing a door wide open without looking around first. I OC around the house all the time and if I am not...I have my varmint gun close by. Good thread. I loved reading the expiriences. thanks for a great site that is educational and full of great people. Thanks again!

Good job. And, yes, it does make sense indeed to have it handy- be it for 4-legged or 2-legged threats/hazards.
2 suggestions for the .410/.45-
1) make sure, if you havent already, to do a test-firing of that thing at night, in your lighting conditions. just so you are accustomed to the blast/flash of that firing in darkness. you dont want the 1st time to be the one time you really need it make use of it.
2) if you can, and havent already, do try to get a couple rounds of .45 colt into the chamber for it. just in case you have to use it in a human encounter. within reasonable distance, it will be accurate enough-despite the usual Judge-bashers you will hear from.
The old-west gunfighter, Luke Short, during his Tombstone/Dodge City days, used peacemakers that he had cut down to 2-3" barrels, and by all accounts, with plenty effective results.

 

[JB248]

I OC around the house sometimes. In fact I have my XD9 on my hip right now.

I am going to be carrying more once my CPL hopefully shows up in the next week. Don't feel like dealing with the restrictions without it.

 

[rcawdor57]

I am big into recycling...or I am just cheap. But we went from heating a mobile home in the winter for about $2,000 a winter to about $400 for the entire year, by using recycled material to build a large woodstove, the shed around it and all of the venting inside the house. I still have about 20% fuel left in the barrel, which is kind of a miracle in itself...because I only put in $400 to begin with last August. Anyhoo...once I belatedly realized I could OC I got myself a nice gun. When the rules allowed in Wi to Concealed carry I knew I would, but didn't know OC existed until I found your site...I had no clue before...as I said in previous posts, I am a newbie to OC, but not to guns in general.
I have never had a yard light way out here in the country, and I have to go outside to feed the woodstove before we all head off to bed. It gets so dark, even with a headlight on sometimes...It's scary for a girl!
Well me anyway, I am a wimp in the dark. The very first night I strapped on my new Taurus 45/410 loaded with #6 shot...I felt less threatened by the pitch blackness of night. We have a badger that lives behind the house, skunks all over, and this far out in the country a few lowlifes that think no one will know if they 'misbehave' out in the country.
I came out one night with my gun on and opened my door on the porch to see a man standing there. I moved my jacket over in case I needed my gun and he instantly noticed and introduced himself. It turned out to be no big deal, but knowing I was protected and had years ago trained to defend if needed I felt calm....but realized that even at home you NEED to have situational awareness. I should not have just swung the door open to go skipping off in the snow to the 'woodstove house'. Had this been an intruder, I had been caught completely unaware and realized again...that you really aren't perfectly safe anywhere, at least not to the point where you can just swing a door wide open without looking around first. I OC around the house all the time and if I am not...I have my varmint gun close by. Good thread. I loved reading the expiriences. thanks for a great site that is educational and full of great people. Thanks again!

First, welcome! You should drop in to the Wisconsin forum a bit. I agree, situational awareness will save your life!

I open carry my Glock from the time I get up to the time I go to sleep and while I sleep it is only a few feet away...next to my 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun loaded with buckshot. Open carrying works well to get rid of those pesky people who don't want to adhere to your posted "No Trespassing" signs. Once those varmints see the sidearm they are gone! I had two pesky sales girls about two years ago bug me about buying something....I was working on rebuilding a car at the time....they saw my sidearm and looked at each other and immediately left. Works for me. Same for those jerks from the Census bureau....once they see you mean business they high tail it out of there.

 

[Irish.40]

Dont have my CP yet, but have started OC'ing at home.

As the title states, I am taking my carry class on Sunday. Will, most likely be another month and a half before my permit arrives. I live in Minnesota, so I can carry OC/CC on my property without a permit. 2 months ago I bought a G23 and have not so casually been breaking down my wifes hesistations about having a gun in the house. For the past week I have been OCing whenever home. First couple of days it was unloaded, just to get comfortable with the Serpa II holster and the added dimension. Then, I loaded it up to feel the added weight. Havent unloaded it in a couple of days. Like so many of you, I would rather be prepared than know I could have done more.

At night, the G23 is locked up in the closet. I dont like being that far away from her, but I have little ones that like to climb into mom and dads bed throughout the night. I have thought about hiding it in a bookshelf that is half way between me and the bedroom door. But uncommon sense tells me that a BG can get between us. I have thought about building a safe into my nightstand, but it never left my noggin'. Any recommendations as to keep it away from the kiddo's while keeping it accessible to me??

It is such a pleasure and relief to read all the posts on this site. Only wish there were more from MN. Keep on Carrying on!

 

[45acpForMe]

As the title states, I am taking my carry class on Sunday. Will, most likely be another month and a half before my permit arrives. I live in Minnesota, so I can carry OC/CC on my property without a permit. 2 months ago I bought a G23 and have not so casually been breaking down my wifes hesistations about having a gun in the house. For the past week I have been OCing whenever home. First couple of days it was unloaded, just to get comfortable with the Serpa II holster and the added dimension. Then, I loaded it up to feel the added weight. Havent unloaded it in a couple of days. Like so many of you, I would rather be prepared than know I could have done more.

At night, the G23 is locked up in the closet. I dont like being that far away from her, but I have little ones that like to climb into mom and dads bed throughout the night. I have thought about hiding it in a bookshelf that is half way between me and the bedroom door. But uncommon sense tells me that a BG can get between us. I have thought about building a safe into my nightstand, but it never left my noggin'. Any recommendations as to keep it away from the kiddo's while keeping it accessible to me??

It is such a pleasure and relief to read all the posts on this site. Only wish there were more from MN. Keep on Carrying on!

I have a gun locker in my bedroom which won't deter a determined criminal but will stop children from getting to the guns. Others have mentioned bio-metric lock boxes next to the bed so you have fast access to your gun if needed. I have two daughters and had to come up with some way of keeping them and us safe. I do not recommend "hiding" the gun someplace because kids will eventually find it. Once your kids are old enough talk to them about guns and show them the guns and bullets to reduce their curiosity. I started taking my daughters shooting at 9 years old with a Walther P22 I picked up specifically for them to learn on. After hearing how loud it was even with hearing protection they were much less curious. One thing I tell parents is even if you do not own any guns you need to educate your kids about them and safe handling because when they go over to some other house there is a high likelihood that there is a gun there. If your kids see you performing safe handling skills they will also learn to respect the gun as you show them.

I haven't gone over to the Minnesota thread but if you haven't post over there. Usually there is some thread for your general area and you can learn alot about places that allow and disallow OC as well as learn from their experiences. If you travel outside of state you can go to those states threads and do the same. God bless!
http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?107-Minnesota

ETA: My gun locker is a cheap metal locking box about 4' tall that can hold severl long guns and pistols. It was about $100 at Walmart but I don't know if they carry them anymore since I haven't seen them at my local Walmart anymore. I couldn't afford the multi-hundred to thousand dollar gun safes that are fireproof and more secure. Maybe someday. The locker came with bolts to bolt it to the floor or wall and a shelf. I recommend it for keeping guns away from small children but realize that it can be carried off or broken into by a determined criminal.

 

[CathyInBlue]

my .45 is now carried OPENLY 24/7/356 in condition one.

So, which 9 days of the year don't you OC? :lol: Don't sweat it. I'm cixelsyd too.


As mentioned IAT, my first OC experience didn't get me very far (as far as my back stoop), but that only impressed upon me the need to get these idiots I live near used to the idea that they live in the United States of America, not Nazi Germany. I've started OCing as a matter of course, specifly around the house to get myself used to it always being there. Had a few excursions out on the town. Fully expect to never have to deal with such a reaction again.

From one suggestion about the mattress grab loops, I'm trying the paddle holster on one of those for night-time "carrying".

Tomorrow, I'm gonna hafta visit the Social Security Administration office to see about the survivor's benefits for my mother's death. We'll see if, like the USPS, the SSA still thinks that after Heller they have the authority to infringe upon my RKBA by putting a gun-buster on their front door.

 

[j4l]

So, which 9 days of the year don't you OC? :lol: Don't sweat it. I'm cixelsyd too.


As mentioned IAT, my first OC experience didn't get me very far (as far as my back stoop), but that only impressed upon me the need to get these idiots I live near used to the idea that they live in the United States of America, not Nazi Germany. I've started OCing as a matter of course, specifly around the house to get myself used to it always being there. Had a few excursions out on the town. Fully expect to never have to deal with such a reaction again.

From one suggestion about the mattress grab loops, I'm trying the paddle holster on one of those for night-time "carrying".

Tomorrow, I'm gonna hafta visit the Social Security Administration office to see about the survivor's benefits for my mother's death. We'll see if, like the USPS, the SSA still thinks that after Heller they have the authority to infringe upon my RKBA by putting a gun-buster on their front door.

Lol. np.

As for SSA- that Im pretty sure is one place you can expect some trouble. Not sure that they all have em, but one near me has metal-detectors in the door-jambs (discreet). Was carrying CC a couple yrs ago when I took my brother-in-law in to get his SSN replaced-set off the detector at the door, the security wannabe had total fit, the whole nine yards.
Showed that I was permitted to CC, didnt matter, they would not allow me entry into the place. The clown even thought he was going to "confiscate" my sidearm....errr no, dont think so, jr.
Since I wasnt the one needing anything there, told my bro to just go on in, i'd be out at the car.
USPS Ive never OC'd at but have CC'd hundreds of times without setting anything off.

as for the bed- Ive an Uncle Mikes nylon rig that with a belt-clip - I just use that most of the time, clipping it to the side-rails of my bed-frame.
Im actually about to make a grab-n-go sash/belt rig that I'll hang over the edge of the headboard or a small rack for it, beside the headboard. I intend for it to have the carry holster on it, as well as the tomahawk, sheath for knife, tactical light, cell-phone, mag pouch for the side-arm, and shell-loops for the slugs for my 12 -this way, if the alarm goes off in the middle of the night, can throw it over the shoulder, grab the shotty, and head out the door-no matter what Im wearing, or not-wearing lol

 

[CathyInBlue]

joke

<joke>
I was once in an earthquake in the middle of the night that shook my apartment building off its foundation. When I congregated outside with everyone else 20 minutes later, I was naked. I woulda been out sooner, but it took so long to take all my clothes off.
</joke>

 

[j4l]

<joke>
I was once in an earthquake in the middle of the night that shook my apartment building off its foundation. When I congregated outside with everyone else 20 minutes later, I was naked. I woulda been out sooner, but it took so long to take all my clothes off.
</joke>

LOL. Good one.

 

[scorpio_vette]

It is great to hear others stories about OCing around home.

I've had a few craigslist dealings at my property, that you could tell from the start that they were headed in the wrong direction. so i make it a point to lean over to pick something up, and suddenly it's like you just switched from one movie to the other. the "group of thugs" that originally marched out of the car suddenly thins down to only the purchaser, and the language instantly changes from foul mouth ghetto language to proper mannered english.

I've even noticed that more people say "please" and "thank you" when they see the gun. weird how people seem to be more well mannered around guns.

 

[Irish.40]

I've had a few craigslist dealings at my property, that you could tell from the start that they were headed in the wrong direction. so i make it a point to lean over to pick something up, and suddenly it's like you just switched from one movie to the other. the "group of thugs" that originally marched out of the car suddenly thins down to only the purchaser, and the language instantly changes from foul mouth ghetto language to proper mannered english.

I've even noticed that more people say "please" and "thank you" when they see the gun. weird how people seem to be more well mannered around guns.

I think guns bring about a sense of the real. Ego and attitude slip away when in the presence of anything that is respected. And a gun is about the only thing that "street thugs" respect anymore. It's a sad truth.

 

[OC for ME]

I have to, to counter balance the weight of my Motorola DynaTAC 8000X that is on my weak side.