Black Majik
Member
Well... I got back last nite, and what an experience. I dont even know where to start!
I traveled all troughout Southern Arizona. Stayed in Glendale, AZ which my friend's sister lived at. Its nice to be rite outside of Phoenix. Checked out Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Tucson, Tombstone. Right off the bat I loved the look of the Arizona cities. The desert sand with cactus all around. The hot weather took some getting used to. The hottest in the week was 112 degrees, average temp in the day was 108 degrees. Towards the night it cooled down a few degrees to the low 100's.
You guys have a LOT of food places. Every corner had at least 5 restaurants. A whole lot of Dairy Queens, but I can see why. In Arizona, you'll never go hungry, unless you're broke
76/Circle K rules the gas station market. They're all over. 1 on every other block. Also QT (Quick Trip) is pretty interesting. Make your own shakes. What an ingenious idea!
No helmet law for motorcycle, that was new.
Cop cars are Tinted DARK! Cant even see in them. White and blue. It took me a while to get used to, ya know... what to look out for. I noticed they love to use the Ka Band, but sometimes the K band which I never really thought any cops used anymore. But my Valentine 1 definitely saved me a lotta times.
Open Carry: What can I say. It felt odd carrying a gun on me, I wouldn't have ever fathomed ever carrying in public. But, I did... carrying into fast food restaurants, stores, around the city, and got no trouble at all from the local PD. Thumbs up to that. I did have two people acknoledge that I was carrying. First one was at the Wendy's, a kid told her girlfriend that I must be out looking for zombies. The second encounter was at a Burger King, a kid told me "Nice gun man!" then asked
Kid: "Are you a cop?"
Me: "No"
Kid: "Are you a Security Guard?"
Me: "No"
Kid: (frusterated look) "Do you have a license to carry?"
Me: Nope
I suppose it's because I'm younger (21) than the usual people that carry open there. Or maybe carrying open is so uncommon to see and he was curious?
Now, I gotta admit, its a LOT of gear to haul around. All I was used to carrying around in California was a wallet, knife, keys, and cell phone. Then you add a gun, holster and spare mag to the bunch. It was fun for a week but thats a lotta stuff IMO to carry forever. I had my Colt Government packed with 185 gr. +p Federal Hydrashok's.
Well... I wasn't the only one carrying. My highschool buddy that came with me brought along his S&W M29 for the Arizona Experience.
Honestly, carrying open was not as common as I thought. I only saw one person carrying open, a compact Glock of some sort and that was in Scottsdale!
Gunshops: I had too. For the first time I held a REAL AR-15! Whoot! Fiddled around with a fullsize Bushmaster A2 and a shorty M4. I'm surprised how much I loved the feel of the handy M4. All I thought about was how much I wanted one. First shop I went to was Lone Wolf gunshop on Peoria. Nice little shop, the prices were amazing compared to California! Most of the pistols were under $500. The coolest shop was Bear Arms in Scottsdale. Nice selection! I finally got to see a HK 91 that was heavily drooling over. Plus I saw a Steyr AUG. Yes yes... whatever to most of you guys, but this is the FIRST time I've seen it since I've lived in Cali my whole life. There were other shops I visited like Scottsdale Guncenter and Weapon Works, but those were mediocre compared to the other two. Ooh, the gunshop in Tombstone was interesting. I fell in LOVE with the 1886 45-70 Winchester they have there! The beautiful bluing and wood, nicest lever action I've ever held. Absolutely impressed.
Tombstone. Interesting city. Kinda far drive for a strip of town. Heh... Highlight of course was the gunshop I just mentioned. Saw the Birdcage theater, a little small than I expected. Nice town to walk through, saw the OK Corral of course.
Fun: I've realized in AZ fun is strip clubs, clubs or bars. The most interesting bar was "The Library" in Tempe on Mill Avenue. One of the waitresses was HOT! Even wore a schoolgirl outfit. Mmm... good eyecandy! Haha. Mills Avenue was neat, kinda reminded me of Downtown Fullerton for you SoCali folks. Most of the time was battling the heat and eating at Dairy Queen.
I didn't get to go to a shooting range like I'd hoped, but I was told to go to Ben Avery. I mainly didn't go cuz I didn't know if they had AR's to rent. (see how much I really want an AR now?)
Conclusion: I want an AR. Arizona is beautiful when you're not in the ghetto areas. Lotsa cool dust devils to look at when driving down the highway. I dont know if I'll ever live in Arizona. Just too damn hot. But the air is defiintely different. Freedom ya say? Nah I say it was the lack of LA smog.
I also learned to carry my 1911 in condition 1 (cocked & locked), and be comfortable with it. I started carrying in condition 3 (unchambered, loaded magazine) then once comfortable carrying a loaded handgun began to carry condition 1 without feeling nervous. Cocked & locked, what a great design.
Thanks to everyone that gave me advice when I mentioned I was going to Arizona. That helped a bunch!
Total Fun Factor: 8
I traveled all troughout Southern Arizona. Stayed in Glendale, AZ which my friend's sister lived at. Its nice to be rite outside of Phoenix. Checked out Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Tucson, Tombstone. Right off the bat I loved the look of the Arizona cities. The desert sand with cactus all around. The hot weather took some getting used to. The hottest in the week was 112 degrees, average temp in the day was 108 degrees. Towards the night it cooled down a few degrees to the low 100's.
You guys have a LOT of food places. Every corner had at least 5 restaurants. A whole lot of Dairy Queens, but I can see why. In Arizona, you'll never go hungry, unless you're broke
76/Circle K rules the gas station market. They're all over. 1 on every other block. Also QT (Quick Trip) is pretty interesting. Make your own shakes. What an ingenious idea!
No helmet law for motorcycle, that was new.
Cop cars are Tinted DARK! Cant even see in them. White and blue. It took me a while to get used to, ya know... what to look out for. I noticed they love to use the Ka Band, but sometimes the K band which I never really thought any cops used anymore. But my Valentine 1 definitely saved me a lotta times.
Open Carry: What can I say. It felt odd carrying a gun on me, I wouldn't have ever fathomed ever carrying in public. But, I did... carrying into fast food restaurants, stores, around the city, and got no trouble at all from the local PD. Thumbs up to that. I did have two people acknoledge that I was carrying. First one was at the Wendy's, a kid told her girlfriend that I must be out looking for zombies.
The second encounter was at a Burger King, a kid told me "Nice gun man!" then askedKid: "Are you a cop?"
Me: "No"
Kid: "Are you a Security Guard?"
Me: "No"
Kid: (frusterated look) "Do you have a license to carry?"
Me: Nope
I suppose it's because I'm younger (21) than the usual people that carry open there. Or maybe carrying open is so uncommon to see and he was curious?
Now, I gotta admit, its a LOT of gear to haul around. All I was used to carrying around in California was a wallet, knife, keys, and cell phone. Then you add a gun, holster and spare mag to the bunch. It was fun for a week but thats a lotta stuff IMO to carry forever. I had my Colt Government packed with 185 gr. +p Federal Hydrashok's.
Well... I wasn't the only one carrying. My highschool buddy that came with me brought along his S&W M29 for the Arizona Experience.
Honestly, carrying open was not as common as I thought. I only saw one person carrying open, a compact Glock of some sort and that was in Scottsdale!
Gunshops: I had too. For the first time I held a REAL AR-15! Whoot!
Fiddled around with a fullsize Bushmaster A2 and a shorty M4. I'm surprised how much I loved the feel of the handy M4. All I thought about was how much I wanted one. First shop I went to was Lone Wolf gunshop on Peoria. Nice little shop, the prices were amazing compared to California! Most of the pistols were under $500. The coolest shop was Bear Arms in Scottsdale. Nice selection! I finally got to see a HK 91 that was heavily drooling over. Plus I saw a Steyr AUG. Yes yes... whatever to most of you guys, but this is the FIRST time I've seen it since I've lived in Cali my whole life. There were other shops I visited like Scottsdale Guncenter and Weapon Works, but those were mediocre compared to the other two. Ooh, the gunshop in Tombstone was interesting. I fell in LOVE with the 1886 45-70 Winchester they have there! The beautiful bluing and wood, nicest lever action I've ever held. Absolutely impressed.Tombstone. Interesting city. Kinda far drive for a strip of town. Heh... Highlight of course was the gunshop I just mentioned. Saw the Birdcage theater, a little small than I expected. Nice town to walk through, saw the OK Corral of course.
Fun: I've realized in AZ fun is strip clubs, clubs or bars. The most interesting bar was "The Library" in Tempe on Mill Avenue. One of the waitresses was HOT! Even wore a schoolgirl outfit. Mmm... good eyecandy! Haha. Mills Avenue was neat, kinda reminded me of Downtown Fullerton for you SoCali folks. Most of the time was battling the heat and eating at Dairy Queen.
I didn't get to go to a shooting range like I'd hoped, but I was told to go to Ben Avery. I mainly didn't go cuz I didn't know if they had AR's to rent. (see how much I really want an AR now?)
Conclusion: I want an AR. Arizona is beautiful when you're not in the ghetto areas. Lotsa cool dust devils to look at when driving down the highway. I dont know if I'll ever live in Arizona. Just too damn hot. But the air is defiintely different. Freedom ya say? Nah I say it was the lack of LA smog.
I also learned to carry my 1911 in condition 1 (cocked & locked), and be comfortable with it. I started carrying in condition 3 (unchambered, loaded magazine) then once comfortable carrying a loaded handgun began to carry condition 1 without feeling nervous. Cocked & locked, what a great design.
Thanks to everyone that gave me advice when I mentioned I was going to Arizona. That helped a bunch!
Total Fun Factor: 8
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