It's official...I'm a flasher.

[cool45auto]

Hello everyone. My name is Shane, and I'm a flasher.

On my lunch hour I went to PetSmart to get some stuff for our hamster. I parked next to a lady in her car talking on a cell phone. As I reached out to shut my door the wind blew my jacket open fully exposing my weapon. My Beretta that is!

She kept talking on her phone but watched me walk around the back of her car. I figured I only had five minutes or so before I was surrounded by whatever forces a soccer mom can bring about but nothing happened.

Be careful guys.

 

[Dave R]

Thanks for the story. Good reminder to all of us.

 

[P95Carry]

I did a thoro flashing job year or two ago - out of truck - shirt ridden over snub ... full view! Gas up truck - wondered why guy behind filling up interested - assume cos same truck as me.!

Into office to pay - stll exposed! Leave and get in truck - and discover the flashing factor! Oops.

Half expected ''man with gun'' call to cops and a stop on way home ... but no sweat! Made me much more aware of cover garment.

 

[Ryder]

I wouldn't think that's such a big deal in Georgia

 

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Heh... San Francisco, Union Square, outside of Macy's in the middle of a Xmas rush. Drop a package and your jacket rides up over the Glock 30 IWB... and nobody see's anything. Either they just don't notice or they don't realize what they've seen... in the Land of the Blind, the One Eyed Man is King. Or something like that.

 

[Valkman]

I've "exposed" myself a couple of times here in Vegas, and the important thing seems to be to act normal - like you should be carrying a gun. No one's said anything yet!

 

[gotbass]

Chris - Here in northern CA redding we hear that if you carry in sf the cops look very poorly on it and will confiscate regardless of carry permit. I also hear they are very hard to come by in the city. mike

 

[Coyote84]

Flashing

At least in Tooele County Utah, no one is paying attention or they just don't care. For the first year or so I carried I was paranoid and was sure everyone knew. Then after I became comfortable I made a few errors in wind speed while exiting or entering cars and flashed. No one saw... So I got to thinking about the normal mind set around here and strapped on my least concealable holster - paints quite clearly through a T shirt - and threw on a light T shirt and went shopping at CAL's Ranch and then Wally World. Not a peep. No one cares or no one sees. So my SOP these days is conceal, but not with zeal!

 

[Andrew Rothman]

I sewed a few dimes into the corner seam beneath the last button on the carry side of my favorite cover-garment shirts. Helps prevent the wind from causing unwanted exposure!

 

[Phil Ca]

Some years ago I was going from one office to another in SF. I was carrying a agency owned .38 Special snubby in a belt holster. I opted to walk the last two blocks to my main office and a stiff wind caught my jacket and exposed my sidearm for all the world to see.....and the two undercover cops arriving at a call that was in the building I just passed. They slammed to a stop and I saw the passenger mouth the word, "GUN!!!" to his partner. they were just passing me and I palmed my badge and credential and held both arms out with the palms forward. As the first officer alighted from the unit I smiled and said,"I'll show you mine if you show me yours!" He laughed and waved me on and went to answer the call.

 

[Tom Servo]

Heck, Cleveland's waaayy up in the mountains. I'm surprised everyone doesn't know each other on a first-name basis!

Georgia LEO really don't care, except in urban areas, where you *might* be told, "hey, cover that up." I was at work the other day, and a customer noticed my Wilderness belt. He mentioned that it looked like a good gun belt, and I just smiled. Then he mentioned the type he wears, and he pulled his shirt back to show me his H&K.

Panic did not ensue among bystanders. I felt no need to call the police. He did not turn into a foam-spitting version of Sarah Brady's Worst Nightmare. We discussed how much USPs go for these days, and that was it.

(Oh yeah, black male, baggy pants, mid-20s. Still didn't care)

That's just the way Georgia is, and I like it that way

 

[TechBrute]

This always reminds me of the scene from Ms. Congeniality with Sandra Bullock and Murphy Brown:

Why'd you tackle him?
He had a gun!
This is Texas! Everybody has a gun. My florist has a gun!

(paraphrased from memory)

 

[280PLUS]

I've had the barrel of my snubbie wear through the pocket and jeans material and come a pokin' out through the hole. Walked around with it most of the day before noticing. Nobody else seemed to notice. It was time to retire that pair anyways.

 

[doberman]

I squatted down to grab something for the wife off a bottom shelf a Wal-Mart.
The shirt rode up and over the SIG239. I knew right away when it happened, stood up slowly and casually pulled my shirt back into place.

Sure enough there was a Mom with child behind me. I just acted as nothing happened out of the ordinary.

All fine.

 

[LaVere]

Flashing in Michigan

In Michigan the law says that open carry is legal. So the accidental exposure of you gun while may be generically flashing it is not brandishing which is a no no.
If you were to pull back to expose with intent to intimidate or use it
as a viewable threat that also is a no no.

But, you may get a hassled by the police for legal exposing. Some, few,
many police don't know about the legal, Michigan
Constitutional law, that give us the right to open
carry.

I am not a lawyer and this not legal advice to carry exposed here in Michigan or any other state.

So if you are open carrying in Michigan don't let the wind accidentally
cover your gun or you are "Hiding" and that is a no no. with out a CCW.

 

[motoman]

280PLUS I've had the barrel of my snubbie wear through the pocket and jeans material and come a pokin' out through the hole. Walked around with it most of the day before noticing. Nobody else seemed to notice. It was time to retire that pair anyways.


I have taken to using iron on patches from Wally World on the inside of my jeans, it prevents wear thru from when I use my Thunderwear holster, I used and old pair of jeans with a hole in them as the template for where to install the patch. Now I don't get holes in my jeans anymore. It was only about $1.50 for 2 patches also.

As for flashing, I was at the mall the other day and I stoped at one of those cookie stores (like Mrs. Fields) and as I went for my wallet I swept my cover shirt back and the older Asian lady behind the counter got some big eyes on her, but didn't say anything. There was a cop in uniform 10 feet away, so she could have said something to him if it spooked her. Im real clean cut looking though so I don't think I scare people that easy. Most probably assume you are a cop or "supposed to be carrying".

 

[Fred Fuller]

Soldier friend was departing from the Atlanta airport late one night in early fall in the late 1970s, his wife Beverly asked me to ride from Montgomery to ATL with them so she didn't have to come home alone. Had an AL CCW permit at the time and a satin nickel Commander .45 ACP I carried mexican style (isn't that why jeans have watch pockets, for the muzzle of a .45 to go into?).

On the way back she had a flat tire, right rear. Pulled off I-85 somewhere in the middle of nowhere east Georgia style onto the shoulder, I popped the trunk, drug out the jack, spare tire etc. and went to work. Beverly held the flashlight. Was about halfway through when headlights pulled up behind us. It was a Georgia highway patrolman checking on us. We told him all was under control, we had everything we needed. He smiled real big and told us it sure looked as though we did, said to have a good night, and headed on down the dark interstate.

Then Beverly told me I should have pulled down my jacket that had ridden up over the handle of that pistol while I was squatted down taking off lug nuts...

lpl/nc (still got that Commander, too)

 

[CAPTAIN MIKE]

Jumpin' Jack Flash...

Like others, I try to be discreet when carrying. I do take off my suit jacket or sport coat when getting into the truck however and will occasionally open carry. But as a matter of habit, I try to be low profile whether dressed for work or dressed casually.

On those occasions when the wind is blowing and moving my cover garment, I discreetly hold my right arm a little closer in, thus holding the garment so it doesn't blow around too much.

One afternoon in Las Vegas, I was gassing up my Avalanche, jacket inside the vehicle, and the guy on the same gas island but the other side of the pump noticed my Kimber .45. He made a passing comment like 'Nice sidearm, I carry a Glock.' We stood there chatting about various kinds of sidearms & CCW in various states while our gas tanks were filling up. Nobody else even noticed, as far as I can tell. But it was a nice experience. I've never really scared any of the Sheeple as far as I know and haven't yet had a 'man with a gun' call made.

I did have occasion one morning to speak with a Las Vegas Metro officer in a traffic stop concerning a tail light while my sidearm was exposed in its Fobus holster inside the vehicle. I did the prudent thing -- handed him my driver's license, CCW permit, registration etc. We chatted about the tail light very briefly & I thanked him for letting me know. Then we chatted about his carry sidearm and my own, comparing notes on how they handle, etc. and I invited him out to the upcoming IDPA match. I'm sure that kind of friendly conversation would have never occured in the PSRK.

 

[jojo]

This make me think of a time a few years back when the wife and I were at a Chinese resturaunt. I had a High Standard .22 mag derringer at the time in a belt holster up front (not a usuall carry for me). Anyway I noticed my shoe was untied and bent over to tie it, plop the derringer drops out right on top of my shoe Luckily nobody noticed except my wife. I never used that carry again.

jojo

 

[QuarterBoreGunner]

gotbass- check your PMs; I don't want to contribute to thread vere.

 

[ShaiVong]

I dont usually worry about it that much. Honestly, if I put an Uncle Mikes paddle Kydex holster on under a light jacket, it prints alot less than my cellphone which sticks out like a third arm.

I dont worry about what people think when I walk around with a cellphone on my belt bulging my jacket out, why should I worry if the handle of my Glock or 1911 nudges my coat?

Besides, in Maine we have an open carry law, so its not a crime to be seen with a pistol on your person. You just need the permit to conceal it or have it loaded in a vehicle.