Open carry in Tombstone AZ

[george29]

Plenty of Arizona Rangers around the last time I was there. They had a reenactment of a showdown and I think a bank heist. I carry concealed but emptied my weapon first as I didn't want to hold a loaded weapon watching the reenactment and discover some type of Post Stress Syndrome that I didn't know I possessed. Good thing I did because even though it was allin fun, I had to keep reminding myself it was a play and not join the Sheriff or help him after being "shot". Open or concealed, I would consider emptying my gun first.

Loop, words fail me,if you feel the need for a showdown, PM the guy, your threats taint the thread.

 

[Winchester 73]

Did you actually see that there?

Virgil,I'm glad some others guy's confirmed Lester's epitaph.Nice pictures too.
Sure glad I didn't run afoul of loop!
He seems very proud of his town and state and rightfully so.Also seems to have a hair trigger temper!
I'll look him up the next time I'm in Tombstone.Very cautiously.

 

[WayneConrad]

Before you all get too worked up about loop: I believe loop was in "Old West" character. This is a thread about Tombstone, don't ya know?

 

[Winchester 73]

Before you all get too worked up about loop: I believe loop was in "Old West" character. This is a thread about Tombstone, don't ya know?

You're right.And it's April Fools Day too!

 

[VirgilCaine]

Nifty. I never saw that anywhere else before.

 

[Pweller]

I'd have to agree with George29 - it is all play and I wouldn't advise open-carry. Tombstone used to be a town of tough-guys, now it is just a tourist destination with a lot of wanna-be rebels, and a lot of bikers.

Plus, you'll find plenty of people in costume walking around with guns that only fire blanks, so why make things confusing?

Anyway, check out the courthouse while you're there - that's about the most historically accurate part of Tombstone. Also, the $6 or so entry fee into the Bird Cage is sort of worth it for a kitchy/historical experience. (It's pretty much unrestored inside, left the way it was about 100 years ago, except it is now 'decorated' with mannequins in halloween costumes playing cards!) And, there is a brochure at the Boot Hill Cemetery which has a lot of blurbs on the people buried there.

 

[ArmedBear]

as soon as I get into Yuma from this crap-hole

Never been to Yuma, huh?

 

[Pilgrim]

I visited Tombstone two years ago. There were some shop owners open carrying, but they were carrying modern pistols and not dressed in 19th century clothing.

The shoot out reenactments were restricted to a fenced in 'theatre' and were no longer in the streets. I was told that was to prevent any confusion between actors and people legally carrying loaded firearms.

Pilgrim

 

[bogie]

You know... If I lived 3 minutes outside tombstone, I'd be in the duellin' business...

Set up a range with a dozen duelling trees, and rent .45s (or .357s loaded with .38 wadcutters...).

 

[Snake Eyes]

Never been to Yuma, huh?

Aw, c'mon! Yuma's nicer than, um.......ah.....nicer than Quartzite!

Maybe....

 

[WayneConrad]

george29: Those of us who carry need to have a good ability to distinguish theater from live action, and threat from non-threat. If street theater makes you need to unload your sidearm to keep from shooting up the place, you should seek treatment before carrying anywhere.

 

[Winchester 73]

Nifty. I never saw that anywhere else before.

Virgil,please go to Arizona before folks from California and Illinois(retired Cub fans=losers)ruin it.

 

[ArmedBear]

Aw, c'mon! Yuma's nicer than, um.......ah.....nicer than Quartzite!

Maybe....

Well, he wrote, "as soon as I get into Yuma from this crap-hole". He's in San Diego, not Quartzsite.

That said, the local vibe in Quartzsite is wonderful. Friendly gruff old freedom-loving Americans. I've never heard so many conversations grumbling about government attempts at gun control, just among random people on the sidewalk. Quartzsite has its own beauty. I lost a cell phone there, while wrangling dogs. Local bake shop owner mailed it back to me.

BTW did you know that the Quartzsite Yacht Club membership card entitles you to reciprocal priveleges at most other Yacht Clubs? At least, that's what I've been told... http://www.qzchamber.com/qyc.htm

Yumans, by contrast, seem sort of, well, not overly happy to be there.

I love the museums there, and I have open-carried in AZ just for the hell of it (probably didn't need a gun to take my dog out to piss in downtown Phoenix), but Yuma is probably not a place that makes San Diego look like a "crap hole".

 

[Lurper]

Jeez, what's the big deal. Yes you can open carry in Tombstone. No one will look at you funny. You cannot carry in establishments that serve alcohol for consumption on the premises. Any private property owner has the right to prohibit you from carrying (open or otherwise). They can post signs or simply ask you.

and we recognize ALL valid state permits.

Umm, not exactly. There are (last time I checked) 26 states w/reciprocity. AZ only recognizes permits which are valid in the entire state in which they are issued and there are a few other criteria. To find out for sure, go to AZDPS website under the permits section. There is a list of states w/reciprocity and how it is recognized.

 

[Im283]

I just read this thread and am more bummed out than ever.

My son and his wife live about an hour south of Phoenix and just had their first baby ( boy)
a few weeks ago. My wife is flying out n Thursday to see my grandson (named after me) and I can't get time off work to go. we spent our honeymoon in AZ many moons ago. I want to go so bad I can't stand it. When we talked about both of us going Tombstone was going to be one of the places we were going to visit. Then I found out I can't go.

this thread officially sucks

 

[Winchester 73]

My wife is flying out Thursday to see my grandson (named after me) and I can't get time off work to go. we spent our honeymoon in AZ many moons ago. I want to go so bad I can't stand it. When we talked about both of us going Tombstone was going to be one of the places we were going to visit. Then I found out I can't go.

Im283,you MUST find a way to go.
I have 8 grandsons and NONE are named after me.
Tombstone is secondary.You have to see that grandson who's carrying your name!
Do it for me.

 

[JesseL]

Last summer here in Prescott, [URL="http://www.prescottregulators.org/]this group[/URL] had a reenactor's event downtown in the middle of Whiskey Row.

I took my wife and baby boy downtown just for a walk around that day, not knowing about the scheduled show. I felt mighty silly being the only person walking around with an S&W M&P .38 when there were hundreds of other guys packing Single Action Army's (though I suspect theirs were mostly unloaded or loaded with blanks).

Fortunately I didn't get any dirty looks for carrying a double action or failing to dress in 1880's garb. As a great man once predicted, this environment made for a very polite society

 

[Im283]

wish I knew how to make it happen, would be not be good to blow off work.

Maybe somewhere down the road I can go.

 

[M203Sniper]

Well fine. PM sent but I don't think you're pretty enough to buy me breakfast sailor.

I actually live in Sierra Vista and work on Ft. Huachuca. I've only been in AZ for about a year and a half now. I'm originally from NJ.

Yuma I only know because we had our softball tourney's out there but I never was stationed there; It sure made me appreciate 29 Palms that much more.

My parents are supposed to visit their grandkids this summer and I'm gonna bring dear old dad to the town too tough to die, then we're going to bisbee to laugh at the hippies and visit my favorite gun shop.

 

[Chortdraw]

Always figured if I would carry open, I would be the first guy that the bad guy would shoot in the back so he could use my gun also. Been to Tombstone a few times and enjoyed the visit and didn't see many people except the local cowboys with a gun for show. boot hill has a lot of interesting head stones and sayings. Just make sure you are out of there before the summer heat pulls the moisture out of your bones!! See more open carry here in Prescott than I did down the hill.

 

[RecoilRob]

Was there about 3 years ago. Made me uncomfortable to have seedy looking characters wearing shootin-irons and 'Lookin at me' in THAT way. I know they were actors and 'in character'.....still made me uneasy to be unarmed and standing near a man giving me the Evil-eye with his hand on a heater.

I had to leave my carry at home for several reasons but accidentally left two mags in my shaving case....that the fellows running the X-ray machine at the Phoenix airport found and made me mail them back to myself or surrender them there.

Boot hill is something to see but I read somewhere that it isn't the original that they don't want tourists tramping around on. Don't know for sure if that is true. Neat as all get out though!

 

[jnyork]

We live in Yuma 6 months a year. GREAT place for shooters, we shoot silhouette 3 times a week, sometimes more. Also, very active Black Powder club, tons of trap shooters, quite a few High Power shooters, BIG cowboy action bunch, etc etc. Traffic aint bad. Always something going on, if you are bored in Yuma, you are just to lazy to get off the couch!!

I must admit, a little warm in the summer!!

 

[Dahwg]

Open carry is very natural in AZ, I do it all the time! In the summer it makes perfect sense. Arizona is all about our Wild West history. Been to Tombstone many times- Boot Hill- yep, lots of graves marked "hanged by mistake" DOH!

Someone mentioned AZ Rangers. The original Rangers were the true badasses of Arizona- a total of 26 of them basically tamed the entire state- took only 8 years to do it. They were so successful the Governor of Sonora Mexico invited them to come and help with some of the trouble he was having. The Rangers obliged and caused such a bru-haha with the Feds that they were disbanded in 1909 didn't much matter as they had largely accomplished their mission.

There are modern day rangers as well. In 1957 the State Legislature passed an act allowing a group of the original Rangers re-organize as an unpaid, all volunteer, law enforcement support and assistance civilian auxiliary in the State who work co-operatively at the request of and under the direction, control, and supervision of established law enforcement officials and officers. They also provide youth support and community service and work to preserve the tradition, honor, and history of the 1901-1909 Arizona Rangers.

Modern day Rangers get a lot of the same training as LEOs do (but I understand they train once or twice a month- so in many cases they are BETTER trained than LEOs), but have only citizen's arrest powers. I heard too that a few years ago, the AZ Rangers tactical team was accidentally invited to the SWAT competition in Vegas and placed 2nd to LAPD SWAT- not bad if it's true.

In the rural areas they are often called upon to assist the local LE agencies. There was talk of having the Rangers assist with patroling the town of Wickenberg-I don't know what came of that though. There is legislation pending that would grant the Rangers additional LE authority when working under the direct supervision of a LEO.

In other words, the Rangers are John Q Gun Owner, doing his part to give back to his community. No I am not a Ranger, but I've been considering it- if I can get passed the whole "black cowboy hat" thing. :banghead:

 

[Gunnerpalace]

My memory was this:

An Anti was asking Tombstone's Sheriff a few years ago if there had been a bank robbery with the Open Carry and all the sheriff grinned and said:

"No, were waiting for one"

 

[tkendrick]

if you are bored in Yuma, you are just to lazy to get off the couch!!

If I lived in Yuma I wouldn't be able to get off the couch ...because I would have shot myself.