TexasCHLforum.com

USA1 wrote:

There is always one.

jsimmons wrote:I don't want to kill anyone's fun, but...

I don't see the point (or the enjoyment) in a wally walk. It's kinda like the LEO encounters - it appears to me as if people *try* to have LEO encounters just to test their CHL foo.

Ever since applying for mine, I've been extra careful not to be engaged by the local constabulary. I actually find myself being more mindful of the traffic laws than I was before. The way I see it is that it takes effort to get your license, and it should require effort to keep it.

I'm not going to go on a wally walk just to prove I can conceal, because it really isn't that hard to do.

And with the exception of your not seeing the point of a wally walk, you'll find that most of us are just like you in that regard. I certainly am more circumspect in my life than I was before getting my CHL... ...and it's not like I was some kind of wild man before. And if you go to the thread I previously linked to above, you'll see that, while there was a great deal of back and forth banter, the underlying facts are that I went out shopping per my normal habits long before taking that Wally Walk. My CHL arrived in February of that year. My photographed, all in fun, Wally Walk took place two months later. In other words, I went about my normal business, except that now I was carrying.

There is a significant difference between carrying to a place like a Walmart on the one hand, your first time out with a gun strapped on, to get comfortable with the idea of being in public and doing normal things; and on the other hand tempting fate by deliberately seeking out encounters with the law to test one's "CHL foo." The former is maybe a good idea for some people, particularly if they are a little skittish about carrying, and a little bit afraid of "getting caught." The latter would be just plain stupid.

That said, I have yet to see a thread started on this forum in which someone talked about deliberately staging LEO encounters in order to test their foo. I have seen threads about LEO encounters in which the poster was given a ticket for speeding, and then was unrepentant about said speeding, but even then, the cause of the encounter is the speeding, not a deliberate desire to test their CHL prowess.

As far as my own photographed Wally Walk, that was just a bit boyish horseplay... ...just getting into the spirit of things. I had already proven all I had to prove to myself before ever having a Wally Walk. I've often found that a sense of humor can make an otherwise annoying world easier to bear.

That is why I am "The Annoyed Man."

We have already proven ourselves to be responsible, upstanding, law abiding citizens, what is the harm in a bunch of guys and gals having a little light fun amongst themselves. Tradition and camaraderie, what's wrong with that?

No harm done,just a little fun!

I didn't say there was any harm in it, I was just saying that *I* don't see the point.

As for LEO encounters, some folks - after getting their CHL - appear to go on with their lives as if nothing has changed. On the surface, I suppose that's true, but technically, the direct result of getting a CHL is that you have more responsibility for yourself and those around you, and you should act accordingly. I'm also not saying that I don't speed, or that I'm otherwise a perfect driver, but I certainly don't go more than a few miles per hour the speed limit, and I do pay more attention to what I'm doing and where I am. My whole aim is to avoid being noticed by LEOs. Translated, I try to avoid confrontation.

I intend to just just go about my normal day-to-day business, but y'all go right ahead and have fun in any way you see fit. :)

True Story - My dad comes to my house, or I go to his, quite often. He and a justice of the peace friend of ours came over a few weeks ago, and the subject of my CHL progress came up, so we sat talking about it for a while, and he asked if he could look over my XD40 (he has a Glock 17, and wanted to see the differences), so I pulled it out my holster, made it safe, and handed it to him. He expected for me to have to run upstairs to retrieve the pistol and was surprise that I was carrying because he hadn't even notice it.

My wife was even more surprised when I told her I'd been carrying all day, and she didn't notice despite several hugs as well as some rather rowdy playtime with our four dogs just an hour earlier. When the people that are closest to you can't tell that you're packin' heat, I think you're doing a pretty good job with concealment.

My dad jokingly asked our JP friend if he was carrying (we all knew that he did carry, but other than that, we were not privy to his current status, and couldn't tell if he was), and he smiled and pulled his shirt up, exposing the butt of his Glock 36.

Then we re-concealed, sat down, ate bar-b-q, and talk turned to other things. Firearms weren't mentioned again except for me expressing my lust for my dad's unfired 53-year old Winchester Model 94.

Tha' first week with my plastic .... I went to three different Wal Marts .... JUST TO MAKE SURE, I was doing it right !!!

Mac

Kevinf2349 wrote:

USA1 wrote:

There is always one.

Yeah, that's me... :)

That's the best beach sun dial I've ever seen.

Artful, yet practical.

jsimmons wrote:

Kevinf2349 wrote:

USA1 wrote:

There is always one.

Yeah, that's me... :)

jsimmons , I'm only messin around.....No hard feelins ?

Fell free to get me back.

USA1 wrote:

jsimmons wrote:

Kevinf2349 wrote:

USA1 wrote:

There is always one.

Yeah, that's me... :)

jsimmons , I'm only messin around.....No hard feelins ?

Fell free to get me back.

No worries - I can take as good as I give. :)

And I am an old stick in the mud - just ask my wife... :)

jsimmons wrote:
And I am an old stick in the mud - just ask my wife... :)

Truth be known , so am I.
And yes, my wife would second the motion.

P.S. just noticed I spelled "feel" wrong in last post. I hate when that happens .

USA1 wrote:

jsimmons wrote:
And I am an old stick in the mud - just ask my wife... :)

Truth be known , so am I.
And yes, my wife would second the motion.

P.S. just noticed I spelled "feel" wrong in last post. I hate when that happens .

Do you want me to spell-check your work for you from now on?

The Annoyed Man wrote: Do you want me to spell-check your work for you from now on?

That would be great ! Then just PM me when you notice an error .