Incident in Nevada

[chinakay]

When we were at Front Sight a couple of weeks ago, the rangemaster explained to everybody that Nevada is an Open Carry state...that is, that anyone may carry a gun visibly without a permit, although to carry one concealed does require a permit. He went on to say that this meant we were at liberty to arrive at the range carrying openly, to go into stores carrying openly etc.

So I decided to try it out...we went into Walgreen's on the way back from the range, and nobody said a thing. It felt a little weird, but everything was going well.

Then we drop into KFC across the street to grab some dinner, and we're waiting for our stuff, and the door opens and another customer comes in, and a minute later I hear, "Ohmygawd, she's got a gun!"

The Time Dilation effect kicked in, as I tried to come up with a snappy answer that would de-escalate the situation if it needed to. In about 20 minutes (actually it was probably 2 seconds) I came up with, "Well, yeah, do you need to borrow it or something?" That was all I could think of

Then he said, "Oh, you're one of those Front Sight people..." He was just trying to wind me up, succeeded pretty well, too. Arrgh

[cmj685]

Good story!
When we were in Arizona a year ago (they have since changed the law, I think, so you can wear a gun any way you please with no permit required?) I tried open carry a little. Had a guy at a gas station congratulate me for taking responsibility for my defense seriously. Thought that was pretty neat too--and just a bit different than the reaction you would get most often in Minnesota!

[WWJD]

Best response I've had when open carrying was the guy at Staples.........
"you have a gun, I'm sure you have a knife to cut the tape!!"

Great folks at Woodbury Staples.

[BirdShooter]

Our Range Officer at Front Sight said, "We want your guns to be in the holster on your belt when you arrive on the property. We don't want anyone touching their gun after they arrive until they're on the range under the direction of the Range Officer."

This presents a quandry. If you open carry from your hotel and in the car, then surely the gun should be loaded and ready. Then where should you unload? In the car while driving? I don't think so. They didn't have a good answer for this. I decided to bring the empty gun in my range bag and put it on in the parking lot even though they told us not to do it. I really think they should have a designated handling place where ammo isn't allowed as we do at the Steel Shoots or IDPA.

[gyrfalcon]

Did you try open carrying at a CostCo?

[westberg]

Our Range Officer at Front Sight said, "We want your guns to be in the holster on your belt when you arrive on the property. We don't want anyone touching their gun after they arrive until they're on the range under the direction of the Range Officer."

This presents a quandry. If you open carry from your hotel and in the car, then surely the gun should be loaded and ready. Then where should you unload? In the car while driving? I don't think so. They didn't have a good answer for this. I decided to bring the empty gun in my range bag and put it on in the parking lot even though they told us not to do it. I really think they should have a designated handling place where ammo isn't allowed as we do at the Steel Shoots or IDPA.

Just throwing out a question, not advocating carrying your gun or not but if your gun is in your holster on your belt unloaded with loaded mags on your belt. How long would it take to get your gun into ready condition vs having your gun, mags and ammo in your range bag?

[chinakay]

if your gun is in your holster on your belt unloaded with loaded mags on your belt. How long would it take to get your gun into ready condition vs having your gun, mags and ammo in your range bag?

1.2 seconds, vs about 15 or 20 minutes

[Heffay]

Concealed is concealed.

[Pat Cannon]

Our Range Officer at Front Sight said, "We want your guns to be in the holster on your belt when you arrive on the property. We don't want anyone touching their gun after they arrive until they're on the range under the direction of the Range Officer."

This presents a quandry. If you open carry from your hotel and in the car, then surely the gun should be loaded and ready. Then where should you unload? In the car while driving? I don't think so. They didn't have a good answer for this. I decided to bring the empty gun in my range bag and put it on in the parking lot even though they told us not to do it. I really think they should have a designated handling place where ammo isn't allowed as we do at the Steel Shoots or IDPA.

In the part you quote at least, they don't say you're expected to arrive at the firing line unloaded. Are you?

I.e. is Front Sight a 'cold range' or not?

[JoeH]

where should you unload?

At the target?

If someone tells me to wear my carry gun into a training facility, it WILL be loaded. Any respectable training facility will either run hot or will provide an unloading area for the cold range.

At TCIDPA, shooters have the option of arriving with a hot carry gun (most of us do). They then find a Safety Officer who will gladly supervise the unloading of the carry gun because we run a cold range.

[gyrfalcon]

At TCIDPA, shooters have the option of arriving with a hot carry gun (most of us do). They then find a Safety Officer who will gladly supervise the unloading of the carry gun because we run a cold range.

So you can't carry a loaded handgun (ie BUG) on you technically if you're at a cold range?

[JoeH]

At TCIDPA, shooters have the option of arriving with a hot carry gun (most of us do). They then find a Safety Officer who will gladly supervise the unloading of the carry gun because we run a cold range.

So you can't carry a loaded handgun (ie BUG) on you technically if you're at a cold range?

Unless you are given permission to carry it*, you are correct. Cold is cold. Concealed is concealed, too.

*Benny and China run a cold range at the steel shoots but allow shooters to carry a loaded gun on their person provided that they do not touch said gun at any time while on the range. These shooters have a different (and empty) gun that they use for the match.

[BirdShooter]

Front Sight runs both a cold range and a limited hot range for the basic course (4 Day Defensive Handgun). I never heard them say anything about a loaded BUG, but I would have to assume that they wouldn't allow it.

They allow complete beginners on the range so they are pretty strict about gun handling - you may never touch your gun except when on the firing line and after a "Firing Drill" or a "Dry Practice Drill" command is given. The range is cold for the first day and a half (of 4) while they teach and verify safety. Then they go to a hot range, but you are not allowed to touch your gun or move beyond the seating area just behind the firing lines. You can load magazines any time. If you want to go off the range, there is always a range officer to take you to a safe area and unload you. I've been there twice and never even heard of an ND occuring. I have also never heard of anyone being shot there even though they are training 600 - 800 people per week of widely different training backgrounds, some even unfamiliar with their guns.

As far as carry is concerned, NV is an "open carry" state. They do not honor our MN permit for concealed carry. They do honor some other state's permits. Clark county (and the city of Las Vegas) have some laws restricting open carry (they require a registration), but the Las Vegas sheriff has exempted Front Sight students from it (letter available). You should be OK with open carry in Las Vegas and on the highway to Front Sight (Clark and Nye counties). If you stay in a casino/hotel I don't think open carry would be allowed (private property).

[chinakay]

You're not allowed to carry in the casinos. They have a "No guns" policy and sign, and they mean it.

You may carry open anywhere including in Las Vegas, but it scares the tourists, so the cops will tell you to get rid of it.


Birdshooter, who was your rangemaster?

[BirdShooter]

Dave Goodman. He was on my range last spring as an additional instructor. Great guy, did a bang-up job.

We had Wayatt Radich as a Range Master last spring. He was also great.