Finally got my CHL. Got some questions.

[gryghin]

Don't tell anyone. Don't show anyone. Dress accordingly. Don't get caught. Pretty simple really.

In other words, emulate criminals... how many get popped for carrying... it's generally an additional charge once they've been caught. It almost never is the purpose of the stop.

 

[Mikej]

If people are having regular interactions with police where they need to show ID, I'm thinking you may have bigger problems than whether you should or shouldn't tell the officer you have a fire arm?

I mean, if you are getting pulled over that much, maybe your not all that safe with guns either?

 

[CRBMoA]

This is an important aspect of having a CHL. As has been stated above, if you get stopped and they do the normal check of your license, registration, and plates, they will know you have a CHL. I haven't been pulled over in years, but there was a time after I first got mine that for some reason I got pulled over several times for relatively minor reasons (burned out headlight, broken tail light, failing to use my turn signal at 11:00 pm when there were no cars around (except the cop apparently), etc. etc. Stuff like that. Anyway, it was crazy for a year or 2. I thought the powers of the universe were after me for some reason. I guess I was what you would call a statistical anomaly for a while.

I will preface the following advice by saying that I do not routinely carry, only have the CHL "just in case" and so I can have loaded guns in the car when I travel for various reasons.

Anyway, the first time I got pulled over after having my brand new CHL I didn't know the cops had any expectation regarding being informed, and after the guy ran his computer check and came back to my car he gave me a real attitude. Chewed my butt. So when I got home, I called the sheriff's office and said, "What's up with that? Am I required to tell them by law I have a CHL?"

The answer was "No, but they appreciate being told."

A lot of people will say, never tell a cop at a traffic stop "I have a gun." That is probably good advice. But what I have done since my first unpleasant encounter is not say anything and hand them my DL and my CHL at the same time. They have always very courteously handed back my CHL and asked if I had a gun in the car. Since I usually don't, I have mostly said no. But when I have had one I tell them. Sometimes they have asked where it is, and I tell them, and they have gone about their business. I have never had a problem doing this, and have always been treated calmly and courteously.

So, that's my advice.

My thinking was always if I was the LEO I would want to know. So I get pulled over during the first couple of months of CC'ing.

I roll down my window and handed both my ODL and my CHL to the Officer.

He chuckled and handed my CHL back and said, "I only need to see that if you are planning to shoot me.".

We both laughed and went about our day.



But that was before the Plandemic. That was before lockdowns, masks and a full couple of years of media bashing against LEOs.

I think I am sticking with 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell" for now.

 

[Member 53328]

In other words, emulate criminals... how many get popped for carrying... it's generally an additional charge once they've been caught. It almost never is the purpose of the stop.

Or carry where you want. Don't act like a criminal or give LE a reason to interact/stop you. Then you have nothing to worry about…..

 

[oremike]

I've had a CHL forever and in that time have been pulled over for speeding a few times. I have never been asked if I'm exercising my constitutional right to keeep and bear arms. If they don't ask, I don't offer. I sit still and don't jump around, two hands on the wheel, eyes straight ahead. I'll answer their questions but don't' try to engage them in conversation.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Being unruly is essential too. Part of what makes NWFA interesting is the large number of somewhat unruly members. Even our mods are mostly somewhat unruly. One of them was even muttering about maybe needing to ban himself recently. Ruly is strictly following all the rules, which is next door to boring, unoriginal, and predictable. The somewhat unruly tend to stretch some of the rules a bit. I proudly count myself among the somewhat unruly, in NWFA and the entire rest of life. The trick is to be usefully unruly. That is, to provide useful info on the topic but to take things totally sideways here and there. Good for laughs, good for entertainment, and good for helping us all to relate NWFA info to the rest of life.

The metric system sucks!





Lol ruler joke

 

[gryghin]

The metric system sucks!





Lol ruler joke

We have no NEED for Rulers,

We are FREE men & women... Citizens.