So this girl called the police on me...

[cbsbyte]

I would take it in stride. Since, you did not get arrested or have your gun confiscated as would happen in a few states. At least in NH you don't have to have your guns locked in a case when in a vehicle. I bet whoever called the police is originaly from Mass. Though, how do you know a girl called the police? It could have been a man.

 

[Manedwolf]

I was exiting an establishment called "The Firing Line" in Manchester NH this evening, and keep in mind this is an indoor range, with a rather large sign, carrying my uncased .22, action open, barrel pointed toward the ground. I placed the rifle in my trunk, got all my gear settled, and pulled out of the parking lot. I got about a quarter mile down the street, and that's when I noticed the blues behind me, so of course like a law abided liscenced driver should, I pulled over.

That's where I go to shoot! Geez...Well, I guess keeping everything in a range bag is a good idea.

Who the heck could have been around there? It's an industrial park area. Someone going by in a car for the airport, some idiot?

And that cop really over-reacted, considering NH has open carry, and, y'know...HUNTING?

 

[Manedwolf]

New Hampshire...wasn't there a long thread here about a year ago, involving a guy who got roughed up for open carry? I think it was at Barnes & Noble. A woman (who refused to identify herself to the operator) called 911, claiming he made her nervous. Police showed up and completely mishandled the situation.

No, that was because he was carrying small-of-back, had left his coat in the car, and was walking around like a dumb**s with a Glock poking out of the back of his pants, out of his line of sight, for anyone to walk up and take from him while he was focused on browsing and reading. That's not open carry, that's just stupid. In fact, the cop who came came up behind him grabbed onto it as his partner approached from the front, thus showing how easy it would have been for ANYONE to do that.

And Cosine, what're you talking about? NH has ten times more freedom regarding guns than Wisconsin does. NH is overwhelmingly libertarian. Perhaps you mistake us for the government of our neighbors to the south?

 

[chas_martel]

AndyC,

A point I was trying to make is that things are bad because "we" let
them get this way. Your attitude, IMO, is helping the other side win.

I grew up in Texas during the time when I - as a teenager - carried a gun down
the street, and in my car to school, and no one said anything.

This is one reason why I think open carry of pistols should be legal and encouraged.
I would desensitise people to the sight of guns. Right now people are the way
they are because they only associate firearms with bad guns on the TV.

I submit to you that if more of us normal sane people spoke up
then maybe, just maybe, we would not be where we are today. As it is,
those of us with common sense just keep our mouths closed and allow
things to degrade.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

If I saw any ol' body walking with a gun, I'm probably not just gonna smile and wave and assume he's a gun nut like me. He might be a legitimate nut, up to no good, and deserves attention. I'd be extra alert and probably looking to take cover and make distance. I act like this at the range too.

We here at THR are too quick to assume someone with a gun is a good guy, UNLESS the guy with a gun is a cop. Then the cop has to go over and above to prove to us that he's a good guy. You know, kiss our ass, be extra nice, and discuss guns like they're a carpenter discussing their favorite saw or hammer. Because most of the cops I know don't hug and caress their guns like most gun nuts I know, including myself. If the cop acts like his skin is more important than ours, because that's the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up in the morning, before he kisses his wife and kids, and the last think he thinks about at night when trying to decompress from real bad guys, and just other guys who give him a bad time for protecting himself, then I say I have a bit more patience with the cops. Of course there's a boundary that gets crossed sometimes by some guys. Walk a mile in there duty boots...

People like to say "well I live in GA/Tenn./TX, and folks just love guns here." That is probably true in your experience, and that's awesome for you. But mass shootings happen by regular guys (to the people who know them) with regular guns (to us) in regular places. In other words, Anytown USA, in front of strip malls, inside big malls, or god forbid, schools.

I'm saying don't give people a free pass until they act like they deserve it.

I am having a difficult time figuring out which side you are on here, which is why I copied and pasted the entire post.

Are you saying the police had a right and a reason to react as they did?

BozemanMT and bruss01 put it in perspective. The courts have ruled that police "may" (not "must") conduct interviews if they have reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed or is going to be committed. Ordering someone out of their vehicle at gunpoint and proning them out is not "conducting an interview."

The point here is that there was NO REPORT OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITY. This took place in New Hampshire, a state in which OPEN CARRY of handguns is legal. Big deal -- a caller saw a man place a rifle in the trunk of his car. All that establishes for the responding officer(s) is that the man (allegedly) has a rifle in the truck of his car. THIS IS NOT ILLEGAL IN MANCHESTER, NH. This is not probable cause for approaching with drawn guns and proning the "suspect" out. What the hell was he "suspected" of? Suspicion of engaging in lawful activity?

Sorry, but I do feel there was a foul here. Nashmack wasn't accidently shot and he was released moderately quickly -- but the police response WAS inappropriate and potentially dangerous, as well as possibly illegal and actionable.

 

[Nashmack]

I got curious this morning, so I casually strolled into the Manchester police station (left my 1911 in a locked case in the vehicle by the way), and asked the dispatcher what the caller's area code was. She wasn't supposed to provide it, but she did say it was a 978 area code (for those of you who dont know, that's northeastern Mass). I bear the Manchester PD no ill will over this, as a matter of fact I'm still chuckling about it as I'm reading my own thread. As some other posters from NH have pointed out, TFL is about a quarter mile away from the airport here. In fact, when I got pulled over I was heading in that direction, I had just turned onto the Perimeter road wich goes around the edged of the airport (for those of you in this area, I was right by UPS when I got pulled over) so that may have been a contributing factor in the officer's response. These days you certainly can't be too cautious when approaching an armed person near the airport.

I noticed one person post something about the clothes I was wearing, and the cleaning bill for em. As to my attire, I was wearing BDU trousers and a black work shirt, so no, I'm not too terribly concerned about getting those dirty as those are my work clothes, and IMHO work clothes are meant to get dirty

As for the B&N incident, this is the first I've ever heard of it, but yes, if he had a Glock in an SOB holster, in the open, then I can see how that would cause problems. I routinely carry a 5" 1911 in a belt holster, but my shirt tails cover it


**edited to add**

When I was ordered out of my vehicle, the officer kept his trigger finger off the trigger, and the muzzle pointed at the ground about 12 feet in front of me. At no time did I feel that I could be struck by a bullet had the weapon gone off.

 

[rbernie]

The concern that I would have is not that the officer responded to investigate but that he pointed a live firearm at the driver as a function of making the stop. Just ask the Culosi family what can happen when an officer draws his/her weapon...

 

[Nashmack]

Quote from the Washington Post article on the Culosi incident:

"Although police and firearms authorities were divided yesterday on whether SWAT teams are needed for most search warrants, as is Fairfax's practice, they agreed on another point: Officers carrying guns should not aim directly at anyone or have their fingers on the trigger until they are absolutely ready to fire."

The last sentence there, as I pointed out in my edit to my last post, the officer was in a "ready" stance, IE muzzle down, finger off the trigger.

 

[Cosmoline]

Nope, and I never will either. This is a perfect example of how certain sections of the "live free or die" homeland have become de facto suburbs of BOSTON. I know one local government official in Exeter who left Seattle because she considered it too conservative. I wouldn't be surprised if this person was laying in wait to make these calls to try to shut the range down. Those people from the socialist eastern states CANNOT BE TRUSTED. They are vile animals. Unfortunately it's only a matter of time before they completely take over Vermont and New Hampshire.

 

[Nashmack]

While I dont have anything against people from the People's Demokratik Republic of Massachusetts, I do have to say it would be nice if all the kids from there who come up here would learn to drive the NH way, IE red means stop, gren means go fast, yellow means faster still, Doing a quintuple lane change with no signals is unacceptable, etc etc etc....

I'm just kidding about the driving thing, I think that it's actually a New England thing that makes us drive like that

In all seriousness though, Manchester, Derry, Londonderry, Bedford, Merrimack, Nashua, and Hollis all seem to be heading towards becoming bedroom communities for Boston.

 

[cosine]

And Cosine, what're you talking about? NH has ten times more freedom regarding guns than Wisconsin does. NH is overwhelmingly libertarian. Perhaps you mistake us for the government of our neighbors to the south?

*looking up map of the U.S.*

Oops, yeah, that's what I get for making a statement without checking the accuracy of it first. Sorry 'bout that. I was thinking of your southern neighbor.

Darn eastern states! They're so small and so close together I could never keep them straight.

 

[AndyC]

AndyC,

A point I was trying to make is that things are bad because "we" let
them get this way. Your attitude, IMO, is helping the other side win....

Fair comment, chas, and point taken. My point, however, is that I think that actually suing in those circumstances is a touch too...loony-left for me.

 

[Nashmack]

Ugh I can t believe My beautiful tree stump shaped state was lumped in with the Gay state! (the gay state is a monniker myself and my coworkers gave the Commonwealth after they allowed bgay marriage) I feel embarrassed that we were actually grouped with a state with that much gun control and almost non existant crime control

I lived there for 18 years, I think that gives me liscence to make fun of it, espescially Boston since they're saddled with "Mumbles" Menino and whatnot

 

[Chipperman]

Would have been interesting if she had called on Monday night. I was leaving the Firing Line with several weapons, including machine guns.

... and I live in the 978 area code.

 

[Nashmack]

Chipperman what calibers? I really wish TFL would come down in price on their .223, and keep it in stock I'd also like to see em start to get frangible 7.62x54R, and .30-06

 

[jerkface11]

It's good to know that some people still think it's OK for a cop to draw his pistol on a citizen when no crime has been reported or suspected. Without cops like that we might think we lived in a free country or something.

 

[velojym]

Sorry, for the PD worshippers here, but I'd rather not trust my life to a potentially trigger happy cop, though I know there are some good ones.
I've met too many of the other kind. Recently, a teenaged kid on a date with his girlfriend near where I live ran across a parking lot to get her purse.
I don't know the story exactly, but seconds later, he was on the wet asphalt with a knee in his back.
It looked like he was resisting, and the officer began to thump him, yelling for him to stop, and the kid kept jerking around.
The guy's girlfriend was crying and screaming at the officer that the kid was having a seizure. The cops held her off and didn't bother to take her seriously, continuing to 'subdue' the kid with a purse in his fist, on the wet pavement, in nice clothes.
Evidently they finally wedged him in the back of the police car, and the kid's girlfriend was about to fall over, she was crying so hard. One of the officers threatened her with arrest if she didn't back off.
"good guys", indeed. They should be held responsible for damages, and for pain and suffering.

As for the origin of this thread (and everything else), people should be held accountable for their actions. This would apply to the in'duh'vidual who made the call without bothering to educate herself about the local laws, to the dispatcher for however the call was reported over the radio, and to the officers who could have simply 'asked'.
I had an encounter with some officers in NW AR, when a woman reported me as a burglar, and that I was trying to break into her house. I was doing nothing of the sort... I was observing one of our crews (I'm in Safety for a fairly large company) and was parked on the street near her house. She confronted me, I told her what I was doing and even gave her my last business card, and she left in a huff. After this, she called the cops with her burglary report.
I was pulled over as I drove through town by three cruisers, and told to keep my hands visible. As the officers were, fortunately, what I'd call 'the good sort', they called our local office to confirm my identity and the fact that I was on legitimate business. After about an hour (a very expensive hour, for us) I was released with an apology.
In this case, I believe the woman should be charged, and charged hard.

 

[Guns_and_Labs]

I was busy one night working at my reloading bench in the garage, downstairs. I took a bunch of reject brass and out of spec bullets out to the nearby dumpster and threw it all in. A neighbor passed me, on her way to tossing her garbage.

About 10 minutes later, the team from the local PD came up to the garage door, guns drawn, ready for entry, responding to a 911 call from a neighbor that "some gun nut is holed up in a garage, and has been wandering around with guns and bullets and explosives and such." Yep, the neighbor had seen the brass, freaked and called it in. A patrol car had come by, looked in, and VERIFIED THAT THE REPORT OF AMMO AND EXPLOSIVES SEEMED TRUE. Backup requested, etc.

Well, after a few tense moments, we all calmed down. In fact, one of them ended up taking the empty brass (with my permission). The patrol officer who "verified" the report was given a blistering lecture (in my presence).

 

[oneshooter]

While helping a friend in Austin move some military stuff to a display I was stopped and the vehicle I was driving searched. Seems that somebody reconized the covered over quad 50's on the back of the M16 Halftrack!!! Three cop cars, SWAT, a helocopter, and 2 reporters!! The cops were very nice, as I probably had more firepower available than the antire SWAT team and a 16 ton vehicle to carry it in. The 50s were gas guns for the show, bur Robert does have the real ones available. Got a real good escort to the show, cops were real interested in the equipment and the SWAT guys were jelouse!

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

And yes the vehicle had rubber treads and was legal, and liscenced, to operate on Texas roads.

 

[Cosmoline]

bunch of reject brass and out of spec bullets out to the nearby dumpster and threw it all in

And you call yourself a handloader! I think I'd call the cops you you too

 

[Chipperman]

"Chipperman what calibers?"

Monday I had 9mm and .45.

Jim keeps talking about upgrading so we can shoot rifle calibers, but that's not gonna happen any time soon.

 

[mordechaianiliewicz]

no but at the range i shoot at (niagara gun range) people walk to their vehicles with un cased weapons all the time. i have never heard of anyone being stoped after leaving his range.
the thing you have to remember is people fear what they do not understand. and people have an irrational fear of firearms.
__________________

Mike put it right. Let's face it, if you have an irrational fear of firearms, and know nothing about them, you might do something like that. I'd want a chance to talk to the woman who called this in (like that will ever happen). I saw that this person is from liberal Boston area.

In the big cities on the coasts, fear and hatred of guns is so rampid, things like this, and incidents like the reloader who's neighbor "narced" probably will become more regular, as in states like New Hapshire, Vermont, Virginia, Penssylvannia, Nevada, and Arizona where blissninnys decided to live next to Americans.

I wish we could "open a dialogue with them." i.e. Tell them to shut the f**k up unless they see a shooting. Cower in fear of the guns, swear about them under your breath, but unless there is a shooting, keep your mouth shut, don't waste the cop's time, and quit being cowards.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Sgt Stevo said,

here in the silicon valley, they would have rolled SWAT,tased me, beat me, then sued me, for the PTSD they got, for doing it.

So why would you live there? I cannot imagine knowingly living some place where I feel my rights are so worthless that such treatment would be expected. You can't be making enough money to voluntarily live in a place like that, so are you there by some sort of court mandate and/or wearing a tracking device imposed by the courts, are you?

 

[Manedwolf]

Chipperman what calibers? I really wish TFL would come down in price on their .223, and keep it in stock I'd also like to see em start to get frangible 7.62x54R, and .30-06

You can go north one more exit on 101 and get it a lot cheaper at Wally World, can't you?

 

[Werewolf]

I think this pic says it all...