I submitted for my Virginia CCW on 20 February. I received the permit in the mail on 28 February. That’s eight (8) days turn-round! Yes, I knew the VA process is simple in comparison to states such as California, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting their VA permit 8 days after submitting their application – don’t take that as a complaint, though…I’m VERY happy.
So, I’m now legal to carry concealed. The studying of the laws and reading of others’ experiences has been ongoing and I’ll continue to do both until I become a CA resident. My immediate tasks are to obtain several good in-waistband holsters. This is difficult to do because I never considered which firearm I’d be carrying. For now, I think I’ll carry my 1911s, but I also want to carry my XD subcompact, so I’ve ordered two IWB holsters for both the 1911s and the XD. I also ordered an extra shell so that I can carry my SP2022. Why did I pick these guns? Because the 1911s have slide safeties, the XD has it’s grip safety, and the SP2022 has it’s DA/SA trigger (which I’m probably more acquainted with than the others’ safety mechanisms). I’ll more than likely focus on carrying whichever is the least difficult to carry. I’d rather have some type of safety on the guns I’ll be carrying, so that means I won’t be carrying the Glock 19 or the P320C (for now, at least). You might not agree with the reasoning, but the choice is mine alone to make.
I ordered the Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 2.0 IWB. I actually ordered two of them, as Alien Gear is having a two holster deal. I ordered two holsters and an extra shell for $67. It will be 4-6 weeks before I see those holsters, though. If I can find something local at a LGS, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, Dick’s, or even Walmart, I’ll be lucky.
I also want to try to carry my other subcompact, the Grand Power P11, but I can’t find any holsters designed for it. If I can find a decent generic holster that fits the P11 satisfactorily, I’ve the feeling that that particular gun would be ideal for me to carry.
Obtaining my VA CCW permit makes it more difficult to wrap my head around moving to CA. We still remind ourselves that we can move to a state neighboring CA if we decided our liberties are being limited too much by CA.
I still have to order magazine blocks for the guns. I’ll have to hack existing mag blocks for the GP P11, but that shouldn’t be too difficult. If I find that they’re actually too difficult for me to hack, I’ll order 2-3 10-round mags from Eagle Imports. My wife’s Ruger has one 10-round mag and one 12-round mag. The 12-round mag has to go. Her task is to find someone that’s willing to take it in exchange for their 10-round mag. If it’s not gone by the time we’re ready to go to CA, I’ll either mail it to my parents or, worse case, throw it away…I’m not going to jail over a mag that my wife doesn’t want to get rid of.