[searcher]

I'm about to interview for a job in VA. How are the gun laws, especially the concealed carry laws? Job will be in the Roanoke area.

 

[Jake Salyards]

Virginia is GREAT!. I live in Sterling, VA and have for the last 3.5 years. Take a safety course and go to the court house to get the paper work. Fill it out (takes about 10 minutes max, go to the Sheriffs office and hand them a form, show them ID, pay them a fee and head home. In a week or two you'll get your permit in the mail. They ask that you laminate it.

Virginia is also an open carry state. Meaning you may carry a gun without a permit as long as it is not concealed. I am very uncomfortable with open carry, I have nothing against it, but since it is so easy to get a permit I like to carry my gun concealed. As far as I am concerned, the less folks who know I am armed the better.

One word of caution though. When I first got here in Sterling, this was a great community. It had a small town feel to it even though it is actually pretty big. It has seen tremendous growth over the recent years and it is very crowded now. When a bunch of people live in one place bad stuff is going to happen. 3 years ago the worst you read about in the paper was some kids racing or some such. Now you read about drive by shootings. You see very dangerous looking groups of young men hanging around, it puts me in condition orange when I see the way they looking at me and my kids when we go for walks. Sterling is still a great place to live, but I fear that in 10 more years we are going to have a full blown gang problem. My point here is please be careful where you choose to live. This is still a great place to live, but some extra time and caution are worth your effort. Really though, I guess that is sound advice for living anywhere.

The law enforcement here are good people. All of them I have met are quick to assist you and polite. They respond quickly and are call everyone Sir or Maam. I hope you get the job and I hope you like it here.

Good gunshops are: Loudoun Guns (not great prices but very nice guns), Blue Ridge Arsenal (not great prices but a pretty good inventory and an indoor 25 yard range for pistols, shotguns ((no slugs)) and rimfires) And the NRA range - they sell ammo there at the range and it is a pretty slick 50 yard indoor range, You can shoot whatever you want up to .458. No birdshoot shotgun rounds here though, slugs only. They occasionally have tactical courses here for very reasonable prices as well as having monthly IDPA shoots. Also, for training in your area http://www.tactical-advantage.com I have not attended, but Duke Hansen, a poster here, is involved with the school and speaks very highly of it. He has trained at Thunder Ranch and Blackwater Training Center, so if he says its good I believe you can trust him. He is also an FFL dealer, so once you get here you may want to drop him a line. His inventory is very limited but you will not meet a finer or more honorable man. Good luck, if you have other questions about Virginia that I can assist you with please feel free to e-mail me or send me a private message and I will be happy to assist you however I can.

Jake

 

[searcher]

Jake
Thanks for your reply. I found Sterling on the map. Your quite a bit further north than I would be if I got this job in Roanoke. If everything works out alright, I sure would like to get in touch with you.

 

[JohnBT]

I was born there, but moved at 3.5. Went back to the area to go to VA TECH and am now in Richmond. Where are you in N.C.?

Roanoke is low-key, an old railroad town in a beautiful location in the mountains. Do not confuse it with Northern Virginia :smile: Forty minutes to Virginia Tech and maybe three hours to Richmond, less that to Charlottesville and UVA.

Concealed carry permits in Virginia are issued by the city or county you live in. They must issue you one unless they can prove you don't deserve it. Some Circuit Courts make you jump through more hoops than others, but the worst case is taking a class and being fingerprinted.

My father lives in what used to be a fairly rural county, Augusta, and had to take the free hunter education class to get his permit. To be fair, he has two honorable discharges from the Army and was a State Trooper once upon a time.

Oh yeah, if you've looked at a map, you've no doubt noticed that the Appalachian Trail goes through the Roanoke area.

John

 

[Witherspoon]

Come on up, this is a great state. Roanoke is a really neat place, especially if you like railroading. There are plenty of rural areas near Roanoke to choose from and Salem, even though it is a small city, is a neat place also. Been in VA all my life except for a stint in USMC and have been in LE for 27 years. The CCW is as simple as others have stated and you won't be refused unless you have a felony or multiple misdemeanor convictions. "FREE" Game Commission conducted Hunter Safety Course is acceptable for training requirements, if you have no other. A word of warning though, if you have ANY misdemeanor conviction, no matter how minor, say "YES" in box asking for MISDEMEANOR CONVICTIONSs. Your criminal history (if any) will be checked and if you are not truthful about a misdemeasnor conviction you put yourself in jeopardy. I've done a number of the application investigations myself and it's amazing how many folks "forget" about 10 year old misdemeanors. It's a hassle you don't need.

We are currently saddled with the "One handgun a month" law though, and that's another story about "good memory".

And likewise, if I can answer any other questions you may have, please feel free to ask.

 

[searcher]

Thank you JohnBT and Witherspoon. I'm waiting on a phone interview, then hopefully an in person interview. I live in King. It's a small town about 15 miles northeast of Winston Salem. It's right off Rt 52. I have an NC concealed carry permit.

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[HK Compact]

I live in Suffolk, VA and the CCW and open carry laws around here are pretty reasonable. I choose open carry when I first moved here. Why spend $45 when you don't have to, right? I think I am going to take a day off and go get my CCW permit next week.

 

[Albert Shear]

Witherspoon,Also keep in mind that ONE domestic violence misdemeanor conviction prohibits a person from owning/purchasing a firearm.