1st Time Concealed Carry - The Walmart Walk

[SC-Texas]

I have seen this on Glocktalk, XDtalk and ARFCOM and never understood the purpose other than the general hilarity of someone doing this the first time the Carried a concealed handgun:

What, would be your definition of why, how, and when a WMW is conducted, once you get your CCL. Im trying to explain it to some friends on another forum.



Hit on the points of:

Why you have 24hrs,(from the time you actually get your CCL in the mail) to complete the "walk"
What items you can browse
Why Nachos are manditory
Situational awareness
Timeframe. Dont outstay your welcome
Clothing
Why you must roll solo. No wife, no GF

Go to Wal-Mart because it's always busy. It's a good place to test your self. Stay calm. Don't keep turning your head to see if someone is onto you. Only other CCW licensees will be checking you out. If someone does "make" you, you'll probably just get a smile.

You must buy some ammo. It's just part of being in the sport/hobby. Besides, the ammo counter is always way in the back. It forces you to walk around the store a bit.

You must buy nachos and [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]eat[/color][/color] them there. It extends the time you're inside Wal-Mart. Why nachos? I don't know. If your Wal-Mart has a [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]McDonald's[/color][/color] instead of a snack-bar, then you can have a [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]burger[/color][/color] and fries.

 

[Greg_TX]

I'd think that at this time of year with the Christmas shopping crowd, a "Mall Walk" would be a better test - and in some mall parking lots, carrying is a prudent thing to do anyway.

 

[T3hk1w1]

It's a good real-life test of your ability to conceal. It helps you figure out if you need to correct anything to prevent printing, and it helps you become confident about concealing the gun.
It's also traditional-you might almost call it a rite of passage.

 

[Greg_TX]

I understand the tradition, and practical purpose, of the Wally Walk: I'm just thinking that a mall packed with shoppers (and mall cops, and real cops) would be an even better test of concealment. Besides, all of the same objectives in the Wally Walk could still be met, other than the traditional aspect of it.

 

[Hawghauler]

I do not know all the rules to the WMW test but I think I can safely add one that will pass the board member scrutiny. First time WMW with a newbie fanny pack = EPIC FAIL. If you did that please turn in your guns and ammo to the nearest forum administrator as surely you could only hurt yourself and embarrass your wife and children. Do I hear a second?

 

[MadMo44Mag]

I do not know all the rules to the WMW test but I think I can safely add one that will pass the board member scrutiny. First time WMW with a newbie fanny pack = EPIC FAIL. If you did that please turn in your guns and ammo to the nearest forum administrator as surely you could only hurt yourself and embarrass your wife and children. Do I hear a second?

+1

 

[Maxpower]

I have seen this on Glocktalk, XDtalk and ARFCOM and never understood the purpose other than the general hilarity of someone doing this the first time the Carried a concealed handgun:

Seems goofy to me and I did not do a WW

 

[Shorts]

The "wally walk" is not anything official.

It came about over the last few years simply because most towns have a Walmart and it's an easy to store to make an excuse to go to. It's easily accessible. You don't have to buy anything. You can buy something small. They are open a huge range of hours. No one cares (see peopleofwalmart.com).

My first conceal carry was the Walmart in Oak Harbor in Aug 2004, long before this Wally Walk became 'a thing'. I went around 1030am on a weekday simply because I could go there and get a few things to 'try out' my carry in the real world. I wore jeans, a tshirt and a fleece pullover.

It's a huge mental adjustment when a person starts carrying. It's one thing to walk around your house, its another to walk around in public. Society is so ingrained to believe guns are bad and gun in public are especially bad and signal trouble. Even us gun-lovers have a mental adjustment to make simply being conscious of a gun on our hip with the possibility that another person around could freak out and now you've got an MWAG. The nervousness and mindset becomes settled after you've been carrying a while.

No one says you have to go to Walmart. It just became so common place it has developed into a tradition you could say. That tradition has of course evolved and now encompasses some humor.

 

[randomoutburst]

I personally choose not to shop at WalMart, and will be doing a Target Trek when I get my CHL.

 

[TxEMTP69]

ack Target... lol one place I have not been, I've walked alot of places, target has not been one yet...

 

[thorkyl]

SC-Texas - I have seen this on Glocktalk, XDtalk and ARFCOM and never understood the purpose other than the general hilarity of someone doing this the first time the Carried a concealed handgun:

It is more of a never breaker.
Getting over the "oh my god I am actually armed" feeling.

And wally world is just a natural place to do it as any.

 

[biglucky]

Why would you bust on people with fanny packs or Man Purses... for some of us larger mammals it is almost impossible to carry on our person's without the problem of printing.. I personally use a Maxpedition man purse most of the time...

 

[randomoutburst]

^^ Agreed. Whatever carry method works best for a person is what they should use. There is no correct way to conceal a gun, though I think we can all agree that there are less-than ideal (read: dangerous and/or illegal) ways to conceal...like with no holster at all or with inadequate cover garments.

 

[Ozarkian62]

Just fyi and for the record, Wally World yanked advertising from the Glenn Beck show, claimed they weren't advertising on any political shows, then went back to olbermann and the 'ed show'. [url]http://www.defendglenn.com/advertisers.php[/URL] They are clearly being run by left wingers and Sam Walton would probably roll in his grave, and probably already has many times for various other reasons. I'm surprised that they still carry ammo - but remember, many years ago, they carried guns and plenty of them.

If memory serves me, they folded on the issue of carrying guns after the rich but anti-U.S. anti-capitalism michael moron pressured them while making one of his many misguided left-wing propaganda films.

Although I've got one a mile from my house that I have to drive past almost every day, I frequently drive well out of my way to shop elsewhere.

 

[Texas42]

. . . .

It's a huge mental adjustment when a person starts carrying. It's one thing to walk around your house, its another to walk around in public. Society is so ingrained to believe guns are bad and gun in public are especially bad and signal trouble. Even us gun-lovers have a mental adjustment to make simply being conscious of a gun on our hip with the possibility that another person around could freak out and now you've got an MWAG. The nervousness and mindset becomes settled after you've been carrying a while.

. . .

+1

Took me a bit to really get used to the idea. Now, it feels wrong if I'm not carrying.

 

[F350-6]

Sorry, still kind of new to the internet forum thing and was unaware of the rules. Is there a statue of limitations on the Nacho thing?

I'd tend to agree with Shorts assessment though. If you've ever seen the "people of walmart" pictures, you'd be hard pressed to stand out as not right in that crowd.

 

[Exile Machine]

It's been so long since I got my first TX CHL, I can't remember where I went to try it out. Wasn't walmart though. I think it was the post office.

 

[texas_teacher]

I can't wait to do the Wally World Walk as soon as I get mine in the mail...

 

[okie556]

It's been so long since I got my first TX CHL, I can't remember where I went to try it out. Wasn't walmart though. I think it was the post office.

Wow.........illegally carrying in a Federal Building......what were you thinking?

 

[navyguy]

I think the Wally walk is recommended (light heartily) because it is a very easy place to carry. No 30.06 and most of the people walking around there have quite a few bulges on their bodies, so no matter how much your gun sticks out, no one notices....