pulled over while having a 45 in the truck

[cobra]

so do you have to tell the police officer your carring, or do you only have to offer the information up if asked? I only ask because i think that sometimes it makes LEO a bit more jumpy ( and for good reason ) to know that some people are armed, even if it is legal. I live in connnecticut and i believe that in my state you do not have to tell a officer your carring unless you are asked, just wondering what common practice is in your experience, seems like from reading the above posts that most of you simply give the LEO your card with your licence.

[exs4]

I think that most states require that You tell the officer asap if you are carrying.
I'd venture to say that an officer will be appreciative
if you DO inform him/her asap, rather than if they find it hidden,
or catch you in a lie or acting nervous.
As it was already stated,
I think many if not most officers think of ccw holders as "good guys"
because we took the time to receive training
and a background check has been done on us...

[nhill0408]

Packing.org has a section under each state's gun laws that is titled "Must Notify Law Enforcement" or something like that. It certainly varies in each state, and even though NY isn't a "must notify" state, I still do out of courtesy.

[Spanky]

Illinois is a hellhole. I keep my weapons and ammunition in seperate parts of the car, exclosed in hard cases. Most of my cop friends here don't agree with the state CCW laws. Makes me wonder how they get away with this crap. Sorry for the venting.

[Tomcat088]

I personally would rather keep my business my own, and not inform an officer, BUT in some places that's not an option. I will say however that I have heard many times that people who informed the officer that they had their CCW, actually got off of the hook because they were considered "good guys". I think that it's pretty fair, I've heard lots of reports of people getting seperated from their firearms and it being an issue, and others where they were let off the hook, or the officer actually admired the firearm and said they wished they had one. Either way, if I can legally not inform an officer, I prefer not to, so that he doesn't stress and because I don't want special treatment, if I was in the wrong, I deserve a ticket, if not then please let me go; I just want to be treated as a normal person getting stopped.

[CavSoldier]

I did a report on CCW for a college paper and after the research I did I confirmed my theory that the people who actually jump through all the hoops to LEGALLY carry are the ones that are a lesser risk. Now placing myself in the officers shoes as I make a stop and the person is completely honest with me that he/she has a firearm and has a license to carry it concealed I would examine the license and I would address the reason why I pulled them over.
Of course if i saw it and they didnt tell me I would be nervous as all hell. But thats just how I see things.

[Spanky]

You can't go wrong with being completly honest with the officer. I was stopped on the way home from Sparta Illinois on the way home from the Grand American Trap shoot. Told the officer what I had, asked me if I had any loaded pistols, gave me a warning and let me go. (No front license plate.)

[danp]

Originally Posted by CavSoldier

Of course if i saw it and they didnt tell me I would be nervous as all hell. But thats just how I see things.

If I see it and they didn't tell me they are probably going to get my .45 screwed into thier ear.

[KP Ling]

My aunt once got stopped by a Texas Highway patrolman. She carries a small .380 in her purse and while getting her license out of her purse it accidentally fell-out. She just said, "Oh I'm sorry," picked it up and placed it on the dash. She handed her license, registration, and insurance card to him. He walked back to his car and ran her stuff and then came back and gave it to her with a warning for speeding and let her go. He said nothing about the gun or even asked her if she had a license for it. That was the most surreal thing I have ever witnessed.

[ZoneOne]

I have been stopped before near campus (FSU) after returning from the gun-range for rolling a stop sign. (I was on the way to drop off my friend)

It was mid-day and I had all my information ready when the officer approached. He asked if I had any weapons in the truck and I went on to tell him exactly what I had in my truck. Though he looked a little suprised when I told him I had about seven different firearms ranging from shotguns, AR-15s, and multiple pistols, he never asked about them or if I was even carrying one on my person. He seemed pretty relaxed about the entire situation.

He told me to stop at stop signs and not just roll through, and let me go with just a warning.