TO...NAVYLCDR
The reason I shared the information with both officers I wanted to establish "good upfront grounds " and show them how "honest and open" I am ! ! ! !
For me, the risk to my personal safety and the safety of others is not worth it to "establish 'good upfront grounds'" and "show them how 'honest and open' I am". When I tell the officer about my gun at first opportunity I am extending to that officer an invitation to seize my gun temporarily "for officer safety", to frisk me for other weapons, and to search the area of my vehicle from which I might readily obtain another weapon - all without requiring my consent. Most officers won't be tempted and won't accept that offer, but a minority will - and just like the officer doesn't know what my intentions are, I don't know what the officer's intentions are. The safest place for my gun is in the holster with nobody handling it, and the greatest chance of it staying in the holster without being handled is if the officer does not know about it when he is not required to know about it by law.
Second, the immediate and voluntary waiving at the first opportunity of my 4th Amendment (and Washington State Constitution) rights to be secure in my personal property and papers is also not worth it. If the officer is of the type that will want to take my gun "for officer safety" you can bet that they will also be the type that will run the serial number of the gun. In Washington the Department of Licensing maintains a database of handguns purchased from FFLs and who purchased them. It is likely that the gun I am carrying will not match my name because it was purchased in a private transaction. That same type of officer is likely to get a bee in his bun when the DOL tells him that my gun was purchased by someone else from an FFL - even though I am now the person in 100% legal possession of it.
The risk to everyone's safety, the waiving of my rights at first sight of a government official, and the potential and irrelevant issues that I might raise by telling the officer about my permit and gun are just not worth the "butt kissing" value of such action. Especially when I do things like signal the officer that I see their lights by turning on my hazard flashers, actively look for and pull over in the safest place for the officer, have my Driver's License in hand, my window rolled down, the hand with the Driver's License slightly out the window with the Driver's License on plain display. Engine and radio turned off, interior dome light on if at night, my free hand on the steering wheel. The folder with my insurance and registration will be on my lap. I will greet the officer friendly and professionally using "sir and officer". I won't argue with what the officer is wanting to cite me for. I will give the officer a polite and professional "good bye" whether or not they give me a ticket. If that isn't enough to "endear" myself to the officer, then telling them about my gun and showing a firearms permit - which is introducing irrelevant information for the officer to process - isn't likely to influence them that much more.
If the officer wants to know about my gun, and if it matters that much to an officer whether or not I have a gun - all they have to do is take 2 seconds to ask me.