Concealed Carry vs. Open Carry

TunnelRat has already articulated my thinking on this:
TunnelRat said:
. . . . Advertising to the bad guy that I am walking around with a > $500 piece of weaponry on my hip always seemed like a bad idea. That and it will draw the attention of police and panicky citizens. . . .
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Open carry is asinine in my opinion. The only thing that it does is draw attention to the fact that you are carrying a weapon and it puts a big sign on your chest that says "shoot me first". The last thing I want is for people, especially a potential threat, to know that I have a weapon.
 
I can't help but think,,,

That the vast majority of people who carry openly,,,
Are trying to make a statement of some kind.

I don't want to make a statement of any kind,,,
I just want to carry more comfortably,,,
Concealed is often uncomfortable.

I live in Oklahoma,,,
House Bill 2522 is being considered right now,,,
If passed it will allow people who have a CWL to carry openly.

If this passes I will still carry concealed,,,
But I will do it much more casually than I do now.

In short what this will do for me,,
Is allow me to conceal a bit more loosely.

Not having to worry about printing or accidental exposure,,,
Would be a great improvement over the current state of affairs.

Appendix carry with an unbuttoned shirt,,,
instead of appendix carry with a tightly buttoned shirt.

Aarond

.
 
Lets just remember a lot (if not all) of the "conclusions" drawn in this thread are opinions and nothing more; I don't really see many (if any) facts here. I won't call any of them out specifically, but to anyone reading this that is undecided about the two modes of carry you would do well to take it all with a grain of salt.

For every opinion here there is a counter-point (on both sides) and the best thing that can be had from all of this is carry how you feel comfortable carrying; and that alone will depend on many variables, from location to laws to you, the individual and what you feel comfortable with.

Each persons experience will not match and I think the more important point is to remember that however you carry make sure you do it responsibly. As I stated before an irresponsible Concealed Carrier is just as bad as an irresponsible Open Carrier.
 
The City of Denver banned Open Carry, but Colorado is a Shall-Issue state and it sounds like Denver proper was never friendly to Open Carry anyway (legal or not). Regardless, once you cross the city limits, there is no shortage of gun-friendly places to live.

Where I live, I wouldn't hesitate to open carry if I had a reason to carry something that I couldn't reasonably conceal (e.g. aggressive bears, rabid elk, outlaw snowboarders:p, etc.)... but if that were the situation, I'm pretty sure that I'd just be one among many.
 
Their are different thoughts on open and concealed carry i think its common sense don't advertise you have a gun. Where i live people who are at risk carry concealed carry in other words terrorists that might want to murder you don't know if you are carrying or not that might give you an edge if they know you are carrying then they will make sure that you never get a chance to use it. I think the sane goes for anyone carrying as i said common sense.
 
I agree, I think it is utter foolishness to advertise the gun.

I do open carry often times when hunting or doing work on the deer hunting area etc. I would never open carry in any urban setting.
 
WA is an open carry state where concealed carry with a permit is also legal.

I CC 360 days a year. The other 5 I'm hunting or fishing in areas where OC isn't too shocking so I OC (if I feel like it). Sometimes it's not even 5 days a year.

I'm with those above who say "MALL NINJA" or "GUN NUT". That's the vibe you give when you OC in the city (or whereever it's just not common).

Someone above posted that cops will arrest you in Madison, etc even though OC is legal in WI. In Seattle, WA they won't arrest you but they will harass you. They'll stop you, check ID. They may take your weapon temporarily while they do this. They may even handcuff you, depends on the cop. And how much of a ruckus you raise when they start harassing you. They let you go eventually because it is legal to OC.

Definitely not worth the trouble in my book.
 
Personally, I believe EVERYONE should have a CC option, whether OC is allowed or not. I want the bad guys to quiver, not knowing who is and is not armed.

In Maryland--a "may-issue" at this point--the violent crime is 40% above the national average.

In adjacent Virginia--a "shall-issue" state--the rate is 40% BELOW the national average.

I have a Utah permit, and I'm not afraid to use it. But whether I carry open or concealed (or not) when I travel, is my option. I like it that way.
 
open carry

When you open carry that is telling everone you are armed and that is not always best.
I don't care how good you think you are a well trained man will be able to take you out first as you pose the biggest threat.
I also was a cop in uniform patrol before going into narcotics Division. My sidearm was the Colt 1911 and it was carried in a ready condition with the hammer back and on safety with the holster strap covering the firing pin.
You can't even begin to guess how many persons in a single day would come up to me and very quietly say, Officer your gun is cocked and ready to fire.
At first I tried to explain that it was proper to carry it that way then I would just say thank you.
I finally went to a Sig so that I would not hear that all day.
 
Yep, I agree. It is legal to open carry in Missouri provided there are no county or local laws banning it. But it doesn't matter. I won't open carry, even if I can. For a number of reasons. One, the mere sight of a gun causes some people to get panicky right off the bat. Some people will simply call the police with a "man with a gun" report. Even in areas where it's perfectly legal. Some people just don't want to be around guns. So why cause undo stress, and cause yourself possible unnecessary hassle? But more importantly, I don't want a potential bad guy to know that I'm armed. Yeah, it'll frighten off the small fry. But those kind aren't likely to hurt you to begin with. But it probably won't frighten off the hard core criminal. The really dangerous people. All it does it tell them they need to do something to take you out right from the start. You lose the possible element of surprise. Not to mention the number of bad guys who would be more than happy to attack you for not reason other than to get a free gun.
 
Why carry concealed? Well, for one thing, sometimes it's cold or raining, and I'll want to wear a jacket.

But in general, I figure that the fact that I'm carrying a gun is strictly my business. I carry whenever I legally can (mostly on trips to Nevada or Arizona), and I prefer to carry concealed.
 
I live in Texas and can not open carry. One of the reasons I carry is because I am not a big guy and in my mid 50's don't feel I can physically defend myself like I probably could have 20 years ago. For that reason I wouldn't want someone knowing I am carrying. I think it would leave me as a possible target.
 
I tried to tell the 30 or so people I was with Saturday night, we really should cover up. :rolleyes:

A right not exercised is soon lost. I'll continue to open carry until they change the law.
 
Tom Servo said:
SauerGrapes said:
...A right not exercised is soon lost.
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I've heard this before, but I've never seen any proof of the statement....
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I've seen that claim before, as well. But I've never seen any evidence that it is true. In fact there seems to be reason to believe that engaging in perfectly legal behavior in a manner found obnoxious by too many people could very well lead to the loss of the right.

[1] See this post 6 in a thread on another board regarding the history of the loss in Florida of the right to openly carry a gun.

[2] There are plenty of examples of rights being lost because enough folks didn't like the ways in which they were being exercised. Over the years, in many communities, we have seen many zoning and other laws adopted restricting how you can use your own property. In some places you may not work on your car in your own driveway in view of the public street. In some places you must get design approval of remodeling or landscaping visible to the public. In some communities, you may not park or store large vehicles like boats on trailers or RVs on your property so as to be visible to the public. These sorts of restrictions have in large part been the result of strong enough public sentiment that some things previously lawfully done by private parties on their own land were unseemly or unattractive.

[3] At one time the open carrying of loaded guns was perfectly legal in California. The in 1967, because some folks with whom much of the public lacked sympathy legally carried loaded guns openly in public, it made illegal.

[4] And until recently it was perfectly legal in California to openly carry an unloaded handgun. But because demonstrations in which folks legally carried unloaded handguns openly in public made too many other people too uncomfortable, that was made illegal, effective 1 January 2012.
 
Maybe the loss of such an option was due to apathy on the part of the gun owners. Maybe the people that wanted to work on there cars in their driveway were to few.
I would hope here in Pa whether you OC or not, we would all unite together to preserve the option for our fellow gun owners.
I for one could care less about owning certain types of "evil black rifles", but I would stand with those that do any day of the week.
Nothing stays the same, nothing is locked in time forever. Someday Pa may be the east coast version of California, I hope I'm not around to see it.
As to post #6. This is why gun owners must elect pro gun officials with a backbone. We have a pro gun rally inside the state capitol building every year to make sure our elected officials know we are watching them.

Tom,
In the grand sceem of things, maybe nothing. I have the opinion that given the opportunity govn't will try and diminish any part of our fredoms if we don't make it known, we will stand together and oppose such restrictions.
Give an inch, they'll take a mile. I'm not giving an inch. I may loose, but I'll go down kicking and screaming.


Our OC dinners are held not to stick it your face, but try and show the general public guns aren't society's problem, people are the problem. I contend, if you see a person wearing a gun enough and nothing happens, it will become a non issue. People can be desensitized to certain things.

I see these threads come up from time to time. While I respect the the right of everyone to have an opinion, I would hope we can all stand together to help the ones that are under assault.

Only in forums like this one do we actually discuss the tactical aspects of OC. I don't OC to be cool and there's times and places I would not do it. I'm well aware of the pitfalls of showing my hand while open carrying. Truth be known, I feel better concealing my gun, but I beleive in what I'm doing will further our cause.
I just worry about the tone some of these threads take. We need to support each other. Step away from the computer once in a while and get involved. The TFL forum is becoming one of my favorite places BTW. Some of the other gun forums drive me nuts!
 
SauerGrapes said:
...Maybe the people that wanted to work on there cars in their driveway were to few...
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Maybe. In fact probably. That's pretty much how things work. If enough people don't like something strongly enough to elect politicians who will pass laws banning whatever it is, there's a good chance that will be the result.

SauerGrapes said:
...Truth be known, I feel better concealing my gun, but I beleive in what I'm doing will further our cause...
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Why do you believe that? What evidence do you have that it actually does further our cause?

If folks find carrying a gun openly is a convenient way to go armed, and it's legal, that's one thing. But I've never seen any good evidence that doing so is politically beneficial to our interests.

SauerGrapes said:
...We need to support each other. Step away from the computer once in a while and get involved...
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We do. But we also need to do so in ways that are likely to be effective and productive (rather than counterproductive). We need to understand how others think and how they view us. We need to understand reality and deal with it in ways that can actually benefit us.
 
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Step away from the computer once in a while and get involved.
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That statement assumes a great deal about the company you're sharing here.

Why do I take exception? I've been active for roughly 25 years in this. I know the topography. I know how things get done, and how they don't. Yet, when I voice concern that maybe, just maybe, open carry isn't always the best way of making our point, I get vitriol and anger from advocates of the practice who claim I'm a turncoat because I'm not going for the throat.

For every guy who wants to be seen going down "kicking and screaming," there are dozens of us you don't see on the evening news doing the boring stuff that really works.
 
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