I open carried today

I'm fascinated to see that there are 3 different threads currently active about OC. For those with an interest, check out opencarry.org.

The 'element of surprise' argument does have validity. So does the 'political statement' argument. The one argument that rarely gets mentioned (and my personal reason for OC) is that it's much more comfortable. Strong side OWB is much better than strong side IWB, and Cross Draw totally beats both. But Cross Draw with a big gun and even a small spare tire simply does not conceal under anything less than arctic Carhartts.

As for the public's reaction, I've OC'd a fair bit in Colorado and Alaska, and the positive comments have out-weighed the negative by at least 10-1. I even inspired a guy to go buy his first gun, and took him to the range a few times and gave him some pointers. So the political statement IS effective.
 
May not be PC here, but I just don't get the whole Open Carry point.
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PC ain't something I do much of...

Is it to make a political statement,
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NOPE... I do that with my vote...

to warn-off potential attackers,
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Nope... I don't do much barking... Like any good ol' bulldog, I make noise when i am happy...

assure others around that they are safe with you around?
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Naw... Heck, i ain't there to protect them so if my presence gives them a safe warm feeling... it is likely a false sense of security...

I really like the idea that Concealed Carry allows one to maintain the element of surprise or to act with discretion. It allows me to decide when and how (or if!) to react to a threat situation in my immediate vicinity.
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I like that about concealed carry for those reasons too but for daily carry, I am not able to carry the firearm of my choice concealed in a manner I like...

I prefer mid to full size semi auto loader pistols bigger than 9mm... I don't think I want to stash it in a pocket...

I wear tucked in shirts and jeans with a belt... both fitting me properly not loosely... These do not lend well to IWB carry...

So I currently do not carry a firearm...

I see OC of a firearm no differently than my OC of a razor sharp Buck 110...
I know both are lethal self defense arms and I am not afraid to use either to poke holes in something endangering my life... But for some reason no one else sees the knife as a fear inciting risk...;)

If Florida ever allows open carry without the hunting/fishing/outdoors activity restrictions, I will be armed with a firearm daily...

Brent
 
no, not saying op is a political statement

I am saying that all these things I see gun owners do, is leading.

We conceal carry
we conceal open talk about gun carry
we don't tell others we have guns as we may become a target for theft or violence.

My point was that while I do these things, there is no obvious difference between me and anti's to the general public. They don't know we exist.
So when the media says we are few in numbers, the the sheeple believe and the public is swayed.

I am not going to op and not suggesting anyone does but by doing so-where is our voice? Not here and not the media.
 
I didn't intend to start another open-carry-versus-concealed-carry argument. This situation and the comments just made me think more about openly carrying a firearm. NC open carry laws are vague, so I can't be sure when and where it would be legal, anyway.

I feel that concealing the fact that you are armed has more advantages than disadvantages;
There is no danger of intimidating or scaring those around you, or drawing undue attention. It has nothing to do with openly exercising any rights.
You do not have to keep a close watch on your exposed weapon.
It gives you a tactical advantage in a situation where the gun's use might be required. Figuratively speaking, it is a trump card. When playing cards, I don't like to reveal my hand.
 
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I feel that concealing the fact that you are armed has more disadvantages than advantages;
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According to what you wrote, I believe you got that backwards- more advantages than disadvantages.
 
I have yet to see any evidence - other than anecdotal - that open carry greatly increases the odds that (1) A bad guy will grab you gun from you (2) You will be the first person shot in a robbery. We have states where open carry has always been legal, so if these were common scenarios I'd expect us to have solid evidence of that by now. I think this may be one of those assumptions that we make that turns out not to be true.
 
lcpiper-

You posted two not three references that came about over a period of 3 years. The third story makes no mention of whether the man was CC or OC. I open carry because it's my right, I also am always aware of my surroundings. I have only had one incident where my weapon needed to be drawn and that was many years ago when I only CC'd. The poor mexican kid with the extremely large wheel gun sure had a surprise that day. Since myself and my wife have been OCing neither of us has had a single incident. So by your standards CC is more dangerous since we have had more trouble with it than OC.
 
Here in Wisconsin, OC was legal before we were able to CC. With that said I have yet to OC. My thoughts are this. I'm one of the GGs who will never be the first to draw my pistol. It will always be the BG up to no good who will be the first to display a weapon. This always give him the advantage. If I was OCing and he sees that, he is going to eliminate anyone he sees as a threat just as we would be as the GGs in a SHTF scenario. I would be the first in his crossairs and he has his gun already drawn. If I'm CCing, he may pay me no attention and be none the wiser. Now I have the advantage.

Now could OC deter the BG from carrying out a potential crime? Sure could. Seeing me with a gun might make him think this is not the place to be and move onto the next gas station or restaurant. I'm sorry, but I'm not counting on a BG to provide any rational judgement and sacrafice any advantage I have to try to avoid any potential harm to me. Now is there any actual rock solid proof that you are better off CCing. Probably not. But thinking it through logically, it seems better to me. I'm all for those who do OC, but I choose not to myself.
 
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I guess that depends on who's logic you're using. I welcome any and all factual stories that show the BG shooting the GG who open carried.
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Even if there are absolutely no factual stories at present, I wonder if an increase in OC means that we'll have the first one soon. Just because it hasn't happened, doesn't mean it won't. That's my logic.
 
I don't have a problem with OC, but I wouldn't ever do it. As far as the "crime deterrent" argument goes, my thought is this: I'm in a gas station check out line. Bad gun walks in with a gun in his pocket to rob the place. He sees the gun on my hip and thinks to himself "Oh, I'll just shoot him first."

That said, I absolutely believe in the right to OC and say "good on ya" to those of you that can/do practice. Unfortunately, my state is becoming more and more commified.
 
Wrothgar said:
I don't have a problem with OC, but I wouldn't ever do it. As far as the "crime deterrent" argument goes, my thought is this: I'm in a gas station check out line. Bad gun walks in with a gun in his pocket to rob the place. He sees the gun on my hip and thinks to himself "Oh, I'll just shoot him first."

That said, I absolutely believe in the right to OC and say "good on ya" to those of you that can/do practice. Unfortunately, my state is becoming more and more commified.
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OK, see, this is exactly what we're talking about. What you say makes sense on the surface, but at the end of the day it's just a guess. There don't seem to be any substantial number of cases of this actually happening. If I were to guess ;) I'd say if there were, somebody somewhere would be making a big deal of it just to use it against us.
 
...As far as the "crime deterrent" argument goes, my thought is this: I'm in a gas station check out line. Bad gun walks in with a gun in his pocket to rob the place. He sees the gun on my hip and thinks to himself "Oh, I'll just shoot him first."
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I don't think I agree. The guy looking to rob a gas station needs a hundred bucks for a hit of dope. He's not going there with the intent of killing anyone. He's going to try and pick a gas station that looks "easy". If the cops are there having coffee, or if a citizen is there armed, or even if it just looks like there's a lot of people there, or there's a lot of cameras, that makes it look "less easy". If the target store doesn't look "do-able", I believe the bad guy is going to either choose another store or at least wait until things look easier at this store.

Armed robbers, any criminals, aren't simply mindless zombies. They employ human thought processes just like good guys. We may disagree with their choice of lifestyle or method of income, but they still think about their own safety and survival above all else. Just like we do.


Sgt Lumpy - n0eq
 
Although I live in a rural community in 40 years I've never seen a single person open carry a firearm anywhere but up in the hills. I've seen some badly "concealed" concealed handguns off and on over the years.

A single individual walking around with a gun on his hip isn't a deterrent.
A million individuals walking around with guns on their hips probably is.
 
Open carry is my preferred way of carrying a handgun. Honestly until the anti-gunners tried to ban guns in 1993-94 I never owned one. I bought my first gun for $350 dollars(a Norinco AK-47 in the spring of 1987) when I was in the army and that was enough for me, no big deal and it was my favorite past time to go and shoot it on the weekends. I still have it and bought another post ban one around 2000, no difference except the bayonet mount and the single piece buttstock.

The only reason that I did go and buy a handgun was that I did enjoy shooting the then new M9 Beretta 9mm pistols that were being issued to replace the Colt 45 ACPs. I had a choice of buying a Browning Hi-Power, a Ruger P85 or one of the newly marketed Glocks. I chose the Ruger because of the price, looking back I think I should have chosen the Browning, I just appreciate it's lines, tight lockup and exposed hammer. That hasn't changed.

I just personally believe in carrying guns the old way, open in a holster and gunbelt.
 
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