If your state permits open carry, do you?

My biggest reservation about open carry is that in the event the SHTF--arriving police may not take/have the time to conduct a cordial conversation to figure out who the good and the bad are--they may only see weapons out and bullets flying. I guess that holds true for a conceal that has been deployed as well.
 
I think some people here have it in their head that anyone that open carries is doing everything they can to draw attention to themselves. Sorry but that is just plain silly. I carry just in front of my back pocket, right side. I don't touch it, adjust it, or draw attention to it in anyway. I go about my business and don't draw attention to myself. I'm not carrying to make a statement, I am carrying to protect myself and loved ones.
 
Usually no. Nobodys biz whether I'm carrying or not. But, once in a Blue Moon
I have had to carry visable because of what I was wearing that day.
When 9/11 happened, I saw very many people openly carrying their guns. It took months before this stopped.
Doc
 
There is a time and place for either type of carry. I am not going to say this is the way you should carry all the time. I carry concealed most of the time but I open carry at times also, it depends on what and where you are and doing. Just like you don't wear flipflops and board shots in the winter in Juno or a parka on the beach in July
 
Kentucky allows open carry but I've never really done it. I always like seeing other people open carry but personally I just prefer to not have the attention.
 
KY here too. I like to see people OCing. I wish a lot more people did although I understand why they don't. It's not for me either.
 
I can carry openly in WA (no license required), but have never opted to do so. I don't want any hassles. I might choose to carry openly while backpacking, if the backpack waist belt interferes with my normal, OWB carry mode.
 
I disagree. Not only are uniformed, open carrying police officers killed with their own guns from time to time, they have to shoot people trying to take their guns on a regular basis.
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Pure nonsense, this is what we refer to as "anecdotal" evidence, and meaningless in the context you had hoped to score points with it. Your position crumbles upon even rudimentary analysis. First and foremost, LE seek out the trouble, thats why we have them in the first place, secondly, the incidence of such encounters is extremely rare, when lumped in with the sheer numbers of daily LE/perpetrator contacts and interactions! Once again a solid failure to establish a rational foundation for anti-2nd amendment fears, and that in truth is just what they are, irrational fears of the gun, the Brady campaign could have written your comment for you!
 
I have OC’d outside of work in the past and one thing I’ve noticed is the unwelcome attention it tends to draw. I’ve even had people make jokes at work about “Watch out the security guard’s packin’ get out of line and he’ll shoot you” when I’m (obviously) in uniform. The worst part is they’re almost always client customers so I can’t be a smart *** back and say “Gee that was funny as Hell the first 500 times I heard it.”

I also read stories on other forums that encourage open carry about random strangers approaching them at Wal Mart to start conversations about their guns. I don’t need that hassle.

Then there are the antis, recently Facebook shut down a page on which the poster was advocating calling the police each and every time you see an open carrier. He stated that you should lie to make it sound like the open carrier was an active shooter (I.E. He’s waving the gun around and threatening people), the idea was to have SWAT respond and administer a smack down. Another hassle I don’t need.

So while I support your right to open carry I decline to join you in doing so.
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Legal in NV, but I OC only when I'm out of town. When I see someone who OC's in Vegas, I notice that he's almost always wary. I generally don't talk to these guys; just watch to see how they act, and how others act when they notice. I don't need that for myself.
 
Pure nonsense, this is what we refer to as "anecdotal" evidence, and meaningless in the context you had hoped to score points with it. Your position crumbles upon even rudimentary analysis. First and foremost, LE seek out the trouble, thats why we have them in the first place, secondly, the incidence of such encounters is extremely rare, when lumped in with the sheer numbers of daily LE/perpetrator contacts and interactions! Once again a solid failure to establish a rational foundation for anti-2nd amendment fears, and that in truth is just what they are, irrational fears of the gun, the Brady campaign could have written your comment for you!
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While LEs may seek out trouble, trouble often seeks out targets of opportunity. The evidence for people trying to take guns from cops is far from anecdotal. In fact, it is so NOT anecdotal that it makes of a credible portion of police training. The incidents are infrequent, yes, but hardly anecdotal, in part because of the training that officer go through to prevent loss of their weapons.

We know that open carriers sometimes do get targeted for their guns. Whether you want to call it anecdotal or not really doesn't matter. It is a reality that does occur, but what we have to understand is that it occurs like any other display of value. People are targeted for their cell phones, watches, wallets, etc. The irony here is that carriers are targeted for that which is supposed to be used for protection.
https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/carrying-openly-make-target/
http://www.alloutdoor.com/2015/04/21/open-carrier-attacked-wal-mart-carry-openly/
http://www.richmond.com/news/article_970e24e7-dd5d-57e7-8fb8-a64a0a2b26ba.html
 
The OC's I've met that appeared like they OC carried ALL the time--struck me as being rather odd people when I talked to them.
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I'd agree with that assessment. ...Massively, for some people.


One of the biggest open carry proponents that I have ever personally known and had substantial interaction with was a very strange person. I worked with him for 4 years and never did figure out what was wrong with that guy. He just wasn't right.
Eventually, he decided that he was going to 'retire' and live off of his savings account until he ran out of money. He figured he'd be good for 5-7 years, before having to work again. During his time off, he planned to be as active as possible in 'spreading the gospel' of open carry.

He vanished for a few years, before showing up at a local swap meet, selling swords, knives, thrown weapons, maces, and bat'leths (Klingon weapon from Star Trek). He was a regular fixture there for another couple of years, and was renowned for being very strange and completely unpredictable.

Then, again, he vanished. No one heard or saw anything of him for about a year; until he made the news for attacking two police officers with a sword, after they tried to disarm him for officer safety. He just kept screaming, "I have the right! You can't take my weapons!"
:rolleyes:


(I can't find a link to one of the articles at the moment, but his attack was in 2014 in the Florida panhandle. Ironically, one of the police officers was a former coworker of ours.)
 
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