grumpycoconut
New member
I've noticed that there seem to be many folks here that dislike the idea of open carry. The reasons cited are usually 1 a perceived loss of the element of surprise, 2 gun grabbers (not political but physical), 3 scaring the sheep, 4 getting hassled by the cops.
Having carried both open and concealed practically everyday for the last 10 years I can't help but wonder at the reasoning behind this disdain for open carry. Here are my thoughts. I look forward to yours.
#1 Element of Surprise: BS. An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure anytime. If the second rule of armed conflict is to avoid it if possible (1st rule = be armed), isn't it better for our enemies to see that we are hard targets before they get close enough to hurt us? If you are the victim of an attack you are already well behind the power curve. The bad guy has the initiative and the only way to overcome your disadvantage is to react quickly and violently and even then action usually beats reaction. Bringing a concealed gun to bear is slow under ideal circumstances and even slower when you are working under stress.
#2 Gun Grabbers: If they are close enough to grab your gun you already failed to be aware of your environment. Somehow you let someone with evil intent get into kissing distance. Cops who lose their guns tend to do so because they got tangled up in a grappling match. That's why cops are so fanatical about not letting people get close to them. If you are strapped isn't it your obligation to be aware enough of the world around you to keep strangers at arms length? And if you can't do that shouldn't you already have an elbow or hand on your piece to ward off grabbers? Yaqui Slides and Blade Techs are cool on the range, but give me a thumb break any day.
#3 Scared Sheep: Sheep deserve to be scared. Sheep always fear the different but through repeated exposure even the dumbest sheep can learn to get used to scary stuff.
#4 Cop Hassles: Cops don't like what is different but are capable of accepting the different when they are forced to. I'm sure that many a Florida cop experienced a case of the pucker shortly after Concealed Carry Permits went into effect but how many bad cop encounter stories do you hear now? The way to change cop attitudes is by confronting them with solid facts, a straight forward but civil attitude, repeated exposure and the occasional 1983 lawsuit.
Like I said earlier, I look forward to your views.
Having carried both open and concealed practically everyday for the last 10 years I can't help but wonder at the reasoning behind this disdain for open carry. Here are my thoughts. I look forward to yours.
#1 Element of Surprise: BS. An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure anytime. If the second rule of armed conflict is to avoid it if possible (1st rule = be armed), isn't it better for our enemies to see that we are hard targets before they get close enough to hurt us? If you are the victim of an attack you are already well behind the power curve. The bad guy has the initiative and the only way to overcome your disadvantage is to react quickly and violently and even then action usually beats reaction. Bringing a concealed gun to bear is slow under ideal circumstances and even slower when you are working under stress.
#2 Gun Grabbers: If they are close enough to grab your gun you already failed to be aware of your environment. Somehow you let someone with evil intent get into kissing distance. Cops who lose their guns tend to do so because they got tangled up in a grappling match. That's why cops are so fanatical about not letting people get close to them. If you are strapped isn't it your obligation to be aware enough of the world around you to keep strangers at arms length? And if you can't do that shouldn't you already have an elbow or hand on your piece to ward off grabbers? Yaqui Slides and Blade Techs are cool on the range, but give me a thumb break any day.
#3 Scared Sheep: Sheep deserve to be scared. Sheep always fear the different but through repeated exposure even the dumbest sheep can learn to get used to scary stuff.
#4 Cop Hassles: Cops don't like what is different but are capable of accepting the different when they are forced to. I'm sure that many a Florida cop experienced a case of the pucker shortly after Concealed Carry Permits went into effect but how many bad cop encounter stories do you hear now? The way to change cop attitudes is by confronting them with solid facts, a straight forward but civil attitude, repeated exposure and the occasional 1983 lawsuit.
Like I said earlier, I look forward to your views.