As another poster said, opencarry.org is where you want to be. Personally, I do OC, partly as a political statement and partly because it's difficult to conceal a 5" double stack. You get a few stares, a few positive comments and a very rare negative comment. I was asked to leave one establishment by someone who seemed to think guns were illegal. I didn't bother arguing with him; there are plenty of other places competing for my business.
Re the argument that it makes you a target for the BGs, a smart BG will leave you alone and a dumb BG will try to take your gun. Since you can't choose your BG, I consider that argument to be a wash.
Re retention, I'm paranoid about losing my gun regardless of whether or not it's concealed. Therefore, I carry cross-draw in a retention holster. I like cross-draw because it keeps the gun in front of me, in my field of view and between my arms. It's also the most comfortable position, IMO.
Just be absolutely certain what your local laws are; they can change quite a bit from state to state. Ie, AK requires guns to be concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol, and MT requires them to be open. Go figure.
Re the argument that it makes you a target for the BGs, a smart BG will leave you alone and a dumb BG will try to take your gun. Since you can't choose your BG, I consider that argument to be a wash.
Re retention, I'm paranoid about losing my gun regardless of whether or not it's concealed. Therefore, I carry cross-draw in a retention holster. I like cross-draw because it keeps the gun in front of me, in my field of view and between my arms. It's also the most comfortable position, IMO.
Just be absolutely certain what your local laws are; they can change quite a bit from state to state. Ie, AK requires guns to be concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol, and MT requires them to be open. Go figure.