Open carry (good or bad)

[DiscoRacing]

The more I read this thread I think different circumstances call for different methods of carry

Me 2

[NavyLT]

The more I read this thread I think different circumstances call for different methods of carry.

Me 3. But I personally will not let fear of police affect my decision. I've got no problem with those that do, that's their personal decision, but I won't let LEO's personal opinions affect the lawful behaviors that I choose to engage in. And I did take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, both foreign and DOMESTIC.

[TylerD45ACP]

Thats what makes sense to me. I mean I can think of circumstances good/bad for both methods. So I would just say they both methods have their place. Neither is a "bad" thing. My firearm would be all steel too . I understand where your coming from NavyLt. Owning and Carrying firearms is our right as Americans (too protect our lives or loved ones) and I embrace that.

[jim293]

I voted yes for open carry. I like it. I think it would deter some crime. But on the other hand you may be asking for problems.

[Mr. James]

Greetings, hagar,

To respond to a few things, if I may:

Personally unless I am out hunting, hiking or maybe fishing I would
never open carry.

Good to go. That works for you, great.

It scares the sheeple too much, gets unwanted attraction from the police with or without "man with a gun" calls . . .

This may or may not be true. Since we're discussing legal open carry, I'm not too concerned with scared neighbors. That's part of the point. They see normal citizens behaving peacably and going about their business - while armed - and realize, "hey, maybe this isn't such a dangerous proposition."

As to "man with a gun" calls, that has happened to me exactly once. Outcome? The police used it as an opportunity to educate the complainant, and never once contacted me, even though I was still sitting right there.

This is only possible because better men than me were willing to put up with some grief from ignorant citizens and ignorant police officers who didn't understand the law. Now they do.

. . . and encourages the bad guys to challenge you, either verbally or physically.

A simple miststatement of fact. Where are your data to support this? I can attest after, oh, seven years of fairly constant open carry in a highly urbanized area (over 1,000,000 in our county), this is simply not true. Heck, 90 percent plus don't even notice an openly-carried sidearm! It's true!

Three perps can disarm you in a heartbeat, you cannot go around shooting people for crowding your space or insulting you.

Well, are you shooting them because they tried to disarm you, or because they "crowded your space and insulted you"? If the latter, I would gently suggest you revisit carrying in any form.

Yes, three determined adversaries have a good chance of disarming you, if they're reckless enough to try. Point being, they will look elsewhere, where they are less likely to end up crippled, maimed or dead. Criminals like to minimize risk, believe it or not. See NavyLT's first post in this thread.

And if you DO end up shooting somebody, the law would be all over you, claiming that you were looking for trouble, just looking to get into a gunfight.

Another bald assertion made without a scintilla of evidence. Rest assured, my good man, if you DO shoot someone, the law will be all over you no matter what you were doing. If you haven't prepared for that stark reality, I humbly suggest you should reconsider carrying a firearm outside your own domicile.

Sure, the prosecutor will try to make hay with anything and everything, from your demeanor, to your internet postings, to the frequency of your range visits (frequent? blood lust! rare? incompetent!). But we're discussing a practice no more illegal than carrying a Blackberry.

If I had 10 other buddys doing it with me in close company, maybe, but alone, not in this life.

Ahh, delightful. We come full circle. Again, I say, "good to go. That works for you."

Whatever you choose, please stay well, sir.

[NavyLT]

Originally Posted by Mr. James

Another bald assertion made without a scintilla of evidence. Rest assured, my good man, if you DO shoot someone, the law will be all over you no matter what you were doing. If you haven't prepared for that stark reality, I humbly suggest you should reconsider carrying a firearm outside your own domicile.

And, in some states, INSIDE your own domicile as well!

[TylerD45ACP]

I usually have one within arms reach wherever I am. My S&W1911 sits on my desk right now as I type. I dont want to have to go running for one in my house. I think when most people are home they assume they are safe(most of us here probably realize theres still danger). You know what they say about "assuming" anything. I rather be prepared.

[thesheepdog]

I wish my state allowed open carry. One is because concealment enforces many restrictions, and when TX gets as hot as it does like right now, it is very, very hard to conceal a handgun when you're wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

Open carry, makes the bad guys scared, but you're the first to be a target.
I would like my gun to be more "semi-concealed", where my weapon does not have to be concealed, and if exposed, I can't get in trouble for it. But at the same time, I don't want to draw attention to myself. oh what a joy it would be to have free carry laws. Just put your gun on and go, without worrying.

I would rather open carry.

[Mr. James]

Dear stalwart guardian of the gentle oves,

Originally Posted by thesheepdog

Open carry, makes the bad guys scared, but you're the first to be a target.

If you could provide some examples where a legal open-carrier was actually selected as a target "first" because he was open carrying, that would do so much to advance the discussion! This open carrier is not personally aware of any such, and he presumes to pay attention to such things. Granted, the possibility alone is sobering enough to give one pause.

Best regards,
Bob James

[thesheepdog]

If you could provide some examples where a legal open-carrier was actually selected as a target "first" because he was open carrying, that would do so much to advance the discussion! This open carrier is not personally aware of any such, and he presumes to pay attention to such things. Granted, the possibility alone is sobering enough to give one pause.

Just logical. If you're a bad guy getting ready to rob a bank and you see a guy open carrying in that bank, you'll do 2 things
1. Have second thoughts about robbing the bank
2. Take out the guy that is open carrying

Being that the odds of you actually getting involved in a scenario like I metioned are slim, just think about it. You are the one who is a threat to bad guys. Either they'll be afraid of you, or they'll get you first.
Every adavantage has a disadvantage. There's not argiung on that.
But if your state allows open carry, then all power to you, because it is much easier to carry a gun un-concealed that to conceal one. And that also means you have quicker access to your sidearm.
Conceal carry offers the advantage of blending in with everyone else around you. So, being targeted is less of an issue.

As always, whether you open carry, or CC, training to perfection is what will save your life if you ever have to use your sidearm in self defense.

[azyogi]

"I can easily see the same thing happening with open carry - some jackass is eventially going to see if he can make you draw your weapon for kicks and giggles. I see no advantage to this."

The answer is simple, in a case like you describe, leave. I have nothing to prove, and will not even attempt to out bray a jackass.

"When you put on your gun, put away your pride and ego." Wodrow W. Smith from the collected sayings of.

[45ACPShooter]

Well I know I'm going to get a lot of heat for this but I'm going to say it anyways. I don't really see where a need for open carry makes sense unless you're out in the wilderness or on a farm where very few people are around.

If you're worried about yourself or your family get a CCW, open carry is something that is going to scare or bother most people. Maybe people shouldn't be scared by this but the fact is most people are. Also, you're only going to attract a lot of attention, it may be somewhat of a deterrent but it also makes you the first person a criminal is going to target. At least with a CCW the criminal doesn't know if you're armed or not.

Regarding it being faster from OC that's very minimal and like I said before you also make yourself more of a target. I could say that you'd be even faster than OC if you carried the weapon in your hand all the time but obviously that doesn't make sense.

[skoro]

Personally, I don't want to open carry. But I think that open carry laws are a positive thing for gun rights. And it may help to desensitize a gun shy public.

[Stevie-Ray]

Open carry laws go a long way to protect you when your shirt inadvertantly rides up revealing your concealed sidearm. "But it's supposed to be concealed!" "Sorry ma'am, Michigan is an open carry state, anyway."*





*Don't expect that level of understanding in Wayne county.

[troy_mclure]

i open carry frequently, and cc even more. even when i oc i still have my cc as a bug.

i get asked the infrequent questions(mostly "are you a cop?"), but most people dont notice.

[Nnobby45]

Carrying a gun for myself is a tactical decision. I don't want any one to know. I want to be the geezer who doesn't attract attention.

For some, carrying open is a political statement. Even to the point of being a little bit "in your face".

For some, there are even maturity issues.

For some, they have no choice, and for others they believe it offers a superior deterrent and simply choose to carry that way.

No question that open carry deters many bad people who'd do you harm. That's the case most of the time.

No question that, in some cases, with some bad folks, carrying in the open and losing your tactical advantage will mean your death. That's the case a small % of the time.

Hope you aren't one of those people who actual expect a difinitive answer. And if you really wanted to be informed about the subject, you could always look up the zillion threads and posts that discuss the subject.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

[Nnobby45]

Personally, I don't want to open carry. But I think that open carry laws are a positive thing for gun rights. And it may help to desensitize a gun shy public.

I'd suspect that for every gun shy member of the public who's desensitized, there are two who's anti-gun awareness instincts are fully aroused. I know many people personally who aren't even aware that Nevada is a shall issue CCW state and I'm not sure that making them aware of that fact, or by open carrying a gun so it attracts their attention, converts them to our cause.

And I support the right of people to open carry even if I don't think it's a tactically or politically sound idea. Open carry if you please and have all eyes in the restaurant on you. I'll be the 'ol geezer in the corner with his back to the wall observing people who are observing you, or observing whether people even noticed. And, as mentioned, for some (not all),getting noticed is why they do it.

[NavyLT]

Open carry if you please and have all eyes in the restaurant on you.

It's funny, that reaction is one which seems to only occur here on the internet. As a person who has open carried in front of thousands of people in hundreds of places, in no less than three states, I just have never seen that reaction in reality.

[Sefner]

Posted this in the other OC thread (mods, can we get a merger?).

The MI board on opencarry.org has a nearly 300 page long thread on just everyday open carry experiences. I highly recommend people go and read that thread and see the public interactions that occur every day.

Some very interesting stories, here is the link: http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/sh...periences-here.

I OC regularly in Ann Arbor since it has been so hot out. Ann Arbor, MI, home to the University of Michigan. Not exactly a conservative town. I have had no "all eyes on you" experiences and zero negative experiences. Just some silly looks from people in public.

[Big Tom]

Reading all these posts I see i finally started a good thread. I hope this helps me out in the long run and thanks for the posts thus far guys. It is much appreciated!

[raimius]

If done responsibly, it is good (that goes for any carry).

I agree that presenting a good image is more important when OCing. Remember that guy OCing the AR-15 a while ago? His dress made him seem more credible. If he didn't look like a businessman, the media would have gone absolutely nuts! For the sake of the carry movement, please dress nicely when OCing. Of course you have the right to dress as you please, but looking like an unquestionable "good guy" helps us more than dressing like a negative stereotype.

[Jimmy10mm]

I knew a fellow in Miami,FL who owned a pawn shop. He always had a pistol on his belt. One day in the 1980s two men came in and they didn't say hands up or this is a stick up. They shot him four times before they emptied the register. Whether they would have done that if he hadn't been open carrying or not we'll never know. He survived BTW. I voted no and personally feel more comfortable concealed. Even in the 90 degree FL heat.

[Nnobby45]

Whether they would have done that if he hadn't been open carrying or not we'll never know. He survived BTW. I voted no and personally feel more comfortable concealed. Even in the 90 degree FL heat.

Criminals expect pawn shop owners to be armed, or have guns stashed near by. Not much tactical surprise there.

When a citizen gives up his element of surprise that's a different matter. All the more interesting when making a statement is more important than being safe.

Admittedly, when lots of people open carry and it becomes common place, there's a criminal deterrent factor. Don't think that's the case with the lone crusader who feels he has to "expose people" until they're compfy around guns. But, I'll give him some Brownie points for being willing to sacrafice his own safety and being willing to take one for the team.

[bond150]

Hey. I just joined on here.
From what I've gathered from the laws I could find online was that I AM allowed to open carry at the age of 19 in KY. But unfortunately people in the area I live in would throw a fit, sad, but true. I do however keep my S&W 5906 in my glovebox when I'm out.

[ClayInTx]

I voted it’s bad if the intent is reveal to others that you are armed.
Why reveal your advantage?

If the question is in regard to legally allowing open carry then I’m for it.