Have you open carried?


DCkilla

New member
I want to here from the guys who have tried it. Did you like it? Will you change modes of carry? Did you try, but never again? If you never gave it a reasonable try, don't post. If you only did in your house, don't post. Hunting doesn't count either. I'm talking about "out and about" without mentioning Walmart. Ok, I was just kidding about Walmart. You guys get the idea.
 

I do open carry 1/2 of the time. I like the full frame handguns, what I found out is my guns like the taurus 24/7 oss, taurus 1911, and stoeger cougar, it is more comfortable to open carry with these guns. My other guns like the taurus pt145 and pk380 concealed carry feels better. Those guns are smaller and easier to tuck in.
When I do open carry I find a lot of people like to stare at my gun which is a little uncomfortable at first. But I got use to it.
 
rather conceal

I carried open for about a month and found more stares. The general public, as a whole, seems to get rather nervous around firearms. No matter where I went there was at least a couple of people who seemed to shy away. I had a couple of businesses ask if I was a LEO and when I answered truthfully I was told that "company policy" dictated only LEO could carry inside the store. I have gone in the same stores carrying concealed and have no problems. Bottom line, i would rather no one know I'm carrying.
 
I have open carried in the last month just to see what would happen. Of course i get alot of stares and actually had a couple come to me and ask if i was a cop. I found that it was mostly the woman who would stare or move away from me. I had a LEO approach me and asked if i had a liencens. After i answered yes to his question, he then asked me about my 1911. He was wanting one, but wanted to try it first. I really had no issues, but i do preffer the element of supprise on my side.
 
I open carry almost all the time in the summer, in winter, I dont purposely try to keep my jacket from covering it up. 99% of people never notice it. Had a couple cops mess with me at first, had to educate them on what the law was, and now they leave me alone.
 
I open carry in Michigan every day and everywhere I go that it is legal to possess a firearm. And that includes speaking at municipal council meetings during efforts to get them to change illegal firearm ordinances.

Two things I'd like to address....

If a business has a "no guns" policy I do not patronize them by sneaking in a concealed gun because... not only do I not want to give money to someone who will use that money to disrespect the right to bear arms...

I also understand that it would be hypocritical of me to expect the right to bear arms be respected while I am disrespecting the right of the private property owner to make the rules, including banning guns, on his property.

The other thing is I understand that the "element of surprise" is an offensive tactic that the bad guy uses to "surprise" his victims and that it is the concealed carrier who is the one "surprised" that suddenly he has to defend his life. Because of that I prefer open carry so that the bad guy knows I have a gun and likely will decide to attack someone else who appears to be an easier, unarmed, victim... like a CC'er appears to be.

Now please do not get the idea that I'm bashing CC since in addition to OC'ing a sidearm I CC a BUG. What I'm addressing are the ideas that "concealed means concealed so it is OK to disrespect the property rights of others" and "a hidden gun is the defensive element of surprise tactic".
 
It's tough to open carry in massachusetts but ive done it several times here and no one has said anything to me yet just dirty looks. Whenever im in New Hampshire, all I do is open carry. I'm not 1 of those freaks that worry about element of surprise it's there on my hip if I ever need to use it.
 
I don't normally dress for open carry. When I do open carry it's generally because I was wearing a jacket and it got too hot. For the most part people don't notice.
 
I open carry all the time, sometimes in such places as downtown Seattle and SEATAC International Airport. 95% of people don't notice or don't indicate they notice. 4% are visibly or verbally supportive. 1% are visibly or verbally "bothered" by it. Of the 1% negative encounters, 90% of those have been with "pro-gun", "pro-2A" concealed carry only snobs who can't figure out how to mind their own business. I even had one guy look down his nose at me disdainfully while in line at Jack in the Box. He said with a snotty tone, "I carry mine concealed." I replied, "You aren't doing it very well." He said, "What do you mean?" I replied, "I know you have a gun." Not another word was said. I like it when my daughter says, "He's got no reason to hide his gun....he's not a criminal."
 
I open carry all the time with my M&P .45c I live in Minnesota and I've had absolutely no problems with it. I did however have a fleet farm employee ask me whether I had a permit to carry. When I informed him I did indeed have one he asked why my weapon was not concealed. I informed him that it is legal to OC in Minnesota and he left me alone. Later to find out he was a retired Wisconsin State Patrol. I do carry IWB with my LC9 but IWB with a double stack is extremely uncomfortable.

I'm not the kind of person that open carries to intimidate people. I know there are some people like that out there and that is pathetic.
 
Before Wisconsin passed it's Concealed Carry law, I open carried on a daily basis. I never ran into a problem, even with the local LEO's. I was however, constantly asked, "What do you need a gun for?" I would politely reply, "Because I don't want to be a victim."
 
In Arizona both open and concealed carry are legal with or without a permit, so long as you are not a prohibited possessor of firearms. You see people open carrying everywhere. I open carry almost all the time, with the exception of a few shopping centers etc where I know the management has an issue with open carry. Those places aren't posted, so I go concealed there out of respect for the property owners. They are usually afraid that the sight of firearms could upset and frighten away a few customers - which is certainly possible. Hoplophobia is everywhere, even in Arizona. Aside from those few places, it usually isn't an issue. I did have one man approach me in a restaurant a few months ago and ask, "What is it you are doing that makes you feel you need to carry a gun?" Since he had his wife and daughter with him and was responsible for their safety, I thought it was a legitimate question. He wanted to be sure the guy with a firearm wasn't about to go postal. When I replied without getting belligerent, he thanked me and went and ate with his family, no problem. I know that in some states he might very well have called 911 to report a "man with a gun." In AZ, the dispatcher would probably have asked him what the guy with the gun was doing, and when he said "Just eating lunch," she would have invited him to chill, and advised him to only use 911 for actual emergencies. I love it here!
 
Here in NY there is no open carry option for a civilian. During hunting season, a belt holster or shoulder rig under you hunting coat works fine. In Vermont, when I'm visiting, I have no problem with open carry.
 
Colorado is an open-carry state (except for Denver, Boulder, and a few marked places in Gilpin county). I live in Denver but get out of town as often as possible. When I'm out of Denver (mostly in the foothills and hills) I open-carry (and conceal-carry) almost all the time. When I'm about to cross into Denver, I switch to conceal-carry only. It's a pain, but it's the stupid law.

When I'm in a mountain town, in a store or restaurant, open-carry is just no big deal. No looks. No comments. No police questions.

Freedom feels good. More places should try it.
 
OC here in Indiana pretty much when I want. I've only had one incident I'd consider negative (discussed in another thread), but overall I get indifference...same as I'd get CC. Most of the time, if I do OC, it's because I like a particular holster that would cause one of my Glocks to imprint on my shirt. At that point, there's not much reason to CCz
 
Ky is an open state. I open carry alot and never had a problem. My doctor's office,Lowes, no one has evey asked not to. I dont get up in the morning and say "guess I'll carry open today" but during th
e day I end upremoving my cover and say screw it.
 
I posted this in another thread but since it is being asked directly, feel that it might help some of you who are still searching for an answer; not sure if this is a good one, but it is another line of thought.

I carry much of the time. Sometimes concealed and other times discretely in an IWB holster at my 4 O’clock (I'm careful when bending down to pick something up). By discretely, I mean in the IWB with the grip forward, it doesn't stand out as it would in an OWB holster. The IWB offers enough modesty that with a shirt that is not firmly tucked into my waistband most people still don’t notice it. Many people tend not to notice something they aren't expecting to see. Call them 'condition white'.

I also try to be more aware of people around me so that someone will not sneak up on me and attempt to wrestle my gun from me. I tend to turn so that the piece is away from them. My holster is not a retention-type, since the IWB gives me the closeness I feel necessary.
=
I’ve been asked about carrying my gun a few times by people who do not understand why more and more people are now carrying and have come up with a good thread to make the people understand what it is for. I IMMEDIATELY ask them if they have car insurance and they tell me that it is the law that they have to have it. I then ask them if they have insurance on their house. They tell me that it is a good idea to have that, too. So then I ask "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO USING YOUR INSURANCE/FILING A CLAIM ?"

They think for a moment and tell me that they never want to have use it.
At that point, I tell them that THIS, pointing to my gun, is insurance and I, like you, hope to NEVER have to use it, either.

The light goes on and they begin to understand why I carry. I then explain that violence and terror DO NOT MAKE APPOINTMENTS and can show up/happen anywhere, anytime or anyplace and to ANYONE. I tell them that is what insurance is for – better to have it and never use it than to need it and not have it. YOUR insurance comes into play AFTER some type of incident happens. Mine can quite possibly prevent an incident FROM happening. Yours is REactive, mine is PROactive.

Sometimes I have been asked if I'm a LEO. I tell them "NO. I'm retired."
Both statements are true. I'm not a LEO. I'm also retired. It's all in how YOU interpret what I have just said. So far nobody has asked which department I retired from. If someone does ask, I'll tell them that I retired from the Department of Defense. That should satisfy them, if leaving them a bit confused.
 
I'm a retired LEO and live in VA. I open carry everywhere but church. I've only had two comments in more than 20 years. One asking what model Glock I was carrying and the other asking how I liked Glocks compared to other brands.

No one seems to care, not my doctor, banker, restaurant owners nor folks on the street.
 

New Threads

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
49,542
Messages
611,255
Members
74,961
Latest member
Shodan
Back
Top