shadow106
Shadow106
Since I moved to Idaho in 2007, I've noticed that compared to Arizona, the incidence of open carry seems to be far less than down there. I've seen no more than two shooters in open carry mode on the street, & I was very surprised that while running a small gun shop in Garden Valley, only one person came in over almost six months, with an open-carry-rig on. I'm not complaining, because too many open carry advocates that I've met over the years, seem to be carrying mostly to start arguments.
I say that with nearly four decades of LE experience, during which I found that most open carry types viewed LE as the enemy, which was a shame since most of us supported the right to keep and bear.....etc. There's a commercial on t.v. that says, if you wear an eye patch, people will think you're tough. If they think you're tough, they'll want to find out just HOW tough you are, and you'll end up in a ditch somewhere. Even if you ARE tough, is it really necessary to go through all of that?
From my time in the shop, and at our local range, I also noticed that many people are carrying concealed, and I am proud of Idaho CCW people, 'cause I've only met one in my five years up here, that couldn't stand it and just HAD to show off his weapon. Show and tell was a pretty common occurrence in my former locale, and usually totally defeated the principle of CCW. Must have somethin' to do with the Cowboy DNA floating around down there.
I remember when a state DPS officer was telling three of us about his sniper training, and when he whipped out his Sig P220 to show us the fiber optic front sight, we cleared the room in about two seconds. He told us later that he picked the green sight because "green means go" in the sniper vernacular. He didn't ask us if we cared.
Living where I do, most of the people I run into at the range are long weapons people. There are a few hand-gunners around, but they don't make a lot of noise about their carry weapons, and I really enjoy that. Its kind of impressive to have someone tell you that they got their Black Bear or Cougar, and when you ask with what, they tell you it was a .40 S&W pistol. Obviously they had to be close to the critter, but the caliber did the job. Most of the time, the stories involve Boone and Crockett size Elk, taken at 3.8 miles with a 105 Howitzer sized rifle of some sort. I'm prejudiced, but I think a hand gunner, black powder or archery hunter put in way more time, finding and stalking...hunting in other words, then a long weapon hunter who can accomplish much of that at extreme distance thanks to terrific optics. But, if you're hunting to feed yourself and your family, ANYthing is fair.
Anyway, enough lecture and philosophy for now. Suffice to say that I have seen some marked differences between the two areas, and neither is superior or inferior to the other. They are different, and that pretty much sums it up for me.
Okay. I'll shut up now.
I say that with nearly four decades of LE experience, during which I found that most open carry types viewed LE as the enemy, which was a shame since most of us supported the right to keep and bear.....etc. There's a commercial on t.v. that says, if you wear an eye patch, people will think you're tough. If they think you're tough, they'll want to find out just HOW tough you are, and you'll end up in a ditch somewhere. Even if you ARE tough, is it really necessary to go through all of that?
From my time in the shop, and at our local range, I also noticed that many people are carrying concealed, and I am proud of Idaho CCW people, 'cause I've only met one in my five years up here, that couldn't stand it and just HAD to show off his weapon. Show and tell was a pretty common occurrence in my former locale, and usually totally defeated the principle of CCW. Must have somethin' to do with the Cowboy DNA floating around down there.
I remember when a state DPS officer was telling three of us about his sniper training, and when he whipped out his Sig P220 to show us the fiber optic front sight, we cleared the room in about two seconds. He told us later that he picked the green sight because "green means go" in the sniper vernacular. He didn't ask us if we cared.
Living where I do, most of the people I run into at the range are long weapons people. There are a few hand-gunners around, but they don't make a lot of noise about their carry weapons, and I really enjoy that. Its kind of impressive to have someone tell you that they got their Black Bear or Cougar, and when you ask with what, they tell you it was a .40 S&W pistol. Obviously they had to be close to the critter, but the caliber did the job. Most of the time, the stories involve Boone and Crockett size Elk, taken at 3.8 miles with a 105 Howitzer sized rifle of some sort. I'm prejudiced, but I think a hand gunner, black powder or archery hunter put in way more time, finding and stalking...hunting in other words, then a long weapon hunter who can accomplish much of that at extreme distance thanks to terrific optics. But, if you're hunting to feed yourself and your family, ANYthing is fair.
Anyway, enough lecture and philosophy for now. Suffice to say that I have seen some marked differences between the two areas, and neither is superior or inferior to the other. They are different, and that pretty much sums it up for me.
Okay. I'll shut up now.
