Why Do You Carry Concealed?

[Bluwizard1]

I suspose you could look at the want or need to conceal carry any you personally choose to. I just think if you are going to carry, conceal carying is the best option. At first I only carried when I went out after dark, or to some place I wasn't familiar with. On the news I started seeing people finding themselves in dangerous situations that during daylight hours, totally unexpected. Now I conceal carry at all times. This way I know I will be able to defend myself if a dangerous situation sneaks up on me. I also make sure that I go to the range where I can practice drawing and fireing from a conceal carry. It keeps me confident that I and ready and fully prepared to draw from a conceal carry position and can hit what I aim at in a reasonable amount of time, both in daylight and during darkness. I practice drawing and firing at a target after dark and I make sure that my laser site is right on target.

 

[NavyLCDR]

I just think if you are going to carry, conceal carying is the best option.

How can you possibly even begin to guess what is the best option for me?

 

[BluesStringer]

I suspose you could look at the want or need to conceal carry any you personally choose to. I just think if you are going to carry, conceal carying is the best option. At first I only carried when I went out after dark, or to some place I wasn't familiar with. On the news I started seeing people finding themselves in dangerous situations that during daylight hours, totally unexpected. Now I conceal carry at all times. This way I know I will be able to defend myself if a dangerous situation sneaks up on me. I also make sure that I go to the range where I can practice drawing and fireing from a conceal carry. It keeps me confident that I and ready and fully prepared to draw from a conceal carry position and can hit what I aim at in a reasonable amount of time, both in daylight and during darkness. I practice drawing and firing at a target after dark and I make sure that my laser site is right on target.

Same question as Navy asked above, but I'd also like to ask you if you have the legal choice to open carry in the state where you live?

 

[Oldgrunt]

I suspose you could look at the want or need to conceal carry any you personally choose to. I just think if you are going to carry, conceal carying is the best option. At first I only carried when I went out after dark, or to some place I wasn't familiar with. On the news I started seeing people finding themselves in dangerous situations that during daylight hours, totally unexpected. Now I conceal carry at all times. This way I know I will be able to defend myself if a dangerous situation sneaks up on me. I also make sure that I go to the range where I can practice drawing and fireing from a conceal carry. It keeps me confident that I and ready and fully prepared to draw from a conceal carry position and can hit what I aim at in a reasonable amount of time, both in daylight and during darkness. I practice drawing and firing at a target after dark and I make sure that my laser site is right on target.

If one hasn't made up their mind on how to carry their weapon, maybe they shouldn't carry at all. Choose your style, get comfortable with it and let others do the same. Make your own statistics chart.leasantry:

 

[Komondor]

Well, there is this:

http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/6.2/gun-facts-6-2-screen.pdf

Printed page 29:


While there may not be an actual study compiling the facts, as Firefighterchen stated, when you do read/see/hear stories where people defend themselves with a firearm there is a 99% chance that the firearm was hidden from the criminal before the defensive action was taken. Conservative estimates put the number of defensive uses of a firearm in the thousands per year. That is at least 3 per day across the country (and probably many times higher than that), and yet there are only 4 or 5 cases that the concealed carry only crowd can point to of a law abiding open carrying citizen that is not a police officer or security guard being the victim of a crime and those cases are spread out over a decade or more.

Thanks NavyLCDR, very good link. Much of the info on the link I know some I did not. I've been casually studying self defense since the early 70's and just never saw a comparison of CCW vs OC and actual attacks. So much info is anecdotal and therefore of limited use. One bit of info that complicates a comparison is that, I think, there are vastly more people that CCW compared to OC. Thanks again for the factual non-snarky answer.

 

[Komondor]

THE ARMED CITIZEN | News and Resources for The Armed Citizen since 2001

Link Removed

How many times have you heard of an open carrier defending himself? How many times have you heard of a concealed carrier defending themselves? Are you able to add 2 + 2?

Sent from my HTCONE using USA Carry mobile app

Thanks for the links. They are informative and I will bookmark them. Yes Firefighterchen, I can add 2+2 and find that there are many more people who CCW as compared to OC and thus more CCW's would be attacked than OC simply because there are more of them. Anecdotal and news reports are valuable, however, I find usually the mode of carry is not clear. Again, thanks for the links.

 

[Komondor]

I believe Komondor is only trying to check out the real facts not disputing anything.

Dennis in Idaho

"You'll always remember the Ride! The destination is great, don't get me wrong, but you'll ALWAYS Remember the Ride!"

Thanks, you are correct, I WAS looking to find the actual answer not start a fight. I realize such things are very difficult to study and perhaps haven't been studied. It could be this subject is right up there with what's better, 9mm, .45acp, or .40S&W?

 

[Firefighterchen]

Thanks for the links. They are informative and I will bookmark them. Yes Firefighterchen, I can add 2+2 and find that there are many more people who CCW as compared to OC and thus more CCW's would be attacked than OC simply because there are more of them. Anecdotal and news reports are valuable, however, I find usually the mode of carry is not clear. Again, thanks for the links.

I agree there are a lot more concealed carriers...but that's why I went with ratios to account for the difference.

Sent from my HTCONE using USA Carry mobile app

 

[NavyLCDR]

One bit of info that complicates a comparison is that, I think, there are vastly more people that CCW compared to OC. Thanks again for the factual non-snarky answer.

There is another huge problem with attempting to measure the effectiveness of open carry v. concealed carry. If a person is attacked and draws their concealed firearm to defend themselves, you can measure the number of times that happens. How are you going to measure the number of times that a criminal sees a gun and decides not to attack that particular person carrying it?

 

[Komondor]

I agree there are a lot more concealed carriers...but that's why I went with ratios to account for the difference.

Sent from my HTCONE using USA Carry mobile app

Roger that; it is a complicated issue. In the end one needs to make up his own mind and the more info the better the decision.

 

[Komondor]

There is another huge problem with attempting to measure the effectiveness of open carry v. concealed carry. If a person is attacked and draws their concealed firearm to defend themselves, you can measure the number of times that happens. How are you going to measure the number of times that a criminal sees a gun and decides not to attack that particular person carrying it?

True; as you pointed out elsewhere. I had a situation where I, arguably, used my series '70 1911 for self defense and did not report it. It's a long story and I may relate it elsewhere in these forums.

 

[golddigger14s]

So I have the tactical element of surprise! hahahahahahahaha

 

[Bluwizard1]

I suspose you could look at the want or need to conceal carry any you personally choose to. I just think if you are going to carry, conceal carying is the best option. At first I only carried when I went out after dark, or to some place I wasn't familiar with. On the news I started seeing people finding themselves in dangerous situations that during daylight hours, totally unexpected. Now I conceal carry at all times. This way I know I will be able to defend myself if a dangerous situation sneaks up on me. I also make sure that I go to the range where I can practice drawing and fireing from a conceal carry. It keeps me confident that I and ready and fully prepared to draw from a conceal carry position and can hit what I aim at in a reasonable amount of time, both in daylight and during darkness. I practice drawing and firing at a target after dark and I make sure that my laser site is right on target.

Someone asked if I had a legal choice to open or conceal carry in the state I live in. The answer is yes I do. I open carried until I received my conceal carry license and now I conceal carry all of the time.

 

[Bluwizard1]

Yes I have a legal choice as to carrying open or concealed. I choose to conceal carry ever since i received my conceal carry license.

 

[BluesStringer]

I just think if you are going to carry, conceal carying is the best option.

Someone asked if I had a legal choice to open or conceal carry in the state I live in. The answer is yes I do. I open carried until I received my conceal carry license and now I conceal carry all of the time.

It was I who asked if you had the legal choice. Thanks for answering that question, but both NavyLCDR and I asked you another question as well:

How can you possibly even begin to guess what is the best option for me?

It could just be you using the word "you" when you say, "...if you are going to carry..." when, like the rest of that post, you referred only to yourself. Are you saying that you think that if everyone else is going to carry, that it should be concealed, or were you just saying what you think about the best option for how you should carry?

Blues

 

[Bluwizard1]

It was I who asked if you had the legal choice. Thanks for answering that question, but both NavyLCDR and I asked you another question as well:



It could just be you using the word "you" when you say, "...if you are going to carry..." when, like the rest of that post, you referred only to yourself. Are you saying that you think that if everyone else is going to carry, that it should be concealed, or were you just saying what you think about the best option for how you should carry?

Blues

I was stating my opinion that conceal carrying is the best when there is a legal choice of carrying open or concealed. Everyone has the right to make their own choice. I don't force or try to force my opinion on anyone.

 

[Bluwizard1]

I was stating my opinion that conceal carrying is the best when there is a legal choice of carrying open or concealed. Everyone has the right to make their own choice. I don't force or try to force my opinion on anyone.

One of these days I will get the hang of how to make replies. Sorry if I am making double replies.

 

[NavyLCDR]

I was stating my opinion that conceal carrying is the best when there is a legal choice of carrying open or concealed. Everyone has the right to make their own choice. I don't force or try to force my opinion on anyone.

So, you are not limiting your opinion that conceal carrying is best only for you. It is your opinion that conceal carrying is best for anyone who has the legal option to conceal? So, again, my question stands - how can you possibly begin to even guess what is best for me, who does have the legal choice to conceal when you don't know who I am or where I live or what it is like where I live? I have the right to make my own choice, but your opinion is that it is best if I conceal because I have the legal ability to do so?

 

[fireballzip]

Yes, I agree with what you said very well put.

 

[Bluwizard1]

So, you are not limiting your opinion that conceal carrying is best only for you. It is your opinion that conceal carrying is best for anyone who has the legal option to conceal? So, again, my question stands - how can you possibly begin to even guess what is best for me, who does have the legal choice to conceal when you don't know who I am or where I live or what it is like where I live? I have the right to make my own choice, but your opinion is that it is best if I conceal because I have the legal ability to do so?

My answer still stands. I think carrying concealed is the best option. I don't need to know what you consider to be the best for you, where you live or what it is like where you live. Those of factors that you take into consideration to make "your" choice. You don't have to agree with my opinion. My opinion remains the same, but it is totally up to you to make what you consider the best choice as seen from your point of view.