People are getting used to seeing armed citizens (or not)

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noahmercy

Blackhawk
Joined
Jun 13, 2015
Messages
741
Location
Sheridan, WY
Quite a few working cowboys here in Wyoming carry a sidearm as a matter of course. It's a tool, just like a hammer is to a carpenter (but not to an illegal alien nudist), and some forget they even have it on, so you see buckaroos in the grocery or banks with iron on their hips. Most locals don't give it more than a glance to see what they're carrying in case they want to ask questions about it. 😄 We also have hunters, hikers, and campers who pack afield and come into town heeled. Few if any of these folks are doing it to "make a statement", or scare off potential bad guys. I get the impression a lot of the hoopla is from the brainwashed granola-heads who fled their leftist paradises for areas with more liberty and less crime (while failing to comprehend that the armed citizens are the reason there is less crime), and some of it is caused when folks are "exercising" their right to open carry in an glaring way, some complete with body armor and single point-slung ARs. I look at that in-your-face carry as tantamount to virtue signalling. Legal doesn't make it a good idea.
 

buckaroo

Banned
Joined
Oct 8, 2022
Messages
360
Location
U.S.A.
Quite a few working cowboys here in Wyoming carry a sidearm

And easy to recognize if you understand it.

I get the impression a lot of the hoopla is from the brainwashed granola-heads who fled their leftist paradises for areas with more liberty and less crime (while failing to comprehend that the armed citizens are the reason there is less crime)

Possibly, the real shock is when you discover the so called freedom State has as many bulsht regulations, you only hope at that point the 13% doesn't follow you and you don't end up living around White trash either. :)


Legal doesn't make it a good idea.

You can't fix stupid.
 

Jack Ryan

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
Messages
467
Location
Indiana
When I see hoplaphobes posting on gun forums about their personal paranoia and pretending to be "pro 2nd amendment BUT...", I just thank God I don't give a flip any more what they think than the flat out gun banning Sara Bradys. Then I say a silent thank you to the board management for the ignore button.
 

Mike J

Hunter
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
4,204
Location
GA
An open carrier did freak me out recently. I was driving from the jobsite I have been working on in Atlanta back over to where I get on the Interstate. The security guard for a local business crossed the street in front of me wearing a brown uniform, security badge around his neck, bullet proof vest, and what I think was a striker fired pistol shoved in the front of his pants. I slowed down to let him cross. Right in the middle of the street the pistol had slid partway out of his waistband so he put the heel of his hand against the back of the grip & shoved it back in. Made me cringe. I thought he was going to blow off a certain part of his anatomy right in the middle of the street.

Other than that seeing open carriers usually just makes me curious about what they are carrying.

I don't really open carry often. I haven't really hunted in a while but when I did I would open carry while travelling back & forth & hunting. I have read some people say that open carrying is a deterrent. That no one will try anything if they know that someone there is openly armed. I've always thought it just depends on who the bad actor is. Seeing an armed person might deter them. It also might just make them decide to kill the armed person first. You never know who you might be dealing with.
 

NightSailor

Bearcat
Joined
Jun 24, 2022
Messages
54
Location
Connecticut
So I break things down into three categories, deep concealment, loose concealment )partially visible), open carry.

I would love to open carry. However
I live behind enemy lines. Connecticut may have been one of the top producing states for firearms, but these days it's a liberal hell hole of asshats ready to cause grief for you.

There are risks caring open here. First of all it's not allowed. You are begging to police to stop you. You are not required to inform the police you have a permit and a concealed weapon and I think it's best not to although some states I know it's required. I don't know which ones those would be.

Let's say open carry is allowed. If you're carrying a stainless steel revolver, and some liberal fool gets the hair up his ass, and calls the police on you and makes a false or anonymous report, the police will assume you are dangerous and who knows what will
happen.

If you're carrying a stainless steel revolver, as reported, and if that fact is confirmed, that makes the made up story more credible.

It is far better to keep it concealed if you have one, so no one can make up a story about you giving the police one corroborating fact to cause big trouble for you on purpose while watching from a distance and laughter. MTG has been SWATTED twice now they are vicious evil people and are remorseless,
uncompromising, and unrelenting. Don't give people ammo to use on you. It's better not to let anybody know that you're carrying ever.

I recently saw a video of a woman open carrying that was stripped of her gun while she was talking in the telephone. Seriously what kind of fool open carry's and then thinks no one will try to take it. Worse. Gabbing on the phone. So that in your car with the doors locked and stay alert. Always always always keep your doors locked. The one time I did not a black punk tried to rob me. My dog stopped him from ransacking my car.

Next: What I call loose concealment. OTW on a belt with a loose jacket. It could be on strong side hip or in a car a cross draw on the opposite hip. Well at times you may want to cool off and remove your jacket. I often carried a small pistol that was not particular noticeable. Sometimes I would untuck my shirt to cover it. Other time I'd try to put a chair between me and the sidearm with my side instead of my back against it to it was not visible.

That is still concealed but people can spot it. Many won't notice as they have no situational awareness.

There is a new design crosssdraw holster with snaps so you can remove it and switch to a pocket pistol. There are times I leave the holster on, rather than go through the process of remcong my belt and putting it back on. I also keep two sets of pants/belt: one with hikater and one without and can change pants faster than fencing a belt. One of my holster lay's flat—someone smart can spot it. One of my lawyer clients gave it a few glances and never said anything.

You can make the argument that if it's underneath a jacket where it still might be visible at times, that it is concealed. A pocket pistol with a handkerchief to disguise the shape works well in warm weather.

Carried Una car is consider concealed. In my state I would not want to leave it on the dash although that was acceptable in the past.

Last is deep concealment. This is where only your wife of GF knows you have one. My GF game me a hug the other day and felt my spare magazine. No one could spot it without touch. It was heart warming that she smiled and nodded her head. She liked the fact that I was not a pansy that would roll over and die in a bad situation and would protect her.

A holster such as IWB with a shirt covering works. Deep concealment holsters are harder and slower to access. A shoulder holster is easy to conceal. But requires a shirt on top of a T. A button can be left unbuttoned or the button can be moved to the button hole side so it doesnlt look unbuttoned. Many of my friends did this in the military with. In the military shirt pockets were required to be buttoned at all times.

I'm big and can make magazines disappear. Likewise a gun. Specialty clothing can help hide it also. Jackets with inside well shaped pockets, etc.

Imagine you are a spy Ninja in a foreign country. Unlike the movies where they like to wave guns around, display them, and take them way out early, running around with guns held up in the air with no attempt to conceal—laughable. Don't do that. Pretend a sniper is looking for the most dangerous target. Best to look weak and unprepared rather than a threat to be taken out first and cautiously.

You would want it hidden such that nobody had a clue you had anything on you. No one will be motivated to rob you if they don't know you have it. Also if you can't get it out quick they won't be able to either. It's a good idea to have a round in the chamber and be ready to use it one handed as you may need the other had to break a fall or fend off a knife attack.

My advice. Never open carry except at the range or in the woods hiking or camping. I love my open carry holster but don't use them all that much.

Loose concealment in places you visit often around people you know. Hide it well with strangers. Chose a holster like a Yaqui slide that does. It look like a holster when you remove the gun. I can remember many times as a youngster seeing men with bulges and things under shirt. I thought they were back braces. They were veterans well armed.

Deep conceal in public where there are crowds. You can't see everyone in a crowd. I avoid dangerous places. I am extra cautious in transitional spaces like gas stations and parking lots. I watch people around me. Pretend to drop my keys if I need to gauge someone. Be prepared to fend off someone getting too close. Turn you body such that your firearm is away from someone approaching. Have a backup.

Good luck.
 

fiasconva

Blackhawk
Joined
Jan 14, 2011
Messages
630
Location
York County, Virginia
I saw a well dressed gentleman open carrying into a Kroger store as I was leaving this afternoon. Polo shirt, khaki's, and a nice rig sporting what looked like a Glock 21. Nobody even gave him a 2nd glance and I may have been the only one that noticed.
 
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Messages
9,933
Location
missouri
'I saw a well dressed gentleman open carrying into a Kroger store as I was leaving this afternoon. Polo shirt, khaki's, and a nice rig sporting what looked like a Glock 21. Nobody even gave him a 2nd glance and I may have been the only one that noticed.'
This is the typical 'uniform' of most small town ( population 10-15K) PD 'detectives'. I had one of these guys working for me a while back and we got into some in depth discussions of the 'armed citizen' concept.
 

fiasconva

Blackhawk
Joined
Jan 14, 2011
Messages
630
Location
York County, Virginia
We have several large jurisdictions that could frequent that store as well as a lot of military security too. It could have been any of them as well as just an individual that was just a ordinary citizen. I see a lot of those too.
 

Apollyon

Bearcat
Joined
Apr 30, 2018
Messages
72
This time of year we get a large population increase of snowbirds. I carry concealed but there's always someone open carrying just because he can. Arizona is a constitutional state

It's even more fun to watch the snowbirds reaction when they spot that gun toting stranger. Some register a mild curiosity to outright shock and fear that someone would dare to actually carry a gun in the store.The most fun as those who kind of scurry away sideways like a crab hoping they'll get out of sight before that guy with a gun decides to open up. Makes one wonder what went wrong? Nobody got shot. No one died. Who or what restrained that guy with a gun in the store.

Sometimes, when I'm in the right spot, I'll engage one who has that frightened look and ask what's the matter? He/she will usually answer, "That man over there in the blue short has a gun. I usually say. "Is that all?" Then I explain to them that it's perfectly lrgal to do so and even they, if they own a handgun can carry here concealed or openly and you won't be breaking the law. Usually falls on deaf ears but I try.
Paul B.
My son did a internship in Tucson and carried open he was 20 then and he 21 now and got his LTC here in Texas . He was hired by the company and will be living their in 2023. Any advice you could share about Tucson would be great.
 

sc1911cwp

Single-Sixer
Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
202
Location
South Carolina
Only one. Well dressed young women with an OWB Holster going into Kohls. I did a double take. Once for the Firearm, Once for Her.
 

Paul B

Hunter
Joined
Dec 4, 1999
Messages
2,131
Location
Tucson, AZ
"My son did a internship in Tucson and carried open he was 20 then and he 21 now and got his LTC here in Texas . He was hired by the company and will be living their in 2023. Any advice you could share about Tucson would be great."

I don't know how I can help. been more or less a bit of a hermit since my wife passed. ask away and if I have an answer, I'll try.
Paul B.
 
Joined
Nov 30, 2022
Messages
4,435
Location
Maryland
MO has always been an 'open carry' state but doing so was not common. We went to Constitutional carry a while back and there was a flurry of Tom, Dick, & Harry walking around with their gun outside their pants. The novelty wore off for some but not all. It's been whittled down to the folks who are dedicated to being armed and seems that the acceptance (or at least the avoidance of an armed citizen) has mellowed out. Neat, well dressed folks with a holstered handgun are common. Every trip to town, I notice open carry here and there and also notice that others don't seem to be as touchy about an armed person as used to be. The exception seems to be those from other places.
A few days back, I was filling up with gas and had some extra cans to fill as usual. In the process of setting the cans back in the pickup bed, my handgun was clearly visible. Across the pump island I heard this sound that closely resembled an old whitetail doe who'd just caught a whiff of my scent. When I looked for the source, there was a middle aged female rapidly re-entering her car AND LOCKING THE DOOR.
Huh, what was I missing????? I looked around but actually no one else on that side of the convenience store. I sneaked a look and the female was sitting in her car with eyes wide and her phone in her hand. Still wondering what was up, I casually shuffled around washing my windshield until I could see her vehicle's plate. NEW YORK, that explains a lot.
I don't know if she actually called the cops but I just drove away leaving her sitting there seemingly frozen in place.
New Yorkers are Human Termites.
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
10,429
Location
Greenville, SC: USA
Open carry for permit holders has been legal here in S.C. for over a year now and I have yet to see anyone doing it. A person at my church board of directors meeting two weeks ago I think implied she had seen some one at a grocery store open carrying but I did not pursue it or ask questions...
 

volshooter

Buckeye
Joined
Apr 12, 2002
Messages
1,574
Location
EAST TN, USA
Had to skip the last few pages. I'm not in favor of open carry in public. I can find no reason to expose non gun owners/folks uncomfortable with our firearms as I've seen the reaction from those uncomfortable with firearms. I go to great length to keep mine out of sight. I can find absolutely no reason to advertise our carry rights. No reason to put it in their face as there are many against us.
Personally, I feel halfway safe when I see open carry. I often wonder why they carry open, how much training they have and can they hit the target. Honestly, I feel those that open carry are making a in your face statement. That applies to public places only.
 
Joined
Nov 30, 2022
Messages
4,435
Location
Maryland
I think carry needs to become more casual for people to be comfortable with. A nice designer holster for a dressy 1911 here and there on a properly dressed person would be good for us. Safe firearm handling and marksmanship should be taught in schools. Face it OWB is the most comfortable option available. Presenting yourself as something other than a thug helps as well. I'm pretty sure most people see me carrying think I'm a retired cop or something. Deep concealment generally means uncomfortable IWB setups with middling small guns or pocket guns. Sure a jacket can cover most of your "sins" but sometimes you don't feel like a jacket. I remember back in 2014 when DC' s firearm restrictions were all ruled Unconstitutional. Legally DC was Constitutional Carry for 2 weeks. I barely got a look.
 

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