The joy of open carry

[MAC702]

Here, if you are carrying concealed, you CAN lose your permit if someone sees your gun. A concealed firearm must remained concealed unless it is drawn for use.

In fact, it has even been recommended that if you THINK someone saw your gun, you should call the police and let them know, in case they get called by the other person.

I've attended four different CCW classes (diff companies and instructors) and this has been a consistent teaching here.

This is why they also teach us that open carry must be an external holster.

 

[kelbro]

Here, if you are carrying concealed, you CAN lose your permit if someone sees your gun. A concealed firearm must remained concealed unless it is drawn for use.

In fact, it has even been recommended that if you THINK someone saw your gun, you should call the police and let them know, in case they get called by the other person.

I've attended four different CCW classes (diff companies and instructors) and this has been a consistent teaching here.

This is why they also teach us that open carry must be an external holster.

Ahhh, there's the rub. It's the wording. Here, OC means 'any part visible'. Grip, tip of barrel, etc... We don't even need a holster.

 

[maxpress]

as in everthing in life it depends on the situation. somtimes open carry can stop something befroe it starts.

generally ive always thought that if my life was threatened i would want to pull and fire before they realized i had a gun, much less react to it. now im talking about someone close up that wants to kill you. bump chest/gut, empty gun.

now the X and i were riding the motrocycle from oregon to washington and had to stop in yakima. indian res. with a big local problem of violent drunk native americans. not being predjudice, thats just the facts. had to get gas, had to go in the store. so her and i got off the bike and its 11pm and of course heres the drunks harrasing everyone that goes in and turning some away. the X has a jframe peeking out of a shoulder holster under her vest and i have a full size 357 on my hip. we walked in to pay for gas and i said to the thugs how you doin, "fine sir, good evening"
didnt have to take any other action.

course the store manager told me he had been waiting 30min for the cops to show up. they finally did before we left.

 

[Buckeye!]

Here in the great state of Tn ...you can open carry or conceal
I carry both ways...
Sad thing in these parts the Police and or Sheriffs Dept. some don't know the laws on toten' a firearm.
Ive had to explain it more than once(tring not to mke the cop look stupid.)

I've actually contacted the Sheriff on educating his department on the 14 yr. + old law...

Sometimes toteing a 1911 in the open 'in the wrong side of town sends out a nice statement.'
Crooks and thugs are brash and that seems to keep 'n' line.

Might keep'n honest

 

[ar15ed]

i have read these oc debates for quite a while on several different forums, and i have a question.

first, i don't guess i have ever open-carried, but i absolutely have no problem with it. i am in western north carolina, and i see people oc-ing occasionally. i have never seen anyone act like it upset them, when an oc-er is spotted.

i personally think that i would prefer to have the advantage of surprise on my side, in having a weapon concealed, if or when a situation arose where i needed a gun. but again!, i am actually perfectly content that some folks decide to carry openly.

okay, my question: every time a thread about oc-ing comes up, a lot of folks seem to take the stand that a bad guy would shoot the oc-er first, and ask questions later, or would attempt to disarm the oc-er, and make off with the gun. is there any documentation of either of these things ever actually happening? as oc has become more prevalent across the u.s., i would assume that potential criminals have come into contact with them. i have personally never heard of an instance where a criminal took a gun from a person who was open carrying, or shot a person who was open carrying. i don't guess i have ever even heard of a crime being commited where there was a regular citizen carrying a firearm openly. i guess sometimes a bank robbery occurs with an armed guard in the building, but that is not really the same thing.

just from my (admittedly little) experience, it seems like criminals don't make a habit of confronting people with openly visible guns, or carrying out their usual crimes in the presence of oc-ers.

i perfectly understand the position that oc-ing makes you a target, but am just wondering if this position is supported by any actual events. or is basically just theoretical.

thank you, and have a great day!

ed

 

[LTB45]

Here in the great state of Tn ...you can open carry or conceal
I carry both ways...
Sad thing in these parts the Police and or Sheriffs Dept. some don't know the laws on toten' a firearm.
Ive had to explain it more than once(tring not to mke the cop look stupid.)

I've actually contacted the Sheriff on educating his department on the 14 yr. + old law...

Sometimes toteing a 1911 in the open 'in the wrong side of town sends out a nice statement.'
Crooks and thugs are brash and that seems to keep 'n' line.

Might keep'n honest

My wife is from TN so every time we visit the in-laws, I drive through a bunch of states that DO NOT have reciprocity with CT - separate the gun and ammo and lock up in separate place in the vehicle. As soon as we cross the TN border I pull over and reunite my gun with its ammo and slide her in my front pocket, where she will travel while we are down there. TN does have reciprocity with CT!!! God I do love TN!!!!!!

 

[varminter22]

Here, if you are carrying concealed, you CAN lose your permit if someone sees your gun. A concealed firearm must remained concealed unless it is drawn for use.

In fact, it has even been recommended that if you THINK someone saw your gun, you should call the police and let them know, in case they get called by the other person.

I've attended four different CCW classes (diff companies and instructors) and this has been a consistent teaching here.

This is why they also teach us that open carry must be an external holster.

Actually, WHERE does it say that? It certainly is NOT in the Nevada law (NRS Ch 202).

 

[taphandle]

I have nothing against open carry in rural areas as obviously people are more attuned to firearms. However, in large metroplitan areas they are not and many forget not everyone in the world is "ga ga" over guns like the posters in this forum and it makes them rightfully nervous.

Finally, a lot of cops hate it as they tire of the calls downtown like "there's a man in Pizaa Hut with a gun!!" It brings a LOT of unwanted attention to gun owners in general that we do NOT need right now as we know that the Left leaning media is NEVER going to portray a gun owner in a good light. No news is good news.

Agreed. I see the majority of posters in this thread that do open cary are out west. Things are much different in the north east. I know there are alot of OC folks in the middle of Pennsylvania but go to the citys on either end of the state (Philly or here in Pittsburgh) and OC invites panic by citizens, harrasment by police, and crime by criminals ( it would only take a few seconds for a couple of thugs to decide which one is going to hit you over the head and which is going to take your gun and run like hell).

I can't think of anything that would make someone want to OC in a large metropoliton area. Living here all my life, this is my line of thinking.

I have open carried out in the woods or on a farm and always carry an SBH when hunting. I don't have a problem with OC, I just think it falls in with most everything else, there is a time and a place to do so.

All JMHO

 

[KWYJIBO]

If both concealed AND OC is legal, how can you be breaking the law either way???

There are important differences between the two modes of carry, even in places where both are legal.

In Utah, one difference is that when carrying concealed (which requires a permit), the gun can be loaded. When carrying openly, which is allowed here and does not require a permit, you must have your gun unloaded. Unloaded does not mean what you think it means, and the term has its own goofy legal definition.

Also, they want others to be able to easily detect an openly carried firearm. Halfway concealed but visible is no good.

In the classes I have attended, they advise that "concealed" does not mean there is no conceivable possibility that anyone will ever detect the gun on you. It simply means taking every reasonable effort to hide it. It sounds like we differ from Las Vegas on this point.

 

[boomer92266]

i live in a small community in ky., no one here has ever said anything to me about open carrying. i even asked the local wal mart they said come on in we go by state law, if its legal its ok. it costs $135 for a 5 year concealed firearms permit and i'm saving now to get it, but it sure was nice when i went to the sheriffs office to ask how much the permit was and was told why not open carry, the officer said that open carry is allowed in some areas that you can't conceal. its in the state constitution that no city can pass a law not allowing open carry. I LOVE KY.

 

[Buckeye!]

Just got back from the store ..with a P97 on my side......

Its dark,, I like to carry somthing that can do more than bark !!!!


TN yep!

 

[maxpress]

i have heard a couple of ocounts from "gunnies" that i know that have said that a couple of bangers have come into stores where they are shopping looking like they were up to no good. saw a couple guys sitting drinking coffee with barrels hangin down there leg and decided to perk up and leave. i guess three guys back from hunting with .44s is a little different than a lone open carry though.

 

[Buckeye!]

I once had a couple of hoods following my wife and myself through the Mall parking lot ,just as they were quicking there step, I quickly slung off my jacket ..revealing my stainless Police Six and they turned on there brakes and headed in a different direction...That is one of many stories...many !

Crooks and theives need to know the risks of there trade...nuff said.

 

[slippingaway]

One day I was over at my neighbor's house showing off a shotgun that my father-in-law had just given me. We came out his front door to a couple teenagers walking slowly up the road, looking hard into the neighbor's open garage door. As soon as they glanced back over at us, and saw the shotgun in my hands, and his police cruiser next to the house, they turned around. Never saw them again.

 

[Tommy Kelly]

I ride also I don't open carry. I have a permit and always have a gun with me. I usually have 2 one is a amt backup .380 that rides in the windshield bag of my bike the other is a kimber 45 in my luggage that comes off the bike at a motel. The 380 is close at hand if needed and the 45 is put on the bedside table at night its the first thing unpacked after arriving at motel. The amt is the same size as a 25 auto just a little thicker. It fits into a pocket fine and Noone is ever knowing I have either. I don't fear anything or anyone but refuse to be a helpless victom.

 

[Richbaker]

My biggest beef with some (obviously not all) people who open carry is that they have a macho complex and really WANT people to look at them as if they are Clint Eastwood who's rode in to clean up the town. "I'm a REAL Bad A _ _ so don't mess with me 'cause I'm the man with the big iron on his hip!"

Um...I don't know about your area, or your people, but I do wonder how you becamethe expert on what other people are thinking.

Macho complex; look at me; I'm a real bad Axx?? Just because YOU think they think that way, doesn't make it so.

I've been open carrying for something over 25 years. Here, no one reacts. I get pretty much ZERO comments, and NO stares; which is just fine with me. If I wanted that kind of reaction, or was thinking along those lines, I'd carry something bigger than a J-frame most of the time.

Oh, I've OC'd a bigger firearm at times, but mostly when I'm headed out or returning from being out in the desert, mtn's, and such. No one stares at me wearing those, either.

I'm not in a big metropolis, but I'm in a decent sized town (50,000 maybe?), with a large military base on the west end. Firearms are still prettty well excepted here, and newcomers seem to accept it pretty readily as well.

I'm just a regular guy like most others, no better, no worse, and definitely no tougher than the next guy. A firearm is a tool, much like the leatherman Wave that I also carry daily.

Comments like your's, especially from one who enjoys firearms, gives us all a black eye. Get over it. OC was the only way to legally carry before about 1995 in most states, and it's still legal in many of them. Here it's STILL the only way to carry if you don't want to jump through the hoops t get a "permit" to carry. Not all want to, and some flat out won't.

Daryl

Well said, Sir! I agree completely.... I also OC, in Tucson, a metro area with over 1,000,000 population.

 

[OldCowHand]

not everyone in the world is "ga ga" over guns like the posters in this forum and it makes them rightfully nervous.

I'll grant you "nervous" -- there are lots of people who are made nervous by their fellow citizens' exercise of their freedoms -- but rightfully?? :?

 

[varminter22]

Here, if you are carrying concealed, you CAN lose your permit if someone sees your gun. A concealed firearm must remained concealed unless it is drawn for use.

In fact, it has even been recommended that if you THINK someone saw your gun, you should call the police and let them know, in case they get called by the other person.

I've attended four different CCW classes (diff companies and instructors) and this has been a consistent teaching here.

This is why they also teach us that open carry must be an external holster.

Actually, WHERE does it say that? It certainly is NOT in the Nevada law (NRS Ch 202).

The FACT is thus: There is no such Nevada law.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Here, if you are carrying concealed, you CAN lose your permit if someone sees your gun. A concealed firearm must remained concealed unless it is drawn for use.

In fact, it has even been recommended that if you THINK someone saw your gun, you should call the police and let them know, in case they get called by the other person.

I've attended four different CCW classes (diff companies and instructors) and this has been a consistent teaching here.

This is why they also teach us that open carry must be an external holster.

Actually, WHERE does it say that? It certainly is NOT in the Nevada law (NRS Ch 202).

The FACT is thus: There is no such Nevada law.

There's a rumor that such a law exists in Oregon, too. A friend of mine is an NRA-certified instructor, and even he was under the impression it was true.

I've since learned that it is not the case.

Weird how these things get started.

-- Sam

 

[Big Bubba]

I never really thought about it, as here in WV, we can carry concealed or open, with the proper license. I love my state!