Open carry opinions

[sgtsandman]

Open carry is generally not for me. With the stories about OC people getting harassed and false police reports by whack jobs saying the OC person is an active shooter, I'd rather not temp fate. That is just my opinion though. If a person wishes to open carry, go for it. They have more patients than I do for BS.

 

[gtoppcop]

All good posts! Whenever I leave the "Bundesrepubliken Der Kalifornia" to see my parents in the Arizona Republic, I see many open carry. Cool. What worries me is that many of the folks who do it, have NO concept of proxemics or the susceptibility of a gun grab. Many of them carry in open-top holsters worn in the 5:30 position.

If I was going to Open Carry, I would do so in a secure holster that would at least afford some physical security to the user (and the public-at-large).

I feel that many folks who OC don't factor a gun grab by an assailant or somebody who's unbalanced, or the joker who wants to impress his buddies or girlfriend. This has tragic consequences.

Please don't misunderstand-I'm all for Open Carry. Doing so requires thought and buying the best holster system to do so safely. I like the law in Arizona that the gun must be loaded.

For autos, the Safariland 070-series or ALS concealment holsters make perfect sense in guarding against a gun-grab. For revolvers, the Hume Bulwark concealment holsters are nearly perfect for Open Carry. All semi-secure holster systems require a modicum of training to use.

Just my paltry $.02 worth of recommendation...

 

[jackvs1]

I'm not a retired trooper . . . ?

bad punctuation on my part, sorry. My comment really was; don't you want cops to open carry? thanks

 

[Ron AZ]

One of the great things about updates of the laws in many western states, you may now carry a handgun while bow hunting. Whether I am archery hunting in some pretty remote place or 10 minutes from my house, I now open carry while I am bow hunting. Other times I am strictly CC. To carry while bow hunting is one of the two reasons I started getting handguns to start with. The other being the threat for awhile we would loose that right or the right to get one with the features I wanted (high cap mags)!

 

[Protected One]

Ahhhhh, perfect timing...we just got through with a "Is .380 good for defense" thread!

 

[jackvs1]

I carry (concealed) a 380 for defense and don't think twice.

 

[ckcc]

Ahhhhh, perfect timing...we just got through with a "Is .380 good for defense" thread!

Great! I'm glad that's settled..... what did we decide?

 

[snubbyfan]

Great! I'm glad that's settled..... what did we decide?

A "GOOD" defensive caliber, by my definition, is anything that stops a threat.
If .380 were NOT good in this regard there would be no examples of it having done so. Since there are in fact many such examples, I say - case closed!

Works for me.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Ahhhhh, perfect timing...we just got through with a "Is .380 good for defense" thread!

But is the .380 good for open carry?

 

[Bat Guano]

Always, always employ treachery. OC violates this basic principle.

 

[Faulkner]

There are a lot of things we have the right to do that's not always the right thing to do. Open carry often falls into that catagory.

 

[Jaysq]

But is the .380 good for open carry?

Now this is a thread.

I think we need more popcorn

 

[Bull100]

I don't open carry but I don't care if some one else does. Unless that some one is standing in front of me in a fast food line, they have their cannon in a shoulder rig and it's pointed at me.

 

[fredj338]

I like to fly under the radar. In a potentially violent encounter, who is the first guy getting shot? Yeah the guy open carrying. It may dissuade The casual thug attack, but someone intent on doing bad things, you get shot first. Jmo. Public perception is the other side of that. While I am not pc, I do understand non gun folks concern over people openly carrying guns.

 

[shouldazagged]

I can carry openly in Kentucky. It's been legal far longer than concealed carry has been.

I also can legally dress like a marmot, put on a top hat and swim fins, and walk through Wal-Mart. Well, okay, that's a bad example, probably nobody would notice there. Let's make that Walgreens.

Like the marmot thing, open carry would attract attention I don't want. Including questions from little kids and panic from their moms. And people flagging down LEO's and saying, "That old man has a gun!"

I'll stick with concealed carry. And get the hell out of this thread before it heats up.

 

[Pef]

I have no issue with people that OC. For every argument against OC there is a counter-argument. Round and round.

One argument I have never understood, though, is that one should not open carry because other people might be afraid, etc. Couple of faults in that logic. First, the more we OC, the more common place it will become, and the more accepting people will be.

Second, this is America. I'm not going to be reluctant to exercise a right because it might make people nervous.

 

[Duelist]

Open carry has never been illegal in my state, and is common practice. When the police dispatch get a call about a person with a gun here, they ask the caller if they have recently moved here from out of state, and if they are aware that it is legal here, and what the person with the gun is actually doing. "He's waiting in line at Taco Bell!" or "She's got on a really big hat and is pushing a cart around at Wal Mart!" gets a polite "Get over it, and don't call us again unless they are threatening someone."

That said, I rarely carry openly in town.

Bigger, more effective guns are easier to carry openly. That is one argument in favor of open carry that I do sometimes go along with.

 

[jag312]

I have always been in favor of concealed carry. If some lowlife thug is targeting you as his next victim, it sure is nice to surprise him that his victim has sharp teeth. Maybe he'll wet his pants, maybe he'll leave a deposit in his pants, and maybe, just maybe, he'll consider a different line of work while he's still alive.

With open carry, I'm concerned that the lowlife thug is going to sneak up behind you, whack you over the head with a 2X4, and take your Registered Magnum.

 

[RobertJ.]

and the guy whipped out his piece to show it off.

Uhhh.....what?

 

[mustangman]

I personally wouldn't do it, but would like to have the legal right to do so. No matter how anyone thinks someone else should carry a gun, its a personal choice, and everyone should have the right to make that choice.