I havent lived in booneyville all my life, just the last 7 years. Before that it was in southern california for 40 years. Like you I escaped wisconsin around 1960 at about 19 years old, in and out after that for a few years and worked in about 9 states. My tame security job had me OC in uniform for over 35 years, besides a few more years in the NPS and wisconsin conservation dept and a studio guard in hollywood so I am well aquanted with packing. I must say I have had more incidents off the jobs than on I think, so I will give up a couple points there.
What I am trying to say here is I just havent seen non leo citizens HARDLY EVER OC in all my travels and I have been around in my 71 years. Reading what you guys say here it seems I should be seeing it several times a day here in my part of the west and I just dont! Now as said before, I am not talking the boonies but in town. You do see it here on the trails. The one incident I had, about a year ago, we had rode quads across the mountain range here over to panguitch, thats a popular tourist town near bryce canyon NP. Its about 30 miles one way of tough trails and discovered MJ farms that the mexican drug cartel is backing. I had theresa go in a resturant ahead of me to get permission to bring my rifle and revolver in that I was carrying. No way was I going to leave them on our atv outside in the crowded town of tourists. I got the permission. There was a crowd of about 8 young tourists in there that started to give me the same ration as the OP, asked me if I was hunting. No, I dont think so as this was last july or august.
I just laid it on them about the many pot farms discovered in the area and that there had been two dozzen arrests so far and every one of them were illegals. Every word I said was the gospel truth. They shut up.
Outside of seeing rifles in pickup`s and people rideing atvs wearing guns, here in the heart of the west were I to strap one on in plain sight and go downtown, I would just as soon wear a turqoise cowboy hat, pink shorts and gator boots. I dont like or need that kind of attendtion when I can as easly carry concealed legaly. Whats the point?