open carry in your area?

[TexasArmed]

Its not a game. I open carry when pumping gasoline and I do not want to delay my draw when carrying a Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum or Glock. I did not used to open carry much till the powers that be, implemented Open Borders. I cover it with my shirt if I go inside a
grocery store. Now with the Taliban free to walk across the border
with American made weapons, I carry a S&W 38 Special less often now since it might not penetrate body armor. If concealment is my primary
concern, that is what I carry. I am glad that open carry came to Texas
although back when it passed, it did not matter much to me.

 

[CajunBass]

Since moving back here in '79, I have only witnessed two incidences of OC. It is exceedingly rare.

The last time I saw anyone open carrying was in Ohio a few weeks ago. It was at an all night truck stop a few miles from Point Plesant, Wva. (Shows how much I know about Ohio.) Big guy, driving a big Dodge truck, carrying what looked to be a Taurus 44 magnun in a "gunfighter" holster. I was somewhat surprised to see that myself.

Around here, it's legal, and I'll see a couple/three a year. My wife and I always make a "OMG He's got a gun" joke about it, but I really never notice much if any other reaction to it. We're not out in the boonies either, we're just south of Richmond, along the 95 corridor. I used to OC myself when I first got started. I never had any negeative reaction. Back then I lived up in the Fredericksburg area which was even more "soccer mom" country than where I live now.

 

[Capt. F.]

I live in Kentucky and have a concealed carry license. We open carry at the store, but I don't anywhere else.

To avoid the Ken's and Karen's of the world I'd say it's best not to draw attention to yourself.

My sentiments exactly. I think if we approach the carrying of guns sensibly, the public will be more accepting over time.
Here in Maine we have Constitutional and permitted carry.
I don’t go overboard trying to keep my EDC hidden but I also don’t flaunt it.
Common sense rules here.

 

[rosewood]

Another time I saw a grown man who was clearly mentally challenged. He was walking into Home Depot with a much older woman, I’m assuming his mother. He had a stainless 1911 and a double mag pouch. When his mother went to return something he went to play with the riding mowers. By play, I mean get in the drivers seat and make vroom vroom noises and pretend to steer.
.

That is scary, unless the guy was just messing with you cause he noticed you looking...

 

[Biggfoot44]

And now for my obligatory ticking off both sides :

The purported advantages of generalized deterence effect are at best illusory .

For pure tactical preparedness , stealth is better . My position is that most times , and most situiations OC is * Viable * option , not making claims it is " better " .

You should be situiationally aware all the time , whether armed or not . Just even more imperitve when armed whether OC , barely sorta concealed , or concealed - concealed . I'm proponent of at least thumb break or equivalent even for concealed .

( I have had more than zero training in retention , and even for concealed carry only people , even a brief introduction thereof would be wise & prudent .)

********************

And once again this isn't a binary either/ or between a pocket pistol and tacti-cool thigh rigs . For a starting point of rational OC , visualise what gun and holster you would carry concealed under a shirt tail . Then imagine tucking in the shirt .

 

[jeffrefrig]

Back when Obama was running for president, he made a stop in Beaver, PA. An acquaintance of mine had a gun on his hip, and of course, he made the local news. He was acquitted of all charges as he didn't bother anybody and had all legal rights to do so. It's just not something I would do! I see it around my area once in a while, usually some guy over at the grocery store across the river.

 

[AJ]

And now for my obligatory ticking off both sides :

The purported advantages of generalized deterence effect are at best illusory .

For pure tactical preparedness , stealth is better . My position is that most times , and most situiations OC is * Viable * option , not making claims it is " better " .

You should be situiationally aware all the time , whether armed or not . Just even more imperitve when armed whether OC , barely sorta concealed , or concealed - concealed . I'm proponent of at least thumb break or equivalent even for concealed .

( I have had more than zero training in retention , and even for concealed carry only people , even a brief introduction thereof would be wise & prudent .)

********************

And once again this isn't a binary either/ or between a pocket pistol and tacti-cool thigh rigs . For a starting point of rational OC , visualise what gun and holster you would carry concealed under a shirt tail . Then imagine tucking in the shirt .

If you are and should be situationally aware of your surroundings, so will the bad guy. If you are OC, then you are his first target.

When I was teaching Combat Pistol/Revolver classes, our idea of weapons retention was the "Three Yard Rule". Never let anyone within three yards of you.

We did teach how to take weapons away from the bad guys. Old and slow so would not like to try that now.

 

[glenwolde]

Today is the first day of "permitless" concealed and open carry here in Texas. Open carry has been legal for LTC holders for a while but I've only ever seen one, in a rural Walmart. I'm curious how many we're going to see now.

Here's hoping people get some training before they decide to do this.

 

[Llance]

I don't normally OC however the above mentioned trip (post #97} is an exception.

Back when I drove a truck cross country I was stopped at a scale house in Illinois because I was overweight on my drive axels. Honest stop and I'll give the weight master credit he was as polite as I was. Being polite to LE makes a stop so much easier. Anyway as we were handling the business of the scale a state trooper came in. Now remember the scale master and I were in friendly conversation and the subject of pistols and such came up, so while we were talking the state trooper asked me politely if I had a firearm in my truck. Just as politely I answered, "Yes", and then he asked if it was loaded, so again I answered, "Yes", and he asked what make and model. As common as I expected him to be I answered, a S&W Model 19, 357, 4 inch bbl. He asked if he could see it, so I went out to my truck and after unloading I brought it into the scale house with my thumb through the cylinder window. No way did I want him to feel threatened. Again we spent a few minutes talking about firearms as the scale master wrote my ticket and we all parted on good terms. I reset my weight and I thanked the scale master and the officer for such a pleasant experience as I took my leave.

The above happened back before Ill had CC of any kind except for politicians. He (the state trooper) could have arrested me and all that but I'm fairly certain that because I was polite and answered his questions honestly he felt no need to make an issue of the matter. He never even mentioned that CC was not allowed in IL or that I was in potentially serious trouble for having a loaded gun in my truck.

A funny side to this, when he asked if my firearm was loaded I asked back, "Is yours?" He answered back to me, "Not much good if it isn't." So I told him, "That's why mine is loaded too." All three of us had a good laugh over that.

 

[ladder13]

I see an OCer at least once a month around here, in my small geographical area, last time just the past week. In a cafeteria style restaurant, the guy had a full size 45 in a leather belt holster.

I’ve never seen one of those cheap UM’s like so many do, but then, I don’t shop at Walmart.

I did not panic, send a check to the Brady group, or lecture the guy on the evils of OC. I did give him a nod and went about my business.

I did not see anyone get on their phones and call 911 either.

Purple NC is still somewhat free I suppose.

 

[AJ]

Today is the first day of "permitless" concealed and open carry here in Texas. Open carry has been legal for LTC holders for a while but I've only ever seen one, in a rural Walmart. I'm curious how many we're going to see now.

Here's hoping people get some training before they decide to do this.

How is that going so far?

 

[bigwheelzip]

SC passed OC for CC permit holders a couple of weeks ago. The city of Greenville passed restrictions yesterday outlawing OC at permitted events.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[RobzGuns]

So far, in my region of TX, since Sept 1st, I have not seen anyone open carrying anywhere I've gone.
Actually, it may be coincidence, but the reports of violent crime on the local news seems to have decreased... or maybe it's just because covid reporting is taking up all the air time, leaving no time for anything else.

 

[brendonjames65]

I open carry almost on a daily basis here in North Western Montana, however, I’m rarely in town or anyplace civilized. It is not uncommon to see open carry in the rural nearby town. It seems like most people I observe who open carry in this area appear to be men in their 50s-70’s, maybe veterans and/retired LEO ( I fall into this category). The majority of my time is spent working on our other more remote cabin homestead, hiking our property/national forest and while hunting.

I usually carry a Glock 20 or 29 10mm for protection against 4 legged predators primarily but I have encountered a very few 2 legged predator tweekers in the woods and those encounters have been uneventful so far. I believe open carry and concealed carry are quite common in our county (2800 sq miles with a population of 11k). We have a very minimal law enforcement presence here, one could say almost non existent, but that’s fine, we chose this area and lifestyle.

When I do go to the big cities, Kalispell or Missoula, maybe once or twice a year, I do carry concealed, usually a Glock 19. I do have a CCW and maintain my HR 218 status, but now concealed carry without a permit was recently passed.

 

[steelslaver]

When I say I don't see it much around here I am not including rural sittings like ranches, or out in the mountains. There it is more usual than unusual. Now that archery season is here I will see it more. Yes, you can carry while bow hunting here just like any other lawful activity.

That said, I did see the rare open carry this weekend while at garage sale in a small town. guy in his 20s with a revolver with cheap wood grips in a shoulder holster with a knife handle sticking out below and parallel to the gun. Later when I said something, neither my wife of mother in law noticed this. My wife"s lack of awareness bugs me, but, not her.

On another note, I did see some rifles and handguns and reloading equipment, just nothing that tripped my have to have trigger.

 

[Mainsail]

There seems to be a mistaken belief that open carry citizens have the the exclusive on cheap holsters or inane carry practices, but trust me, the concealers are every bit as cheap.

I was in line at Bass Pro Shops about a month ago- there was this hinky looking couple in front of me. She was trying to pay for some of her things and some of his, and he was waiting with her to pay for the rest of his once she was done. She was making a BIG production out of not being able to find the $20 she knew was in her purse earlier that day.

She finally finished (and of course the long line I didn't get in had cleared out twice the number of people that were in it when all this started) and he slid up to pay for his stuff. I noticed he was concealing a glock under an untucked shirt- how did I know it was a glock? Because the 30+ round magazine he had in the gun stuck straight out the back and he had to keep fiddling with it to keep it in whatever holster he was using (if any) and try to keep his shirt over the 8" or so of magazine that protruded.

 

[max503]

There seems to be a mistaken belief that open carry citizens have the the exclusive on cheap holsters or inane carry practices, but trust me, the concealers are every bit as cheap.

I was in line at Bass Pro Shops about a month ago- there was this hinky looking couple in front of me. She was trying to pay for some of her things and some of his, and he was waiting with her to pay for the rest of his once she was done. She was making a BIG production out of not being able to find the $20 she knew was in her purse earlier that day.

She finally finished (and of course the long line I didn't get in had cleared out twice the number of people that were in it when all this started) and he slid up to pay for his stuff. I noticed he was concealing a glock under an untucked shirt- how did I know it was a glock? Because the 30+ round magazine he had in the gun stuck straight out the back and he had to keep fiddling with it to keep it in whatever holster he was using (if any) and try to keep his shirt over the 8" or so of magazine that protruded.

Most concealed carry gun owners aren't gun nuts like us and they do stupid stuff in our eyes. I amused myself in the checkout line the other day, watching a young mother repeatedly pulling her tee shirt down over the 4" NAA revolver on her hip.

 

[Dave Baird]

As has been already mentioned, I too believe a stealth approach to a possible deadly engagement is the safest option for a civilian or person currently in that character in public. Why should I advertise to the perp that although I am busy shopping, eating, worshipping, whatever, that I am armed and may thwart his/her attempt to commit a crime? I once watched a old biker, probably in his late 70's dressed as a cowboy here in the Northeast, wander around lost in a grocery store with a six-shooter hanging loosely in his cowboy holster. He couldn't have weighed 120 pounds. WHAT A TARGET!!!!! And for what? His "right"??? He was a fool. I always CCW around here in suburbia, period.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

I been open carrying since July 1 when the state went to Constitutional carry .

 

[rosewood]

As has been already mentioned, I too believe a stealth approach to a possible deadly engagement is the safest option for a civilian or person currently in that character in public. Why should I advertise to the perp that although I am busy shopping, eating, worshipping, whatever, that I am armed and may thwart his/her attempt to commit a crime?

If concealed, you may be able to choose to stay out of a fight. If open carry, you are likely to get pulled into it.

Rosewood