open or concealed?

Have a friend in Nevada who carries open up and down, people stare a lot and he has gotten into a few arguments. Not my cup of tea personally, I don't want people to confront me. I carry concealed here and in Nevada, it makes things easier I think and you can be just as fast to draw if needs be. My CC instructor brought up a good point once when talking about open carry, he said "who is the bad guy going to shoot first?" that has always stuck with me. You could cause said bg to panic having out in the open, and maybe if he wasn't going to shoot he will now. I dunno, if hunting or camping sure! I have a nice leather sheath for both my guns. Everywhere else though, quiet and inconspicuous.
 
people stare a lot and he has gotten into a few arguments.
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Sorry, but that probably has more to do with him than his carry. I OC, as do many of my friends, and generally no one takes much notice. Attitude goes a long way. Not everyone who OC's is a "zealot". Some of us just prefer the comfort and convenience, or don't want to ask the government for a permission slip to exercise our rights.
 
zoom6zoom said:
Sorry, but that probably has more to do with him than his carry. I OC, as do many of my friends, and generally no one takes much notice. Attitude goes a long way. Not everyone who OC's is a "zealot". Some of us just prefer the comfort and convenience, or don't want to ask the government for a permission slip to exercise our rights.
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Nah, people in Vegas can be VERY confrontational...especially about political issues. I once watched a woman burn a local republican party sign in my neighbor's front yard lol.
 
Hodgin said:
I never open carry but like the fact that TN allows both conceal and open carry. Don't really have to worry if I accidentally flash.
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I agree with this ^ the only advantage of Open Carry being legal is to protect the CC'er from a over eager LEO if you should become uncovered.
 
Only time I open carried was while traveling through Virginia. I was wearing a tanktop, a short sleeved buttom down shirt as a cover garment and my snubby in an owb on my right hip. It was warm out so I took off my cover garment and when I stopped to gas up my truck I forgot to put it back on. While my truck was filling up I went in to use the restroom. After I got back to my truck I realized I was walking around with my snubby hanging out. The world didn't end, I wasn't hit over the head and had my gun stolen and nobody called the cops. I figured with my long hair, brown skin, tattoos, silver tomahawk earring on my left ear and arrowhead and bead necklace, nobody noticed my snubby.
Other than that I always carry concealed.
 
zoom6zoom said:
Sorry, but that probably has more to do with him than his carry. I OC, as do many of my friends, and generally no one takes much notice. Attitude goes a long way. Not everyone who OC's is a "zealot". Some of us just prefer the comfort and convenience, or don't want to ask the government for a permission slip to exercise our rights.
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Same here, routinely OC my S&W 329PD, especially since I retired late last year.

The only real "argument" I've had was from a tractor parts manager. He told me that having it on my right hip caused my gun to "intimidate" people. My response was that if anyone chose to be intimidated, then they could also choose to grow up. Neither one of us mentioned that it was probably him that felt intimidated.

I know how people react to open carrying, I'm the one doing it all day. Most don't notice; those that do are more curious than anything else.

He'll get over it, especially since he wants to sell me a +$3K bushhog.... :D


Lastly, here's a good read on Why Open Carry: http://www.usacarry.com/forums/open-carry-discussion/7230-open-carry-argument.html
 
There's no right or wrong answer, just opinions. Do whatever is legal and you're most comfortable doing. The legendary tales of what might happen when OC'ing are just that.
 
Open carry legal around here, I don't why advertise. Most that do don't have a CCW as you don't need it to open carry. Comes in handy if I should ever forget my wallet though just slip the shirt behind the firearm or if wind accidentally flashes the firearm..
 
I don't ever weigh in on these threads, but I get very frustrated at the vehement "don't open carry" attitude that many here seem to trot out at even the slightest mention of open carry.

Both open and concealed have their place, and open carry is certainly more common(and less likely to cause alarm) in parts of the country. Folks seem to forget that in many places(like here in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky) open carry was the only legal way to carry a gun up until relatively recently(1996), and is still in some circumstances here in Kentucky the only legal method of carry.

I see folks open carrying with some regularity around central Kentucky-I'd say at least once a week or so. Most just go about their business, leave others alone, and are left alone.

I think that the bottom line is that however you choose to carry, be smart about it, don't be confrontational, and don't draw attention to yourself.
 
I am a proponent of concealed carry for two reasons. If you are in a dangerous confrontation, I want it to come as a complete surprise to the suspect that he just picked on the wrong victim. The lookon his face will be priceless.

The second reason is that where I live, there are violent street criminals who will mug you for your gun if you carry it open. Trust me; they will crack you over the head with a 2X4 before you know what happened. It is common for these street criminals to try to disarm a police officer while trying to avoid arrest. Carrying a nice gun openly is too much temptation for some of these street criminals.
 
I live in TX where open carry is only an option on personal/private property. Even if it was an option to carry in the open in public I would not do it as a private citizen. As a gun owner I respect others opinions regardless of how misinformed or stupid they may be. Guns are a hot issue now and everyone has an opinion on them now one way or the other. Open carry is asking for trouble both with the law and lawless. I am not a modern day gun for hire, the best chance I'll have of saving my sorry hide will be if the bad guy doesn't even know I have it until its in my hand. That being said I wish TX did have open carry that way it wouldn't be a legal issue if I accidentally flashed my CC piece.
 
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OPEN carry in Massachusetts will get you arrested for disorderly and loss of your LTC. Someone will see it and go nuts. It is guaranteed. Even if you are carrying concealed and someone gets a 'peak' at it..Your probably all done. I might get a little more leeway, but i'd rather not test it. If you want to open carry, go to Vermont, were you can open carry all you want. Your still going to generate a lot of looks, but it's legal. Heck, pretty much everything is legal in Vermont.
 
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Discalimer #1 - It is a good thing for OC to be legal, if only for protection against overreaction to accidental exposure , or issues over wether or not you really were sufficiently out in the boonies.

Disclaimer #2 - This really is a multilayered , nuianced subject , and I regularilly tick off people on all sides of this.

Looking strictly at the OP , and exactly what he was and wasn't asking :

He should continue his current CC habits.

There are other reasonings that can lead to different answers , but he didn't go there so far.
 
Ben_hutcherson said:
I don't ever weigh in on these threads, but I get very frustrated at the vehement "don't open carry" attitude that many here seem to trot out at even the slightest mention of open carry.

Both open and concealed have their place, and open carry is certainly more common(and less likely to cause alarm) in parts of the country. Folks seem to forget that in many places(like here in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky) open carry was the only legal way to carry a gun up until relatively recently(1996), and is still in some circumstances here in Kentucky the only legal method of carry.

I see folks open carrying with some regularity around central Kentucky-I'd say at least once a week or so. Most just go about their business, leave others alone, and are left alone.

I think that the bottom line is that however you choose to carry, be smart about it, don't be confrontational, and don't draw attention to yourself.
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"and don't draw attention to yourself"

That's an oxymoron if I ever saw one. Like nobody is going to notice the gun on his hip.:rolleyes:
 
Kanewpadle said:
"and don't draw attention to yourself"

That's an oxymoron if I ever saw one. Like nobody is going to notice the gun on his hip.:rolleyes:
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Actually, a lot of people don't.

For example, a couple weeks ago, I met with a woman and her BIL to look over some property the woman was selling.

I stopped and got out of the truck, met and introduced myself to both of them, we talked about 5 minutes, got into my truck for a 1/2 mile or so, then got out and started walking all over the +17 acre property.

I was with them both for over 20 minutes before either of them noticed my S&W 329PD .44 Magnum holstered directly on my right hip.

Granted, guys seem to notice more and faster than woman; but in general, it's really no big deal. A lot of people assume, for some reason, that I'm a cop (like the two above - they didn't know that OC was legal in AL). Even some cops think I'm a cop! "What agency are you with?" "Are you off duty?" etc. etc.

Try it. It's scary at first, but after a while, it's not an issue.
 
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