What do you think?

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pawncop

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Was having a discussion with a fellow shooter the other day at my local range.

Was talking about EDC sidearms, and my friend said he mostly carries concealed, but will display his weapon while at self service gas stations, particularly at night.

Now I know many people believe if you open carry, you might be the first target if a bad goy shows up. He stated he had never read nor heard of this actually happening. I confess I have not read nor heard of this either.

So I am wondering if any of our esteemed members have read or heard of this situation.

I’m not judging one way nor another, just seeking information.
 
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My first reaction is that your friend should be highly aware and observant (condition yellow/orange) while at a gas station at night. Having his gun exposed would seem to be unnecessary then.

Better still, avoid potentially dangerous situations. Gas can be bought during the day too. :)

Edit to add: I haven’t heard of a situation where a CCW holder had his/her gun taken away, but if he is exposing his gun that would be more analogous to having an open carried gun snatched, which has happened quite often from LEOs prior to the era of level III retention holsters.
 
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I see the plus and minus of each type of carry.

Open carry you lose surprise but it could deter the perpetrator.

Conceal carry and you maintain surprise, but offers no deterrent to the perpetrator.

Maybe a survey has been done of felons in prison. I'm sure they would be truthful. :)
 
Your question got me wondering about this.

So with Google being my friend I landed on a YouTube video from USCCA where they gave an 11 question interview sheet to inmates who had robbed people.

We don't know if the answers are truthful or not but it indicated that 41% of those surveyed said they had disarmed an armed person during a robbery.

Didn't ask specifics about open or concealed carry but if you know the gun is there then that may lead to a disarming attempt.

It also mentioned that a majority said a person with a known gun would cause them to look for another target.

Guess it boils down to how aware that person with the gun appears.

While we don't hear much about a person armed being targeted first in a crime spree, to me that seems like a no brainer. If I am committed to what I am doing and I see a person with a gun that would be the person I would target first. Now how that person responds would determine the outcome.

I look at it as if I am a bank robber and I come into a bank and there sets an armed guard he is getting my attention until I have him under control. The result would depend on how dedicated I was and what his/her response was.
 
SAFireman said:
You already have your hands occupied using the pump, credit card machine, ect. Why reveal a firearm to an opponent when you have a great deterrent at hand already (gas nozzle)???
Click to expand...

I'm not afraid to pump gasoline at night although it is not my preference. But day or night I stay sharp, I'm always looking around and, yes, I am VERY MUCH AWARE of the fact that the gas nozzle with a stream of gasoline is a very handy weapon. Everyone should recognize that fact.

Since I am generally pocket carrying a S&W M649 I see no reason to not have my hand in my pocket while the gas flows on its own.
 
I’m at the point in my life where buying fuel late at night usually doesn’t happen. Like mentioned above, there’s plenty of hours in the day to stop for fuel. I’m of the belief still that there’s no reason to advertise that you’re carrying a gun by letting it be seen. With all the druggies and drunks that hang around some of the quick stop stores late at night, showing the fact you have a gun is kinda like saying “I dare you to mess with me” because I’m armed, but if you’re armed and carrying concealed the bad guys don’t know that and the doubt is there. What’s became very evident in the last 15-20 years or so is that the bad guy could care less one way or the other because he’s wound up like a 10 day clock and going to jump on you anyway. Try to avoid those late night situations if at all possible and be alert at all times, daylight or dark.
 
I had an uncle that had a 30 year career in law enforcement. His advice to me when he taught me to shoot handguns- Was never announce "I've got a gun" His philosophy was that the first clue needed was a muzzle flash and a report. Sound advice- served me well in life.
 
murphydog said:
Edit to add: I haven’t heard of a situation where a CCW holder had his/her gun taken away, but if he is exposing his gun that would be more analogous to having an open carried gun snatched, which has happened quite often from LEOs prior to the era of level III retention holsters.
Click to expand...

You should remember, since it has only been a few months since a man carrying in a coffee/donut shop/cafe in a south-eastern state had his pistol snatched by a thief! He chased the thief trying to recover his gun and was killed when shot with his own gun by the thief! :mad:

There was a question whether he was carrying openly or (not so well) concealed, but it really makes no difference, either way the fact he was carrying a pistol was apparent to the thief.

Whether or not he had a concealed carry license or not is really not germane either, but as I recall the report indicated he was!
 
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I’ve been approached by aggressive panhandlers when getting gas a couple of times before dark. Using my best police command voice I told them to leave me alone & thankfully it worked. I’m not sure if they noticed my hand in my pocket on a J Frame, but I prefer not to open carry for a variety of reasons.
 
The few folks I've seen open carrying displayed no overt awareness of who was around them and the possibilities. Nor did they have hands/arms in any position to protect the gun. A couple seemed to view the gun as a totem that would prevent any bad events just by it's presence.

I got my handgun disarming/retention instructor certs a long time ago. One of the things we learned in that class was that you've got no chance of retaining the gun carried in any of the paddle holsters of the day if someone attempts to strip you of your gun. ETA: I've seen prison yard surveillance videos of prisoners conducting classes on how to disarm those carrying. The instruction looked pretty good. Take away: carry concealed and stay alert!

There have been a number of cases where well meaning folks who tried to intervene in an event got killed by an accomplice they hadn't spotted.
 
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Catwrangler said:
Referencing my post above- I can't understand some folks obsession w/ open carry.
Click to expand...

You remember back in the mid 90's when cell phones were just becoming mainstream? Mostly the upper middle class and above was all that had them. And you'd see people walking around in stores on their cell phone.

They weren't even talking to anybody. They just wanted to make sure the entire world knew they had a cell phone.

Kinda the same thing.
 
My brother used his CC PPK .380 to help break up an armed robbery and one perp was slightly wounded. His safety plan was impeccable and everything he did was with safety of bystanders in mind. Shooting the tire straight down from the top. The perps were caught shortly after. The newspaper had him standing in the street blasting through the back window as the perps drove away, all totally wrong. He almost went to jail over the issue. Luckily a group of firefighters saw the whole thing and went to his defense, he still was going to be prosecuted until the firemen assured the DA that he would be a civilian if he carried the issue to arrest.
The victim was brutally injured and his employee attacked as well. It was a bad robbery.

In today's world, my brother would be sued in civil court and the situation for my brother would be $50K in legal fees and a judgement against him. LEO are not in the same world as we citizens. Lawyers have already ruined the country, it is just us against them.
 
stansdds said:
I have a permit to CCW. I carry concealed, not open. Concealed at all times gives me the advantage of surprise so long as I am aware of what is going on around me.
Click to expand...

God forbid a feller ever gets in a situation where he has to draw his sidearm. But if you're ever faced with it carrying concealed gives you way more options, waayyyy more!

If it's hanging out there you're made and your options are gone.

I make no claim on being a fart smeller, just my opinion.
 
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