As an open carrier, I've had several issues with people over the past 10 months. This'll be fairly long, ignore it if you want. I'd like to hear your stories as well.

First issue was when I got stopped by a sheriff's deputy at midnight. I was walking down the street OCing my Polymer80 and a deputy pulled over then got out of her car. She asked me what I was doing and I told her that I was just minding my own business, taking a walk. She asked me why I had a gun, I told her it was for self-defense. I offered her my ID and she ran it. Of course, I heard the dispatcher say "no warrants," but she instructed me to turn around and took the gun off me. She called for backup.

Supervisor and two more deputies rolled up quick. Supervisor gets out and starts talking to me. This is where a legal ambiguity has to be pointed out: I was 19 at the time. It was perfectly legal to possess my P80 because Ohio doesn't have a possession statute, and I didn't buy an actual handgun so no law was broken, while there's no minimum age set for OC.

Supervisor tries to argue with me on this. I cite the relevant statute to him and he disputes it. He then decides to go look it up and sits in his cruiser for fifteen minutes. He comes back, tells the female deputy to return my gun and ammo, and apologizes to me, saying that I was correct about what the Ohio Revised Code said. We talked for a half-hour and I went home. (Interestingly, one of the deputies tried to argue that I could be charged under the "weapons possessed under disability" statute, which deals with mental illness, not age.)

Second issue was when some people in my village started bitching about it. Someone made a Facebook post about me and people started talking shit, painting me as "unstable." I made a Facebook post in response and more people took my side. My former eighth grade reading teacher even took my side, which I didn't expect. Teachers from the local schools took my side, old friends from school took my side, and the Karens pretty much gave up. Even the local PD supported me.

Don’t think this will go the way you think it will

I’m pro open carry and do it on occasion, but I think you’re doing some things that while legal, aren’t well understood by regular people. It sucks but you should probably speak to a gun based lawyer and have them on speed dial

I was thanked by a woman in CO for OC'ing in a restaurant.

Some guy in a parking lot said, "You better cover that up." to me in PA.  I was on my way to renew my CCW after I had let it lapse (the whole UT CCW used to cover me in PA, but now it didn't thing), so I told him, "Sorry, I can't, I have to OC here.".

That's about it.  

Oh, if we could only call the cops when we see people doing things we don't understand.  

You have a lot of "school" references.

How old are you?

He said he was 19. And carrying legally in OH. Karen pitched a bitch, and the small town came to his defense. Good for him, and fuck karen.

I think the real concern is some thug at the Quickie Mart gas station, in line at the grocery or Walmart disarming/stealing the gun.

How many licensed or Constitutional carry individuals have been trained in weapon retention or using a retention level holster.

Kinda like the fishing vest shoot me first wearers.

I am currently 20 years old, I was 19 at the time that that incident occurred.

Worthless motherfukkers should have the law memorized since their supposedly ‘lawmen’.  Or women.  Or whatever.


If you were gonna be a problem, you would have been a problem, but since you weren’t, they stayed there, minding the business that was yours, that you were trying to mind by yourgotdamnself, and fucked around trying to find a way to take you to jail.

I don’t mind open carry but if you choose to do it I strongly suggest using some type of retention holster.  That being said I can’t ever recall seeing an open carrier (besides LE) with a retention holster.

Virginia had a silly period where it was not legal to conceal in a restaurant that served alcohol (basically all but fast food), so the law basically compelled open carry.  My family ate out fairly frequently, thus fairly frequent open carry.  Folks called it the Virginia Tuck - you'd tuck your cover garment behind you holster when you'd enter the restaurant and re-cover when you exited.  

I never had any issues.  Most people don't notice.  A few times, an old lady would notice and smile... one leaned in close and said something like "it feels safer in here tonight."  A couple of times someone would notice and strike up a conversation about what they owned, carried, or wanted to buy.  

Went to some "open carry" dinners.  Sometimes VCDL folks joined for dinner.  A couple times the local Sheriff joined us for dinner.  One time a state Delegate joined us for dinner.  One time a US Congressman joined us for dinner.  Good fellowship and discussion.  

Hundreds of dollars on a pistol... and too often the cheapest open carry holster known to mankind!

(OK I might be overstating the cheap holster)

The vast majority of open carriers I've seen have used retention holsters.  Lots of Serpa holsters and leather thumb break holsters.  Not just at dinners, but random open carriers as well (Chick-Fil-A, Cook-Out, Lowe's, McDonald's, etc.).  When I would open carry, I use a Safariland ALS.

I live in a semi-urban area. I don't open carry, because it is better for me to be the gray man in a majority minority area.

Most people seem to be oblivious to OC. I used to have to point it out to my wife and kids. Kids now pick up on it. Wife, not so much.

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” OC is dumb. Element of surprise works better.

A decent holster with retention, and 95% of the folks you encounter do not notice.

Just because someone doesn't freak out and start pointing at an open carrier like they're in Invasion of the Body Snatchers doesn't mean that they don't notice.

Attached File

Motivated 2A supporter from TX. I don't open carry but support in certain situations. I don't want my 12 yr old little girl freaked out of some creepy dude with an AR strapped to his back sits down next to us at Waffle House.

Seeing as how concealed carry seems to be much more popular, I don't foresee that many OC stories proliferating in this thread.

If you can join the military, vote, and sign a legal document at 18 you can own any type of firearm you want and drink alcohol. it would seem some legal argument should be made about this at a pretty high level, or 18 year olds shouldn't be allowed to vote, buy long guns, buy a car, or join the military.

Some people HAVE to OC. Until December, there's fuck-all I can do to get a CHL. The Ohio Revised Code says anyone under 21 can't be issued a concealed handgun license. Another arfcommer in this thread described a situation where people couldn't CC and had to OC in businesses that serve alcohol.

OC is also useful when it comes to Second Amendment advocacy. While I know he can be a tard at times, The Yankee Marshal OCs every second day of the month so he can accomplish some Second Amendment advocacy, he calls it "Every 2nd matters".

I understand that CC is tactically a better option than OC, but most criminals aren't going to even bother taking a shot at someone OCing or someone in the same place as the OCer. They'll either wait for the OCer to leave or choose another target.

As long as you don't advocate that there be a law against that, I see no problem with what you're saying.

I myself am not very enthusiastic about OCing long guns. I've never done it. If I was walking down the street in Cleveland or hiking in the woods, then yeah, I'd take a long gun with me. However, I think a handgun is enough for wherever I go at the moment. Same goes for 2A protests, that's different from carrying a long gun in general.

TBH, I wish it was legal to OC in all 50 states. That way, I would not have to worry about which pants or shirt I am wearing if I need to go out somewhere.

It's sad that someone can't come in and discuss their carry without the anti-open carry folks threadcrapping the thing.

I can tell you from discussing/debating open carry for 15 years now it's pointless to argue about it in a forum.

I have had discussions, debates, and arguments on the subject both in person and on forums, and here's what I've learned.

Discussion on a forum is hopeless. If you make too strong an argument the cognitive dissonance kicks into overdrive and either the anti-OCer mysteriously disappears, ignores the positive OC argument, or the insults start. Then the mods shut the discussion down, or in at least one case, the forum owner bans the pro-open carry side.

Discussion in person is very different. I've good luck getting mostly honest discussion and only very few occasions where the person got mad (cognitive dissonance) and walked away.

The honest discussions reveal the reasons the person disliked open carry, “you're a target”, “prefer surprise”, “deal with the cops”, and all the rest, were not based on anything real, and when you point out the glaring flaws in those beliefs, you get to one of several actual reasons the person dislikes open carry:

- Shame. The person doesn't want anyone to know they carry because they themselves consider it a sign of weakness. Once you get them past that, their carry (concealed or open) is more relaxed and comfortable.

- Their Discomfort. They just flat-out cannot get comfortable with the idea that people can see their gun. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, sometimes you can't put your finger on the problem, but at least they're honest with themselves about it. They carry concealed and recognize that open carry isn't bad, it's just not for them.

- Another's Discomfort. The spouse usually, for whatever reason, does not want them to carry openly, and it's easier to just go with it than to have the discord. It seems odd that one will say, “I don't want to be the first one shot” or “I prefer to surprise the bad guy” when all along they're just trying to keep the peace with their SO. I carried openly for over a decade in a city/urban environment but lately I carry concealed (or mostly concealed) mostly, or openly from time to time, and this is the reason why. She's not against guns (she carries) but just prefers I don't OC.

- Intestinal fortitude. I've had people admit to plain old cowardice- guns are scary; they carry one, but the less they see it the better - and that fear is transferred onto everyone else, expressing itself with the dumb arguments mentioned. It's hard to work this issue out, and you usually end up just agreeing to disagree, but you've planted a seed that may take root later.

- Ignorance. They are incapable of critical thought, or too lazy to do any, so they rely on the opinions of someone else- usually some internet guru they follow. ”Johnny YouTube Shooter says it's bad/dumb/dangerous so that's good enough for me.” They usually exhibit other 'Elmer Fudd' attitudes regarding guns as well. You can usually walk away from this discussion on fairly good terms; you can't squeeze blood from a turnip and if someone cannot or will not think objectively there's nothing you can do about it.

Whenever I see the same easily disproved excuses I try to figure out what their real reason is, and to a degree it's revealed by how upset/angry they get over someone else's carry- usually points to shame or cowardice, vs the ones that take it in stride usually points to discomfort.

I only CCW these days, but when I used to ride I found that a 1911 on my hip really kept the cage drivers off my ass.

Dealing with the Karen's is one of the reasons I rarely OC.  Closest thing I ever had to an "incident" from someone noticing my weapon was when I was actually carrying concealed.  I'm 6' 2" & will get the occasional "sonny can you get that off the top shelf for me" requests.  I got one from a lady one evening & when I reached up to grab it, the muzzle of my pistol (an HK USP40 at that time) was exposed for a second.  I noticed her look at it, look around & then tell me that my secret was safe with her.  At the time it could have actually become a big deal cause as the law was worded I could've gotten arrested for "brandishing".  Luckily they changed the wording of that law some years ago.  

Even though I don't care much for OC, I fully support peoples right to do so & also enjoy seeing the Karen's put in their place.

Several years ago, a work colleague and I took a business trip to AZ.  I had been there many times, but this was her first trip there.  

It was warm, maybe 90, and we were driving from the airport to the place of business.  On the highway, we were passed by a bald dude on a chopper, no helmet, and a big ole pistol on his hip.  My colleague looked surprised and mentioned the lack of helmet and the pistol.  I said "Welcome to Arizona.  That image says a lot about why I like the state."

Swim lessons take place at the high school. MI has stupid law where you can’t conceal carry in schools. But if you have a CPL you can open carry.

So I have to OC at the school (includes voting). Swim supervisor confronted me and I explained to him that he needed to do some research. He came back to me the next week to apologize. He says I was the topic of several meetings and that the young instructors got freaked out. Other than him, I had one swim mom tell me she felt safer with me there and while voting a poll worker ask what I do (“work, just like everyone else”).

I prefer concealed so no other OC than necessary.

That's not just Michigan.  George Bush (41) signed the so called "Gun Free School Zone" act back in the early 90's.  Of course all of the worst school shootings have happened since this law went into effect cause for criminals "gun free" zone just means target rich environment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun-Free_School_Zones_Act_of_1990

People are conditioned to "feel" safe when they see government/authority/nice-uniforms wearing guns. They "feel" unsafe when they see a regular/peasant wearing a gun.

This has more to do with attire than you may consider.

It's silly, but if you were to wear nicer khakis/pants, nice shoes, button-down shirt that's tucked in (with a tie for extra points), and even have a nice hair-cut and be clean shaven; THEN open carried. You would probably be seen as one of the above 'authority' types and most folks wouldn't think much...


Wear jeans, t-shirt, have a beard, and the sheep will be disturbed. Wear sweats and a hoodie while having your AR slung over your shoulder, the sheep will start to freak out...

I rarely open carry. Am fine with other people doing so.........

One time at Wal-Mart...

I am not going to change my appearance to please other people. In my OC experience, I have only had one direct comment. It was a young boy who thought my gun was really neat, and he wished he could carry one too.
If I have a full time security detail that requires me to be clean shaven, and wear a tucked in shirt, I might go for it. Until then, my security is my responsibility, and if I want to OC, have a beard, and wear a tshirt I will do so.

This. I OC all the time in a t-shirt and jeans. If I feel like dressing fancy, then I will, but that's not a common thing. Nobody really bothers me, but on the rare occasion when I do get bothered by someone, I hit 'em with either:
• "Jack me off!" Accompanied with jerking motion.
• "None of your business."
• "I don't have to explain myself to you."
• "I carry for self-defense, that's all you need to know."
• "Go ahead, call the police. They'll tell you it's legal."
• "Why am I supposed to care what you think?"

And if they're really being a jackass, I'll use the ol' "fuck off."

Very well stated.  I OC but I know it's for everyone and that's fine.  I also agree that I don't think we'll ever have agreement here and again, that's fine.  What works for you and reasons why is what you should stick with as long as YOU are fully aware of why you're making those choices.  I have had people ask me about it a few times regarding the legality and if I've ever had the police bother me about it;  I fell it was informative for them and I at least walked away feeling good that I maybe helped open someone's eyes to right they have that they never really knew they could exercise so freely (at least in this state), and I don understand this is not the case everywhere.  It's really the same as what you chose to carry; I don't really care what you carry as long as you are proficient with it and carry/handle it in a safe manner.

Bottom line is that individuals need to make the choices that best fits their needs and particular situation. Concealed is better for some and Open is better for others an that's just fine.

I get the frustration but responding that way doesn't really help.  Try to engage them in actual conversation about it and you might be surprised; even if they don't respond right away you might just plant the seed that leads them to look for themselves and discover that they also don't need to qualify the use of their rights.

That's more interactions than I've had with people about OC in two decades.  I don't always OC, but when I do, I always dress well.  It's the least I can do to portray a positive image of the RKBA community.

I've only had one negative encounter.  A nurse wanted to know whether I was a police officer.  When I told her that I was not, she proceeded to question me about why I was carrying in a hospital.  I was more naive back then and tried to educate her, but she only got more hostile.  After a while, I gave up on trying to reason with her and told her to just draw my blood.

Yeah, I don't OC, just sharing my perspective on things. Especially when it comes to the bigger-cities/more-liberal places. I'm all for doing whatever you wanna do, I just prefer to not draw extra unwanted attention to myself.

That's a pretty immature way to respond, and doesn't help any perceptions of your fellow locals that carry, or hell, anyone that carries.

Yeah, but your threat pool is probably completely contained within that 5 per cent.

My feeling is, that a gunfight is risky enough, without trading the actual element of surprise for some perceived deterrence (or to make some nebulous point).

As far as gun takeaways, ask any cop, which officer is more likely to have his gun snatched, plainclothes concealed carriers, or uniformed open carriers?

But, I suspect that most open carriers, don't really care about the tactics of it.  They have other, more important considerations, that I just don't have.

But, I'm sure okay with anyone I don't care about doing it.

Gun takeaways with officers usually happen after contact with an individual. Very rarely does someone just walk up to a cop and try to take their firearm.
I don't have an uncle mike's holster drooping off a shitty cardboard belt. I also won't use a simple slide holster when open carrying.
Thumb break, or als/gls for retention. I iwb open carry.
I guess it is more not worrying about a cover garment because if I am wearing a jacket or sweater it is concealed. Depending on where you have the firearm, you can cover one up with just your arm in most situations.
No matter how you carry, the most important thing is practice.

I really don't care what you think. If you don't like how I do things, the door is open and you can walk right out.

There have been times when people have been amicable enough to have an intelligent conversation with me about it. Most people that get into an encounter with me are just assholes about it, that's when I tell them to fuck off. There's no point in talking to a brick wall.

I had a woman in Walmart tell her husband, "Oh, look, Dear. The scary man has a gun!' I turned my back to her, looked at her over my shoulder, and said, "Does it make my ass look big?"

It shut her up and her husband snickered.

Pulled over at 2am for suspected DUI while OC'ing an M&P on local high school graduation night (wife in front of me, we were on the phone and I was being mildy annoying).

Stater didn't acknowledge the fact that I was carrying at all. Ran me through sobriety tests on the side of the freeway and then apologized for taking up my time afterwords.

I'm still a bit confused why someone would pull someone over for suspected DUI, be told they had a firearm, see the firearm, and then let them keep the firearm while testing if they were DUI.

This got a genuine laugh out of me. As an Aspie, it's a rare occasion.

Good job.

I know cops. Statie was bored, 100%.

Good post.

I OC here in VA, have for many years, and have never had a problem or even a conversation about it.  Since the scamdemic, I've noticed a drastic increase in OC.

Interesting to me about CC vs OC, is that I've had nothing but terrible encounters with LEO over CC, but not one word on OC.

It seems many people feel intimidated when law enforcement asks them "Why are you carrying a gun?", when the answer is so simple:  "For the same reasons you carry one."  or some alternatives, "I can't shoot back without a gun", "I don't want to die for lack of shooting back", "It is easier to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it", "for the same reason I keep a fire extinguisher in my house, preparation for events I hope will never happen."   But I think the first response is the best and least smart ass sounding.

The only response to that question when posed by LE is, "Have a nice day officer." and walk away.