I support a lot of rights I don't exercise. Open carrying is one of them. Maybe I just have a bad taste in my mouth from all the fat iii percenters I see walking around south Ga open carrying with their sheepdog hats on backwards.

The first time I see a man open carrying that looks like he may be able to beat up my wife, I'll take it all back.

Bad taste in your mouth from what? How did what they wear or how much they weigh effect you on a personal level? You call people who OC douchebags but you walk around worrying about what other people wear or how they look. Strange.

What does having to look like they can beat up your wife have to do with anything? WTF, way to double down on the derp.

You are grasping for an exscuse for your stupid comment. Your post made no sense. It is embarrassing that we are from the same state.

It makes sense to some people. Im not trying to turn into a troll, just being funny.

Simply put, I believe most people who open carry are looking for attention. Tactically it's stupid. There is no good reason to do it other than comfort, which does not outweigh the advantage of people not knowing you're packing.

You don't have to share my opinion or be proud that were from the same state.

Every professional I've ever worked with agrees with me. And so does the off duty Loomis security guard who had his Glock stolen during an armed robbery at a Circle K in my neighborhood. Yeah, he could've shot the dude but instead had his open carried pistol taken at gun point.

You think open carry is tactically stupid yet you engage in it everyday. That is the definition of insanity.

Concealed carriers have had their guns taken too. Poor SA is poor SA regardless if you OC or CC.

I am 100% certain that not EVERY professional agrees with you. I'm sure you want to believe that and you hope that comment will some how convence us that you know what you are talking about but here is a clue. You are not the only cop on this board. You are not the only one who knows cops. There are plenty of people here who are, know or are the family members of police officers and deputies. Simply put you comment is more bullshit, like the other comments you have posted in this thread.

Either you support people exercising their rights or you don't. If you are trying to put limits or stipulations on that support then you are no better than the antigunners. In fact your multiple attempts to besiege your fellow gun owners for what they wear, how they look and question their intelligence is exactly the bahavor used by the antigunners when they claim nobody needs to carry a gun, that anyone who carries a gun is over compensating, that they put the public at risk because their gun might be taken from them, so on and so on.

Your attempt at being funny is strategically stupid. There is nothing funny about exercising ones right. If we don't exercise our rights we loose them. If we loose the second we loose everything else. The 2nd is the teeth behind our constitution. It is what makes this republic great.

Lots of cops, soldiers, trainers, gun enthusiasts, etc probably  disagree with me.There's a lot of people in the world. Every single co worker I've spoken to about open carry agrees with me.

I have multiple cases in my city where open carrying lead to a gun being stolen. You won't change my mind no matter how many words you type at me, and I don't care if I change yours.

I support the right to open carry. I don't do it when I'm not forced to, and I advise others don't either.

Btw being a fellow gun owner with someone makes me as close to friends with him/her as having the same blood type. I know about 2 people that don't own a firearm. You can agree with the 2A and still be a piece of shit. Just look at me!

I just gave my opinion, that's all. It's worth what you paid for it. It stands, and your argument above is invalid along with your attempted gotcha moment up there. One could say that your attempt to discredit or  'out' me somehow based on me having a differing opinion, makes you very liberal-like. That's like the shit the Left does.  Maybe YOU need to go to DU eh? Whatever.  It's an unwinnable argument. I don't care what you think, and I don't care what you do. I won't protest and try and stop it, but I do have an opinion. - You won't convert me, and I'm not going try to convert you to my side- Like arguing about abortion or religion kinda.  

You do you and I'll do me.

But to keep it Tech and on topic:

Open carry is not for me, unless in the wilderness. It seems to me that open carry suits the douchebag attention whore more than the serious person. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my opinion.

Calling it like I see it. Hey, it's just my opinion.

Some people carry concealed because they don't want to draw attention to themselves as they troll the playground looking for little boys to touch.  

So are you saying it's more beneficial to look like all the unarmed folks on the street?  I guess it would be beneficial if your goal is to lure some robber close so you can shoot him.  Man, I bet the mayor would give you the key to the city.  You'll be a freaking hero!  

OK, it's hyperbole; I don't really think you're a toucher of little boys or pining to kill another human.  Nevertheless, broad brush statements like the ones you made are indicative of faulty thinking.  OC may not be a good idea for you where you are, but that does not in any way mean it is tactically stupid or done by people looking for attention; there are a lot of good reasons for it.  If you don't like OC, don't.  

I live in TX and have seen an open carrier maybe twice, so I wouldn't know if they are douschebags or not.

Cops I speak to seem to favor concealed carry because they are worried you will have someone come up behind you to steal your gun. A few have told me they like open carry because the bad guys will avoid you in the first place, and "people will get used to it".

While I can see both sides, I really hate the activists who go to Wal-Mart or other places videotaping it and mess with management who simply does not understand the issue. Sometimes the staff do not know whether they should check your permit, and the carrier will say "Are you giving me 30.07 notice?" or that they do not have to, and the manager will be confused. Obviously if the manager knew what that was they would not even bother about the gun... So here we have a good opportunity where they could say, sure I will show you my permit to be polite, etc. , and then explain the law, but instead they are assholes asking the managers questions they do not understand. Those employees who were open-minded will go home remembering a negative experience with a gun owner.

Of course some of the videos are funny, cops will bring AR15 into Wal-Mart because a woman dressed nicely is open carrying.

Is a woman walking her dog open carrying being an asshole? I don't think so.

Thanks for all of the good answers, good food for thought.

I see some logic to this ... it's not that you hope for trouble, but you want the bad guys to not know if the victim is unarmed or not. On liveleak I can see plenty of examples of a robbery going on and a conceal carrier steps behind something, draws, and engages. I don't have proof but I suspect a lot of robbers would check if you were armed. They don't want to get shot.

My fee fees are not hurt, but it seems a bit ridiculous to have this many personal attacks.
No need to make grandiose statements about everyone with a different opinion. We are all here out of personal interest. I understand some of you have many negative experiences with open carriers I have not had.

Of course, sometimes it makes the thread more interesting to read, haha.

Please read them yourself and post the hiking exception. Hahaha.
I sooo wish you were right. It's just going to, during and from hunting, fishing, camping, and the range. If you stop at Walmart for ammo or stop for gas you committed a crime in Florida. Just a hike in the woods is a crime. OC on a friends land is a crime.

I see a lot of Texas motorcyclists open carrying these days.

My opinion is that if you do OC, it shouldn't be your only gun.  If someone decides to grab the only Lego-gripped 1911 in the world, they probably have fixated on the brightly colored grips and not noticed the Glock 23 shaped bulge elsewhere.

There is more than one way to skin a cat, particularly if you're not bound by department rules & regulations.

I never open carry.

On my own property or when out in the woods at home (WV/mountains).

If I'm off my property I'm carrying concealed.

I'm trying to talk the wife into moving to WY. I want to move out there so bad. I love my home state but we are getting flooded with people from NY, NJ, MD and MA. They move down here to escape the mess in those states but then they still vote the same way. I fear soon enough my state will turn blue.

As for carrying a backup, I almost always carry a backup. I have a rotation that I use. Either a S&W 340 .357, S&W 342Ti .38, Glock 43 9mm, Glock 42 .380, Beretta Nano 9mm or a Beretta Pico .380 is carried as a back up. The only time I don't carry a back up is when I am carrying one of these as a primary to make a late night quick store run. My S&W 342Ti .38 gets the nod 87% of the time. It weighs almost nothing. It is carried in either in a Galco ankle glove or it is carried in an Aholster company kydex pocket holster. I also carry two speed strips for it.

I've lived here all my life. Born in Atlanta, went to The University of Georgia, moved to Buckhead after graduation; and then to the suburbs of Roswell to raise a family. I've noticed the same thing outlined in blue. They move away and recite the exorbitant taxes, high costs of living, and even higher crime rates, etc... yet the idiots keep voting the same way that potentiates more of the same for stupid high taxes, soft on crime problems that ruined their home state. I don't understand them...

Only when hunting....otherwise concealed for tactical reasons.

There. I think we've arrived at what they call the bottom line of this debate.

I guess some people here only support PART of the 2nd amendment... which kind of makes me sad, but not as sad as the name calling they direct toward those who fully support it.  Personally I wish open carry was so common that people didn't even think anything of it, just like seeing a cell phone on your belt.  If everyone had a gun, this whole "tactical advantage of concealing" would be blown apart anyway.  

But the reality is, people who carry are a small minority, and most places you go you may very well be the only person with a gun. In that case, I can see an argument being made for concealing so you aren't the first target, but only if the situation is someone planning on shooting the place up anyway.  It's far more likely that you or someone around you will be the target of a robbery, a mugging, or something where the perpetrator plans to flee rather than die at the end of the act.  How many times have you heard of a robbery taking place at the local gas station while a uniformed police officer is at the counter paying for his coffee?  Or somebody just randomly trying to take a cop's gun out of his holster?  I'm sure it has happened... People do some crazy shit... But it's incredibly rare, and the reason isn't the badge on his chest, it's because the vast majority of criminals aren't going to start shit with someone who definitely has a gun.


Having said that, to answer the original question, I have open carried in public exactly one time.  I always open carry a G22 when I'm working or playing at my wife's family's ranch, and on one occasion I went into town to pick up some lunch without changing guns and holsters first.  Other than that, I always carry concealed.

eh...in a place where its not common maybe, i went to walmart today(it's our only store) and i counted 10 others open carrying various pistols, couple glocks a sheild one nicer looking 1911.  Its just normal, maybe in cities where liberals lose their shit at the sight of anything but i honestly think were thinking to hard in this thread....


i do think those who open carry a LONG GUN in store are douche bags

The range

You're wrong. The element of surprise is a "tactical defensive action" that can also be offensive depending on the situation. Your next statement illustrates when the element of surprise IS a defensive move. You are acting in a defensive manner when you surprise the bad guy by drawing and shooting him. There is no question that Open Carry is an ignorant method of carrying a defensive firearm. The whole purpose I carry a firearm is to "defend" myself from another person's illegal use of deadly force against me. If I Open Carry my firearm then the bad guy is alerted to the fact I have a firearm and he will strategize how to surprise me and probably kill me before I have a chance to even think about the need to draw and fire my weapon at him. The main point here is an offensive action is one where the person  initiates the action. A defensive action is where a person "reacts" to the "offensive" action.

Use some common sense and think about this. If you were a bad guy planning on robbing a restaurant and walked into the restaurant with your weapon hidden until you assessed the situation inside and you immediately noticed a cop or an individual (armed open carrier) sitting and eating inside, then you would (if you were intent on the robbery) target that armed person to take him out by surprise. Probably walk behind him/her draw your weapon and either immediately shoot them in the back or (if you're less evil or desperate, which I would not want to have to depend upon the bad guy being a "nice" bad guy and sparing my life) merely try to disarm them so you can commit your robbery. Or worse, kill all the witnesses as has happened in some robberies.

Before I retired I never carried my firearm in the open strictly because it eliminates your tactical element of surprise that can be the difference between your life and your death. On and off duty we were told to always keep our firearms and badges concealed. Unless we were wearing marked clothing for conducting raids or warrant service.

Or the bad guy could decide to go somewhere else. Or the open carrier could be conscientious about his positioning and situational awareness and seize the advantage. Your scenarios are things to be considered but you have to stop claiming they are the only options. The reality is that the advantages and concerns about open carry are both legitimate and need to be considered, but it's not a simple "open carry - good or bad?" question/answer.

FWIW, I don't generally open carry and think concealed is usually a smarter choice.

BULLSHIT.
Simpleton reductio ad absurdum argument from an open carrier... imagine that.

I think Westboro Baptist are raging retarded attention whores but I'd stand between them and the government to defend their 1st Amendment right to free speech.
By the same token I have a very, very low opinion of the vast majority of people who open carry, but I'll stand between them and the government to defend the 2nd.

Some people do not understand we just want to blend in and not be different.  OCing makes you different even if it were socially acceptable where no one made a fuss about it.  Just because I like to conceal does not make you and I any less a 2A supporter.  I do not say it is for tactical advantage or because I would be first shot I do it because I hate attention from strangers and I like to just be perceived as like everyone else and no one take notice of me.  I do not wear shirts or clothing that would draw attention to me and same with my side arm.  I do print and that does not bother me because 99% of people will never notice me printing because they are to busy on their phones snapfacespacing.

I prefer carrying concealed, but if I'm out in the woods or at one specific local public range I'll carry open.

We did that in Texas for a bit b/c that was the only way to legally open carry, and an Army MSG was arrested in Temple, Texas, for legally openly carrying a rifle walking down the street.  That campaign got us open carry of pistols for the 1st time since Reconstruction.

I regularly carry a long gun into businesses, but I conceal it.  

Nowhere. CC is easy even when it is 14,000° here.

When hunting is about it for me.

I'm from the OC is tactically stupid opinion (and its just an opinion) but you be you and dont be a douche. And by douche I mean the guy wearing a Punisher shirt, hanging your hand on the gun, strutting or giving the stink eye to people. Its supposed to be about defense, not showing off.

You’re playing word games.  The robber uses the element of surprise (action) to initiate the robbery;  you must then try to defend yourself (reaction) and control the damage.  Additionally, to call that 'defensive surprise' you have to assume the robber has never heard of concealed carry and will be astonished by it.  I don’t believe that to be true.

I have several questions, all of which I predict you’ll ignore as you cannot defend that ignorant statement.

The same can be said of OC as well.  You see, killing another person is going to change your life.  If for the sake of argument we assume your self-defense shooting is readily apparent to be justified, do you seriously believe you are just going to wake up the next day and go to work like nothing happened?  Do you think the mayor is going to hold a parade because you took another bad guy off the street, or is it more likely his family is going to take you to civil court?  

Historically, are self-defense shootings always, sometimes, or seldom cut-&-dried justified?  Now imagine your self-defense shooting is not so easy to determine justification; are you prepared financially, emotionally, and relationally for the catastrophe that’s going to follow?  

So knowing that killing anyone, justified or not, is going to negatively impact your life; is it better to react with defensive ‘surprise’ or look for ways to prevent it from ever occurring in the first place?  Open carry has deterred crime, and I can say that not because I read about it somewhere, or speculated about it, but because I saw it happen.  The internet is full of anonymous tough-guys implying they hope someone starts something so they can kill them.  Reality is very different.

Is and will are absolutes, thus your argument is self-obliterated.  He may see it, and then again, he may not.  Likewise, he may strategize how to surprise and kill you, or he may go looking for an easier target.  Historically the latter is truer than the former.  

Another false absolute.  You may believe all robbers are willing to murder, but the empirical evidence proves your assumption is wrong.  Like I mentioned previously, you can watch hours of surveillance videos of actual robberies; how often did that robber check the beltline of the other people in the store?  You may happen on one or two where the robber fails to notice the uniformed cop standing at the coffee pot.

Again, each carry method has its place.  If you determine that it isn’t suitable for you in your environment, then you shouldn’t carry openly.  Making ridiculous speculative absolute statements doesn’t ‘prove’ anything.

You must be in the cooler part of Texas we get to the 36,000 degree mark often down in south Texas.

I open carry at home or when I'm out on my private property. But when I go out into public, I prefer to carry concealed.

On longer road trips I carry OWB crossdraw. I may stop for gas or run into the convenience store but that's it for open carry.

Only in the woods and at the range. I support open carry but I don't want to draw attention to myself so it's not for me.

I fully admit to painting with a broad brush.

I only open carry out in the desert or in the woods.  Everywhere else, it's CCW.

INB4 the pole

I cc 100% of the time.

The first two times I ever carried a pistol on my person I open carried.

It's all preference. If I were ever out in the woods then I'd open carry but being in town I do not want the attention.

I'm glad Tx finally got around to passing open carry (even if you do have to have a permit ) because every now and then my shirt will come up over my cc and expose it and now I don't have to worry about it.

Even of we got OC back in FL I would perfer to conceal. Showing your hand just makes to target one should someone want to do something I think. Also the constant hassle of liberal store managers harassing you to leave the establishment while they apply corporate policy just wouldn't be worth my time. You can stand there and scream "my right" all day, meanwhile you and your family will still earn a tresspass warning with nothing but wasted time and high blood pressure tp show for it while I'm back in the car and on my way home.

Sounds like one of those leo's that "tolerate" non Leo's  carrying.  I'll stop carrying a gun when cops stop trying to put out car fires with that lil extinguisher from the trunk. Or when they can get to a gsw or battery call faster then I can in the Engine.

I have no idea what this means, can you explain?

Also, I'm stupid I should have included a poll! Maybe I will post a poll later with a few of the options mentioned.

open carry on duty, in my car, and while hunting. The rest of the time I conceale carry. I live in TX, and have oly seen open carry two times. None one cared. I respect others right to OC. I just do not need the attention of OC.

Not needed or wanted here. - Maynard

LOL at the guy who's watched too many Hollywood westerns.

Openly carried guns were never a "normal" part of society outside of carrying them as part of your job.
The blacksmith, shopkeeper, saloonkeeper, banker, carpenter, miner, farrier, etc. didn't walk around Dodge City strapped.
The cowboy fresh off the trail might be carrying up until he arrived in town then the guns came off and were put away.

Sorry man... totin a gun around town has never been fashionable or normal.