Posted: 2/23/2009 8:43:06 AM EDT
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Who does It?
Reasons Why? Reasons Why Not? I suspect just lack of concealing clothes...more comfort....or maybe hopes to make it more "normal" to be seen in our society. |
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Man, this thread comes up every couple months and they never end well.
I open carry sometimes. It depends on the time and location though. For example, I've open carried pumping gas at a QuickTrip coming home from the range. I think a guy is probably giving away an advantage if he openly carries downtown Atlanta on a Friday night and there is no way I'd do that. I've open carried walking my dog in the neighborhood. I've open carried in restaurants with my cop buddies after a morning at the range (everyone just assumes I'm a cop I suppose). Some guys are going to think openly carrying a firearm is only done by complete idiots who are giving up a tactical advantage or are asking for trouble by freaking out the wrong person. In some situations I very much agree. I do think if you are going to open carry the proper holster can be a big issue. Again, depends on the time and place. I don't worry carrying a 1911 in my OWB Safariland with no retention. If I was walking through Kroger where someone might get close to me I'd use a holster with better retention. But, yes it is my right to openly carry and I sometimes (although not often) exercise it. Mark |
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Man, this thread comes up every couple months and they never end well. I open carry sometimes. It depends on the time and location though. For example, I've open carried pumping gas at a QuickTrip coming home from the range. I think a guy is probably giving away an advantage if he openly carries downtown Atlanta on a Friday night and there is no way I'd do that. I've open carried walking my dog in the neighborhood. I've open carried in restaurants with my cop buddies after a morning at the range (everyone just assumes I'm a cop I suppose). Some guys are going to think openly carrying a firearm is only done by complete idiots who are giving up a tactical advantage or are asking for trouble by freaking out the wrong person. In some situations I very much agree. I do think if you are going to open carry the proper holster can be a big issue. Again, depends on the time and place. I don't worry carrying a 1911 in my OWB Safariland with no retention. If I was walking through Kroger where someone might get close to me I'd use a holster with better retention. But, yes it is my right to openly carry and I sometimes (although not often) exercise it. Mark This. I use to all the time but the attention was not worth it and it started to get dangerous. Being continually approached and berated by idiot liberals and some idiot police officers just drew too much attention to make it worth while. Plus as Dking mentioned it gives you away to anyone wanting to start a problem. It is way more comfortable though. |
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That's what I was thinking. Time and Place.
The only thing is that I only knew people who openly carried in rural areas, usually on their own larger property where they wouldn't worry too much anyway. I just never really see anyone open carrying right in the open public, and I wonder if people did it more often, if the activity would warrant less attention and become pretty commonplace, but that may be asking much. I recall only one encounter with an open carrying citizen when I went out fishing with family. He was trying to get his boat in the water but he was all alone, so my family helped him out. Very nice fellow, no one mentions the gun at all. I'd like it if it were always like that...wherever you went. I also thought maybe some people carried openly as a deterrent...rather than having the tactical advantage of a hidden weapon in a situation...maybe just preventing a situation completely..But the time and place idea comes into play. |
| I'll open carry if I'm wearing an organizational shirt or something identifying me as a "good guy." Otherwise, I conceal- I worry more about idiot local cops than bad guys. I had a team member slammed against the wall at a QuikTrip with no warning by a local cop because he was openly carrying. |
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This. I use to all the time but the attention was not worth it and it started to get dangerous. Being continually approached and berated by idiot liberals and some idiot police officers just drew too much attention to make it worth while. Plus as Dking mentioned it gives you away to anyone wanting to start a problem. It is way more comfortable though. While it is absolutely true it does attract unwanted attention, it is usually from our friends the cops. I just wanted to clarify most of the criminals are not looking to start a fight with someone who is armed. However I have had so many OC people need services because they were ID'ed by cops who decided they were either at a public gathering, impersonating an officer, or disturbing the peace. While their success rate is low in these charges I have managed to expand my small collection this way quite nicely. So, I wholeheartedly endorse OC even if I rarely do it... |
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I have a few times. going for walks around the neighborhood, especially at night, and I'll wear a T-shirt and the SERPA.
I OC'd in Wal-Mart one night about 1 am, and to be honest I did NOT care much for it. I have never really worried about people making me when I CCW, but I really felt like everyone was watching me when I did that. Couldn't really concentrate on buying a pair of sunglasses. 
So as is the case for so many things, do what works for you. |
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I OC occasionally when I'm in the mood but CC 99% of the time.
I was CC'ing in Walmart the other day on a mission to buy their only box of .38. Up walks a hulk of a man plainly open carrying. Harley shirt, longish hair, fumanchu, etc. with a little .380 on his hip that I'm sure would get lost in his mitt of hand. I asked if he ever got hassled about it. He said no, just that kids give him a long stare sometimes. |
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I only OC when it is hunting season and I'm on the way to the club for the weekend. Rural areas only, nobody has ever given me a hard time, but it is very obvious what I'm doing with a 4-wheeler on the trailer and me all dressed in hunting clothes.
I prefer concealed for day-to-day stuff, don't need any interaction with the police that would keep them from more important stuff like real crime or polishing the APC  .
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This. I use to all the time but the attention was not worth it and it started to get dangerous. Being continually approached and berated by idiot liberals and some idiot police officers just drew too much attention to make it worth while. Plus as Dking mentioned it gives you away to anyone wanting to start a problem. It is way more comfortable though. While it is absolutely true it does attract unwanted attention, it is usually from our friends the cops. I just wanted to clarify most of the criminals are not looking to start a fight with someone who is armed. However I have had so many OC people need services because they were ID'ed by cops who decided they were either at a public gathering, impersonating an officer, or disturbing the peace. While their success rate is low in these charges I have managed to expand my small collection this way quite nicely. So, I wholeheartedly endorse OC even if I rarely do it... DKing, that is disturbing to hear. To the original poster - I carry openly because I am the President of GeorgiaCarry.Org, and I believe it is good for business owners to whom I am about to deliver money, the general public to whom I am overtly polite and friendly, and police officers to whom I smile and nod, to see somebody carrying a firearm who is not obviously a police officer or a criminal. I have not had the negative experiences with the public or the police that many people post here. |
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...... and I believe it is good for business owners to whom I am about to deliver money, the general public to whom I am overtly polite and friendly, and police officers to whom I smile and nod, to see somebody carrying a firearm who is not obviously a police officer or a criminal...... That's what I wanted to see/hear 
Like I said...I just think more overt carry from responsible and nice people will make it more normal to people, more acceptable, more peaceful. And nice to meet you Mr. Elusive GCO President. |
Good to meet you, too!
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This. I use to all the time but the attention was not worth it and it started to get dangerous. Being continually approached and berated by idiot liberals and some idiot police officers just drew too much attention to make it worth while. Plus as Dking mentioned it gives you away to anyone wanting to start a problem. It is way more comfortable though. While it is absolutely true it does attract unwanted attention, it is usually from our friends the cops. I just wanted to clarify most of the criminals are not looking to start a fight with someone who is armed. However I have had so many OC people need services because they were ID'ed by cops who decided they were either at a public gathering, impersonating an officer, or disturbing the peace. While their success rate is low in these charges I have managed to expand my small collection this way quite nicely. So, I wholeheartedly endorse OC even if I rarely do it... That sucks, not for you though (job security). I have responded to numerous calls about a person with a gun. Everytime I've responded, I simply ask if they have a permit, thats it. I've had many traffic stops where the driver tells me that they have a gun in the car, I have never asked to see the gun nor removed the gun from the car. The only time I've ever taken someone's gun from the car is when I arrested this man for DUI and requested that I take the gun out of the car before it was impounded, thats it. |
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because he's the popo Bingo....Our SOP states that if we open carry, we must display our badge on our belt next to the gun. Sorry, but I don't want to broadcast to the world that I'm the popo while open carrying. So wait....why are there people that get accused of impersonating police if they have no badge? |
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This. I use to all the time but the attention was not worth it and it started to get dangerous. Being continually approached and berated by idiot liberals and some idiot police officers just drew too much attention to make it worth while. Plus as Dking mentioned it gives you away to anyone wanting to start a problem. It is way more comfortable though. While it is absolutely true it does attract unwanted attention, it is usually from our friends the cops. I just wanted to clarify most of the criminals are not looking to start a fight with someone who is armed. However I have had so many OC people need services because they were ID'ed by cops who decided they were either at a public gathering, impersonating an officer, or disturbing the peace. While their success rate is low in these charges I have managed to expand my small collection this way quite nicely. So, I wholeheartedly endorse OC even if I rarely do it... That sucks, not for you though (job security). I have responded to numerous calls about a person with a gun. Everytime I've responded, I simply ask if they have a permit, thats it. I've had many traffic stops where the driver tells me that they have a gun in the car, I have never asked to see the gun nor removed the gun from the car. The only time I've ever taken someone's gun from the car is when I arrested this man for DUI and requested that I take the gun out of the car before it was impounded, thats it. That was my policy, too, except I never asked about the firearms license. If it was private property, I just asked the owner what he wanted to do. If the owner wanted him to leave, then the owner had to tell him. I would accompany him, but that was all. I did not try to act as the owner's agent. I must have worked in a little rougher area, though, because I took a lot more guns during during arrests than that. Some few of them tried to kill me with them, and yet I still had the same policy of not disarming normal, law-abiding motorists during routine traffic stops. None of the immediate threats to my life came from a routine traffic stop, and there was always something "not right" other than the mere presence of a gun to signal to me that danger was coming. |
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I had an encounter about 3 years ago when I parked the car and walked 15 feet to an ATM open carrying that I wish I'd have had Dkings or MPs number at the time. Since then, I may open carry driving to the indoor pistol range I frequent, but I'll change to CC before leaving (unless I'm going straight home.
Personally I'm usually opposed to OC, but ONLY for me. I am all for anyone else doing it. Many who are OC advocates claim the deterrent factor (which I don't buy). If I was going to rob the local paki-mart, and I noticed someone OC'ing, regardless of if hes in a LEOs uniform or not, hes Target #1. If I only have a knife/non-firearm weapon, I won't try and rob ANYTHING until I have a gun, regardless of whether or not I see anyone OC'ing. I like being able to go from unarmed victim to OH FUCK WHERE'D HE GET THAT GUN!? in 2 seconds. |