I just recently turned 21 and got my CHL and I have run into the issue of whether or not it is a good idea to carry while I'm getting drunk in a bar.  When I know I'm only going to have 2 or 3 beers I don't have a problem with it but when my friends and I are on a mission of liver destruction I have not been carrying.  Even though being drunk in a bar is a very likely place to run into trouble I just don't feel comfortable with it.  I mean just imagine if you had to kill someone in self defense and the anti-gun Nazis found out you had been drinking.

I would just like to know what some of you guys do in this situation and what your opinions are.

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Don't carry in a bar, drunk or sober.

Don't go to a bar to get drunk, carrying or not.

It's just asking for trouble either way.  Do fistfights break out for no damn good reason at the mall?  At the skate park?  The anti-gun Nazis will be the least of your problems if a DA discovers you were involved in a shoot (righteous or not) while drunk at a bar.  Can you spell "f-u-c-k-e-d-i-n-t-h-e-a-s-s"?  I knew you could.

Don't do it.  Not a good idea.  Carrying is a huge responsibility.  Not just for being cool.

Good luck.

It ain't illegal! I carry 24-7-365!
You guys need to learn, IF IT AIN"T ILLEGAL, THEN IT IS LEGAL!!!!!

Quoted: It ain't illegal! I carry 24-7-365! You guys need to learn, IF IT AIN"T ILLEGAL, THEN IT IS LEGAL!!!!!

I saw nobody intimate that it was illegal. Unwise, yes.

Not a smart move.

Consider driving drunk.  Your car can be a weapon.  0.08= you're drunk whether you say you feel you're drunk or not.

You shoot someone at a bar or afterward with alcohol on your breath and you can bet that you'll be blowing into an intoxilizer or at the least it will be brought up front and center in court.  Do you really expect a jury to believe you had your shit together or would they be more apt to believe you were a mean drunk wanting to whoop some ass??

Yes, it's legal.  STUPID, but legal.  
You make the call.......it's just common sense.

Just to reiterate I DO NOT CARRY WHILE AT BARS GETTING DRUNK.  I said that before.  What I really wanted to know was if any of you did carry at bars and it looks like at least one of us out there does.  BTW a friend of mine that is a reserve police officer told me that he carrys while at bars.  Now that would cause one hell of a clusterfuck.....A drunk cop kills someone in a bar fight.... As if LEOs don't get enough heat as it is. Oh well.

I carry when I go to barfs and DON't drink. However, on the rare occasion when I am not the designated driver and I get to drink and don't carry. I can't imagine the hellstorm one would get in if involved in a shoot while being drunk. Otherwise, HELL YES carry as long as you don't drink.

I error on the side of caution unless I am drunk....
Get it???

I don't go to bars/meatmarkets anymore.  I'm a happily married family man.  I simply have no interest or desire to visit such establishments and I couldn't tell you the last time I was drunk/tipsy outside of my home.  

Rule #1: I try to always carry my gun with me.  We don't get to choose when or where we will need the tool.  The last place I want my gun to be if I, God forbid, ever find myself in a life or death situation is in a safe at home.  

Rule #2: If I plan on having more than 2 drinks I refer to rule #1 and change my plan.

I have no problem with someone carrying in a bar, but please do so responsibly.  In a lot of states it is illegal to carry in a drinking establishment and I would hate to give the antis fuel to change Oregon law and restrict where I can carry.  

Good luck and stay safe,
-.45

Tell you what:  ask this question of the person who taught your CHL class.

Then, ask yourself this: what are you going to do when two or three guys take offense to your presence at the bar and are going to beat you senseless.  They are bigger than you, and probably drunk or on something.  One says, "I'm gonna take that gun from you and pound it up your ass".

What's your next move?

If you feel comfy carrying when you've been drinking, do you feel comfy DRIVING when you've been drinking?

no.

It isn't illegal, but I don't do it.

Quoted: I just recently turned 21 and got my CHL and I have run into the issue of whether or not it is a good idea to carry while I'm getting drunk in a bar.  When I know I'm only going to have 2 or 3 beers I don't have a problem with it but when my friends and I are on a mission of liver destruction I have not been carrying.  Even though being drunk in a bar is a very likely place to run into trouble I just don't feel comfortable with it.  I mean just imagine if you had to kill someone in self defense and the anti-gun Nazis found out you had been drinking. I would just like to know what some of you guys do in this situation and what your opinions are. Thanks and Happy New Year!

I will be carrying even to bars. Some may say other wise but i Learned from my brother that things happen to you and when you least expect it.. and if you carry DO NOT get into any BAR FIGHTS.. LET IT GO... Consult the Bouncers first!. When my bro is Off duty he carries every where. Including when we go to strip clubs when we go to them( Sometimes).

Should read my Post,

click here

Maybe a better choice for an armed drinker would be OC.

Gunkata-

I did read your post about that incedent you had at the bar the other night and it is what made me decide to post about this topic.  I still wont be carring while I drink though.

If I'm DD'ing, or stopping by to meet some friends for a beer and some food  I carry.  If I'm going out and drinking, it stays at home, or if I'm been out before in the lock box in the car.  I always am carrying a knife and OC, but that's just out of habit since they're in my pockets.

When I carry in a bar (and I do), I do not drink at all.  Water and cokes are it for me while carrying.  I usually have to drive home so it all works out for me...

Mark.

If you are planning to get trashed, don't carry.  If it is just a couple beers, then carry.

I carry whenever I leave my house.  I haven't drank til drunk away from home in a long time, but if I were going to, I would not carry.

WS4LIF and I discuss this topic all of the time. He usually chooses to NOT carry when he is planning on drinking to the point of a headache the next morning. Which I think is wise. When people drink they loose their senses; time, vision, and wits all seem to blur and your emotions become heightened and more sensitive. All of these things could contribute to poor judgement by a carrier in a bad situation. So I think it is best to not carry. Another important reason to think about is if you pass out or are getting to that point you start to not know what is going on around you someone could easily swipe your gun from you and do what they please with it. And you would feel terrible if that person hurt you, or anyone else with what was supposed to be a safety protection device and now was used as a weapon. So if you are a carrier that chooses the 24/7 365 routine I would recommend going to establishments that the riffraff stay out of.

Another thing to keep in mind is how many times did you get shitfaced and didn't set out to get that way?  I'm many years older than the originator of this thread and I know from experience that what you plan and what actually happens is not always the same.

Quoted: If you are planning to get trashed, don't carry.  If it is just a couple beers, then carry. I carry whenever I leave my house.  I haven't drank til drunk away from home in a long time, but if I were going to, I would not carry.

+1

I pack in bars.
I drink and pack in bars, BUT I don't get drunk, I don't like to get drunk so I don't worry about accidental getting drunk.  I am ok with having a beer and feeling comfortable with my sense of awareness and decision making ability.
I think you definitely open yourself up to a little scrutiny and additional questioning if you were involved in a shooting and had consumed alcohol within a few hours prior to a shooting but to say that your instantly phucked is way out there. A drunk guy who got jumped and shot his attackers is still a victim, a drunk victim yes, but a victim none the less. No laws were broken and the DA has no case.
While I support LEO's and realize the need for them I am comfortable saying that in the hours /days after a shooting if there is even a sliver of doubt of your justification for shooting someone the Police are not your friend, and whether you are crazy drunk or the Pope sitting on a stack of Bibles you need to say nothing and contact an attorney immediately.
It is not always a good idea to leave your gun in the car and walk into the bar assuming that you will be safe because there is a bouncer at the door, the bouncer may be the guy trying to kick your ass at the end of the night.
I think a bar is the place  where, on the average day of all the places I might go, I am the most likely to encounter hostile individuals.
I like the idea of carrying OC in addition to your gun, a lot of loud drunks can be silenced with a shot of OC and you can make your exit. When I turned 21 I drank to get drunk, I fell right on my face in the bar scene, I was a bad drunk, I became a different man when the first drop hit my belly, I was not responsible enough to keep my bearing and pack, at 21 I would have been better leaving it at home. I don't know you or your drinking habits, just remember that your entering unfamiliar territory. The bar you go to will say alot too. The big dance clubs are always more likely to have fights and disorder, you go to your corner pub where people are just there to drop quarters in the jukebox and laugh over a pint the crowd will be much more docile. Choose your enviroment appropriately. You walk into the lions den and your likely to get bit. get it?

Not all bouncers are good
Portland news
ETA new link same story
Not all bouncers are good and your not going t be hung out to dry if you pack in a bar
Eugene news

I have the ability to set a limit of two or three beers over the span of a couple of hours while I play pool and stick with that.  If I KNOW that's all I'm drinking I'll carry.  If that's something you can do (and you have to be brutally 100% honest with yourself) then it shouldn't be a problem.  Some people out there, however, say they're only going to "have a few drinks" and then proceed to get shitty.  These are the same people driving home when the bar closes while still tipsy.  If you're one of those people then by all means don't carry.

If I even think that I might be drinking more than that my glock stays home and my fox spray goes in my pocket.  

Although I do always carry my folding knife clipped to my pocket regardless.  YMMV

Go to a bar to get drunk, while carrying........ .  Please don't give the antis any reasons to push for taking away our right to have a CHL.

At 21 most guys don't have the wisdom and experience of us old farts, so please listen to the good advice you are getting from the members here and consider the huge responsibility you assume when you are issued a CHL.

There have been a lot of very good points made in this thread and I really like the idea of OC spray and I think that I'll look into getting some.  I will carry if I'm going to out to dinner and planning on having a beer with my meal.  Anything more than that and the pistol stays at home.

Quoted: There have been a lot of very good points made in this thread and I really like the idea of OC spray and I think that I'll look into getting some.  I will carry if I'm going to out to dinner and planning on having a beer with my meal.  Anything more than that and the pistol stays at home.

"A smart man learns from his mistakes...a wise man learns from the mistakes of others."

I think you have made a wise choice.  Always carry something to defend the gun.

Quoted: When I carry in a bar (and I do), I do not drink at all.  Water and cokes are it for me while carrying.  I usually have to drive home so it all works out for me... Mark.

My MO exactly.  

I do make an exception if I am having a (as in one and only one) beer with dinner.  

I have not been "out drinking" in many, many years.  

I have been stone sober, in a bar, and wanting to pistol whip my drunk ass friends through.  

Dont bother, all the dangerous places search you with  a metal detector anyway.

Quoted: Dont bother, all the dangerous places search you with  a metal detector anyway.

That's why I carry a Glock 7