Open Carry Experiment..

[gsh341]

Originally Posted by Lazarus

When was the last time you saw a cop walking the streets? Uniform is a deterrent but I know of off duty cops that were robbed at gun point. One was in Newark, off duty and the thug just wanted his wallet. If the guy would have seen his gun or even looked inside the wallet the chances of the cop surviving would have went down, I'm willing to bet.

I see cops walking the streets on a regular basis after dark. They're usually doing bar patrols and checking doors to make sure they're secure.

I carry openly on a regular basis. I get an occasional odd look, but rarely does anyone say anything. When they do say something it's either incredibly stupid about the legality of it or an honest question asking if I'm a cop.

Also, open carry is a deterrent. Have you ever seen a cop shot so the BG could have his gun? I've never even heard of it, let alone seen it. If a cop is killed it's something else that brought on the confrontation. Open carry does have it's own concerns though. You need a good holster with positive retention via thumb strap or something similar. You also need to pay attention to who is around you and what they are doing.

If a mugger/robber knows you're armed they will be much less likely to start something. It also serves as a reminder that many more people are carrying concealed weapons. South Dakota has the largest percentage of citizens with concealed permits in the US with 7.4% of South Dakotans possessing a concealed pistol permit. Next highest is Indiana and Pennsylvania at 6.4% each. The nice thing is that South Dakota doesn't require a permit of any kind to OC.

Occasionally people (criminals included) forget that handguns are so commonly carried. The occasional OCer serves as a very good reminder.

[forum]

I don't see the big deal, I OC quite frequently in a blackhawk serpa. I'm not really worried about someone trying to grab my gun since the retention on the holster is quite good. The biggest reaction I get from people is the jaw at the floor and stared at. I've never even had someone try to talk to the scary guy with the gun. Don't act any different than normal and nobody will care.

[robinsre]

From the few times I've open carried, and the 2 times I've been outed concealed carrying I've found that if you carry in a holster, and act and dress in even a semi-professional manner most folks will just assume you are a police officer.

[eyesopened]

jcabin - check out OpenCarry.org, it's a great resource for OPEN CARRY. I've OC before and most times people don't even notice. If they do notice, they wrongly assume I'm in law enforcement of some sort. It's all about the way you carry yourself. I also find that I'm even MORE polite while I'm OC, I guess I'm subconciosly setting a good example for the community. Now if you dress and act like the Icy Hot Stuntaz, you'll probably get the cops called on you.

You guys ever wonder why it's always the "high crime area" that has the most restrictive gun laws? Or is it the other way around, why the areas with most restrictive gun laws, always the "high crime area." The criminals know that they will be the ones that have the weapons so it has emboldened them to prey on everyone else. Criminals will routinely prey on soft targets, because they like gun control. They want to be the only ones with guns. If you have a gun, it makes their job harder to do and they don't like that at all.

When you allow the law abiding citizens to carry defensive firearms Open or Concealed, it levels the playing field with the criminal. I live in Northern Virginia, less than 30 miles from the nation's capitol, Washington DC, as well as Maryland. I routinely hear of muggings and shootings in those areas and it amazes me because there are no guns in DC and the gun laws are very restrictive in MD. Yet Virginia in comparison you are allowed to OC without a permit and CC permits are SHALL ISSUE. The amount of hand gun crime I hear on the news is much lower here, go figure huh? Now criminals realize that Grandma could be packing a wheel gun in her purse, so they don't commit their crimes here, they cross the river to the Gun Free Zones where it's safe! That's why I'd never live in a state that allows the criminals to have guns, but not me.

How many crimes have been deterred because a citizen was OC? We'll never know, because those crimes aren't reported or never took place.

gsh341 - Where did you get your stats on % of permit holders? I'd like to see where VA stacks up. As far as I know, there are about 150,000+ CHP holders in VA.

[jeepinbanditrider]

Okay

1)Show me PROOF that OCers get targeted during an incident. I bet it's extremely hard to find. Infact I've never seen or heard of it.

2)I OC in one of the most gun unfriendly counties/cities in North Carolina. How many "negative" reactions have I gotten in two years of OC? 1. How many times have I had the cops called on me? Never. How many times has a cop even said ONE word to me while I was carrying? Never.

The fact of the matter is no one really gives a **** most of the time and those that do either can't make a good argument or just continue on their way. Hell most of the time no one every notices the damn 2 lb hunk of plastic and steel on my hip whether carrying the Glock or the XDSC with full size mag.

[George Costanza]

Open carry is perfectly legal here, although I do not see it done. Only once have I seen somebody open carrying, that was in Bowling Green. I saw it, and thought to myself, "good for you". I personally do not mind seeing people open carry.

For myself, I just do not want to draw attention to myself. I know it is my RIGHT as a citizen to do it, but what's to say some "anti" goof, sees you open carrying and runs and tells your "anti" boss, they saw you carrying a gun somewhere blah blah... No they cannot fire you for it, but the could get in their mind that you are some kind of "gun nut" or "radical", and they fear you will come in and shoot up the place, so they start looking for a reason to get rid of you. (and if they look hard enough at anybody, I am sure they WILL find a reason).

To me, concealed is the only way to go. I might be paranoid.

If anybody else wants to open carry.... more power to them. If more people had the cojones to open carry, it probably wouldn't be as taboo.

[Lazarus]

Originally Posted by jcabin

its a harmless experiment.. i just want to see how people respond, to get a feel for the general attitude towards open carry/people seeing guns in public, of the people in my area..

Its cool. Go and exercise your rights. Personally I just don't see a point in OC.

[eyesopened]

Originally Posted by George Costanza

For myself, I just do not want to draw attention to myself. I know it is my RIGHT as a citizen to do it, but what's to say some "anti" goof, sees you open carrying and runs and tells your "anti" boss, they saw you carrying a gun somewhere blah blah... No they cannot fire you for it, but the could get in their mind that you are some kind of "gun nut" or "radical", and they fear you will come in and shoot up the place, so they start looking for a reason to get rid of you. (and if they look hard enough at anybody, I am sure they WILL find a reason).

Wow, that's quite the butterfly effect scenario right there! I once OC in Northern Virginia, and I heard of some grass fires in So Cal. Sorry about that fellas!

I live/work in a At Will state, so essentially I can be fired for just about anything you can think of. I have a target with the center ring shot out hanging in my office on a gov't facility and I'm a IT contractor. Only comments I've had are positive, asking me what gun did I use or how often do I go shooting etc. If people have such a bad stigma associated to legally carrying citizens, instead of hiding why not do something about it and try to change the status quo.

If it's legal in your part of the world, try it out and you'll see that people are just oblivious to the fact and it's a non event. Take a look through this thread, it's just some experiences of NoVA folks excercising their rights: Open Carry in NoVA - Virginia - Stories From The States - OpenCarry.org - Discussion Forum

[eyesopened]

Originally Posted by Lazarus

Its cool. Go and exercise your rights. Personally I just don't see a point in OC.

I find it funny that you have the following in your signature:

You never know what you'll miss until its gone.

I sure would miss having the right to OC.

[SpringfieldXD.40]

Originally Posted by Lazarus

Its cool. Go and exercise your rights. Personally I just don't see a point in OC.

The point, Laz, is that a right unexcercised is a right lost....I am sure you can see the point in trying to preserve our rights as gun owners/carriers, correct?