do you let others know you carry?

[jgrauman]

i bartend nights to make ends meet during hard times and always laugh when somebody hands me their HCP as an ID. I don't think im being paranoid, but i sure as hell wouldn't be handing someone i didn't know a piece of identification that had my home address and the fact that i own and might carry a gun posted on it, oh and the fact that i'm not at home right now would be pretty obvious since im at the bar/resturaunt. most of the people that have shown them to me are guys and they get this "see how cool i am" look on their face. just a little advice if you've ever shown your HCP as a form of ID, especially at a resturaunt, there are shady people everywhere, don't take away your advantage because you think it makes you look cool. for that matter, if you think it makes you look cool, YOU SHOULDN'T BE CARRYING! there are a very few people that know i carry. close friends i shoot with, girls ive dated, and my buddy i work out with. i have open carried before. usually when i'm just running to get a pizza or to the grocery store and don't want to change, so i guess i've let those people know too. but when i'm concealed, i'm concealed.

[Smith]

no I don't and i don't think anyone should. If you carry concealed then why would you. If you OC then what difference does it make.

In my mind it's like flashing big wads of cash. you're just asking for trouble. IMO

[Guest jcoyle6]

I keep my HCP behind my DL. I am with you on this, for security sake. The only exception is that I never open carry. I just don't like it. I am more likely to disarm than open carry if I can't conceal. I do not hand over my HCP as a form of ID I think broadcasting in any way is unwise. As I see it, being a sheepdog in a field full of sheep, I will go out of my way to blend in and be nothing more than a memory for that pretty girl who wondered who that good looking guy was, or a nameless face in a crowd. Only under circumstances where I deem boat rocking appropriate would I ever consider announcing the fact (like getting into a concealed v. open carry 'discussion' at a gun show). But those are rare.

{besides who is gonna think the metro guy with the fag bag is strapped?}

[jgrauman]

{besides who is gonna think the metro guy with the fag bag is strapped?}

lmao:D

[Guest ETS_Inc]

{besides who is gonna think the fag guy with the metro bag is strapped?}

There, fixed it for ya!

[Marswolf]

Oh good. I was afraid this was gonna be another OC vs CC topic.

Good post, jgrauman.

You bring up a good point about IDs. I carry my TN carry permit behind my DL. My government ID is on the other side of the flap that holds the DL and CP. If you don't need to know about the CP or my government connections, you'll never see the other IDs. It's just a matter of prudence.

My wife would say that the guys flashing their CPs as IDs are just cowboys and lack the maturity to carry.

[creeky]

I don't show mine for ID. I did accidently pull it out by

mistake once when I had just changed wallets and was

at a bank with my kids. I was distracted and just happen to grab

the wrong one. (That was back when they were both horizontal.)

Most people I know, don't know I have a permit. Only if I am asked,

or it is brought up in conversation do I even mention it.

[molonlabetn]

Nobody ever knows that I carry

But, I don't use my HCP as an ID either... especially for buying alcohol or boarding an airliner.

[saintsfanbrian]

The only people that know I carry for a fact are my VERY CLOSE friends (of which I have 3),my family, people I shoot with, and the people I took the class with Other than that you don't need to know. As for using it as ID. The only time I did it was when someone questioned my drivers license. I took out the HCP and said "See, you HAVE TO BE 21 to get one of these."

[dunndw]

I've been made by a business associate who now uses it as a running joke in meetings with a select few people.

I don't use my permit as ID unless I have some need for two forms of picture ID...I've only got two.

My family knows. I had one of the wifes cousins on a rant abut carrying a gun (she wants one) but was thinking that anyone and everyone would be able to tell. I asked her if she noticed my gun. She said no with this odd look on her face. Then I pulled back my cover shirt to show her where the 1911 was...and she was floored.

[Guest canynracer]

i bartend nights to make ends meet during hard times and always laugh when somebody hands me their HCP as an ID. I don't think im being paranoid, but i sure as hell wouldn't be handing someone i didn't know a piece of identification that had my home address and the fact that i own and might carry a gun posted on it, oh and the fact that i'm not at home right now would be pretty obvious since im at the bar/resturaunt. most of the people that have shown them to me are guys and they get this "see how cool i am" look on their face. just a little advice if you've ever shown your HCP as a form of ID, especially at a resturaunt, there are shady people everywhere, don't take away your advantage because you think it makes you look cool. for that matter, if you think it makes you look cool, YOU SHOULDN'T BE CARRYING! there are a very few people that know i carry. close friends i shoot with, girls ive dated, and my buddy i work out with. i have open carried before. usually when i'm just running to get a pizza or to the grocery store and don't want to change, so i guess i've let those people know too. but when i'm concealed, i'm concealed.

Excellent point...my question is...Are you packing when you are bartending? LMAO

They really shouldnt allow this anyway, showing your HCP for intentions it was not designed for is idiotic.

that is why they creat ID cards and Drivers Licenses...I will keep mine behind my DL just so I can hand them both to a LEO at the same time. (when and IF I ever get it!!)

JJ

[Guest GT_Rat]

i bartend nights to make ends meet during hard times and always laugh when somebody hands me their HCP as an ID. I don't think im being paranoid, but i sure as hell wouldn't be handing someone i didn't know a piece of identification that had my home address and the fact that i own and might carry a gun posted on it, oh and the fact that i'm not at home right now would be pretty obvious since im at the bar/resturaunt. most of the people that have shown them to me are guys and they get this "see how cool i am" look on their face. just a little advice if you've ever shown your HCP as a form of ID, especially at a resturaunt, there are shady people everywhere, don't take away your advantage because you think it makes you look cool. for that matter, if you think it makes you look cool, YOU SHOULDN'T BE CARRYING! there are a very few people that know i carry. close friends i shoot with, girls ive dated, and my buddy i work out with. i have open carried before. usually when i'm just running to get a pizza or to the grocery store and don't want to change, so i guess i've let those people know too. but when i'm concealed, i'm concealed.

Just macho dick wagging IMO. Next time someone does that ask them if you should call the police to make sure they aren't carrying in an establishment that serves alcohol.

[Guest ETS_Inc]

Hey, don't let me be a wet blanket by being a voice of reason or anything, but maybe there's a reason they're using their HCP for ID. Maybe, just maybe, they accidentally left their DL somewhere earlier in the evening, and it got misplaced. Or, maybe after entering an earlier bar, they had just slipped into their back pocket, without returning it to their wallet, and when they went to take their wallet out to pay for a drink, the DL fell out and it got lost amongst the crowd.

Yeah, it might be a case of "My schwanz is bigger than yours because I can legally carry a gun," but it might not be. Maybe the "Look how cool I am." look is really a "Look, I'm an idiot and lost my DL, so now I have to use this other State-issued identification card for a wholly legal purpose."

Sometimes, people want to read too much into things.

I occassionally work the door at a local beer & cigar bar, and have had someone use their carry permit as ID, and others have had it behind their DL, so when they take out the DL, so I could read the date, I saw their HCP. I always thought "Great, another person with a permit. I wish their were more people like them around. I wonder what kind of gun they carry, and where did they get their training, because I don't recognize them as one of my former students."

[Guest Steelharp]

Let's see... my family knows, my close friends know...

and anybody that reads these boards we're all on know! C'mon, guys... you think you're not OC by just being here??? Think about it...

[TGO David]

Now that I think of it... I don't suppose it has ever really mattered to me if someone else knew that I carried. I don't advertise it, but any problem they have with that fact strikes me as being a personal problem that they need to get over.

[jgrauman]

Hey, don't let me be a wet blanket by being a voice of reason or anything, but maybe there's a reason they're using their HCP for ID. Maybe, just maybe, they accidentally left their DL somewhere earlier in the evening, and it got misplaced. Or, maybe after entering an earlier bar, they had just slipped into their back pocket, without returning it to their wallet, and when they went to take their wallet out to pay for a drink, the DL fell out and it got lost amongst the crowd.

Yeah, it might be a case of "My schwanz is bigger than yours because I can legally carry a gun," but it might not be. Maybe the "Look how cool I am." look is really a "Look, I'm an idiot and lost my DL, so now I have to use this other State-issued identification card for a wholly legal purpose."

Sometimes, people want to read too much into things.

I occassionally work the door at a local beer & cigar bar, and have had someone use their carry permit as ID, and others have had it behind their DL, so when they take out the DL, so I could read the date, I saw their HCP. I always thought "Great, another person with a permit. I wish their were more people like them around. I wonder what kind of gun they carry, and where did they get their training, because I don't recognize them as one of my former students."

i suppose you are right in some instances. but, for the most part the attitude that follows from these few is not the attitude of someone that i want representing the responsible gun owners of TN. i used to go out with my neighbor and when she ordered beer she would give her HCP, she would say "i love the look the servers get when they see that."

[dralarms]

I only show mine as a second form of ID unless I'm "producing" my dl for a cop, then I make darn sure he know's I got one.

[Guest witchdr]

I have never made a big secret of the fact that I carry but I don't feel the need to advertise it either .I sometimes carry open when that is what works for the situation and i figure if anybody notices(few do) then it's thier problem if they don't agree with me carrying ,as for my friends and family they all know i carry but since I am studying to be a gunsmith most just think it's a given that I carry I carry

[Marswolf]

Yeah, I don't think it's a big deal if someone knows I have a HCP. I don't particularly care if people know I pack, as long as they aren't the people who would want to attack me. I'd just as soon those folks not know I have a way to protect myself and launch a preemptive strike.

As far as people who have seen my HCP who don't need to, there aren't many. There are even fewer who have seen my government ID. My wife and one friend. The rest are coworkers. Well, that's not quite true. People who have seen the picture of my knife covering strategic parts of the ID have seen it. You just haven't seen all of it.

[Guest Boomhower]

I'm with the guys that it doesn't really bother if people a little more than a few ppl know that I carry or not. I likewise don't advertise while I'm out and about, but I'm not James Bond either. Most of my family knows (some of which just found out this past weekend), my close co-workers, I would say friends but that pretty much falls in the categories of co-workers and you guys here. I carry my CP behind my DL as well, but I use a front pocket wallet, so most of the times when I'm in my wallet for something, it's facing my belly. However, I agree with the comments of trying to be macho and showing your HCP as your first form of identification is just plain dumb.

[Guest 270win]

No, i do not tell people i have a handgun carry permit or show it to other people. Only a few relatives and couple of close friends even know i have a handgun carry permit. Other aquaintances who found out probably would not be surprised, since some people know i hunt and target shoot, and have LEO family in another state, but i'd rather keep my permit status to myself.

I go far enough to keep my hunter's education card in between my DL and Handgun Carry Permit, so that when i have to use my DL, only my Arkansas hunter ed card (people have no idea what they look like here since it is out of state and laminated) is showing in my wallet.

I only openly carry on purpose when taking part in sporting activities like hunting, hiking, or target shooting. It is nice that open carry is nice in the event your jacket blows open or the grip of your handgun pokes out of your pocket. I lived in a state that requires concealment when carrying on a concaled handgun license, so concealing and keeping my mouth shut is just a normal practice for me.

[Guest Engloid]

I see quite a difference in showing the HCP to one clerk at a store, and openly carrying where everybody can see your weapon.

I think there's a politically correct attitude among a lot of HCP holders. Open carry is legal, and so is using the HCP as an ID. It could also be said that possibly those that conceal and want to keep it a big secret do so because they have grandiose dreams of being the hero that saves the day, because some bad guy didn't know he was carrying.

I don't care so much who knows I carry, because it can also serve as a deterrance. You're better to prevent a bad situation than to try and deal with one that has already started.

That said, the only real reason I carry concealed is because i don't like all the odd looks and stares I get.

[Guest ETS_Inc]

Considering that I am a Carry Permit Instructor and a firearms manufacturer, it' pretty much part of my business to let people know that carrying a firearm is legal, and that I do it. What good would it do my class enrollment if I hid the fact that I am an instructor? If I tell people that I teach the class, I'd say it's not too far of a leap to assume I carry myself.

[Guest canynracer]

I agree with that, and I dont think I care if someone sees the HCP, but I wouldnt openly talk about the fact that I have a gun on me...if I am gonna do that, I might as well open carry...of course the people I am with will know, but no in conversation with others...I am disagree with using it for a primary ID

[jgrauman]

i hope my opinion didn't get lost somewhere in here. my original point was not that i cared if people knew or noticed, i don't go around making a POINT to let people know. "hey, i carry a gun." i don't think ANYBODY should have that attitude, whether you are an open carrier, CC carrier, instructor, cop... i don't advertise my gun even when i'm open carrying. i dont' carry to be "cool" or to "save the day." i carry to protect myself and those that i love. that's all my OP was talking about, those that advertise their HCP.