how many people actually open carry?

[RobertNashville]

So from what I take most of you do not open carry for the simple reason of what others might think of you or your gun....

I think you need to re-read some of the post because I don't think it's anywhere near that simple.

Frankly, I could not care less what others "think" of me or my gun - I also see no good reason to (metaphorically speaking) stick my choice to carry in other people's faces.

Edited February 7, 2011 by RobertNashville

[JReedEsq]

I think you need to re-read some of the post because I don't think it's anywhere near that simple.

Frankly, I could not care less what others "think" of me or my gun - I also see no good reason to (metaphorically speaking) stick my choice to carry in other people's faces.

+1; you really should go back and read some old threads about the potential problems of open carry in the wrong circumstances.

[robbiev]

I think you need to re-read some of the post because I don't think it's anywhere near that simple.

Frankly, I could not care less what others "think" of me or my gun - I also see no good reason to (metaphorically speaking) stick my choice to carry in other people's faces.

This

I'm not concerned with about people's opinion of my gun or the fact that I carry, I just don't want everyone to know that I am carrying from a tactical standpoint. Statistics and arguements aside, I actually had someone say to me once "You carry a gun, do something about this," regarding a situation that would not have warranted using a gun. Since then, I basically don't discuss handgun carry (in regards to whether I personally carry a gun) with anyone that isn't already a gun person.

As to the OP: I carry concealed almost all the time. The only reason I carry openly is if I have gone somewhere without my concealment garment, and that is very rare. For instance: I left work for lunch planning on going through a drive through, but on the way, decided to go somewhere else. But, as I said, that's very rare that I would do that. Once a year maybe.

Edited February 7, 2011 by robbiev
need to learn to spell

[Guest jeliggett]

It's easier to conceal than deal with the problems of open carry. I'd pefer to not have a thug aware that I'm armed.

What he said.

[Guest TheMikeLurie]

I carry concealed for one very simple reason:

If I get into an altercation with somebody, even just a verbal altercation, and my pistol is not concealed, I just gave that guy an opportunity to report me for brandishing a firearm. It doesn't matter if I ever touched it, or that I didn't remove it from the holster, or even that I didn't give a moment's thought about it. The fact that he now knows I have a pistol means he can call the police and tell them that I put it in his face.

If the police follow up and stop me before I can conceal the firearm, or even if they get to me after I have concealed it, they will ask me if I carry, and I will be forced to admit that I do. And if that officer simply doesn't like the way I look, he can have my permit revoked.

People get into altercations all the time. Whether it's road rage, or an argument with a neighbor, or any other uncontrollable incident... by open carrying, you are inviting the other guy to report you for something you didn't do. And the fact that you are a Carry Permit holder is enough for some LEO's to not like you. If they decide to take that person's word over yours, and believe that you brandished your firearm, your permit is as good as gone. It's not worth the risk.

[Tncobra]

Open carry is only complete with a HCP badge from the local pawnshop.

Like whats been said before. Too many negatives to even consider it.

[Guest yzfMrLee]

Ok, so I voted concealed. Until just the other night, I'd never carried open in public. Couple nights ago the wife and I were at the grocery store and had our 3 year old with us. He fell asleep, so my wife took off her jacket for him to lay on in the buggy. After a few minutes, she was getting cold, so I said oh well I'm legal and not gonna let my wife freeze. My Glock 19 was concealed only by my jacket in an owb holster. So I gave her my jacket and just went open. Nobody even seemed to notice, let alone pay any real attention to it. I'll still go mostly concealed for many of the same reasons already listed. Kinda got me thinking though. Do people really tend to over react to the site of a gun like we think they all do? We've all heard the stories, but how many of you guys have been confronted for open carrying. This was just 1 isolated experience, so maybe I was just in a store full of oblivious people. I dunno. . . . .

[JReedEsq]

I think you are probably right that most people don't notice, but the reality is that you never know when you might be around someone who will freak out and ask a business to put up a posting etc... Admittedly, I have very little experience with open carry (and I don't plan to OC in urban areas anytime soon), but I don't buy all the "he'll shoot you first" stuff. That's why I posted earlier in the thread that I believe this is really a personal preference. That said, I prefer to conceal 99% of the time. It's just easier than dealing with the potential issues of OC.

[Guest ARMEDMARINE]

Mostly concealed but do OC when i feel like it

[Guest EyeOfMidnight]

I CC most of the time simply because I don't want to encourage the places I frequent to start posting. In the final months before I moved out of Nashville, I OC'ed 100% of the time.

[Guest FHTMcrt]

The only time I OC is when I answer the door or go out to meet a neighbor or stranger who's driven down my driveway. Neighbors on either side of me have live-in family members who are in and out of jail for burglary, etc. I want THEM to know I carry, but no one else. Rumor up and down the road where I live is that my wife and I both are TBI. Don't know how that got started, but neighbor girl who fishes on our pond (she needs the protein) said people think that 'cause we come and go at odd hours. We aren't, but who am I to go around telling folks what to believe?