Conceal Carry vs Open Carry

[MiddTennTaco]

I am at the Winchester Speedway right now and I got to wondering - how does everyone prefer to carry?

Personally, I almost always open carry and no one has ever given me grief or ever appeared to be frightened. I have found that almost no one even notices. The ones that do notice received me extremely positively. About 10% of the time I conceal carry when I anticipate more people especially children present and/or around particularly sheepish crowds. Sometimes I conceal carry at first until Im more comfortable and discreetly switch. I take an OWB and IWB with me wherever I go in case I want switch.

Edited May 27, 2012 by w0lfattack

[Guest Victor9er]

So far I've only concealed carry. I haven't tried open carry yet, I guess partly because I don't feel comfortable doing it myself. I also usually always have one or both of my kids with me, not that that should matter but I just feel more comfortable knowing it's there but not on display for everyone to see.

There's an interesting article in this month's Playboy (yes, I read the articles! lol) concerning open carry vs concealed carry. The writer of the article is like me, and always conceals. For the purpose of the articel he goes to a few places down around Atlanta with a friend of his that always open carries. They both open carry for this particular instance and he tries to guage the reaction of people around them.

Edited May 27, 2012 by Victor9er

[Guest ArmaDeFuego]

I carry concealed probably 90% of the time. I've opened carried before but honestly I dont see much of a point to it.

I'm really glad that at least in TN we have the option to open carry if we want to. I dont particularly like open carrying myself, but I absolutely support anyone's right to do it..... I consider it to be kind of a personal preference thing. Like boxers vs briefs or if you like your toilet paper over or under.......

Edited May 28, 2012 by ArmaDeFuego

[Erik88]

In TN I openly carried on occasion. Now that I live in a state where open carry is not legal it really makes me appreciate the freedom that I had in TN. I wouldn't OC here in Orlando but there are certain times when I wish I could OC in Florida without being punished.

[Guest bkelm18]

Ohhhhh boy.

I carry concealed. Always.

[Timestepper]

What I do, after all these threads, is to simply no longer admit to carrying at all, in any fashion. When and if I meet a fellow TGO'er, they can decide for themselves what I do and how I do it. Or not...

[Oh Shoot]

What I do, after all these threads, is to simply no longer admit to carrying at all, in any fashion. ...

Good policy, methinks.

I simply do not want any of my public interaction to be nuanced by another's perception of my having a heater (well, save one circumstance which I hope never happens, anyway!).

I don't want negative or positive vibes, questions, or discussions.

- OS

[dralarms]

Here we go again.

[mikegideon]

Here we go again.

Guess we're about due. While we're at it... GLOCKS SUCK

[Oh Shoot]

Guess we're about due. While we're at it... GLOCKS SUCK

And Glocks not chambered in forty something doubly suck.

[mikegideon]

And Glocks not chambered in forty something doubly suck.

Thanks for taking the heat off me. LOT's of G19 fans around here

[Will Carry]

I am a firm beliver in the right to choose whether you carry openly or concealed. I just carry concealed.

Every time I ask an open carry proponent whether or not they have had Handgun Retention and Martial Arts training they always say something like.

1) I'm real careful about keeping my arm down to where I can protect my handgun.

2) The chances of someone taking my pistol from me is so remote it's never going to happen.

These statements may be true but in reality it would not be difficult to take away some citizen's gun. They can pick you wallet out of your pocket without you knowing it I am sure a two man team could disarm someone if they wanted to. If nothing else someone could cold cock you from behind and take the pistol off your unconscious body.

[ted]

Guess we're about due. While we're at it... GLOCKS SUCK

. Yelpppp

[Raoul]

Guess we're about due. While we're at it... GLOCKS SUCK

Now thats funny. I hate my 1911 too.

[mikegideon]

Now thats funny. I hate my 1911 too.

Yep. My 1911's suck too.

[Grunt67]

Concealed carry only. Just don't want the BG to know I'm armed. Prefer the element of surprise on my side.

Others may do as they like, fine with me.

[RichardR]

I always carry concealed, sometimes it's not deep concealment (I don't mind if I print a little) but I always try to make sure my shirt covers my weapon, I just want to go about my business & don't want any sort of hassle.

[Timestepper]

God I love these threads! I already know of one person who quit carrying altogether because CC wasn't practical (or in most cases, even possible) and he was tired of being ostracized by the 'I don't care what you do, but if it's anything CC, you're stupid' crowd on public firerarms forums - was even approached by one member in public and lectured about his stance on OC!

So let's keep this going and see how many more people we can alienate into submission. These threads rock!

[mikegideon]

Some of us, like me, have become more accepting of OC because of these threads. Personally, I like to be as far under the radar as possible. That doesn't mean everybody has to do it my way. There are quite a few folks that open carry successfully every day. More power to them.

With that said, I'm a lot less accepting of somebody that sets out to prove something with open carry. If it's something that makes us all look like idiots, or can negatively impact MY right to carry, then I have a dog in that fight.

[Timestepper]

I find myself more and more to be a lot less accepting of anybody who sets out to prove something with any kind of agenda.

[101]

I open carry 90% of the time. Im not going to hash out all the usual quotes and reasonings. It's my choice, plain and simple.

I will say this. As far as the "bad guy could steal my gun" argument, give it a rest. This statement applies to EVERYTHING. Are you going to stop driving because a bad guy could steal your car? Is a woman going to stop openly carrying her purse because a bad guy could steal it? Want to talk about an easy target......there's times when im standing in a crowd and observing the ease at which you could steal anything from anyone. You could steal most sheeples own kids from under their nose.

Point is, anything is possible. So many of y'all slam OC after trying it once or twice for 10 minutes at the local Shell station while paying for your gas.

Life is about odds. You play against them all day. You might get fired. You might choke on breakfast. You might wreck your car. Blah blah, you get my point. Is the chance of teaching someone the good side of gun ownership or the possibility of deterring a crime because someone saw my gun worth the risk of getting shot first or the odds of someone trying to steal my gun? Yes.

Nothing in this world changes without someone playing the odds.

[MiddTennTaco]

I am a firm beliver in the right to choose whether you carry openly or concealed. I just carry concealed.

Every time I ask an open carry proponent whether or not they have had Handgun Retention and Martial Arts training they always say something like.

1) I'm real careful about keeping my arm down to where I can protect my handgun.

2) The chances of someone taking my pistol from me is so remote it's never going to happen.

These statements may be true but in reality it would not be difficult to take away some citizen's gun. They can pick you wallet out of your pocket without you knowing it I am sure a two man team could disarm someone if they wanted to. If nothing else someone could cold cock you from behind and take the pistol off your unconscious body.

I would like to thank those who have devolved this thread with silly talk about glock vs.1911s. Also with regards to carry, nobody needs to be bashing one group or the other considering this was originally just a poll. Lets keep it civil.

"Will Carry" - I completely agree. As former law enforcement, Ive had many hours of training on this alone. Weapons retention training is absolutely necessary and often overlooked. You learn about firearms safety before you get a gun, you learn weapons retention before you carry whether OPEN or CONCEALED.

Carry responsibly, folks.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

[mikegideon]

You're welcome.

[Will H]

I CC myself, but feel there is noting wrong with OC. I am just one of those people who are genuinely uncomfortable being the subject of other people's attentions. That said I don't get all stressed about printing either. In a state where CC and OC are legal with permit there is no need in worrying about a little printing imo.

[DaveS]

I only carry C/C four days a week......guess which four?