OMG! Open carry!

[MurdaJ]

Spoken like someone who has never open carried. I OC quite often- literally daily when I am in TN or CO, I only CC when I have to go somewhere with metal detectors- and have never been a target of anything. MOF I know a lot of people who OC pretty much daily and they have never been a target either.

ETA: I have been guilty of carrying in my front pocket in a pocket holster, but never the back pocket, that is just not smart. I feel the same way about people who tuck thier CCW in thier belt or waistband right over thier nuts.

I gladly take the advantage of the element of surprise over a slightly faster draw

I live in CA but spend between 2-3 weeks in AZ yearly; open carry in the countryside and conceal in the cities.

I also dont advertise with gun clothes and bumper stickers, but to each their own

[Ugly Hombre]

"The funny looks we received were after they noticed our Commiefornia plate"

Yep..

Ole Skeeter had plan for gun snatchers.

[boopiejones]

I was attending a gun course in Wyoming and the instructor told us to clean our guns on the front porches of our cabins rather than inside, so we don't get grease on the furniture. No one even flinched.

When I've been to gun ranges in Arizona, every single person walks from the range to their car with a gun on their hip. Makes total sense. But In California, we have to have our guns locked up and we are basically sitting ducks if someone were to try to steal our stuff on the way to the car.

[audiophil2]

I open carry about as much as I CC.

When I go out to the desert I OC because it is more comfortable, easier access, and allows me to carry a higher capacity gun with almost no effort. I carry a G19 or SIG P226 Legion in a shoulder rig with extra mags on the opposite side. I can sit in my car and have easy access to it without having a gun digging into my hip or leg. I can still go to gas stations and grocery stores without any issues on my way out to the desert.

Around town I CC a pocket pistol. It it is light enough for me to carry without a belt. It makes it easier to go to stores.

I also OC a gun around town and when I need to I just pull my shirt over it so it is concealed. I just dont carry that way often because it is bulky.

I've been getting friends to buy OC holsters for desert trips after they see how comfortable I am wearing my setup.

[AGGRO]

Unless you live on the coast in a big city carrying is normal.

[JCHavasu]

Spoken like someone who has never open carried. I OC quite often- literally daily when I am in TN or CO, I only CC when I have to go somewhere with metal detectors- and have never been a target of anything. MOF I know a lot of people who OC pretty much daily and they have never been a target either.

ETA: I have been guilty of carrying in my front pocket in a pocket holster, but never the back pocket, that is just not smart. I feel the same way about people who tuck thier CCW in thier belt or waistband right over thier nuts.

You don't have to open carry to know that when you do everyone can see your gun. In the video provided do you think if the gun had been concealed that it would have been snatched? Could happen but probably not.

Just because you have never had anyone try to take your gun from you while OC does not mean it hasn't happened or won't happen. The video shows it can if you are not aware of your surroundings.

My point is OC is great if you are likely to need immediate access to your weapon. I prefer to carry concealed in a quality holster so if something happens I can choose whether and how to get involved. I don't flash my money around, no reason to flash my gun around.

Also it looked it me like that guy had his gun in an open holster on his left hip not just in his pocket, though it was difficult to tell for sure.

[Win231]

I gladly take the advantage of the element of surprise over a slightly faster draw

I live in CA but spend between 2-3 weeks in AZ yearly; open carry in the countryside and conceal in the cities.

I also dont advertise with gun clothes and bumper stickers, but to each their own

Think of all the attention you're missing.

[dwalker]

You don't have to open carry to know that when you do everyone can see your gun. In the video provided do you think if the gun had been concealed that it would have been snatched? Could happen but probably not.

Just because you have never had anyone try to take your gun from you while OC does not mean it hasn't happened or won't happen. The video shows it can if you are not aware of your surroundings.

My point is OC is great if you are likely to need immediate access to your weapon. I prefer to carry concealed in a quality holster so if something happens I can choose whether and how to get involved. I don't flash my money around, no reason to flash my gun around.

Also it looked it me like that guy had his gun in an open holster on his left hip not just in his pocket, though it was difficult to tell for sure.

Well, IMHO its horses for courses. My every day walking around in Free America gun is usually a G19 or a HKp30, carried in a leather belt holster. Now, it disappears under a loose untucked shirt or a jacket if I need to "conceal", but honestly I do not care who sees it or not. I am currently building a 2011 Commander which will be my normal EDC.
When I know I have to go into a "gun free zone", like a mall, movie theater or a Starbucks, I generically will carry a Kel-Tec PF11 or AMT backup depending on whatever I am wearing for the day, actually concealed. I dislike this, as neither of these give me the effectiveness of the normal carry, but literally better than nothing.

The guy in the video really looks to have his gun just stuck in his back pocket, but even if holstered it is obviously a non-retention type.

[cvigue]

My every day walking around in Free America gun is usually a G19 .... When I know I have to go into a "gun free zone", like a mall, movie theater or a Starbucks, I generically will carry a Kel-Tec PF11 ....

When I was in a free state I had a similar habit, except Glock 32 (now w/ laser/light and RMR) and a Keltec P32. When I move back I'll probably have a small 380 like a S&W w/ crimson trace, Glock 43, or similar. Wasn't really an option back when I had the P32.

[Win231]

It's rather amusing when people try to justify their position by thinking they're able to predict what someone else will or won't do in a given situation. Some people live in a world of their own making, rather than the real world.

"If an armed robber sees that I'm open carrying, he'll look elsewhere. Just the sight of my gun will send him running away, screaming into the night." Yeah....he wouldn't dare shoot me first.

"No one could snatch my gun 'cuz I practice situational awareness."
Uh, try taking out your wallet & paying a cashier while looking behind you.

[dwalker]

It's rather amusing when people try to justify their position by thinking they're able to predict what someone else will or won't do in a given situation. Some people live in a world of their own making, rather than the real world.

"If an armed robber sees that I'm open carrying, he'll look elsewhere. Just the sight of my gun will send him running away, screaming into the night." Yeah....he wouldn't dare shoot me first.

"No one could snatch my gun 'cuz I practice situational awareness."
Uh, try taking out your wallet & paying a cashier while looking behind you.

I think it is literally hilarious when the best defence folks like you can come up with for CCW is no one knows you have it. Well, OK, but while you are paying for your coffee you can be attacked from behind if someone has bad intentions.

Let me remind you of how the"real world" works. No one notices a guy with a gun on his belt. I literally walk around all day with my gun on my belt and no one crosses the street to avoid me, or calls the cops, or stares. Maybe I will get a second glance. I have stood around the coffee station at a convenience store and BS'ed with patrol cops with the gun in plain site. I have had people stop me a couple of times and comment they are glad to live in an open carry state. The only issue with anyone OC I have personally experienced is a lady called the cops on my buddy while he was at Subway having lunch. They straightened her out after they figured out he was just having lunch. We arrived just in time to see him in the parking lot talking with one of the LEO's while the other was telling the woman to mind her own business and not to harass citizens. Course, we were all - about 5 of us- armed and she left when we sat down

[Win231]

I think it is literally hilarious when the best defence folks like you can come up with for CCW is no one knows you have it. Well, OK, but while you are paying for your coffee you can be attacked from behind if someone has bad intentions.

Let me remind you of how the"real world" works. No one notices a guy with a gun on his belt. I literally walk around all day with my gun on my belt and no one crosses the street to avoid me, or calls the cops, or stares. Maybe I will get a second glance. I have stood around the coffee station at a convenience store and BS'ed with patrol cops with the gun in plain site. I have had people stop me a couple of times and comment they are glad to live in an open carry state. The only issue with anyone OC I have personally experienced is a lady called the cops on my buddy while he was at Subway having lunch. They straightened her out after they figured out he was just having lunch. We arrived just in time to see him in the parking lot talking with one of the LEO's while the other was telling the woman to mind her own business and not to harass citizens. Course, we were all - about 5 of us- armed and she left when we sat down

I couldn't help but notice that your response focused on people's lack of reaction to your gun. You missed the point. I was referring to the risk of people from a snatched gun....not the comfort level of other individuals on seeing your gun.
Many open carriers (such as yourself) use their gun as a conversation piece or an "In your face" tool. In my world a gun is a self-defense tool & I don't need to show it off or use it as a visible warning like "You better not mess with me." People who study martial arts don't usually walk around dressed up in a karate uniform, either (unless they're trying to prove something).

[JCHavasu]

I think it is literally hilarious when the best defence folks like you can come up with for CCW is no one knows you have it. Well, OK, but while you are paying for your coffee you can be attacked from behind if someone has bad intentions.

Let me remind you of how the"real world" works. No one notices a guy with a gun on his belt. I literally walk around all day with my gun on my belt and no one crosses the street to avoid me, or calls the cops, or stares. Maybe I will get a second glance. I have stood around the coffee station at a convenience store and BS'ed with patrol cops with the gun in plain site. I have had people stop me a couple of times and comment they are glad to live in an open carry state. The only issue with anyone OC I have personally experienced is a lady called the cops on my buddy while he was at Subway having lunch. They straightened her out after they figured out he was just having lunch. We arrived just in time to see him in the parking lot talking with one of the LEO's while the other was telling the woman to mind her own business and not to harass citizens. Course, we were all - about 5 of us- armed and she left when we sat down

You say, "No one notices a guy with a gun on his belt".

Then you proceed to describe multiple situations where people noticed it?!?

People do notice. Whether they say or do anything that makes it apparent that they notice is something else.

[hunterb]

I just got back from Phoenix and saw two open carry guys. Both were in Phoenix. One did have a hi point in an uncle mikes nylon holster and the other-coming out of a restaurant had a Glock in a serpa-

Love Arizona.

HOLY CARP you found a situation where a Hi-point is preferable to a Glock

[cvigue]

If an armed robber sees that I'm open carrying, he'll look elsewhere.

You misread the comment I made. The assertion was that open carrying would make a significant percent (100% was implied) of people planning an armed robbery choose to become a murderer on the spot, and I simply reject that assertion unless the person making it can back it up with facts. I then presented a couple possible alternatives. (1) they might wait, or (2) they might go someplace where guns are not being displayed.

I personally think the odds of a robber choosing to lead off with an unforced escalation to murder are very slim; indeed many "armed robberies" are pulled with toy or unloaded firearms, and criminals in general tend to be risk averse. Has it happened? Probably; every bank robbery ever likely starts with the armed guards being disarmed, but it's not as common for them to be simply executed. Bank robbers are mentally prepared to deal with armed guards unless they are complete nincompoops. C-store robbers, probably not so much.

Having said that, I've only open carried contemporaneously with hunting, fishing, hiking, or other such activities.