open carry

[mikeyr]

I really think that most people who open carry in town are just "Look at me, I am a tough guy" type of people and generally the kind of people to stay away from.

There is a reason for open carry sometimes but we are not there yet.

What I do miss is open carry on trails when hiking, camping, etc. I grew up with a old Colt SAA in my Jeep that now lives in my truck, in the Jeep it was always loaded, in the truck its not. But I would strap it on when ever going hiking anywhere, first round had a shotshell for the slithering kind of bad guy, the other 4 rounds were proper rounds for the 2 legged kind of bad guy. Can't do that anymore in CA. Luckily I camp far out enough from civilization that I can still open carry when camping, still illegal I think, but I like having that shotshell on my hip.

[JCHavasu]

I think this didn't go the way OP expected.

[NapalmCheese]

if you do carry, you have a duty and an obligation to keep that handgun secure at all times.

So, his gun wasn't stolen, it wasn't taken from him, it didn't jump out and shoot anyone all by itself, and he didn't lose it...

Seems it was secure enough for that particular situation.

[Verdha603]

Honestly the only issue I see here isn't the fact the guy was open carrying, but rather he seemed to have a complete and utter lack of situational awareness, which should be a concern regardless of how or what you carry.

Lacking situational awareness, especially when you have a (presumably loaded) firearm in plain view of the public is a recipe for disaster, especially when you look at the case studies of police officers, who even with situational awareness, get a significant number of cases where they get their own weapon taken from them and are shot with it.

[TMB 1]

I have been to many western states recently as I am looking for a place to move too when I retire from CA very soon. In many places I have seen open carry and my first response was surprise because I was born and raised here in CA.

In those places, it is a part of life and nobody cares, except the CA transplants who move there with their CA mindsets and think everything should be like CA.

Those places are desirable to live in because they have not partaken of the CA Kool-aid. If you move there, get to know their culture and why they have so much liberty and leave the CA BS in CA. They do not want it. They have been doing fine without our help and advice for a very long time.

If you do not like open carry, move to a state that does not allow it. I personally prefer CC but I plan to move to a state that allows OC and I support people who do. They are exercising their 2A rights in they way they choose to do so. They are choosing liberty and live in states that trust their residents. They do not have nanny state governments that want to regulate the behavior of its citizens.

If you are old enough to retire very soon, you should be old enough to remember when open carry was common in CA.

[BigPimping]

Open carry is illegal in California if I'm not mistaken

[tomrkba]

MUST?

Mind your own business and stop telling others to do as you see fit!

[tabascoz28]

Not very grey man.....

[jeremiah12]

If you are old enough to retire very soon, you should be old enough to remember when open carry was common in CA.

I do not remember seeing too many people open carrying as a kid. When I grew up, the prevalent thought was only show offs and jerks needed to open carry in the cities. Now, when camping or hiking, that was different. I would see a few open carry.

Now, as a kid, my friends and I did open carry our .22s to the nearby open field to target shoot. We would stop off at the local hardware store to buy a few boxes of ammo for a quarter a piece if I remember correctly. Nobody batted an eye.

Four years ago, after my son graduated with his BS from college, we took a 4 week trip mostly through Wyoming and Montana. I had a permit that covered both states but when hiking in Yellowstone, I sometimes open carried because it was much easier when I was in shorts and a T-shirt on warm days. The foreign tourists were not happy and kept pointing me out to the Park Rangers who told them it was legal. The worst were the Brits and the Japanese.

The first time my son saw some one open carrying, he freaked out. I told him to get used to it, we are not in CA anymore. It was a ranch hand at a local diner.

My son was still against carry of any type at that time. Now that he has moved away and is living with his fiance and will marry in a year, all of a sudden he decided to get his CCW. He has realized he can only count on himself for his own protection.

[jeremiah12]

Open carry is illegal in California if I'm not mistaken

I believe the OP was in either AZ or UT.

[Epaphroditus]

Well OP, you are wrong. MYOB.

[CoopsDad]

I see open carry just about every trip into town; not many people care- mostly it's people who just moved here from out of state that fixate on the o/c guns. If where you are is anything like our part of Texas there were 10 concealed guns for every open carry gun and, if a bad guy HAD grabbed it, he would've been shot about two seconds later.

The solution to resolving your angst about folks doing what they can do in freer states is simple: take your thumb and forefinger, reach around behind you, pinch, and tug your panties out of your crack. MYOB and, if you feel unsafe, leave.

[MarikinaMan]

It does sound like you are overly fixating on another mans open carry.

[major burnout]

Im with you OP. The sight of a firearm makes me pee a little.

[SCVlongstroke]

Glad you made it home okay, that was a close one....