What would YOU do?

[simplegreen]

To the op, howdy partner.

I'm just to your west, South of Fort worth. WHEN I get my ltc there is about a 0.001% chance of ever OCing. I just don't see any positives other than personal physical comfort. Not to mention, over half the places I go seem to have the 30.07 sign posted (OC banned)....

i've noticed a lot of OC bans but very little CC bans. Very interesting. I feel like they should designed the ban OC sign differently.

You might like OC when it's 95 in the shade.

aka every day here. it was 93 today and felt "cool"

 

[protegeV]

i've noticed a lot of OC bans but very little CC bans. Very interesting. I feel like they should designed the ban OC sign differently.



aka every day here. it was 93 today and felt "cool"

I have yet to see the CC ban sign anywhere.

True that, 93 was heaven

 

[wilcam47]

In public, definitely not. Working on the back 40 plowing the fields in the summer, I'd say yes.

we are OC state as well and now you dont even need a CCW to carry! I typically try to concealed carry. just so I dont draw attention to myself.

 

[tomh]

I would OC everywhere but in public. Does that make any sense? If I'm "out and about", driving down the road, walking around the property, that kind of thing, I will be carrying. Those are the areas I would be concerned with. Out in the middle of nowhere...I want a gun on my side.

Having escaped Maryland, and having moved to a very rural Virginia location, I always open carry near home, but conceal carry anytime I go near populated areas.

 

[beretta_maven]

I would never open carry over concealed carry - I would prefer that no one knows that I am carrying a handgun. Personally, in a lot of cases I think that open carry is just asking for a confrontation.

 

[esqappellate]

I would never open carry over concealed carry - I would prefer that no one knows that I am carrying a handgun. Personally, in a lot of cases I think that open carry is just asking for a confrontation.

Amen. Even if it isn't necessarily asking for a confrontation, it certainly puts the bad guy on notice that you're carrying and thus eliminates any chance of you surprising him in any sort of attack. As a matter of common sense, OC would seem to encourage a bad guy to do an ambush rather than a confrontation.

 

[kcbrown]

I would never open carry over concealed carry - I would prefer that no one knows that I am carrying a handgun. Personally, in a lot of cases I think that open carry is just asking for a confrontation.

As evidenced by ... ?

I don't necessarily disagree, but I am skeptical.

In the animal world, creatures that openly advertise their weaponry (e.g. through bright coloring) tend to be left alone, enough so that other creatures have evolved to show the same visual schemes because of the survival advantages that it affords despite their substantially increased visibility to predators.

I see little reason to believe that people will be an exception. Hence my skepticism. But skepticism isn't the same thing as rejection of the idea. If what you say has a nontrivial amount of supporting evidence then it's worth considering.

There are enough places that allow open carry that the evidence should exist. Where is it?



(Sent with Tapatalk, so apologies for the lackluster formatting)

 

[Stoveman]

As evidenced by ... ?

I don't necessarily disagree, but I am skeptical.

In the animal world, creatures that openly advertise their weaponry (e.g. through bright coloring) tend to be left alone, enough so that other creatures have evolved to show the same visual schemes because of the survival advantages that it affords despite their substantially increased visibility to predators.

I see little reason to believe that people will be an exception. Hence my skepticism. But skepticism isn't the same thing as rejection of the idea. If what you say has a nontrivial amount of supporting evidence then it's worth considering.

There are enough places that allow open carry that the evidence should exist. Where is it?



(Sent with Tapatalk, so apologies for the lackluster formatting)

Your skepticism is well founded.

Other than a handful of cases, the same could be found of those who CC, there is not an epidemic of OC gun grabs.

This same topic comes up frequently at places like Personal Defense Forum and Defensive Carry, definitely not limited to MD's brand of BGOS.

VA is a great example, OC is legal without a permit to 18yo's and up and has been for decades, when was the last time you heard of an OC gun grab?


Funny, a lot of the "I don't want to make myself a target" types will also post up the pics of gun stickers on their vehicles.....

 

[Long1MD]

I am a strong supporter of the NRA and have more guns than I care to divulge. However, there are absolutely no decals or stickers on my vehicle. If you want your car broken into around the holidays by some would-be idiot looking for your gun, keep adding gun decals to your vehicle.

 

[peacemaker]

What would ou do

Not me, If I was in a 7-11 when a perp tried to rob it, I would want the last thing he heard was my safety clicking off Harvey

 

[beretta_maven]

As evidenced by ... ?

I don't necessarily disagree, but I am skeptical.

In the animal world, creatures that openly advertise their weaponry (e.g. through bright coloring) tend to be left alone, enough so that other creatures have evolved to show the same visual schemes because of the survival advantages that it affords despite their substantially increased visibility to predators.

I see little reason to believe that people will be an exception. Hence my skepticism. But skepticism isn't the same thing as rejection of the idea. If what you say has a nontrivial amount of supporting evidence then it's worth considering.

There are enough places that allow open carry that the evidence should exist. Where is it?

This is simply personal preference - I personally believe that under most circumstances that I'm making myself less of a target (from perps and law enforcement) if I carry concealed. There are times that I will open carry, such as on my own property, out camping, etc., but as a general rule, I wouldn't. I'm not telling anyone else that they shouldn't open carry, and I don't have to prove anything to anyone to defend my stance on the issue. If you don't agree, that is cool.

 

[kcbrown]

This is simply personal preference - I personally believe that under most circumstances that I'm making myself less of a target (from perps and law enforcement) if I carry concealed. There are times that I will open carry, such as on my own property, out camping, etc., but as a general rule, I wouldn't. I'm not telling anyone else that they shouldn't open carry, and I don't have to prove anything to anyone to defend my stance on the issue. If you don't agree, that is cool.

I don't disagree with you on that. How can I, when it's your personal preference, and what liberty-loving individual wouldn't respect that?

My question was really in response to:

Personally, in a lot of cases I think that open carry is just asking for a confrontation.

which, while it is a personal statement, is a statement about what one should expect when one openly carries. Which is to say, it's a statement about real world expectations, so I was hoping there'd be some evidence behind it.

In the absence of supporting evidence, it's a stance you might want to consider rethinking. Not necessarily for your own behavior (that's a completely personal thing), but rather with respect what recommendations you give to others.

 

[GUNSnROTORS]

As evidenced by ... ?

I don't necessarily disagree, but I am skeptical.

In the animal world, creatures that openly advertise their weaponry (e.g. through bright coloring) tend to be left alone, enough so that other creatures have evolved to show the same visual schemes because of the survival advantages that it affords despite their substantially increased visibility to predators.

I see little reason to believe that people will be an exception. Hence my skepticism. But skepticism isn't the same thing as rejection of the idea. If what you say has a nontrivial amount of supporting evidence then it's worth considering.

There are enough places that allow open carry that the evidence should exist. Where is it?



(Sent with Tapatalk, so apologies for the lackluster formatting)

Agree. I too would like to see the data. We do know that criminal gun grabs are attempted and sometimes accomplished against LEOs. No idea what the frequency, extent, or trends are. Maybe our resident LEOs can elaborate? Anyway, here are some examples: http://www.policemag.com/list/tag/gun-grabs.aspx

Given the increasing lack of respect for authority, human life, and a general hatred of LEOs exhibited by certain segments of the youth in our society (my perception), I do wonder if the tendency to grab guns would transfer from LEOs to private citizens who are openly carrying. Obviously, there are variables distinguishing OC-LEO from OC-civilian scenarios - like uniforms, badges, and whether or not apprehensions/arrests are being conducted.

It was an attempted gun grab that led directly to Michael Brown's death and subsequent riots in Ferguson, Missouri. I'm also familiar with one case where a crime included the 'planned' grabbing of an OC firearm. Back in June, a would-be assassin attempted to grab a LEO’s sidearm at a Las Vegas rally, where the perpetrator confessed that he intended to kill Donald Trump. Would this trend increase if there were more 'visible' guns to grab? I think it's feasible. Again, I'd like to see the data.

As to the OP question, I've answered this in previous threads: In general, I try to avoid drawing attention to myself in public . In private, I've been accused of being quite the exhibitionist.

 

[marcusrn]

Because I've been a psych RN for the last 21 yrs I have an acute sense of how crazy/suicidal 2-3 % of the population are at any given time. Granted most of those 2% don't want to hurt you but showing them a firearm is insane. I would only carry open at my business or home where I could keep some distance from others. I would pretty much and do carry canceled any time it strikes my fancy in spite of having appropriate papers.

 

[marcusrn]

The whole thing is silly. There are a lot of 5 ft,110 lb, cops that should not be open carrying. When you have a gun exposed on your hip that gun is owned by anyone who can kick your ass. It's as simple as that. Think of the whole Tueller drill thing. Why would any sane person have a 6 ft 220 lb total stranger 2 feet away (let alone 21 ft)from their strong side. Depressed and Schizophrenic people are no less stupid than the general population.

 

[Brooklyn]

The whole thing is silly. There are a lot of 5 ft,110 lb, cops that should not be open carrying. When you have a gun exposed on your hip that gun is owned by anyone who can kick your ass. It's as simple as that. Think of the whole Tueller drill thing. Why would any sane person have a 6 ft 220 lb total stranger 2 feet away (let alone 21 ft)from their strong side. Depressed and Schizophrenic people are no less stupid than the general population.

Do you think they should be unarmed ? Or do you think maybe the uniform does not say gun?

Or maybe you think nuts can't spot a conceal carry ..

I don't OC.. but the purpose of the ban on OC is to make printing or accidental display a crime.. not public safety.

Now is OC smart...maybe not.. but OC in a retention holster is likely more resistant to a gun grab than CCW without retention holster..

 

[PO2012]

Amen. Even if it isn't necessarily asking for a confrontation, it certainly puts the bad guy on notice that you're carrying and thus eliminates any chance of you surprising him in any sort of attack. As a matter of common sense, OC would seem to encourage a bad guy to do an ambush rather than a confrontation.

The area I where I work has four banks. The only one of those four banks with armed security is the Bank of America. BOA has a guard open carrying a revolver standing right next to the front door from the moment the branch opens to the moment the branch closes. If an armed criminal wanted to ambush this guard, in theory, he would be an easy target yet the Bank of America never gets robbed. The guard has never been assaulted. We do not receive calls for service from the Bank of America for anything. The other banks I mentioned earlier have been robbed repeatedly, sometimes with automatic weapons. We constantly receive calls from these banks, not only for robberies but also for theft, fraud, loitering, trespassing, disorderly conduct, public urination, the list is endless. Bank of America does not have this problem. The reason is open carry by their guard. One of the other three branches has an unarmed guard. Criminals laugh at him and ignore him, then we get the call. The manager for that particular bank told me that corporate doesn't want an armed guard because he might "escalate" things. That particular policy doesn't seem to be working out.

This same phenomena repeats itself time and time again with other businesses. Those that employ open carry are not touched by criminals. Ever. Thieves know that they can't be shot for simply shoplifting yet they will not steal from a store with an armed guard. Even where there isn't a uniformed guard crime simply doesn't occur in the businesses where the owner and/or the employees open carry firearms. Criminals see the gun and they leave. I have yet to take a robbery or attempted robbery report from a business owner or employee who was open carrying and believe it or not, a great many do here in Maryland.

I have been to a number of justifiable homicides committed by legitimate gun owners, primarily store owners. In every case, the shop keeper's weapon was concealed. The gunfight erupted because the criminals perceived that the store owner was unarmed. Concealed carry encouraged violent predators to attack forcing victims to fight for their lives. Had those store owners had the gun on their hip the criminals would not have entered the store to begin with, they would have chosen another location to rob. I have never responded to a lawful use of deadly force by a non-LEO where the individual who fired in defense of their life was openly carrying the weapon they used in self defense. I'm sure there are self defense shootings involving open carry but my point is that they are so rare that even working a very high crime area like I do, they are all but unheard of.

Criminals don't see the gun and say "Gee, let me go get that" Rather, they see the gun and say "I don't want to be shot with that" and go choose a softer target. The guns that are taken where I work are stolen from homes and businesses during burglaries and from vehicles where the weapons are left unattended. 99.99% of criminals don't want an armed confrontation because you can't beg a speeding bullet for PBJ and you can't appeal the verdict in a gunfight.

While I understand the argument against open carry, the fact is that the risk of being ambushed or disarmed is overblown. As long as you possess a quality holster, basic situational awareness and a willingness to use deadly force when necessary the chances of being attacked are minimal. OC discourages violent crime like nothing else and it should be encouraged provided that those doing the carrying have the proper mindset.

 

[swinokur]

excellent summation. thank you for your service.

 

[POP57]

Very well said.

 

[K31]

If I could OC I would definitely OC going to/coming from the range.