Open carry...pluses and minuses...

[adit]

Where I live in Maryland (Annapolis) a lot of people think firearms are an evil that must be eradicated. Now, I'm happy to have a civil discussion on the matter with anyone that isn't a zealot - heck, I'm even willing to do that - but I would prefer to choose the time and place of those debates/discussions. Wearing openly invites being treated like a leper at a minimum and confronted with angry words on my life choices and attracting all unwanted attention.

I carry concealed because I can legally and I feel competent in doing so. I wouldn't dare tell anyone what's best for them unless asked but for me personally I also see no upside at all to carrying openly.

You carry concealed in MD because you have to.
You see no upside because you have no choice.

 

[Blaster229]

If you decide to open carry, that's on you. I will be paying close attention to you for as long as I have to be around you.

First thing I do when I see someone OC is think how will I deal with them if they break bad. Everyone here assumes someone who open carries, is a stand up citizen. I have no clue who that person is.
The amount of distrust and suspicion people here have for strangers goes right out the window if they know they are carrying.

 

[E.Shell]

I feel the same way about the oc rules as I do about motorcycle helmet laws. I would never ride a motorcycle without a helmet but I hate the fact it is mandated. I would most likely never oc but again I resent the fact it is outlawed.

Same.

I think most are overlooking the most effective method:
Open carry one pistol with an empty chamber (this will make some people here feel very VERY safe).
Conceal carry one that is properly ready to go.
Win-Win

 

[outrider58]

First thing I do when I see someone OC is think how will I deal with them if they break bad. Everyone here assumes someone who open carries, is a stand up citizen. I have no clue who that person is.
The amount of distrust and suspicion people here have for strangers goes right out the window if they know they are carrying.

It seems like you are painting with a bit of a broad brush. Maybe the old cop coming back to the surface. I don't see everyone OC as bellicose rednecks. But then, I'm used to hanging around country farm folk, where when seconds count, police can be hours away.

 

[Blaster229]

It seems like you are painting with a bit of a broad brush. Maybe the old cop coming back to the surface. I don't see everyone OC as bellicose rednecks. But then, I'm used to hanging around country farm folk, where when seconds count, police can be hours away.

I never said redneck. I said anyone who OCs. Total strangers. So I should let my guard down because I have to assume they are good guys?

 

[outrider58]

I never said redneck. I said anyone who OCs. Total strangers. So I should let my guard down because I have to assume they are good guys?

No, I said redneck. I was working along your assumption that anyone OC could be trouble. Let's turn the tables on it. People who CC can be considered sneaky and suspicious. I consider them to be unknown unknowns. At least the dude OC is a known unknown.

 

[Stoveman]

Whenever I see someone OCing I automatically think that they are a no good dindu thug, because in damn near every news, Police Activity, Donut Operator, etc... video that I watch, damn near every one of the bad guys are open carrying in some ratty ass Uncle Mike's holsters.

 

[Twist]

You carry concealed in MD because you have to.
You see no upside because you have no choice.

I guess I didn't express myself clearly. Choice has nothing to do with it and I wouldn't if I could. But please don't take any remarks of mine to mean I'm disparaging anyone who can carry openly anywhere else. You could say it's my personal limitation because I wouldn't feel comfortable securing it and dealing with any attention it might draw.

 

[Mark75H]

Uncle Mike should start a specialty line called "Ratty Ass Holsters"

 

[Blaster229]

Uncle Mike should start a specialty line called "Ratty Ass Holsters"

Are they even still a company!

 

[Crazytrain]

For our current and former po-po:

Has a guy openly carrying where legal ever been the real threat? If so, where there other clues of bad intent? In my limited civilian experience, ne're-do-wells tend to give off other markers. They walk a certain way, their eyes kinda shift a certain way, they dress a certain way. When I see a guy generally well dressed (by today's sad standards), with good posture, a lack of shiftyness, and a sense of belonging, I don't think I'd be overly nervous, though perhaps I'd make a mental note to keep a very loose eye on the guy for a short while. I think I'd be more concerned with the shifty guy who I can't see if he is armed or not.

In any case, I'd like to see every other person openly carrying a sidearm every day. I think that would have a massive deterrent effect. But bad things need to happen first before that becomes socially acceptable, at least in this state, first. At the least, I really feel that being forced to hide is a way of, in the modern parlance, "othering" us. We should not have to hide.

Tactically, carrying concealed seems to make the most sense. Strategically, I'm not so sure.

 

[swinokur]

Uncle Mike’s? I thought they sold frozen fish sticks

 

[clandestine]

This thread is in National 2A issues, so it does not apply to just MD.

 

[Crazytrain]

If you can't carry a full sized handgun concealed, take a look at your wardrobe. If your shoulders are wider than your hips you should be able to pull it off.
...
It's hard for guys who have to wear tucked in shirts. For most people though in casual wear, as long as your clothes aren't snug enough to outline the gun you're pretty well good to go.

It's definitely possible, but so much easier to carry with smaller pistols. I used to carry a S&W 6906 back in my twenties. It was reasonably small at the time for a 9mm and I never had any trouble hiding it. I was a lot thinner back then (I'm working on getting back down now), which surely helped. Wide shoulders and narrow waist makes a lot of things easier.

The "tucked in shirt" thing is something I've been thinking a lot on lately. I've been getting put off by the extreme casual dress that has taken over our society of late, and have been thinking of classing myself up some. I already wear polo style shirts (dark colors keep the printing down), but have considered going back to button down shirts. Casual jackets may need to be part of the wardrobe. Harder in the summer, but if Don Johnson could pull it off in steamy Miami, surely I could find a solution for sweaty Baltimore!

Regards full size vs sub compact: I was at the range the other day and could shoot my p365 serviceably. A bad guy would have a bad day. But when I switched to the P92 and the Sig SP2022 I found that my accuracy and speed went up dramatically, especially with double taps. P365 should stop the bad guy. The full size pieces would stop the bad guy with a tight group.

Are they even still a company!

Yes! They even do Kydex now in addition to the traditional Uncle Mikes "Ratty Ass Holsters!"

 

[Stoveman]

This thread is in National 2A issues, so it does not apply to just MD.

Indeed, when I am down south I see folks OCing all the time. Not a ton of folks, but at least one time during every trip I've made in the last two years and that's been a lot of trips.

Back in May when we settled on the SSP we were at the local diner eating breakfast and saw three gentleman come in who were all OCing. Since they didn't have the composure of hood rats or meth heads I didn't give them a second glance.

A little off the subject, but just about everyone in our community down there does not carry on their person. They all have a gun in their truck, but they don't carry on the regular.

 

[outrider58]

Obviously I open carry at work every day. Of course I also have body armor and backup there...

Unless I'm somewhere that speed is my greatest need, my overwhelming top goal is to pass unseen. I don't want you to look at me twice and I want you to forget you saw me the second you look away. I have no plans to get into a quick draw competition.

If you decide to open carry, that's on you. I will be paying close attention to you for as long as I have to be around you.

If you can't carry a full sized handgun concealed, take a look at your wardrobe. If your shoulders are wider than your hips you should be able to pull it off.

I don't find CC very uncomfortable. I can carry on without a bother. I feel it, I know it is there, but on the grand scale of things, I can live with it. In the time since obtaining my carry permit, up until the ban, I don't believe I open carried. I have OWB, but it was covered by clothing. There are places I would prefer to OC, but in that time span, I never found myself in that situation. However, I believe the 2A protects an individual's right to make that decision for themselves.

ETA: My hips are narrower than my shoulders, but I still print like a big dog. I shouldn't be forced to wear a Moo-moo if I want to carry a gun.

 

[swinokur]

Why are they called Moo Moos?

Because cows wear them

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

ETA: My hips are narrower than my shoulders, but I still print like a big dog. I shouldn't be forced to wear a Moo-moo if I want to carry a gun.

If that's your style...that's your style!

 

[outrider58]

Why are they called Moo Moos?

Because cows wear them

Lol

 

[N3uka]

I've only noticed one person open carrying. I was at the Cracker Barrel in Manassas several years ago. An old timer came in and sat at the next table over with a 1911 in a GI holster. I complimented him on it and he explained he carried it in WWII. Didn't see another person at the packed restaurant even notice it.