Has anyone open carried? (If your state allows it.)

Has anyone had problems with LE or general public while open carrying?

I've thought about it but never had the nerve to do so. Feels like I'd be asking for trouble from store workers and LE, or giving someone a reason to break into my vehicle to search for possible second gun after I've left it.

I open carry quite a bit in the summer, mostly for hiking fishing trips into bear country, but invariably it seems like we stop in town to pick up supplies and I have never once had any grief over it. Then again this is Wyoming and it isn't any big shock to see a guy with a gun, probably wouldn't get the same reception somewhere metro.

Yeah, in places where it's "appropriate." Hunting, fishing, "out in the woods." No one looks twice.

I've open carried into Burger King, Safeway, and some other local businesses, but this was "out in the woods" -- fishing country. Gun in a holster, on a "gun belt" with boots, jeans, outdoor recreational "work shirt" and dressed for fly fishing. Rural area, no big deal.

Sitting in the deli-lounge at Safeway, with the laptop and WiFi connection, cup o' Joe from FourBucks. That's another story. Metro sexuals at the local bistro are gonna freak if you open carry.

It is quasi legal in my state for the most part. Open carry is legal but NC also has a law against "going armed to the terror of the people". That means whatever the DA says it means, I guess.

I have seen some but not many people here open carry. Personally, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. None of my friends in state and local law enforcement say it bothers them at all either.

I carry concealed (except for woods walking) because it attracts less attention and that suits me fine.

Chet

quote:

Originally posted by Wm.S.Ladd:
Yeah, in places where it's "appropriate." Hunting, fishing, "out in the woods." No one looks twice.
.....

Same here.

I don't see it as an option purely from a tactical standpoint. A well schooled ex-con, professional career criminal or well rehearsed terrorist type will ping on you immediately. You could be the first one with a bullet in the back of your head. When I'm in an urban environment, no one knows I'm armed.

I've been a cop for 25 years and I only open carry in uniform or around the office in 5.11 pants and a golf shirt. Outside in the public eye it's covered up. Gives me a reason to have a collection of Safari vests.

I agree with TWL, it's a bad tactical juju to let everyone know that you're packing.

The fellows over at the Pennsylvania Firearms Owners forums are a bit outgoing with open carry in hopes that they educate the public about legal gun ownership. If you peruse their site you might gain a bit of info.

IMHO it's best not to alarm people that would rather just graze away in peace.

quote:

Originally posted by TWL:
I don't see it as an option purely from a tactical standpoint. A well schooled ex-con, professional career criminal or well rehearsed terrorist type will ping on you immediately. You could be the first one with a bullet in the back of your head. When I'm in an urban environment, no one knows I'm armed.

Good point.

quote:

Originally posted by TWL:
I don't see it as an option purely from a tactical standpoint. A well schooled ex-con, professional career criminal or well rehearsed terrorist type will ping on you immediately. You could be the first one with a bullet in the back of your head. When I'm in an urban environment, no one knows I'm armed.

I don't run into a lot of these when I'm fishing. Most of the bears aren't armed.

Open carry in Arkansas and five other states is apparently illegal.
http://swtimes.com/articles/20...on/you/letters01.txt

I can't believe that you can't open carry in TX, OK, Fl, SC, or Arkansas. I never would have believed that TX didn't allow it.

Times have changed and walking into a church, shopping mall etc with visible gun will cause panic !! Too many people become hysterical at the sight of a gun or knife so I agree with the 'concealed' rule here in NY state.If you need it of course open carry will get you killed !

quote:

Originally posted by daniel77:
I can't believe that you can't open carry in TX, OK, Fl, SC, or Arkansas. I never would have believed that TX didn't allow it.

Actually, quite an old law, though recently updated via our CHL and Castle laws in differing ways.
One OLD law even contained a statement about carrying a gun in your saddlebags for travel across county lines.

Some recent thing:
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread449520/pg1
www.dallasnews.com/sharedconte...tingback.6a8cbd.html

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
Times have changed and walking into a church, shopping mall etc with visible gun will cause panic !! Too many people become hysterical at the sight of a gun or knife so I agree with the 'concealed' rule here in NY state.If you need it of course open carry will get you killed !

What kind of liberal pantywaist nitwit are you?

quote:

The vast, vast majority of open carry experiences, even in downtown Atlanta, are non events.

http://cowtowncop.blogspot.com...en-carry-debate.html

I think there's a "propriety" issue at hand here. Even if it's "legal" it may just be inappropriate.

Some settings, no one looks twice. And then I had a librarian totally freak because she asked for ID and I showed her my CCW card -- which is Photo ID here.

quote:

Originally posted by griz78:
Has anyone open carried? (If your state allows it.)

Has anyone had problems with LE or general public while open carrying?

A few friends of mine were quenching our thirst after coon hunting one night...legally with a spotlight. I was the lightman so carried my 44 mag revolver only. Just for the record, this happened in the early '80s right after some crooks broke into my home and stole my entire gun cabinet...this handgun was all I had left of my gun collection. Not that a 44 mag is needed for racoons, but I felt I just needed to carry it lest some other thief steals it while I'm out of the house again.

The conversation turns to open carry. All the others said it's illegal. I said it's not illegal and I'll prove it. We drove to the local McDonalds burger joint and I entered with my Hawes Chief Marshall holstered for all to see. It's a Saturday night and the place is packed...lines in front of every counterperson. While waiting my turn, I get a tap tap on my shoulder. A rank & file city cop says step out of line, I want to have a word with you. I said I'll meet you outside once I get my order. Once outside, he asks for my license to carry and what I was doing with that piece on my hip. I said I just came out of the woods from coon hunting and got hungry. He looked over my license and handed it back to me, then proceeded to give me a mild scolding for doing what I did...not that I did anything against the law, just that it might have troubled some of the populace with a weak heart. (yet no one inside so much as blinked an eye) I said either charge me with something or get out of my way, my burgers and fries are getting cold, and walked off.

He went back to keeping the peace...policing against teenager's food fights and burnouts from muscle cars. It was probably a slow night and I was the highlight of his evening. That's the only time I open carried, and only to prove my point.

The LE's in Pa are actually begining to know the law......one lawsuit at a time.

We don't have it in FL and I sorta wonder why, since we were the first state with "shall issue" laws.

I prefer to carry concealed, although I usually use a vest and most crooks will probably shoot the guy wearing the vest first.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rick R:
I've been a cop for 25 years and I only open carry in uniform or around the office in 5.11 pants and a golf shirt. Outside in the public eye it's covered up. Gives me a reason to have a collection of Safari vests.


5.11 pants, golf shirt and Safari vest, you might as well open carry.

The whole issue with concealed carry is kind of silly if you think about it. If it's concealed, how are they going to prosecute you. Only if you "unconceal" it could it be a problem. If that happened justifiably, I doubt many DA's would prosecute. That could be different in other parts of the country. (i.e., you save lives, albeit with an illegally concealed pistol).

The only other potential problem would be if you were stopped under a circumstance that gave probable cause for a search or perhaps a pat down. I'd suggest not giving probable cause. Don't drink and drive, get in altercations at bars or elsewhere, etc.

Get a grip guys.

I only open carry when hunting in the field.

If I go to town I go concealed.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
The whole issue with concealed carry is kind of silly if you think about it. If it's concealed, how are they going to prosecute you. Only if you "unconceal" it could it be a problem. If that happened justifiably, I doubt many DA's would prosecute. That could be different in other parts of the country. (i.e., you save lives, albeit with an illegally concealed pistol).

The problem with saving lives with an illegally concealed weapon is that you are relying on the common law doctrine of necessity, unless there is a statutory provision dealing with the issue. "Necessity" says that you have a defence to committing an offence if the thing you were trying to prevent was more serious than what you did to prevent it, and there was no legal option. For example, drunk driving is defensible if you are the only person available to drive and you are taking a life threatening injury victim to hospital. But how would you apply carrying a concealed handgun to a necessity defence? You would have to prove that you knew you were going to need the gun when you started to carry, not just when you needed it. You would also have to prove that there was no other option, such as calling police. Granted a fiction writer could dream up scenarios, but they would be convoluted and you would be lucky to be believed. You might get away with the shooting itself under necessity, but would likely be charged with illegal possession.

While I don't do it unless I am in the woods hunting, I have done it accidentally...once, in town. There is no law against it in Kansas.

I was at the local IPSC match and we don't think much about the other people all wearing holstered pistols. Well, this day we ran out of stage forms and I didn't think twice about it. I just hopped into the truck and went looking for the nearest copy machine. Nope the Casey's didn't have one, neither did the grocery store....but AHA, the bank should. I went into the bank, the teller was very helpful and as I was leaving the loan officer asked if my scores were very good. With a puzzled look I said NO and asked why. As his gaze moved to the Glock 17L in my holster and the 8 full mags I had on the belt, I realized it was a stupid move. We both just chuckled and I went on my way. It was 1990 and would be very different now. Thank God I live in Kansas.

quote:

Hide Post
I can't believe that you can't open carry in TX, OK, Fl, SC, or Arkansas. I never would have believed that TX didn't allow it.

I think it had something to do with Pancho Villa! LOL

Over the weekend I saw a sign in PA that encouraged people to exercise their "Right to bare arms" instead of concealed carry in hot weather.


Gotta love a good play on words.

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
Open carry in Arkansas and five other states is apparently illegal.
http://swtimes.com/articles/20...on/you/letters01.txt

Yep. Illegal in florida.

I once walked into a convenience store with an AR-15 carbine slung over my back, muzzle down and the sling across my chest. I was with a friend who stayed in the store a bit longer than I did. We were going to take a "plinkin' walk" through the desert and stopped in for a Coke before going out into the sands and sagebrush. When he caught up to me, he told me the female clerk asked him "Is that a BB gun your friend has?" My friend then told me another customer piped up before he could answer "That ain't no BB gun..."

I'm retired from law enforcement with a carry concealed weapons license so I only carry concealed,no sense advertising what I have!

I'm undecided on this issue.

Let me say that I'm a full-time LEO (36 years)and a life member of the NRA (SCI too). I'm a huge believer in the 'shall issue' concealed weapon laws. I believe that legal people stay legal and that they have a right to defend themselves. I'm also somewhere to the right of most John Birchers.

Now here in southeast Michigan we have organized groups doing the open carry thing and intentionally seeking publicity about it. (flaunting it????) This past weekend they had a family picnic/open carry at a park. Ended up on the front page of a local newspaper. Many of them are my friends and I'm not sure this push is going to have a happy ending. I'm worried the (liberal) law makers are going to do something dumb about it.

My thoughts are this....when I carry 'off duty' I want to be as inconspicious as possible. I want to blend in. I don't want the guy behind me in line at the bank to know I'm packing. He might be providing cover for the guy in front of me who is going to start robbing the place. I don't want to be double-tapped to the head right from jump-street.

And as an LEO, I roll up to some 'cluster' and got a bunch of people running around with guns, it's going to be a real nut roll trying to figure out who the good guys are. For a little while, everybody with a gun is going to be considered a bad guy until I sort things out. Truth is, that until the scene is secure and things are sorted out, constituional rights are secondary. That is a fact whether you like it or not. Safety first, then we'll remember the Constitution. (That too, is a fact like it or not).

For those of you that live in a make-believe/non-existent real world, I caution you about jumping up at the scene of a real mess on some raw street in an ~urban setting (like Eight Mile in S.E. Michigan) qouting open carry doctrine. There will be handcuffs,a facefull of pavement, and the backseat of a police car for a little while in your immediate future. Sorry...sue me if you want, but I made a promise to my family a long, long time ago that I was coming home for dinner.

My advice....let's be careful about this open carry thing. Out in the boonies is one thing. Let's be discreet in the public eye.

Matt;

Your attitude towards the exercise of one's rights and to life and liberty are a threat to the US Constitution- While I understand your situation rather well, mere possession of arms is not cause for LEOs to go berserk-you are NOT the law, only the first link in a rather thin chain. Behavior is the linchpin for action by law enforcement, not anticipation or ability to violate the law, goodness!

I think in many a situation, if you began barking, pointing your firearm etc at folks who happened to be lawfully carrying a firearm for, you'd find yourself in a very very bad condition-with good cause.

Sounds like violation of civil rights under color of law?

Please rethink your tactics, you are a danger in the condition/mindset you currently operate under, my friend.

Gun control is always about control. Nothing else. Just control. Of course, controlling others is always "reasonable" to the controllers for whatever reason they see fit.

And I agree with being inconspicuous for the reasons you mentioned (double tap to the head), to avoid unneeded attention by well intentioned LEO's and also to not scare the sheeple.

It's still about control.

jpj3

Nope Andrew, I won't rethink my position. There is the real world and the make-believe world. It's been my observation that most radicals live in the make believe world. And that there isn't a nickels worth of difference between radicals. Like you Andrew, there is a radical out there that thinks all guns should be confiscated. I am a strong, repeat, STRONG believer in the constitution. If you are a law abiding citizen I think the chances of you and I running into one-another are real, real slim.


Tell me Andrew, were you every put out there in harm's way? Ever had your partner wounded and bullets blowing out the window of your car? If so, were the finer points of the Constitution first and foremost on your mind?

Early on in my LEO career I was taught to use the 'Reasonable and Prudent Man' standard. Kind of like the kids who run around with the 'WWJD' bracelets, I was taught to react to situations with the 'What would a reasonable and prudent man do?' It has served me very well.

So Andrew, go out there and open carry. Push the envelope. Issue yourself your own driver's license, license plates, and CCW. Qoute common law, only recognize the Sheriff, and go to militia training outings. Heck, make up some uniforms while you are at it. Don't pay your income tax and go off paper.

Starting over 30 years ago over coffee I'd have this similar discussion with some hardcore 'Patriots' members discussing these very points. We had 'detant' (is that the word?) as we agreed on some issues. I'd make my point that among other things the framers of our Constitution were 'Reasonable and Prudent' men.

P.S. I re-read your posting....no, mere possession of firearms does NOT cause me to ge beserk. I was a cop in Wyoming for 16 years where virtually every vehicle I encountered had a rifle in the window rack or a handgun on the dashboard. I assumed everybody had a gun close at hand and it didn't bother me. Legal people stay legal. Just don't be a radical right from the git-go. As I mentioned earlier, I don't see much difference between radicals.

Matt, I've read your posts and want to know why can't a reasonable and prudent man open carry where legal?

I agree that concealed carry draws less attention from a "tactical" point of view but I disagree that open carry is fine for the "boonies" but not for the "public eye".

Either way if I use a defensive weapon I'll get a free ride and introduced to a real judge.

Sam, go ahead and open carry. Just be reasonable and prudent. Don't go radical.

There are other radicals out there. Do you want 'I'm the radical group of "whats-happening-now" packing AR-15's down YOUR Main Street? (and yes, that has happened!) There are all manner of radicals out there (YES THERE ARE!!!) that are using this mind-set.

How about we be reasonable and prudent.

This is nothing new. Back in the late 60's there were vehement racist groups doing parades down main streets in Detroit with rifles slung over their shoulders. Is that what you-all want? Anarchy?

I thought were were suppose to be 'civilised'.

Again, I'm a big believer in 'Reasonable and Prudent'

quote:

Originally posted by Sam:
Matt, I've read your posts and want to know why can't a reasonable and prudent man open carry where legal?

I agree that concealed carry draws less attention from a "tactical" point of view but I disagree that open carry is fine for the "boonies" but not for the "public eye".

Either way if I use a defensive weapon I'll get a free ride and introduced to a real judge.

I have to agree Sam. While I'm not talking about going OC 24/7, I will exercise my right to OC in places, at certain times, when I feel I should.

If I can hide it, I will. If I choose not to, then the law is on my side and I'm not gonna let the sheeple make me feel less important than their uneducated, tender emotions.

griz78, I agree. Don't be a sheeple. But don't feed ammo to the 'oh-my-God-they-got-guns-pass-a-law' group either. Hard to get past the headlines when one nut case or another shoots up a bunch of people. That does seem to be happening a lot nowadays and it's hard to distinquish between the good guys and the bad guys.

#1 'oh-shit' call for a cop is 'man with a gun'. All of us right-minded folks know that 'gun' isn't necessarily a bad thing. But the devil is in the details; sorting out who is the good guys and who is the bad guys. Routinely our dispatchers tell the good civilians with guns to set their firearms down as the LEO's approach. It helps defuse the situation and figure out who the good folks are versus the dummies.

Let me say again: I like legal citizens. I am suspect of unreasonable radicals.

YES, IT MAY BE LEGAL TO OPEN CARRY IN YOUR STATE,BUT DO WE NEED TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE? WHY UPSET THE FOLKS AT THE RESTERANT, MALL, AND OTHER PLACES OF BUSINESS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT AGREE WITH THE LAW? LETS NOT GET THE SOCCER MOMS OR ANYONE ELSE ALL RILED UP FOR MORE ANTI-GUN LEGISLATION. A LITTLE COMMON SENSE MAY GO A LONG WAY TO HELP YOU (US) INSTEAD OF FLAUNTING YOUR (OUR) RIGHT.

ALL CAPS IS LIKE YELLING

I'LL BE DARNED!