My simple question is, WHY ??? Why does anyone need to open carry ? Is it a EGO thing ? I carry concealed because I do not want anyone to know MY BUSINESS. You open carry and you just gave up your advantage. The thug will plug you first when you do not see it coming. Or the 100 lb man or woman that gets MANHANDELED by a 380 lb THUG and has their weapon used on them. Think about it people. Do you want to advertise that you have a firearm for all the world to see ? Or would you prefer to be able to defend yourself with the element of SUPRISE ? IT’S A NO BRAINER !!!
Freedom is scary for some people.
And misunderstood by many.
Am I taking the bears or mountain lions by surprise, open carrying in the mountains? Will they shoot me first rather than the guy carrying concealed?
Or am I saving that half a second if need be?
Ever had bears trip over your tent at 2am and you think they’re coming in? I have…
There’s places to open carry, and everywhere else should be concealed. Stop acting as if it’s all the same.
Just to dip my toe in with my personal preferences. If I’m working out in my fields, it’s the full size Sig OC and a spare mag. Mostly it’s for coyotes and such. If the family and I go to the city for dinner or shopping or whatever, it’s the Shield CC and 1 or 2 spare mags depending on where we’re going and what we’re doing. It’s been my practice for years and, until shown a better way, I see no reason to change it.
I think open carry would be great if it were required by everyone yo do so. Think it would solve a lot if problems and confusion.
I agree and disagree to a point. Open carry can also be covered by a shirt or jacket. As for the EGO trip I believe some do. But if you have the correct locking holster as well as training you’ve got to be pretty damn good to take a gun out a holster with a properly trained person. A good elbow shot to the nose can do damage as well as tears.
Which brings me to another point. I live in TN with Constitutional Carry and the State is considering dropping the age to 18. Now this worries me because most kids that age can serve in the military but the get the proper training to handle and use a firearm. I strongly believe in the 2nd Amendment but I also strongly believe in this day and time that there should be some sort of training (off the books, no FEDs) so how do we do that, not by enforcement, but what?
If “open carry” is “covered” by a shirt or jacket…
That’s concealed carry
We start mandatory firearms training with our kids. Before we can do that we need a certification for that sort of trainer. Before we do that we need a plan for said certification. There’s a way to get where we should be with firearms safety and use, but it shouldn’t start at 18. We teach them to drive well before that.
There are also hyperextended knees and broken bones in the feet that have had to be dealt with. It has happened to people before. In one case a Wally World theft prevention officer thought to disarm a customer OCing and tried to disarm a man from behind, he posted the story on OpenCarry.Org, a leg kick directly back and an elbow blow put an end those ideas. The kicker (pun intended) is since OC was legal in the jurisdiction this occurred in and Wally World’s policy was to follow local and state laws pertaining to carry, the OC was apologized to and the TPO was hit with a battery charge, besides his injuries. But strong side defense is also why I have carried a weak side knife for so many years. You can’t defend your weapon with your dominant hand and draw a knife from your strong side, cross body, generally. Even though I primarily carry concealed now, I still carry a weak side knife because of all the other occasions where my strong side hand may be incapacitated.
I would never open carry as a civilian. WHY bring attention to yourself? If someone with ill intent walks into a store, etc. and sees you, you are the first target. I see people open carry and they are wearing the biggest piece of crap holster and I think about how easy it would be to disarm them. What if you are standing in line somewhere and some dirt bag or looney grabs your gun. If you aren’t dead, you will more than likely get sued. Few if any civilians have any weapon retention training. Most have minimal firearms training but think nothing of toting around a firearms for all to see.
Nope, I don’t want anyone to know I am armed in public. I want THEM to be surprised.
Well considering the 10s, if not 100s of thousands of times a week people in this country open carry, why isn’t that happening? If your hypothesis is correct, were are all the stories of OCers being disarmed on a daily basis?
On a different note, I was unaware that the military taught weapons retention as a rule. What branch are you in?
Need something like the hunters education course in TN, but solely for how to operate a gun safely. I’m all for the 2nd amendment myself. How many teenagers, and adults believe if they drop a mag out of a pistol that it’s then unloaded. We know a lot of them will fire with one in chamber, and mag out. I’d say it’s astonishing how many adults don’t understand this. I’m all for gun safety, but piss on gun control laws. They’re useless.
Stating something COULD happen doesn’t mean it has, it means it COULD. Do what you want, I just don’t want anyone know that I am carrying. I don’t need to show-off my weapon, I’d rather blend in.
I’m not in the military, not sure why you asked that but, many special forces do teach such tactics. I know SEALS and Delta do (or did).
Carrying is a 2nd amendment right which I support but, I do believe that some training should be required.
Arizona is constitutional carry, but having a CCW provides a few rights and perks constitutional carry doesn’t. I prefer concealed carry and also have a CCW.
I refer to open carry as “ceremonial carry” (for “around the town” carry). I think it has a place: to normalize guns and help people realize that “guns don’t kill people.” Yes, you’ll have an extra target painted on your back, but the trade-off is up to you.
I think open carry should have active retention (not just friction) so you don’t have your gun snagged by the person behind you in line.
Open carry and concealed carry are not mutually exclusive either. Carry that 6-shooter open and a polymer striker-fired concealed 
Anyone know what I need to do to qualify to start my own threads? Is there a 24 hour timer or something (this is a brand new forum account, but an existing customer account)?
Welcome to the forum @fogus 
You need some post under your belt before the cuffs come off, I think around 10.
Ok. Fair enough. I’ll find some ways to get some posts in
I’ve got some pics to post about a design flaw with the Rock 57 haha.
“The trade off is up to you.”
Truth. Unfortunately, those that blame guns for human actions are unlikely to change their minds. They’ve proven repeatedly that truth and logic aren’t in their wheelhouse. As John Wayne said, “Life is hard. It’s harder when you’re stupid.”
Edit to say welcome to the forum.
Welcome aboard!