Open carry...pluses and minuses...

[Sunrise]

I would definitely carry something larger and more powerful, were it not for the need to conceal it.

Well.... There's printing while concealed and then there's concealed.

If you don't mind printing while concealed, have at it.

Define larger and more powerful....
Also, compared to what?

Visually Compare Pistol And Revolver Dimensions, Weight, Capacity, And More | Handgun Hero

Handgun Hero lets you visually compare any two handguns side-by-side. Compare old pistols vs new pistols, pocket revolvers vs subcompacts, or anything else.

www.handgunhero.com

 

[Doco Overboard]

Yup. When I'm out and about, I'd rather be OC. I rarely make unplanned stops when I'm out running around. Often times, I'm somewhere out in the countryside, where most folks aren't skeert of guns. If I know I will be amongst more civilized people(), I will be CC.
As for printing, I don't GAF. People have all kinds of junk strapped to them or hanging from their belts these days. If John Q Citizen notices I'm carrying concealed, he probably is a gun person anyway. If a perspective thug notices, well that's OK too. He'll get the message(or not).

If people knew how many were actually carrying before, they would probably be stunned.
I do agree there are times for concealed like if you dont want to not scare people or alarm them unnecessarily but this CMC and all that other horse sh^t just makes me laugh at times.
You see the thing is, I bet not to awful many criminal types would be involved in an open carry scheme unless actively pursuing a crime.
The hurdle is, convincing people who are not criminals, but have already been accustomed to hiding exercising of their rights to have the ability to distinguish themselves from the former without being one of them while doing so.
Proposing an alternate method of carry that distinctly prohibits display, steadfastedly reduces the optics of only good guys have guns preventing normalization of the same by any other means.
Thats what this good ole country boy thinks anyway.
Oh, and I didn't have to worry about open carrying a rifle near my home until a bunch of people from the city made a big deal about things.
Now, I'm not so sure.

 

[jcbvh]

Im all for open carry, but you have to be smart about it. Some people will challenge you or feel the need to. There are people like that out there. Again, depends on location, type of environment you in. You walk into the wrong area and open carry may bring you problems vs preventing them.

Im in the rural deep south, and people don't really care. That all changes when you get near or within a big city though.

 

[outrider58]

If people knew how many were actually carrying before, they would probably be stunned.
I do agree there are times for concealed like if you dont want to not scare people or alarm them unnecessarily but this CMC and all that other horse sh^t just makes me laugh at times.
You see the thing is, I bet not to awful many criminal types would be involved in an open carry scheme unless actively pursuing a crime.
The hurdle is, convincing people who are not criminals, but have already been accustomed to hiding exercising of their rights to have the ability to distinguish themselves from the former without being one of them while doing so.
Proposing an alternate method of carry that distinctly prohibits display, steadfastedly reduces the optics of only good guys have guns preventing normalization of the same by any other means.
Thats what this good ole country boy thinks anyway.
Oh, and I didn't have to worry about open carrying a rifle near my home until a bunch of people from the city made a big deal about things.
Now, I'm not so sure.

You'll get no argument from me.

I remember one of the first times I saw people OCing. It was at The Cove campground in Gore Va. I thought to myself, "Damn. This place is cool as sh!t!".

Nowadays, seeing guns on people seems normal. I never give it a second thought. I'm not talking about some random 2A SJW walking into a Home Depot carrying an AR pistol. That's a recipe for disaster. That's just making a spectacle of oneself and gun owners as a whole. I don't carry to set any kind of example. I carry so I can defend myself and anyone who is accompanying me.

 

[Blaster229]

There are zero positive reasons to OC.

 

[Doco Overboard]

There are zero positive reasons to OC.

The fact of the matter is, people have been doing it for a lot longer than you or me.
I bet theirs a higher likelihood of falling prey to some other malady like driving a car or unforeseen health issues or even industrial illness that results in death than getting jumped for a gun or becoming disarmed in a non complex environment.

 

[Blaster229]

The fact of the matter is, people have been doing it for a lot longer than you or me.
I bet theirs a higher likelihood of falling prey to some other malady like driving a car or unforeseen health issues or even industrial illness that results in death than getting jumped for a gun or becoming disarmed in a non complex environment.

That's not the point. But you do you.
Surprise is an element in your corner. But feel free to give that away when your life is on the line.

 

[outrider58]

There are zero positive reasons to OC.

Start with reasons not to.

 

[Blaster229]

Start with reasons not to.

Element of Surprise.
Retention
Being a professional.
Being the grey guy
No one's business.
Avoid unwanted chat/confrontation

 

[outrider58]

Element of Surprise.
Retention
Being a professional.
Being the grey guy
No one's business.
Avoid unwanted chat/confrontation

Most of what you are talking about is already in practice. My desire to OC is 99% in rural areas where I am normally not interacting with anyone. Chance run-ins aside, there is no one to surprise. I'm talking about being in the boonies.

 

[Blaster229]

Most of what you are talking about is already in practice. My desire to OC is 99% in rural areas where I am normally not interacting with anyone. Chance run-ins aside, there is no one to surprise. I'm talking about being in the boonies.

Didn't think we were taking about hiking and hunting

 

[Bob A]

I enjoyed a bit of OC when I first got my permit, but the MD and MoCo hostility is definitely a thing. I don't need the aggro.

Besides that, all you country boys are swimming in friendly waters. In MoCo near DC, there's a lot of thug action, Karens, and politicians in both their fully developed and larval* states. Best to go grey.

I'm not worried about someone seeing a lump on my belt; just tell them it's my morphine pump.


*Lawyers are the larval state for politicians. You always suspected that, right?

 

[outrider58]

Didn't think we were taking about hiking and hunting

Not hunting. Anything from running errands, helping a friend somewhere, etc. Like I said, out and about. If I decide I need to pop into a little country store, they aren't gonna jump out of their skin at the sight of a guy with a sidearm walking into their store to grab a soda and a slice of Hunt Brother's pizza. It just doesn't happen.

 

[Twist]

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.

 

[alucard0822]

How prevelant is snatch and grab? Some videos on YT. Being distracted isn't helpful. How effective is the
Safariland ALS or the one you push down then forward to draw? I can't remember the model of the second
holster. Blackhawk Sherpa?

In all fairness about 99% of the incidents involving a gun grab are LEO related, not just a person open carrying, but there are a handful of cases. For me, I'm less worried about that, and more worried about falling or my pistol coming loose when OCing hiking/biking or on a motorcycle. There is a much greater chance of a pistol getting snagged and pulled out from seatbelts or brushing past something too. A garment and generally deeper carry with more holster covering the pistol, IWB tends to be less likely to fall out or get snagged. I do use Safariland ALS, and like them, tough and good impact protection for the pistol, farily quick to deploy and secure. They are L1 retention, aka better than nothing, much better design than the Serpa, and they do have other L2/L3 designs that are more secure from a gun grab, but for me that isn't my primary reason for a retention holster.

 

[davsco]

There are zero positive reasons to OC.

zero?? maybe you're yolking. generally more comfortable than iwb. but the biggest reason is really ease of access / faster draw. there's also a higher albeit small chance of shooting yourself in the junk or fem artery with aiwb vs 3:00 OC though of course you can iwb in other positions also.

all that said, while i OC from time to time, when i carry it is vastly aiwb concealed.

 

[swinokur]

Agree

By and large, Maryland BGOS affects opinion on open carry vs concealed.

Or having SCOTUS kick your ass via Bruen and then you throw a a tantrum by making OC illegal.

So what. We can still carry losers

 

[Doco Overboard]

That's not the point. But you do you.
Surprise is an element in your corner. But feel free to give that away when your life is on the line.

Thanks for the tip..
I'm not sneaking up on anyone whose trying to do me harm.
They're the persons who may wind up surprised.

Ive also had more guns pointed at me by cops too than by anyone else.
And was completely unarmed, now that I care to think about it some more.
The only difference is they never fired at me like others.

Yes, Ill continue to do me, based on life experience.
Not a training handbook,or a fictional scenario or for what some else thinks is best.

 

[swinokur]

Well.... There's printing while concealed and then there's concealed.

If you don't mind printing while concealed, have at it.

Define larger and more powerful....
Also, compared to what?

Visually Compare Pistol And Revolver Dimensions, Weight, Capacity, And More | Handgun Hero

Handgun Hero lets you visually compare any two handguns side-by-side. Compare old pistols vs new pistols, pocket revolvers vs subcompacts, or anything else.

www.handgunhero.com

Temporary inadvertant printing while concealed is not a crime under MD law.

When someone tells I am printing, I will ask “are you cop?”

“No.”

Then who cares?

 

[Doco Overboard]

Not hunting. Anything from running errands, helping a friend somewhere, etc. Like I said, out and about. If I decide I need to pop into a little country store, they aren't gonna jump out of their skin at the sight of a guy with a sidearm walking into their store to grab a soda and a slice of Hunt Brother's pizza. It just doesn't happen.

Or want to talk about it much.
I saw a guy, yesterday in Walmart. (Seaford).
When I gave up to the receipt checker, there was some cowboy ,native looking guy with a Black Hawk and a thong on his leg for his holster tie down.
It was at the same time, I quickly realized I was vulnerable for following store policy as I understood things.
And, also an epiphany that Geraldo, ( my favorite receipt checker person) also at one time worked in the Deli.
Which I completely forgot about, to my utter dismay!