Open carry

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

1 minute ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

We hear it all the time,"Well, if you open carry you are the target!!!!!"

 

Does anyone have actual statistics on that?  I do recall ONE incident that made the news of a guy who was carrying openly and was mugged and his gun was taken.  If it is as common as claimed the press would have it in all the headlines and politicians would be pontificating pompously about how dangerous it is.

If it's the one I remember, it was a couple years ago in Detroit or someplace, the guy was an off duty Cop, the Bad Guy knew it, and the Cop was White Zoning in his local Stop and Rob. 

The only other time I've ever heard about was a UNIFORMED Security Guard in a bank. 

[Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062]

Just so that you all know: NONE OF ANY OF THIS DISCUSSION APPLIES TO AUSTRALIA ......  

 

      .......... because it ain't allowed  

[Randingo]

It’s safe to say we all do what works for us and what our comfort level allows.  
 

Most bad guys don’t train.  I do.

 

 I carry not only to protect myself but those around me who might not be able to.  If my rig draws attention to me, then that may give the others a chance to get a way or enter the fight unnoticed.  It also tell the individual looking at me that he only has a 33% chance of surviving the fight.  
 

I appreciate all the insight you have offered here.  It’s nice to be in a group of sheep dogs!!!!!

[Subdeacon Joe]

3 hours ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

If it's the one I remember, it was a couple years ago in Detroit or someplace, the guy was an off duty Cop, the Bad Guy knew it, and the Cop was White Zoning in his local Stop and Rob. 

The only other time I've ever heard about was a UNIFORMED Security Guard in a bank. 

 

 

I searched a bit when I got home from w**k.  This is the one I was thinking of, it was in 2014, Oregon.

 

 

Quote

Gresham Police Department investigators are looking for a man who reportedly stole a pistol from its owner at gunpoint.

According to Gresham police, William Coleman III was talking to his cousin near 172nd and Glisan at about 2:10 a.m. on Saturday while openly carrying the gun he had purchased on Friday.

Coleman said a man, about 19- to 23-years-old, approached them, asking for a cigarette. Coleman said the man then inquired about Coleman's weapon, then pulled a pistol from his own waistband and said, "I like your gun. Give it to me." Coleman handed over his new handgun and the suspect left on foot.

 

We have only a few incidents over almost a decade.  I don't think that there is much evidence to support the "If you open carry you are just asking to be shot/robbed/mugged!" alarms.  Again, if it was as common as some want us to think the press would be full of stories, trumpeted in 72 point font headlines.  There would be much verbiage as to how much danger it presents to society.   But for the most part we are deafened by the silence of the press on the issue.

[Texas Joker]

If you open carry you have a gun. Criminals want victims not prepared responders.  

 

Carry in the white it doesn't matter. Buck necked and condition orange you give off the ' I ain't no victim come and get some' vibe.

[Charlie MacNeil, SASS #48580]

Open carry on the ranch, concealed the rest of the time. I have had to make an emergency repair run to the local town a few times and ended up open carrying then with no comment from either business people or bystanders but I still prefer concealed most of the time. Just me...

[watab kid]

OLG made a good point , i do open carry on my own property in daily chores , i prefer those that wander in be warned they have no advantage unless they come enforce , we have a "NO SOLICITATION" law in this town , i rather like that 

[Painted Mohawk SASS 77785]

I'm just jealous of the whole lot of ya'..bout the only thing we can open carry down-under is a comb in yer back pocket !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

If I actually could open carry, I'd prolly carry my 4-3/4" SAA.   I've had a lot of practice getting it out of the holster and on target quickly the last few years.

I forget who made these comments, but, "Carry the biggest damn gun you can.  Even it's a single action," and, "If you need more than three or four shots, you're not in a shootout, you're in a war," have a lot of truth to them.
"   

[Alpo]

13 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Carry the biggest damn gun you can.  Even it's a single action,"

A Skeeter Skelton story. He had been out javelina hunting, and had just gotten home when there was a phone call telling him to get to work right quick - they were going to arrest this very dangerous criminal.

 

So he doesn't change, he just goes.

 

They road-block the criminal's car, and one uniform cop snatches open the driver's door, while Skeeter opens the passenger door and leans in. With a 7½" Super Blackhawk. Click click click click.

 

The criminal doesn't move. When they take him out of the car, they find a 380 had been down between his legs. And in interrogation he admits that he had been planning to shoot his way out of any trouble. He was going to shoot the first cop. When they asked him why he changed his mind, he said, "That guy in the cowboy hat had the biggest gun I had ever seen!"

[Michigan Slim]

I open carry in the woods. Blackhawk .44 mag. Been to town with it a couple times. No big deal. 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

On 4/5/2022 at 3:56 PM, Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062 said:

Just so that you all know: NONE OF ANY OF THIS DISCUSSION APPLIES TO AUSTRALIA ......  

 

      .......... because it ain't allowed  

Can you carry concealed in Australia? I’m guessing not. 
 

 

[Yellowhouse Sam # 25171]

On 4/5/2022 at 3:33 PM, Subdeacon Joe said:

We hear it all the time,"Well, if you open carry you are the target!!!!!"

 

Does anyone have actual statistics on that?  I do recall ONE incident that made the news of a guy who was carrying openly and was mugged and his gun was taken.  If it is as common as claimed the press would have it in all the headlines and politicians would be pontificating pompously about how dangerous it is.

LEO's open carry all the time and occasionally they get one taken away.

[Subdeacon Joe]

2 hours ago, Yellowhouse Sam # 25171 said:

LEO's open carry all the time and occasionally they get one taken away.

 

Very rarely.  When it does happen it is most often when attempting to make an arrest.  They are more likely to lose a gun by leaving it in the head or on the roof of their car.

[Rip Snorter]

19 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

Very rarely.  When it does happen it is most often when attempting to make an arrest.  They are more likely to lose a gun by leaving it in the head or on the roof of their car.

You'll never leave your carry gun in the head - think it was from one of the Colonel's articles - put it in your skivvies when you sit down.  A trick I've used for many years.

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

4 hours ago, Alpo said:

A Skeeter Skelton story. He had been out javelina hunting, and had just gotten home when there was a phone call telling him to get to work right quick - they were going to arrest this very dangerous criminal.

 

So he doesn't change, he just goes.

 

They road-block the criminal's car, and one uniform cop snatches open the driver's door, while Skeeter opens the passenger door and leans in. With a 7½" Super Blackhawk. Click click click click.

 

The criminal doesn't move. When they take him out of the car, they find a 380 had been down between his legs. And in interrogation he admits that he had been planning to shoot his way out of any trouble. He was going to shoot the first cop. When they asked him why he changed his mind, he said, "That guy in the cowboy hat had the biggest gun I had ever seen!"

One of my college buddies had an uncle that was a county sheriff in LA (that's  Lower Alabama, in this case) back in the '70's that carried a .41Mag. 

 

There was a barricaded suspect taking pot shots at the responding officers.  When he drove up, the guy shot out the windows in the rear doors of his cruiser, so he got stopped,  he laid the .41 across the hood and emptied it into the window the guy was using.  A couple of minutes later, the guy comes out screaming "Don't shoot," and lays down in the front yard.

 

When the Sheriff asked him why he gave up so suddenly, he said that once the cut loose with 'that cannon' he figured they were done playing around, so he gave up before they killed him.

[Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062]

On 4/10/2022 at 3:57 AM, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

Can you carry concealed in Australia? I’m guessing not. 
 

 

 NO! ..... and probably not in this lifetime ...

 

but we don't have any crime in this country that the police can't respond to in less than 30 seconds .... (tongue firmly in cheek)

 

 we're not allowed to use a firearm for self-protection without consequences in a courtroom .......

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Utah Bob #35998]

53 minutes ago, Rip Snorter said:

You'll never leave your carry gun in the head - think it was from one of the Colonel's articles - put it in your skivvies when you sit down.  A trick I've used for many years.

Ditto.

[Utah Bob #35998]

5 hours ago, Alpo said:

A Skeeter Skelton story. He had been out javelina hunting, and had just gotten home when there was a phone call telling him to get to work right quick - they were going to arrest this very dangerous criminal.

 

So he doesn't change, he just goes.

 

They road-block the criminal's car, and one uniform cop snatches open the driver's door, while Skeeter opens the passenger door and leans in. With a 7½" Super Blackhawk. Click click click click.

 

The criminal doesn't move. When they take him out of the car, they find a 380 had been down between his legs. And in interrogation he admits that he had been planning to shoot his way out of any trouble. He was going to shoot the first cop. When they asked him why he changed his mind, he said, "That guy in the cowboy hat had the biggest gun I had ever seen!"

When you wrote Click I thought at first it meant his piece was unloaded. 

[Alpo]

1 hour ago, Rip Snorter said:

You'll never leave your carry gun in the head - think it was from one of the Colonel's articles - put it in your skivvies when you sit down.  A trick I've used for many years.

I learned that from Robert Brown, in Soldier of Fortune. He said when they were in Africa you never used the urinal. That puts your back to the room. You always sit down on the toilet, and you put your pistol down inside your britches leg resting on your boot. That way of someone tried to kick in the stall door you can pull it out and shoot them.

 

And I still don't use the urinal, and I still put it in my britches leg.

[Rip Snorter]

5 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I learned that from Robert Brown, in Soldier of Fortune. He said when they were in Africa you never used the urinal. That puts your back to the room. You always sit down on the toilet, and you put your pistol down inside your britches leg resting on your boot. That way of someone tried to kick in the stall door you can pull it out and shoot them.

 

And I still don't use the urinal, and I still put it in my britches leg.

Could have been SOF.  

[Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438]

On 4/5/2022 at 11:41 AM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Open carry is against the law in Massachusetts.

 

 

H.K:

 

I'm not sure that that is correct.  Technically, I do not believe that there is an express legal prohibition against open carry in MA.  There are specific laws and regs regarding concealed carry, requiring that you have a permit (Class A) that specifically authorizes the holder to possess a firearm and to carry it concealed.  There is no parallel system of permitting for open carry, but also no express prohibition as long as you have a Class A permit.

 

Practically, however, many police departments in MA would cite an open carrier for some obscure violation, such as "Disturbing the peace".  The charge may not stick, but could be the basis for revocation of your permit (MA is a jurisdiction that gives wide discretion to local police chiefs to revoke or restrict gun permits).

 

Bottom line in MA - if you do not want a hassle, carry concealed.

 

LL

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

12 minutes ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said:

Bottom line in MA - if you do not want a hassle, carry concealed.

 

LL

Bottom line in MA, stay away.

[Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438]

6 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

Bottom line in MA, stay away.

 

Funny; I feel that way about certain places in AZ, too.

 

LL

[Matthew Duncan]

On 4/5/2022 at 8:01 PM, Subdeacon Joe said:

…  I don't think that there is much evidence to support the "If you open carry you are just asking to be shot/robbed/mugged!" alarms. …

If open carry is an invitation to be robbed or mugged then wouldn’t uniformed Police Officers be targets?

[Rip Snorter]

I'm pretty much to the point I'm not going to any state where my CCW isn't good.  Rather spend in friendly places.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

14 minutes ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said:

 

Funny; I feel that way about certain places in AZ, too.

 

LL

I'm not trying to be offensive, LL. I seriously don't like Mass. I spent 2 1/2 years up there as a Marine stationed at the N.A.S. in Weymouth. I've never before run into so many rude people anywhere I've ever been. The Draconian gun laws are just another reason for my dislike of the place.

[watab kid]

On 4/5/2022 at 3:56 PM, Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062 said:

Just so that you all know: NONE OF ANY OF THIS DISCUSSION APPLIES TO AUSTRALIA ......  

 

      .......... because it ain't allowed  

i hear ya , its sad , but we aint given up our rights - the king brought them on after all when he confiscated ours back when we rebelled - along with a lot of other BS , in the end we decided we didnt want a monarchy as much as it may seem we might have one right now , we may reject that as well soon 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Since I can't think of any way to put it delicately, I'll just be blunt.  Pretty much for the reasons others have stated, I have no desire whatsoever to open carry myownself.  And I surely don't want to see any others doing so, largely as a matter of geography and demographics:

 

If I was in a place like Arizona or southwest Colorado, or even parts of Texas, I wouldn't think anything beyond mild amusement at seeing someone in the local Walgreens buying toothpaste with a 1911 or Glock 19 strapped on.  Pretty confident the individual is an honest, law-abiding citizen exercising his or her God-given rights.

 

However, in places like @Subdeacon Joe mentioned, or even (especially!) where I live in central california, I don't want to see it.  If I walk into the local drug store and spot someone openly "heeled," I'm leaving.  Forthwith.  In this area, a person displaying a firearm would more likely be a gang-banger type (or worse) than Honest Bob from the local Cowboy club.

 

It just would not work here.  Not that there's any danger of the clods in Sackamenna ever allowing it anyway.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bgavin]

On 4/5/2022 at 1:26 PM, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

Oakland, Detroit, Baltimore, Los Angeles.....

Don't forget "Twin Peaks"

[bgavin]

20 hours ago, Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062 said:

but we don't have any crime in this country that the police can't respond to in less than 30 seconds .... (tongue firmly in cheek)

 

Machetes?

[Rip Snorter]

2 minutes ago, bgavin said:

Machetes?

Was on a variety of islands in the Caribbean years ago, common in the country, and always got my attention.

[Subdeacon Joe]

14 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

However, in places like @Subdeacon Joe mentioned, or even (especially!) where I live in central california, I don't want to see it.  If I walk into the local drug store and spot someone openly "heeled," I'm leaving.  Forthwith.  In this area, a person displaying a firearm would more likely be a gang-banger type (or worse) than Honest Bob from the local Cowboy club.

 

@Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

 

If the person is in a hoodie, wide folded bandanna on the head, gang/ prison tattoos, pants belted mid-thigh, and the pistol tucked into the belt I could see that.

 

But a reasonably dressed person with the firearm in a decent holster I can't see an issue.

[Texas Joker]

ALL Citizens have the right to keep and BEAR arms for any reason including self defense. Anything other than that is an infringement of 2A.

 

Sounds like that's a tough concept to grasp. 

 

 

[Blackwater 53393]

22 minutes ago, Texas Joker said:

ALL Citizens have the right to keep and BEAR arms for any reason including self defense. Anything other than that is an infringement of 2A.

 

Sounds like that's a tough concept to grasp. 

 

 

Only for some!