So why do you open carry?

[Pierce8468]

I am not looking to open the ever so tiring subject of open vs cc. I am just curios why some of you do open carry, knowing that you have a good chance of bieng hassled. Is it just because you can? Is it because your looking to get hassled, so that you can educate the ignorant on the laws? What is your reason for open carry?

If you have no ltcf then No need to respond. I don't intend to seem rude, but I am looking for the reasons of the people who have a choice to carry open or concealed.

[Pa. Patriot]

I don't know anyone "looking to get hassled"
There are lots of answers posted in the "Concealed and Open Carry"section.
Also on opencarry.org. You could be reading a while after doing a search there.

But, in a nutshell, some of the most popular reasons are:

Comfort
clothing
ease of access/tactical advantage
deterrent
education/normalizing guns
carry bigger gun
no LTCF/under 21

[TonyF]

There are times when it is simply a matter of convenience to OC. Probably 98% of the time I CC.

[MarcS]

Originally Posted by Pa. Patriot

I don't know anyone "looking to get hassled"
There are lots of answers posted in the "Concealed and Open Carry"section.
Also on opencarry.org. You could be reading a while after doing a search there.

But, in a nutshell, some of the most popular reasons are:

Comfort
clothing
ease of access/tactical advantage
deterrent
education/normalizing guns
carry bigger gun
no LTCF/under 21

I'm going to take issue with that one alone. First off, the tactical advantage of carrying openly is arguably deterrence, the countering tactical advantage to carrying concealed is inarguably surprise.

As for ease of access, if you are carrying openly, then the possibility of dealing with a gun grab is exponentially larger. For that reason, a minimum level 2 retention holster made of leather or a reinforced synthetic (most injection and heat molded plastics on their own are not sturdy enough) secured to your belt with a sturdy mounting system (no paddle is up to the task) should be absolutely mandatory. Weather that's any quicker is arguable.

All your other reasons are absolutely valid.

[Emptymag]

Hey, who let the "hater" in?




I believe the question was "So why do you open carry?"

[Pa. Patriot]

Originally Posted by MarcS

I'm going to take issue with that one alone. First off, the tactical advantage of carrying openly is arguably deterrence, the countering tactical advantage to carrying concealed is inarguably surprise.

It's just your opinion. I have one too. Mine is that OC is faster (which is a tactical advantage). I also think there is little to no advantage to "surprise" in regards to CC. A surprise you may not be able to get to before your dead. A crime deterred by OC is a crime that no "surprise" is needed for


The question was why do you open carry, not why you don't. I listed some of the reasons some people will OC. Are there disadvantages. Sure.
As for gun grab that's a real and valid concern. Again, not the question though.

I am not looking to open the ever so tiring subject of open vs cc. I am just curios why some of you do open carry

[MarcS]

As i stated, all the other reasons are valid, so the answer to the question "why open carry?" is: "All the other reasons"

[Emptymag]

Sorry, I was so busy jaggin' Marc, that I forgot to post why I OC!

For me, its a few things and I'm tired, so this probably won't make a lot of sense.

I mainly OC when I walk in the evening.(with my wife and the dog)
For me, my G19 or even my newer G27 do not conceal well at all in warm weather clothing, and I prefer to have the larger handgun with me instead of my smaller Colt pony or tiny P32.
Having the handgun on the outside also eliminates the need to use both hands to draw. (I'm holding a dog on a leash with my left hand) I don't need to move clothing out of the way, and it's right there if I should need it.

Another reason is because I am allowed to. I wanted to experience that freedom and by doing so, I learned how much more comfortable it was to not have a chunk of steel stuffed in my waistband.
Ahhhh... feels much better now.


Note: I OC daily (for about 6 months now) while walking the dog. I've only OCd in a retail environment about 5 times

[Pierce8468]

I can see these reasons are bieng very valid! Esp the clothing reason. I have found myself on numerous occasions stopping home to change guns, because of where I was going and what I was wearing.

Of course I have had those times where I chose my clothing based on carrying, or chose my gun based on what I was wearing. Such as I am going to lets say a wedding. In that scenario I would grab the little 380 because it will fit right in my pocket. Although I would much prefer to carry a larger caliber, but my clothing won't allow it. of course in the wedding scenario I would not open carry. just out of resecpt for the bride and groom, and the guests. no need to get into the why do you need a gun here debate, with half of the reception guests.

[Aran]

I don't have an LTCF. Otherwise I'd probably be half as careful about whether it's concealed or not (Have to make sure it's visible, without the LTCF)