Open carry v. concealed: Hey, it’s this again!
Saddle up the drama llama
I prefer concealed carry for exactly the reasons here. I have open carried a few times. The experience was very “meh”. It was interesting once.
So, yes, I consider that a benefit of carrying concealed. Open carry all you want. Just not my thing. It’s not an argument against open carry. It’s just my preference for why I concealed carry.
January 17th, 2014 at 7:53 am
More OC douchery from Robb, a guy who lives in a CC only state and gets he attention whoring on by organizing little fishing trips so his minion can stomp around with gats out in the open.
January 17th, 2014 at 7:54 am
Been called much worse from way better Mac.
Do you feel better now that you’ve insulted me from the safety of an internet connection?
January 17th, 2014 at 9:11 am
I still feel the extra few seconds you gain from the criminal having to process whether you are a plain clothes cop or not; combined with the speed which you can draw an open carry weapon far outweigh the negatives of getting a gun stuck in your face, because they think you are defenseless.
Combine that with the ridiculous looking actions(gyration draw) you have to go through to get the Concealed pistol out of your pants???
What do criminals think when they see you pulling up your shirt(coat and sweater right now)and groping around? That you are some sort of a pervert who needs to whack off? No, they think gun because it is how they draw their own weapons…
When fractions of seconds count the perps bullet is milliseconds away. Do you really have time for concealed carry?
Also ponder this. You know how ridiculous concealed carry, gyration, draw looks. Picture if you were open carrying and saw someone doing those odd movements right in front of you.
You would have time to draw your pistol from an unconcealed location (and rack the slide if you carry fife way), before the perp could pull his hands out of his pants… (Try it yourself with a stopwatch)
January 17th, 2014 at 9:49 am
I tyhink Paul has seen the DVD “Tactically Armed Pilates” and has confused ideas about Concealed Carry
January 17th, 2014 at 11:59 am
If I ever have to draw my weapon, I won’t care if I look ridiculous doing so.
It seems to have worked well enough for a whole lot of people who have needed their guns all of a sudden.
Concealed Carry, OTOH, can help preserve the option to not engage if appropriate, whereas OC may leave you no choice when the goblin notices your uncovered weapon.
IMNSHO, it’s a game of trade-offs. One method is not necessarily inherently better than the other.
January 17th, 2014 at 1:32 pm
Jake, no, but supporting one method makes you douchey apparently!
January 17th, 2014 at 7:36 pm
Jake looking ridiculous and dying doing it is not a win…. Those time wasting gyrations are what lets bad guys know you have a gun. Its like a neon sign that says shoot me first.
Bad guys see a person with open carry and they hesitate. They do not know if this guy is joe schmo gun owner, a police officer or a real cowboy.
Multiple unknowns lead to doubts. They generally either wait until you leave(win)or they change their minds all together.(big win)
In 99 percent of situations in life perfect is the enemy of good enough.
Except when your life is on the line.
Do you want barely adequate draw time or excellent draw time?
Personally, I prefer a second or more head start on a baddie rather than milliseconds and/or dumb luck.
To draw a concealed weapon quickly takes a lot of practice.(and you will still be slower than an unconcealed carrier with little practice.) If you devote that same practice time to open carry then you will be able to draw mind bogglingly fast.
There is one thing that has no tradeoffs and you cannot negotiate with it.
TIME… You either have it or you don’t. My goal is to make the best use of it.
Confused eh Miguel? Which is faster. Open Carry or Concealed Carry. Kind of hard to confuse those…
January 17th, 2014 at 10:31 pm
I find this continueing argument about whether OC or CC is better/worse to be distressing. It’s a silly argument because no one can quarantee just exactly what the situation will be that finds you needing to draw your weapon. And there certainly will be situations where one or the other would have been the best choice then. And no doubt one would find themselves having chosen to carry the other way just then. Thats the way it works.
But, why some gun-owners continue to fight this battle is beyond me.
I also feel bad about those who live in locals where, though OC may be legal, it is socially unpopular, or where getting a CC permit difficult (or impossible).
Thats why I applaud the groups that are trying (by organizing OC activities) to de-sensitize the hoplophobic public to the sight of law-abiding citizens (that’s redundant of course) openly carrying guns. There can be nothing bad come of getting the public to be just as un-concerned about seeing one of us OC’ing as they are when they see a police officer. After all, they are probaly safer acound us judging by many recent events.
I feel fortunate to live in AZ where we have a long tradition of OC and it typically will not raise any eyebrows. And now with our “Constitutional Carry” I’m free to choose either depending upon my appraisal of the needs and circumstances.
Instead of fighting with each other about which is best we ought to be focusing on getting all states to recognize the right to carry – whether openly or concealed.
It’s time to put the “Shall not be infringed” back into use everywhere. Isn’t that what we are all about?
January 18th, 2014 at 1:28 am
If your concealed draw time is dramatically different than you’re open draw time you’re doing it wrong.
January 18th, 2014 at 3:40 am
Hey Mac, I’m in a Open/Concealed Carry state (Georgia). It’s hot here too. Sometimes being able to doff your outer layer while pumping gas or grabbing something from the store is useful. Frankly if it’s 100 degrees and you have 2 layers on, anyone with a lick of sense about guns is going to suspect you’re packing heat.
Plus we have wind.
January 18th, 2014 at 6:54 am
The US Supreme Court and nearly 200 years of state court decisions have said that people who carry concealed weapons are cowards and criminals. It is sad to see how many folks there are who brag about carrying concealed.
“[A] right to carry arms openly: “This is the right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and which is calculated to incite men to a manly and noble defence of themselves, if necessary, and of their country, without any tendency to secret advantages and unmanly assassinations.”” District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 – US Supreme Court (2008) at 2809.
California Right To Carry
January 18th, 2014 at 7:40 am
Ah, Charles Nichols — because while guns do not have intention, how you carry them does?
Looky, you, I’ve carried a knife in my pocket for nigh on 40 years now. This doesn’t mean I am waiting for the right time to stab some unsuspecting schmoe, it means I have weak fingernails and often find myself in places where a Bowie knife in a belt sheath would attract undue attention.
Whyn’t you just let decent, law-abiding folks make up their own minds about how they want to carry a handgun, and leave the snide, paranoid sniping to the antis?
January 18th, 2014 at 11:34 am
Sebastian. You are still missing the point. No matter how fast you are with concealed draw; unconcealed draw is faster.
You will have the perp in your sights and be firing by the time you get the concealed weapon sights on perp.
That is the difference.
January 18th, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Nichols might me snide, but that does not detract from the fact that for most of this nations history open carry was the only legal form of carry.
Nor does simple dismissal obfuscate that most criminals carry their guns concealed even today.
Its funny how people fall into that progressive herd mindset, that if they do not see something than it must not exist. Therefore they do not have to think about it.
January 18th, 2014 at 7:48 pm
And of course, my original (and subsequent) posts were specifically NOT about which is better, but about the concept that surprise was an advantage.
Sadly, it didn’t work out that way, on my blog or even here.
January 18th, 2014 at 9:48 pm
Well, I’m not trying to make anyone think about anything by being out carrying. Roberta knows the drill here in IN; the law is silent on method of carry, and “no guns” signs don’t carry force of law. I conceal so that when I walk past the no guns sign, I don’t get pestered by the dinks that work there and have to worry about trespass.
I am a little sloppy about it, so it’s not far from the surface. All I have to do is flip the shirt up with my thumb and grab the grip. No delay to speak of, plus I’m doing it with the wrong hand, so I could as well be scratching my ass as pulling a .45.
Plus, I’d feel kind of bad if I found out a bad guy had hurt some people after I’d left because he’d waited for me to leave. Not because I want to get into it with anyone, but if I can help, you know.
January 19th, 2014 at 12:54 pm
Except, as I said above, “It seems to have worked well enough for a whole lot of people who have needed their guns all of a sudden.”
In real life, it seems to be an extraordinarily rare thing for someone who is CC’ing to be killed because they couldn’t draw fast enough. Rare enough that I’m willing to take the chance in exchange for the advantage of a) not being pegged as armed by a goblin willing to engage despite an armed bystander, b) not being pegged as armed after a goblin who didn’t notice my gun beforehand has committed himself*, and c) the ability to decline to engage with no one the wiser if it’s a better option.
* The average goblinus americanus is well known for its general lack of observational acumen, with stories of some even not noticing a uniformed police officer until after initiating a robbery. Additionally, simple positioning while the goblin is making his initial evaluation can hide an openly carried sidearm from view.
January 20th, 2014 at 4:18 pm
Open carry was not universally the preferred method of carry. It depends on what part of the country your speaking of. Concealed carry was frowned upon in the South and the Southwest. That’s why so many state constitutions specifically exempt concealed carry from constitutional protection. In other parts of the country, concealed carry never had the same stigma.
Charles:
The quote you mention is from a Louisiana Supreme Court case. It was cited in DC v. Heller, but only as an example of a state case that recognized an individual right to bear arms unconnected with a militia. The Supreme Court has said nothing about open v. concealed carry, except to recognize that several states had banned carrying of concealed weapons. There’s no binding precedent that one is favored over the other.