Infantryman
New member
I open carry for mainly two reasons; self defense, and I don't have a CCW as of yet. There is a lot of discussion among all carriers both types, concealed and open. Here is the dilemma I find myself in.
1. While OC may deter potential attacks, which cannot be certainly known, just speculated and assumed (unless there was a great amount of evidence such as them pulling a weapon, seeing a gun on you and running without you even drawing). It may also make you the first target. In any situation, open or concealed, once you draw your gun, you are making yourself the target of the bad guys fire, especially in a store scenario. That goes for both open and concealed. However, a lot of robberies in stores happen once the bad guy approaches the counter for instance. Say he's standing behind you with his buddy. He sees a chance to go ahead and get rid of the threat, and shoots you before you even realize what is going on.
To me, it seems that a conceal carried fire arm doesn't make you the 'target' as quickly as an open carried fire arm does in any situation unless the bad guy knows you are concealing. What do you guys think of this? Remember, I open carry, and I love it. It's comfortable too, and I too have speculated on certain peoples intent. Such as eve last night when a car of 4 men pulled up behind me while I pumped gas, saw my gun, and sped off. I don't assume that I was going to be a potential target, as I still utilize a military style medium fade haircut, and wear nice clothing. As well all know as open carries, the first thought of most people is "He is a cop!", so it could be that a lot of these people may be in possession of drugs or something as simple as expired tags and they suspect a warrant.
2. On the other hand, what an OC'd firearm can do is keep you from being a potential victim, but giving the illusion that you are not armed. People assuming you are a cop is a good thing. Tricking someone into engaging you while you are armed almost forces you to act, which no one actually wants to do if it can be avoided. To me, conceal carry has the element of surprise, the focus can and will most likely shift to other victims in the area, giving you time to draw and fire before maybe even they realize they are shot. But again, you can be in a one on one situation where you will be given no choice, and maybe in the case of open carry, simply having it would cause the bad guys to just 'skip' you in an attack and leave.
But anyways, what do you guys think? Does OC show your cards? Is it viable for self defense?
1. While OC may deter potential attacks, which cannot be certainly known, just speculated and assumed (unless there was a great amount of evidence such as them pulling a weapon, seeing a gun on you and running without you even drawing). It may also make you the first target. In any situation, open or concealed, once you draw your gun, you are making yourself the target of the bad guys fire, especially in a store scenario. That goes for both open and concealed. However, a lot of robberies in stores happen once the bad guy approaches the counter for instance. Say he's standing behind you with his buddy. He sees a chance to go ahead and get rid of the threat, and shoots you before you even realize what is going on.
To me, it seems that a conceal carried fire arm doesn't make you the 'target' as quickly as an open carried fire arm does in any situation unless the bad guy knows you are concealing. What do you guys think of this? Remember, I open carry, and I love it. It's comfortable too, and I too have speculated on certain peoples intent. Such as eve last night when a car of 4 men pulled up behind me while I pumped gas, saw my gun, and sped off. I don't assume that I was going to be a potential target, as I still utilize a military style medium fade haircut, and wear nice clothing. As well all know as open carries, the first thought of most people is "He is a cop!", so it could be that a lot of these people may be in possession of drugs or something as simple as expired tags and they suspect a warrant.
2. On the other hand, what an OC'd firearm can do is keep you from being a potential victim, but giving the illusion that you are not armed. People assuming you are a cop is a good thing. Tricking someone into engaging you while you are armed almost forces you to act, which no one actually wants to do if it can be avoided. To me, conceal carry has the element of surprise, the focus can and will most likely shift to other victims in the area, giving you time to draw and fire before maybe even they realize they are shot. But again, you can be in a one on one situation where you will be given no choice, and maybe in the case of open carry, simply having it would cause the bad guys to just 'skip' you in an attack and leave.
But anyways, what do you guys think? Does OC show your cards? Is it viable for self defense?
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