open carry

If you are worried about getting harrassed, then I would be willing to bet that you would get harrassed no matter what you carried. Your mindset and demeanor invite harrassment more than the equipment carried.

Hello police, I just saw a guy walking down main street with a gun. Even though open carry is legal it is just asking to be stopped to see what your up to. Go get the permit.

Hello police, I just saw a guy walking down main street with a gun. Even though open carry is legal it is just asking to be stopped to see what your up to. Go get the permit.

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In Arizona, the dispatcher would ask if the individual was waving the gun around, and when they said no, dispatch would inform them it's legal and politely ask them to shut up and go away.

I suppose it depends where you are, but OC in AZ, even in the city and at large stores such as Best Buy is largely unremarkable.

To those who've had their posts deleted, or who may be fixin' to post - note that the question was not whether OC was your personal choice. The question was whether OC was less or more likely to be an issue if a revolver was carried.

Those who insist on polluting the thread with 'I'd never OC' or 'OC isn't smart' kinds of advice will be given seven day vacations away from THR in reward for their inability to read and behave nicely in public.

OK?

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Jim100 - the one time I had a MWAG call placed on me when I was OC'ing was when I was carryin' a S&W 686. Dunno how much to infer from that, since it's what I normally carried.

Jim I can't speak from direct experience, but from all the stories i've read/heard I'd have to speculate that the type of person that will freak out and call LE will do so no matter what type of pistol it is. Just a pure guess here but I bet a stainless or nickel revolver in good leather would be more eye catching that a black pistol in kydex. Remember the sheeple aren't very observant most times.

Again I'm just purely speculating, mainly because I'm relaxing on my day off and i wanted to throw in my 2 cents

I'm not sure we can really find an answer to this, but it is the sort of thing I wonder about from time to time myself.

Revolver, black gun, or one of those pretty pink S&W m&p's to open carry weather it is your right or not, in my opinion, is asking for unwanted attention. I believe Massad Ayoob
agrees with this assessment.

OC

I'd have to say, either selection would probably have the same response.
Folks that don't understand or are anti, will call weather you have a red tipped airsoft pistol or the real thing. They care not for your rights, only theirs to be a sheeple.
I both OC and CCW here in AZ. both are accepted by many, but it occasionaly gets a easterner or Californian riled enough to get excited.
Good luck with it, do what feels right and within the law,

I sometimes open carry a Smith & Wesson 610 (N-frame) revolver with a 6.5" barrel, in a Bianchi Cyclone leather OWB holster. Only a few have even noticed, and I've never been harassed while carrying that gun. And this is in a large city (Allentown has a population of over 100,000).

I open carry all the time, every day, and have had one slight encounter with LEO. I think what would matter, really, would be the holster. A holster that holds the gun snugly, tight to your body, with a retention strap will probably get noticed less than a cheap floppy holster that is barely holding the gun. I don't think the gun in the holster matters too much as long as it's not a 8 1/2" .460 or something like that, but a lot of guys carry full size 1911's without a problem.

You probably won't have near the problems you would think. Remember, we normally only post on the internet the one day out of the year when we get a negative reaction and the other 364 days we don't mention much about it.

Go get 'em rbernie! You rock!

NavyLT said:

I open carry all the time, every day, and have had one slight encounter with LEO. I think what would matter, really, would be the holster. A holster that holds the gun snugly, tight to your body, with a retention strap will probably get noticed less than a cheap floppy holster that is barely holding the gun. I don't think the gun in the holster matters too much as long as it's not a 8 1/2" .460 or something like that, but a lot of guys carry full size 1911's without a problem.

You probably won't have near the problems you would think. Remember, we normally only post on the internet the one day out of the year when we get a negative reaction and the other 364 days we don't mention much about it.

Go get 'em rbernie! You rock!

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So you're saying (my interpretation) that a more 'professional' look might be more acceptable and more reassuring to the general public? Like their assumption might be that you are LE?

Or do you think that it's more because there's a large Navy population up there? (and a more conservative public?)

Both could be valid.

i OC my 32 tomcat nearly every day and ive never had any problems. but like everyone else has said I realy dont think it would matter what type of pistol you carry because sooner or later somebody is going to come along and see it and not understand or be scared.

9MMare said:

So you're saying (my interpretation) that a more 'professional' look might be more acceptable and more reassuring to the general public? Like their assumption might be that you are LE?

Or do you think that it's more because there's a large Navy population up there? (and a more conservative public?)

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I am sort of stating the first. A gun carried in a professional manner does make it look like the carrier SHOULD be carrying that gun. Now, my belief is that any law abiding citizen should be carrying a gun anyway.

Unfortunately, in today's Navy, Sailors act like professionals less and less. I don't think the large Navy population really has anything to do with it.

I've never had any problem open carrying anything. Glock 19, Colt Commander, Smith & Wesson 19, Ruger Single Six and Bearcat, CZ-82, Makarov,...Well, you get the idea. No one has ever seemed to pay much attention to it. At least not any negeative attention. A few positive comments. Cops have never mentioned it.

Jim, I know lots of folks who OC wheelguns and have done so myself. Most folks never even notice that you're carrying, let alone take notice of what you've got.

As long as you are smart and know your rights and limitations you'll be fine. And yes some paranoid yahoo might call you in but just take it in stride.

When my father died, I inherited his 1911 and I carry it in a Bianchi "Minimalist" holster, sometimes openly. It's weird, but that particular holster also fits a SAA nicely, a little higher with the trigger guard exposed, so sometimes I carry one of those.

In the rural are where I live and the small towns around, I've never gotten any attention from anyone except the occasional "Hey, what have you got there?" from another gunnut.

Parker

I open carried all summer this year (A PA-63) and didn't run into any problems.

Ran all about the place including Fort Collins, Longmont, and Boulder. The last one says a lot if you know anything about the place (Boulder = Liberal heart of Front Range).

As for the difference between a 'cop looking' gun vs a 'old style' revolver, I think that it's impossible to say one is more inflammatory than the other. One will attract attention from people who don't think you're a cop, and the other will attract attention from cops who know you aren't a cop, and want to know why you're walking around like a cop. I think that trying to predict which is more likely to get you into trouble is like holding two lit firecrackers trying to predict which one will go off first.

I’ve been carrying openly for over three years now and I’ve never noticed an increase in harassment (police or other citizens) between handgun types. I would say that my firearm gets noticed more for the shirt I’m wearing. For example, a firearm shows up more against a white or red shirt more than a black shirt. Harassment has stopped altogether, more because I, and others in Tacoma, carry openly enough now that the police recognize it and their comm officers ask the questions instead of assuming a gun automatically equals a crime. To me it seems silly to rely on the idea that you will get harassed more or less based on how “police like” you appear.

A while ago, I heard (on a scanner) two officers here in the city dispatched to a ‘man with a gun’ call. The dispatcher mentioned that the gun was being carried openly and in a holster. The first officer to arrive canceled the second and told dispatch that it was just an open carrier, no crime. He never got out of his car, he just made the observation from his patrol car. Obviously, a bigger gun is going to get more attention because it will be noticed more. But ‘harassment’ is not a function of weapon type, size, or shape, but is more a function of frequency (and it's illegal). More people lawfully exercising their rights does far more to prevent unwelcome and improper police intervention.

EDIT: to add that I find it disturbing that an American citizen would believe that police harassment is an inevitable outcome to the exercise of his or her rights. Police harassment is illegal; that is to say, it is against the law. If open carry is legal, and you engage in it lawfully, you should never fear harassment for doing so. If the police chief didn’t want black citizens to vote in a certain election, it would be illegal for that police chief to harass black citizens who show up to vote. If the police didn’t want citizen participation in a city council discussing their behavior, it would be illegal for them to harass citizens who arrive.

Police harassment is only inevitable if we allow it occur. It doesn’t happen much if ever anymore here, in the most crime infested city in the Northwest, because we refuse to accept its inevitability.

+1 Mainsail. And the more professional we look, the eaisier it will be to become widely accepted.

I've had a CPL for six years, but last summer I lost enough weight to shrink out of my cargo pants and back into my jeans, and my PF-9 no longer fit my pockets comfortably, necessitating an OWB holster. Well, I got tired of sweating by butt off in summer weather, and doffed the Hawaiian flowerdy shirt and just OC'd over my T-shirt in warm weather. Had two people squeak about it...One old lady whined to the LP manager at the local Sam's, and one soccer mom called the cops on me at the local public fishing dock. Both times ended without any dramatics. Most people don't even notice, believe me.

BTW, there's no way anyone's gonna mistake a 6-2, 330lb 54 year old in jeans and white T-shirt as a cop...Although I guess I could pass as a donut-addicted Spermwhale Whelen wannabe...

I think how people react is largely based on two things. The first is where you are geographically. The second is your appearance, demeanor and how you carry.

I open carry a bottom feeder pretty much daily. But, I've lived in the Intermountain West most of my adult life. Mostly in AZ, ID and NM. Open carry is relatively common in these states.

I get a comment from time to time, but have never had a negative comment made directly to me. Most comments are complimenting my gun or holster. All of my holsters are fully hand tooled and they get quite a few compliments on the street and at the range. Most of the guns I carry are 1911s with pretty fancy hand-carved grips. They draw a lot of compliments too (except at IDPA matches where I get jeered with "You carry a gun with grips like that you better be a darn good shot").

I have only had one comment for an LEO. He complimented my grips and asked if I bought them locally or ordered them special.

The only negative comment I can recall was when I was getting gas. We are on an Interstate that comes out of California and get a lot of out-of-towners at the gas stations. A man was standing at the next pump filling his Kalif. SUV with gas and a woman (I assume his wife) said "I guess he has to carry that around because he's a little short on his manhood, if you know what I mean." The man apologized after she got in the car and shut the door. I told him to think nothing of it, but that she would be real happy to see me if she were getting mugged or raped.

I would like to point out how much demeanor plays a role. I see guys OC all the time. But, if they are carrying a relatively inexpensive gun in an Uncle Mike's holster and dressed sloppily - I keep an eye on them. A guy with a cheap gun in a cheap holster who looks like a slob is suspicious to me. A guy with a 1911 or a Hi-Power or other quality gun in a good holster has made an investment. IOW, he isn't carrying a gun just to be carrying a gun. And, he probably has money in the bank.

Lastly, I open carry when I go to the bank. The tellers are quite aware I have a gun at all times. A couple months ago I went in and a teller said "I wish you were here a couple days ago." I asked why and she said, "Haven't you heard? We were robbed." I asked if anyone was hurt and she said no. I said, "It's better that I wasn't here." She looked at me curiously for a moment and then said, "You're probably right." I smiled and said "It's only money. Nobody got hurt. It's better that way."

Considering my style of fully hand-tooled leather, hand-carved grips and high-polish nickle or blue finishes, a revolver would probably get a few more compliments, but I doubt it makes any difference in how people would perceive it or me.

Just for frame of reference - I wear jeans, cowboy boots, a cowboy hat and a shirt with buttons and a collar every time I leave the property. I also sport a gold Cross pen and pencil set in my shirt pocket or I'm as naked as if I leave my 1911 at home - appearance and demeanor.

I'm on the "Friends of the NRA" commity in south FL. We are gearing up for the banquet. I find that when I am asking for donations for the party that I will make sure I'm clean shaved and clean clothes. I wear clean shorts and a nice button up shirt, the reason is, the first impression will last.

The same could be said for OC. If you dress clean and look respectful you will be left alone most of the time. If you look like you just crawled out of a box, I don't care how much your BBQ gun cost, I'm going to question your motive.

When you OC you are representing a community. Someone who sees "you" will put all of "us" as one person and if you look like crap, that's there opinion.