Carry worry--do people really notice anything? My test.

[Danus ex]

Today I strolled around the liberal amusement park known as Ithaca, NY with this sticker attached to my pants:

I ran errands and walked through crowds of people downtown. Nobody noticed anything, no glances, no nothing. I honestly forgot about it for most of the day, too.

 

[Pro_Gun]

No they don't

I used to let it bother me. Not now. As long as it is concealed I'm legal in Pa. Any clumps or lumps are my business. The only person who might notice a lump resembling a weapon is a police officer. That does not bother me either. I rarely encounter one these days anyhow, they are so few. I am in compliance with Pa law and carry as such.

 

[Cromlech]

Hahaha, nice.

Yes, I would imagine that most people would not even think about it. Of course, the person wearing it does know, and may be nervous, leading them to believe that it must be obvious to everyone.

 

[Lou629]

The pic. the OP posted reminds me of a little rhyme i once remember hearing:
This is my rifle, this is my gun...

 

[Sindawe]

I ran errands and walked through crowds of people downtown. Nobody noticed anything, no glances, no nothing.

I would not be so sure of that. People in our culture have been conditioned that it is impolite to obviously make note of something different about a person, 'specially if they are otherwise acting normal. Recall as a child your parents telling you that "It is rude to stare" ?

 

[longwatch]

Most people are in condition white

Not to make this an open carry thread but when I do OC, few people seem to notice or react to it. This leads to a side effect in that you learn to conceal carry with the confidence that the majority of folks will not notice any lumps.

 

[springmom]

Thanks. I needed a laugh today.

Springmom

 

[tellner]

These are also New Yorkers. You could be like the hero of "The Last Dragon" - Black and walking through the Lower East Side in a silk robe and a Chinese coolie hat. Nobody would care.

 

[tank mechanic]

This post just got me thinking about how I almost never even look for a weapon when casually looking at average people. It never even occurs to me to look, except for when I see the occasional shady character.

 

[vesmcd]

Danus ex, were you by any chance a young man in Nantucket?
Seriously, I have carried many different handguns in front and rear pants pockets.I thought they showed a pretty obvious outline, but nobody has said anything. Apparently nobody looks ,or cares. Works for me.

 

[10 Ring Tao]

I never really thought about or realized just how oblivious the sheep are until I started carrying.

 

[cslinger]

You could walk down the street with a bright yellow shirt with big bold black lettering that says "HI, MY NAME IS CHRIS AND I AM CARRYING A COCKED AND LOCKED .45 CALIBER PISTOL AT MY SIDE, HAVE A NICE DAY." and the only people who would notice would be gunnies.

I have carried a full sized SIG P220 OWB, under a light sweater printing like a big dog and walked through a mall, not one cross stair or anything.

I have pulled my wallet out and accidentally shown some folks in back of a line that I had a firearm holstered at my 4 O'Clock and not one batted an eye.

Basically people are oblivious, and even if they do notice, they will likely think you are a cop or something unless you look like a gangbanger.

Chris

 

[Quinch]

Buddy of mine uses Fobus OWB stuff under a T-shirt. Very obvious to me, and our gunny friends. No one else notices.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

People in our culture have been conditioned that it is impolite to obviously make note of something different about a person, 'specially if they are otherwise acting normal

Not to mention that people in our culture are also taught not to talk to strangers.

There's no doubt that someone saw your sticker and simply didn't say anything. Likewise, there cam be little doubt that people notice many concealed handguns each day and don't say anything. What do you expect them to say, "Excuse me, is that a gun or a colostomy bag?" If you saw a stranger's gun print through their shirt, would you run up and point, shouting "I SEE YOUR GUN! I SEE YOUR GUN!!"? Of course not.

Try this. Put on your shirt inside out and go shopping. Just about everyone who sees you will notice but very few people would say something. And that's for something as innocuous as a shirt. When a gun is seen, which people may not know whether it is being carried legally, people are going to be less inclined to say anything about it.

Just because no one makes a scene doesn't mean that no one noticed. I tihnk you'll find that most people will mind their own business.

 

[artw]

Scuttlebutt in our Club: If you want to try carrying concealed, first, carry a stapler around for a week, then carry a TV remote control, totally hidden, but where you can pop it out to use in a heartbeat. It should be as easy to produce as your wallet, but invisible to family&friends. If you can do this, then, maybe you could carry a gun without getting spotted.

 

[JesseL]

I've said it before, but you could carry one of these

in a drop holster in plain view of everybody and 99% of the people you meet would never notice.

I've open carried quite a bit and believe me, most people don't notice anything outside their immediate interest.

 

[TexasRifleman]

I've open carried quite a bit and believe me, most people don't notice anything outside their immediate interest.

And if they do notice they assume you are a cop and never give it a second thought. People just don't notice things. And the sheeple are ingrained to believe that only cops carry guns openly, so they assume any gun in a holster is a cop.

Try it with Mexican carry and I don't know of the outcome .....

 

[carterbeauford]

Maybe it's just my exceedingly good looks, but I tend to make people rubberneck every time I open carry. It is still very much a deviant behavior in this part of the country. I have been harassed for open carrying too, in VA, of all places.

 

[jcoiii]

Even when I'm on duty, there are some who fail to notice the Glock sticking out on my right side. I work on a campus. I actually had someone ask me "how do I tell you cops from the security guards?" I answered, "Well, the big patches on the arms that say police, or the badge. But especially the GUN on my hip."...... "Oh! I didn't even see that!"

 

[up_onus]

yah? want to see how much people REALLY notice? try unzippin and lettin it ALL hang out...then youll really see because you would be sure to get a reaction or 2...

 

[Justin]

And on that note...