Do you OC or CC and why

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myFRAGisFUBAR

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Hey everyone. I was just wondering what method people prefer to carry and why. I'm about to take the class to get my permit. The only handgun I have now is a sig226. I'm kind of a skinnier guy and figured I wouldn't bother trying to conceal a pistol that big because im not about to wear 5 layers.:rolleyes: I was wondering if there were any disadvantages to OC. Well other than everyone knows you have it.
 
You will get a lot of opinions on this, and no one is right or wrong. I'm not a huge fan of OC, but I don't think it should be against the law.

I just don't want to draw unnecessary attention to myself.
 
Open carry -vs.- concealed carry is one of the most viciously argued topics here. We've beaten that debate to death many, many times.

Here are a few of them. Might as well just read them rather than dragging the whole argument out again, once more, again.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=712429
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=694624
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=673995
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=663382
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=659783
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=650177
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=635439

And on and on...
 
Oh lord....the search function would have turned up many threads with this exact title...


Anyways, the only times that I OC is when I am competing or on family land. Other times I don't want people to know that I am armed. If I have to use my firearm in defense then I want it to be a surprise to the threat that I am armed. I do not want to do anything to cause myself to be targeted.


Heck, when I was out on the family farm I had a guy try to grab my gun out of my holster... I don't want to go through that in a public place.
 
"Everyone knows you have it" is both an advantage and a disadvantage. There have been endless debates about that.

I usually carry a 4" Ruger Security Six on my hip, covered by an untucked knit shirt. Sometimes I carry a Keltec P3AT, which I just discovered clips nicely in the watch pocket of my favorite khakis. Both are concealed, but not concealed all that well. AFAIK, nobody has spotted them. OC is legal here but not normally done, and I haven't had the occasion to try it.

I have worn an empty military-style flap holster to work just to see if anybody noticed -- the top part was covered by my shirt but the bottom was definitely not. Nobody saw it.
 
Hey, what do you guys say we let the OP read through those threads and just come back here if he has any further question? I mean, there is NOTHING, at all, new to say on the subject.
 
Either way is OK in my State. I CC in pocket. Don't have to hear the questions and remarks. Have tried OC and CC on belt. Never did learn to like anything hanging on my belt. I've no problem with anyone else OC'ing.
 
CC because that's my only legal option. Essentially the debate comes down to, OC deters crime vs No it doesn't and its a tactical disadvantage. I'm with the latter.
 
Since I have no clue where a battlefield near me is I will base my answer on where I now I am.

Living in the SE Cleveland, Ohio suburbs I opt for concealed carry of firearms. Likely because open carry would defeat the whole purpose of carry. However, there is a much larger downside to open carry.

If I strap on a holster and put a S&W Model 29 on my hip and go out and about you can rest assured the local police department will get a flood of calls regarding a man with a gun. The only thing I will accomplish is calling attention to myself which is about the last thing I have any desire to do. Unless of course I want to make some stupid political statement. Since I don't want to call attention to myself or make some statement concealed carry works for me.

You and you alone need to decide what works for you.

Ron
 
I'm considering half OC. Where the gun is outside the waist but partially covered with a shirt/jacket, etc. My full size 1911 just rides better on the outside. I'm in Virginia so I can pick one of the 3.

:D
 
beatledog7 said:
Hanzo, what benefit from surprise?
Click to expand...

To me, if you are seen armed you are now a priority target, and on top of that it could easily escalate a situation where the bad guy otherwise wouldn't think you were armed. I just think about if I were a bad guy who would get my attention in a convenience store if I were about to rob it.

There is a deterrent factor of open carry BUT depending on the nature of the crime and the mindset of the criminal I am not comfortable relying on that deterrent.

Outside of that I just wouldn't want the hassle of anti's calling the cops or alerting store management on me wherever I may go. I have a cousin that open carries and he gets hassled about once every other week. No thanks.
 
Essentially the debate comes down to, OC deters crime vs No it doesn't and its a tactical disadvantage. I'm with the latter.
Click to expand...

I've read a lot about this debate, including threads on THR, yet I still don't see a definitive argument against OC. If CC gives a tactical advantage over the bad guy, why are so many LEOs required to OC and wear a uniform? Seems counterproductive to me.
 
Haha sorry about my location. I'm actually in TN so both are options for me. I would like to CC but I just thought with the grip of my hanggun sticking out 3 inches it would be visible anyway.
 
If I'm a thief ready to hold up a store and see someone OC'ing, I will probably choose another store.

Just sayin'...
 
Re: post 6. There is nothing truly new to say on a great number of topics we discuss all the time. Perhaps we should ask the mods to just shut down the forum then.
 
If I'm a thief ready to hold up a store and see someone OC'ing, I will probably choose another store.
Click to expand...
Or shoot you while your back is turned and steal your gun as well as the cash from the register.

Or call the cops and report YOU as a man with a gun!

Or quivver in terror and then shoot himself rather than face you.

Or sprout wings, cluck like a chicken, and fly away.

Pretty much impossible to say exactly what response we might induce in our fellow man -- criminal or average citizen -- if we do or don't let them see that we're armed.

But we come here and propound whichever of the various possibilities we expect/wish/hope/believe will happen and then argue for them as though they're "THE TRUTH." And sometimes even sally forth into the world to see what happens, acting on whichever version of the truth we want to believe. And, as pretty much nothing happens to most of us, we can't seem to determine exactly which version of "the" truth is THE truth.

Just sayin'...
Click to expand...
Yup.

Re: post 6. There is nothing truly new to say on a great number of topics we discuss all the time. Perhaps we should ask the mods to just shut down the forum then.
Click to expand...
It's been done before. That's part of why THR exists.
 
beatledog7 said:
I've read a lot about this debate, including threads on THR, yet I still don't see a definitive argument against OC. If CC gives a tactical advantage over the bad guy, why are so many LEOs required to OC and wear a uniform? Seems counterproductive to me.
Click to expand...

1. Because it is faster to draw from an open holster vs a concealed one.

2. Why do they wear a uniform? Now that's a dumb question.

Now, why do police officers conceal back up guns?
 
Now, why do police officers conceal back up guns?
Click to expand...
1) Because they want a holdout weapon the bad guy doesn't know about = element of surprise.


---OR---

1) Because their department's uniform standards don't allow a second firearm to be visible. They can carry one, but like a pair of hearts-and-flowers boxer shorts, that isn't something they're allowed to show as part of their public image.

Like everything else, several answers to the question and no real definitive clarity afforded by either. :) We'll each give credence to which ever appears to support our favorite theory. Except for me. I don't have a favorite theory. LOL! :D
 
Probably. From NRA gun-maker stickers on cars, to the t-shirts and hats, to targets and/or hunting equipment visible in the yard ... and on and on. Many, if not most, of us do telegraph gun ownership to anyone interested in taking notice.
 
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