Is printing really so bad?

[jrfoxx]

I just wanted to re-iterate what expvideo said, as the OP lives in Oregon, so it's Oregon law that matters.If you have an Oregon CHL, open carry is 100% leagal EVERYWHERE that concealed carry is in the state (which is pretty much everywhere except a courthouse or police station).Without a CHL, individual cites can prohibit open carry-to my knowledge, Portland, Hillsboro, and Beaverton are the only ones that do.
As for wether open carry, or printing is unwise, a bad idea, un-tactical, etc. Thats really for you to decide I suppose.Personally, I have carried concealed where there is no way you could "make" me, carried "sloppily" concealed, and open carried in Eugene.No police called, No panic, No bricks to the head, No freinds/family urging me to kill.All methods of carry are legal here, YOU have to decide which one is best for YOU.

 

[LoveMyCountry]

Duct tape the weapon to your torso and then wrap your entire body in bubble-wrap to break up the shape.



Seriously, just know your laws and decide what exercising your right is worth to you.

I am "permitted" to carry concealed so I carry all the time in any manner I choose. Most often openly with a big shiny .45 on my hip, but if my clothing should cover it, then I am legal that way as well.

Be educated in the law, be grown up in behavior and appearance and be willing to take some heat and educate some sheep.

LoveMyCountry

 

[jak]

What do you do when you dimwitted friends start arguments and then turn to you to finish them?

Honestly, if you have to worry about your friends doing something that stupid, you should probably find new friends.

To the OP: Theres an old saying about walking around with a gun taped to your fourhead, how noone would notice. Its true in it's essence. You said it's only a little bit of printing, noone would ever make a small bulge out to be a gun.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

1. Is a little printing alright? aka, the corner of slide or IWB clip

That isn't "printing." Printing is when the shape or outline of the gun shows through your clothing. Exposing a corner of the butt is ... expsing the corner of the butt. Exposing the holster's belt clip? I dunno if that's a capital offense or a misdemeanor. I don't like IWB carry so I've never thought about it.

 

[expvideo]

To be honest, most people don't notice when I Open Carry, lol. Printing isn't a big deal. Except in stricter states.

 

[NineseveN]

You should care. What do you do when you dimwitted friends start arguments and then turn to you to finish them? What do you do when some woman in the grocery line calls the police on her cell phone? What do you do when some punk walks up behind you, busts your head with a brick, and then gets double prizes with your wallet and your gun?

Concealed carry is not a game. It is not a self agrandizement scheme. It is a means of having what you need to save your life if necessary. If you are still pedaling a bike around with basketweave handcuffs when you get your CCW license, then you need to do quite a bit of self refection.

Whoa there buddy, dontcha think yer bein a bit too harsh? Relax a little, those concerns are not universal in every state or every area.

 

[PennsyPlinker]

I figure if anyone asks me what that bulge is, it is my PDA - Personal Defense Accessory if they push the issue. That way it is still the truth.

I really like the colostomy bag idea though. I think I will use that one!

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

In my OR CCW class the LEO teaching it said if you get reported 3 times for exposing your gun (the example he gave was leaning over and exposing a gun in a shoulder holster) they can take your CCW license away. I don't know if that's any sort of law or if it's more of a "hey buddy try to keep it more concealed" rule.
You'll feel like you have a halogen strobe light pulsing from your gun for the first few weeks just because you're carrying something that you aren't used to. You'll probably bump it into doorways and on seats sitting down for a while. Most people are clueless though and even the butt of a 1911 making a bump in your shirt when you bend over won't get a second look (you may get an occasional smile from an observant fellow CCWer).
Do keep it concealed though, especially around the cities (namely PDX). If your shirt rides up over your gun and it's exposed you probably won't get in much trouble...after you are drawn down on by Portland's finest and proned out on the ground, disarmed, searched, then show them your license.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I doubt I'd worry overmuch about printing. I carry openly about half the time, and very few people so much as notice.

 

[expvideo]

DoubleTapDrew, I think that LEO was doing some opinion enforcement, because OC is legal in your state. You are not obligated in any way to keep others from seeing your piece.

 

[Chuck Dye]

I think I was four when a Navy hand told me "Never give the leading chief cause to know your name." Perhaps it was the lengthy explanation that made it stick, but the idea is good. Substitute "man in charge" "folks in power" or something similar for "the leading chief" and you are good to go.

Read the Oregon Revised Statutes for the letter of the law, www.handgunlaw.us, www.packing.org, and other sites for hints at how it is applied. Bear in mind that not all you will hear or read will be true: DoubleTapDrew’s 3 strike tale cannot be backed by anything in the ORS. Also bear in mind that being in the right will not protect you from hassles, sometimes huge hassles.

You should also understand that you will not get called out every time you are made. Some will recognize that your gun is a non-issue, others will decline to get involved.

 

[kengrubb]

I suspect there's a good joke here that I'm not quite able to ferret out.

And a subtle one at that. One born to parents not married at the time of conception is termed a b*stard.

The full and completely confounding version of the joke is my sometimes sig line of:
My application to law school was rejected upon discovery that my parents were married at the time of my conception.

 

[TimboKhan]

Printing, as you describe it, isn't the worse thing in the world. What your bigger issue will be, and what your going to have to get over is fiddling with the gun constantly when you start wearing it out into the world. I have heard mroe than one person say this was a problem for them, and I know it was a problem for me. The first few times I carried in public, I was convinced that my pistol was just going to leap out of it's spot and clatter across the floor, or that I was printing horribly bad, or that everyone and their mother woudl know I was carrying. Now? To tell you the truth, there have been a couple of times that I have essentially forgotten that I am carrying at all! About the only fiddling I do now is I find myself doing a quick, innocent "shirt-check" after I have bent over or after I have put on or taken off a coat just to make sure my shirt hasn't gotten hung up on the grips. I think thats a reasonable precaution, and done right, it doesn't look like you are doing anything of the ordinary.

 

[jeepmor]

Another Oregonian here

If your shirt rides up over your gun and it's exposed you probably won't get in much trouble...after you are drawn down on by Portland's finest and proned out on the ground, disarmed, searched, then show them your license.

Too funny, too sad, too true....probably get shot in PDX, kicked to death, tazered twice or shot with a bean bag, maybe all four....it all happened here to varying degrees three times in the past few months and three people have been killed by the police. None were CCW holders mind you, only one was obviously a criminal, two were mental issue related I believe.

I'm in Hillsboro, OR and was not aware of the specifics of the law. I mostly got mine to carry in the woods and not freak out the hippies on the trail. God Bless their hippy hearts, but they overreact quite often. But when I wake up on Mt Hood and see a bear sniffin around while I'm all wrapped in my sleeping bag like a big twinkie..... you get the idea.

The CCW instructor did not mention penlaties for being busted, but he did mention what can happen if you're dumb about it and shared some amusing stories. Most of them anecdotal to how dumb men can be while trying to swoon the babes. We're dumb like that, and you being only 21, be very careful, your in your prime for young and dumb. Don't take offense, just accept it, and when your mid-thirties, you'll look back and agree even though you might be an honest fellow. I'm an honest fellow too, but I did some dumb things in my youth, enjoy, but don't foul it up with a gun/woman/booze combo. That rarely turns out pretty.

You should care about who knows you carry, and you should only tell those that need to know. Your girl for one, since she'll have her arm around you if you mind your manners.

As a new CCW permit holder, I do feel like it's a beacon on my hip and find myself looking pretty silly when I'm doing something I feel exposes my pistol and puts it where eyes may see it. I start doing something, stop, change position and do it another way. Like crawling in the back of the car to unload a bunch of Goodwill fodder when the guy is right there behind me. I found it hard to be discreet and was nervous about it. And I was in a store and got warm and took my jacket off. Weird feeling, but it was obviously only me, no one noticed and my shirt easily kept it covered.

I do find myself checking my shirt and jacket waist constantly to the point of feeling rather obvious about it.

jeepmor

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

I do find myself checking my shirt and jacket waist constantly to the point of feeling rather obvious about it.

I did that a lot for the first couple months. Fiddling with the holster/gun is probably the only thing that will draw someone's eyes to it. After a while you learn fluid, nonchalant moves to do a quick check or adjustment. Carrying at home helps you feel more comfortable sooner. Besides, with the number of home invasions we've had in the area it's a good idea regardless.

DoubleTapDrew, I think that LEO was doing some opinion enforcement, because OC is legal in your state. You are not obligated in any way to keep others from seeing your piece.

I agree. There is no law I've found backing that, nor heard of anything similar in any other state either. However there is a difference between concealed carry and open carry and it's best not to mix the two, especially in metro areas (you'll likely become the topic of a "Man with a gun" call to the police). I'm not sure if there is any specific legal distinction between holster design but I don't think sticking your shirt behind the grip of your IWB holster suddenly makes it open carry (and thus not require a CCW license).
I try to stay away from the metro areas anyway. I don't like mingling with the sheep more than necessary.

 

[expvideo]

I don't see why those of you that live in states that allow open carry are so worried. I carry in a thumb-break paddle, and wear a jacket. If my girlfriend gets cold, I give her the jacket. I haven't had a problem yet. Do you know why? Because it's legal.

 

[Mousegun]

Here in good ole' Tennessee, the rules of carry allow but discourage open carry. It was set up so that anyone who accidentally exposes their firearm is not in a world of hurt.

As it stands, if you open carry in east Tennessee you will probably be detained because they just ain't ready for it yet and too many libs from up north landed here. I am from "up north" but I don't fall into the lib pit.

As you go further west, open carry doesn't have the stigma as it does here in the eastern part of the state and by the time you get to Memphis, you are nuts if you ain't carrying.

 

[MyRoad]

I don't recall any specific laws about printing, only "brandishing" which is a different story.

I think the interpretation of the law will be up to the LEO, and if things go bad, the judge. With that in mind I am much more careful when I go up to Portland, where a police officer may have actually had to deal with armed BG's and may take quick formal precautions if you are reported (i.e. draw his gun and cuff you, then check your CCW). I would not want to be reaching for a book in Powell's and expose the butt of my gun sticking out of my pants (IWB) to the staff or clientele there. On the other hand, if I'm down here in Yamhill County at a Wilco Farm Store, I wouldn't worry about it. As a side note, that's another reason all of my carry guns are flat black, no shiny silver guns for CCW. In general the longer I've carried the less I worry about it, but I do still check myself every time I get out of my car for instance, to be sure everything is under cover.

Besides, with the number of home invasions we've had in the area it's a good idea regardless.

DoubleTapDrew - what part of OR are you in? I keep up on local crime rates, and I'm only aware of one "home invasion" in the two years I've lived here -- at least local to me.

 

[evan price]

To be totally screaming honest most people, about 99% of them, are so blindedly unaware of what goes on around them, they will stop for the traffic light and block you from turning left out of a driveway in front of them rather than stopping a few feet short and letting you out. Do you really think somebody who is unaware of a car sitting just beside them would have any clue that that anonymous bump on your hip is a GUN? Being an Ohio resident we have to carry open in any vehicle which leads to a maneuver called the "Buckeye Tuck" wherein you tuck you cover garment behind the grips of you CCW when getting into a vehicle, or untucking when getting out. When I first started legally CCW'ing I was so paranoid about the slightest hint of a bulge, bump, edge of a slide, tip of the front sight, whatever, marking my clothing for fear of being outed. Iwas always shifting my clothing to keep it loose over the holster and grips.
Then I forgot to untuck my buckeye tuck and walked all over an upscale mall and shopping center in Open Carry more or less. And not one person noticed, said a word, or called the cops. Bear in mind this is somebody carrying an XD9 service 4", with a long buttonup shirt stuffed behind the grips, in an OWB paddle holster. Doesn't get more conspicuous that that right?
That realisation led me to spend the entire 4th of July weekend running around town blatantly open carrying and only two people said anything, one of them was on a crowded elevator the other was a vending machine service guy who I am pretty sure was carrying himself.

Don't worry about it, carry well concealed, forget you have it, dress in clothing that is comfortable but not too loose or too tight, and Carry On.

 

[vynx]

Whenerver I hear "concealed means concealed" it makes me think the following:

So in a state that does not allow CCW but does allow open carry if you have your gun totally coverred but its printing it that open? I doubt it I'll bet it would be considerred concealled.