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stingeragent wrote:Ok, first off I know this has been posted on here before. I tried to search for it , but the search kept telling me "open carry" is too common and I need to try again. Then tried "who is going to oc" and it said I can't use words with less than 3 letters. So I gave up and here I am. I still am on the fence about to OC or not. I think I can see it going a few different ways.
1. You walk into a gas station. A future robber sees your gun and decides to try some place else
2. You walk into a gas station. A future robber sees your gun and decides to shoot you first.

Really hard to tell which scenario will take place. I am sure there are a lot of robbers out there that carry guns but have no intention of using them unless things go south. What's been going through my head, is would the presence of an OC gun deter them or not. I think what I'm thinking is, I'll do a 50/50 approach. Use an outside waist band holster, but still keep my shirt over it. Problem I've had with IWB ( maybe it's just my holster ), can't find a position that is comfortable sitting in the car. I think an OWB holster would solve this. I've also thought about the implication of someone trying to grab your in plain sight hand gun. How do you prevent that short of having a holster strap?

GlassG19 wrote:

RHenriksen wrote:I've just picked up an OWB retention holster and will be testing the waters in January. HPD's second 'town hall' on open carry is this evening, just happens to be down the street from me - I'll be attending to get a first-person feel for the chief's tone and planned response. I followed the first one remotely; curious to see if there's any drift or evolution from the first event.

Just curious if you have any thoughts about the HPD's meeting last week? Your opinion? did you change your carrying after meeting? Did they say they're going to check everybody (LTC) whose OCing?

denwego wrote:I plan on carrying openly every moment I can do so. It was my preferred method for many years in Colorado and Virginia, and getting to again here in a better state than those is the greatest Christmas present.

locke_n_load wrote:I will Open Carry every day when possible. If I feel the need to CC, I still have my G26 and IWB holster for that too (may even OC the G26 - I like that pistol that much). I agree to carry for the situation, not be stuck with one mode of carry or the other.

There are only a couple of examples I have read of where someone tried to steal an Open Carried firearm from a civilian - one guy had his new .22 in his waistband at 2am somewhere and was showing it off, dude came up with his gun and demanded the .22.
Other example was a dude was OCing in a Walmart, when some crazy guy grabbed a bat off the shelf and attacked him. Dude drew down on him and waited for police to arrive.

I have also read a few articles where during their interrogations, a group of robbers indicated that they sent in a scout into a place to check it out. Dude saw two guys eating with .45s on their hips, so the group went down the street and robbed a different establishment instead. Read about this more than once.

I think that an Open Carried firearm most likely deters crime, as most thieves are looking for an easy hit and will avoid confrontation (do they usually try to rob the 250 lb body builder or the little old lady?).

Edit to the OP: I also carried OWB for the first time last night with my new OC setup (had my jacket covering it this time). Was way more comfortable while driving than my IWB, and I don't need my pants 2 sizes larger than normal.

stingeragent wrote:Ok, first off I know this has been posted on here before. I tried to search for it , but the search kept telling me "open carry" is too common and I need to try again. Then tried "who is going to oc" and it said I can't use words with less than 3 letters. So I gave up and here I am. I still am on the fence about to OC or not. I think I can see it going a few different ways.
1. You walk into a gas station. A future robber sees your gun and decides to try some place else
2. You walk into a gas station. A future robber sees your gun and decides to shoot you first.

Really hard to tell which scenario will take place. I am sure there are a lot of robbers out there that carry guns but have no intention of using them unless things go south. What's been going through my head, is would the presence of an OC gun deter them or not. I think what I'm thinking is, I'll do a 50/50 approach. Use an outside waist band holster, but still keep my shirt over it. Problem I've had with IWB ( maybe it's just my holster ), can't find a position that is comfortable sitting in the car. I think an OWB holster would solve this. I've also thought about the implication of someone trying to grab your in plain sight hand gun. How do you prevent that short of having a holster strap?