Open carry vs. Concealed

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Rachen

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What do you guys think is a better solution to keeping crime low? Open carrying, or concealed carrying?

Here are my opinions:

Open carrying just gives your spot away. Most criminals will stake out a place before they plan to rob, rape, or anything. Imagine you are standing in a bank with your Glock or 1911 butt sticking out of your belt openly. The robber comes in and sees your gun. The first thing he ,or they would do is to try to neutralize you, because you are a threat to their criminal business. Does open carrying serve as a deterrent? Well maybe in some cases. Imagine a Clockwork Orange scenario when you are walking down the street with your girlfriend and 4 or 5 young punks come out of the shadows to have some fun with you. They see your 1911, would they think twice? Maybe. But chances are, they will go to a different street where some other guy is walking down the street with his girlfriend. Two things will happen there:
Either the second guy has a CCW or not. If not, he will probably get tied up and forced to watch his GF raped before him, if he has a CCW, he probably ends the scumbags' misery right there and the punks won't be able to carry out any more attacks because it's kinda hard to get out of a casket once you get in there.

Me, I rather carry concealed, because it eliminates blowing my spot right there. Even if a perp doesn't know I am carrying something and suddenly decides to go for the pretty girl ahead of me, I can still draw it out fast enough to discourage him. If you open carry, a perp might be scared away, but if the perp is determined enough to get through you to what he wants, he will attempt to neutralize you.

An old Chinese saying goes: Cats who can catch mice don't cry Meow.

What are your opinions?
 
Generally speaking, it's more tactically sound to carry your weapon concealed.

In my opinion, there really is no such thing as "deterrance". The only factor thats actually proven to stop a criminal from becoming a repeat offender is death. As you note, carrying openly is like wearing a "shoot me first" sign.
 
The only time I'd consider open carrying in a urban/suburban setting to be a deterrent would be post-disaster, (like Katrina) and in that case, it'd likely be holster on hip AND AK on sling.
 
Open carry is not a shoot me first sign. If it is, show me 1 example of it working that way. I open carry all the time in an urban setting, and still live to tell the tale.
 
Open, because criminals are lazy. They can always find a softer target.
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That is true to a certain degree. But if the guy pulls a gun and then realizes you have a pistol on your hip, I think the chances of "shots fired" increases about 10 fold due to the thought process of the "oh $h!+" neuron in the bad guys head.
 
When I was growing up in rural upstate NY we used to hotrod our cars, but because the local sheriffs dept was such a pain in the backside we'd do all the mods as stealthy as we could. So you'd get a semi-crappy looking old Nova (or a pinto station wagon in one case) that would blind you with the chrome up, bored out, tweaked mechanics if you popped the hood. We used to call them WISCs ("whisks") for "wolf in sheeps clothing".

We could have our (stupid) racing fun on the backroads but still pass as a mild mannered POS out on the highway. It was always fun surprising someone with a stock Mustang 5.0 when my friend's stupid-ugly Pinto Wagon (with a turbo V-6 under the hood) would just walk away.

Anyway that sort of "fly under the radar" mentality really stuck with me through the years and so I'd have to vote strongly for CCW not open carry.
 
Situationally Dependent

I think the benefits or handicaps with open and concealed carry are situationally dependent. Sometimes one is better than the other, and in my opinion there are too many factors involved to really make a blanket statement as to which is superior. Speaking for myself, I don't mind open carry and I do it regularly as well as concealed carry. People don't freak out and I've carried around enough LEOs and never even been questioned. I used a retention holster just in case of a gun grab but I believe that being attacked for your piece is just about a mythical misconception. There is only 1 case that I have heard where an open carrier was robbed of his weapon, and without getting into the details it seems to me a case of poor situational awareness and a CCW wouldn't have helped.

Bottom line is that I think there is a lot to be said for open carry detering an attack without ever even interacting with the criminal. That seems to be a better outcome than being forced to use a CCW piece and risking you freedom and fortune in saving your life and that is assuming you come out in top in the gunfight.
 
The choice of open or concealed carry is not really about keeping crime low IMO. It is about what is most convenient for casual as opposed to formal dress. Not that I would find it odd for a man to be wearing an exposed holstered handgun with an unbuttoned suit or overcoat for that matter.

The best way to keep crime low is to allow the citizen to carry as he or she sees fit - without permission, paper or taxation. And additionally to actually punishing people for actual crimes against persons and property; corporally, and/or by incarceration and hard labor as appropriate, for reasonably fixed periods of time.

That will go the longest way to keeping crime on the low side.

-------------------------------------

http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org
 
Hard labor

is a pretty good choice for punishing criminals. It worked like a charm in my country against low level offenders and rebellious teenagers.
 
LAK, well said.

Are open carriers targets?
Does open carry deter criminals?
Does the "element of surprise" make concealed carry a smart choice?

Nobody knows. We've got no hard evidence, one way or the other. Just the rare anecdote and lots of supposition.

There is one more factor, though, and that factor is political: Does it make sense, politically, to hide lawful carry from the public? Is it just a bit like straightening your curls and painting your face white so that your colored face won't scare the townfolk?
 
There is one more factor, though, and that factor is political: Does it make sense, politically, to hide lawful carry from the public? Is it just a bit like straightening your curls and painting your face white so that your colored face won't scare the townfolk?
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Woah,
HUGE difference between a choice we decide to make (to exercise our right to bear arms and choosing concealed or open carry) and raceism based on something someone has NO choice over (the color of someone's skin).
 
You are born black.
You are born with the right to keep and bear arms.

The difference between hiding one and hiding the other is not so apparent to me, especially if the reason for hiding them--to get along in a bigoted society--is the same.
 
The choice of open or concealed carry is not really about keeping crime low IMO. It is about what is most convenient for casual as opposed to formal dress. Not that I would find it odd for a man to be wearing an exposed holstered handgun with an unbuttoned suit or overcoat for that matter.

The best way to keep crime low is to allow the citizen to carry as he or she sees fit - without permission, paper or taxation. And additionally to actually punishing people for actual crimes against persons and property; corporally, and/or by incarceration and hard labor as appropriate, for reasonably fixed periods of time.

That will go the longest way to keeping crime on the low side.
Click to expand...

Right on.
 
There is one more factor, though, and that factor is political: Does it make sense, politically, to hide lawful carry from the public? Is it just a bit like straightening your curls and painting your face white so that your colored face won't scare the townfolk?

:confused: :cuss:
No need to bring racist garbage onto The High Road. Besides, your point makes absolutely no sense.
 
Personally I am not a big fan of open carry. It's too "in your face" and alerts possible bad guys as to who to take out of the equation first. It also needlessly scares the sheeple, who might try to do something about it at the State House, where we as gunowners are already facing an uphill fight the next two years or so. Also, in some states, depending on the county / township / locality you are in Open Carry can be considered brandishing even if it's legal there. There is also the inevitable harassment from Local Law Enforcement, and the attention that follows. I really see no benefit to Open Carry short of a total breakdown of law and order such as what happened in LA during the Rodney King Riots, and in New Orleans during Katrina; or if it's the only legal way to carry in certain situations.

Concealed carry allows for one to blend in with the background and then use deadly force when danger threatens one. The sheeple aren't bothered, and legislation protecting the RKBA can proceed because the sheeple aren't motivated. I am all for concealed carry without limits, if you get enough of the pre-emption laws passed there is no need for open carry.
TJ
 
I'm a little hazy on this, but generally, you have to be 21 to carry concealed. But you only have to be 18 to open carry. Again, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Keep in mind, I'm in the free state of Ohio. So, some people who want to defend themselves may have no choice but to open carry.
 
No need to bring racist garbage onto The High Road. Besides, your point makes absolutely no sense.

don't overreact. and he makes a very good point, with a bit of flare. in this country we consider ourselves to be born with the right to keep and bear arms. his point is that we have no reason to hide something, the right of which, we are born into.
 
No need to bring racist garbage onto The High Road.
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No need to call people racist. He was making the valid point that the rights that aren't openly exercised are taken away because they are socially unacceptable since "no one" does it and it becomes "unusual".
 
ZeSpectre said:
When I was growing up in rural upstate NY we used to hotrod our cars, but because the local sheriffs dept was such a pain in the backside we'd do all the mods as stealthy as we could. So you'd get a semi-crappy looking old Nova (or a pinto station wagon in one case) that would blind you with the chrome up, bored out, tweaked mechanics if you popped the hood. We used to call them WISCs ("whisks") for "wolf in sheeps clothing".
Click to expand...

Funny, we've called these cars "Sleepers" ever since I can remember.


I personally think that concealled works best in most cases. Open carry also can be a deterant depending on the situation. Therefore it's all relative to individual circumstance.
 
Backlash?

Tinygnat
I haven't seen anyplace where open carry has resulted in a backlash against gun rights. If anything open carry helps our numbers to grow.

As for scaring people, doesn't happen, and police interactions are pretty rare.

I'm beginning to think the tactical advantage of concealed carry are overstated. I mean drawing on someone who is already presenting a threat or has the drop on you seems to be a desperation move. Sure if you life is in danger you do what you must but few people could draw from concealment and beat someone who already has a gun or knife drawn.

There are few cases of civilian open carriers being attacked for their gun. Until we have evidence that open carriers are victims of crime at a greater rate than the general public or CCW's it is a gratuitous assertion that can be gratuitously denied.
 
Funny, we've called these cars "Sleepers" ever since I can remember.
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They still do it, calling them either sleepers or "q-cars", after the WWII q-ships.

It's not just old iron, either. You never know when the ordinary-looking Accord next to you might have a supercharger-equipped Honda V6 or massive turbo under the hood and nitrous tanks in the trunk. :)
 
One point as to the whole "you'll be shot first" argument against Open Carry.

If you're the only guy at the bank open carrying a gun, the argument could conceivably be made that you'll be "shot first" or at least disarmed and smacked around, if the place is robbed.

However, what if 8 out of the 20 patrons in the bank are open carrying, and nobody has any idea if there are even more carrying concealed?

-MV
 
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