In WA since 1994, as I understand it, the holder of a valid CPL can carry concealed or openly. It's hard for me to imagine that if those are both legal, anything in between is going to present a legal problem with anyone except a badge-heavy cop looking for a hassle. We have a few of those, but not many, most cops here don't care unless you show some criminal intent, then they care quite a bit. Also, I haven't seen any case law that invented the offense of carrying "half-concealed". Perhaps justice4all can correct me if there is some.
I have .38sp and .357's that I can carry in a holster, in my pockets, down a boot, tucked around me here or there, and it kinda depends on where I'm going and how big a hurry I'm in which one I take and where I put it. I agree with Mr.510, accessability is more important to me than hiding it 100%. In addition, holding the sidearm in place while I hike, hunt, climb, or crawl is a big deal to me, as I tend to be, ahh... physically active, and having it fall off of me is undesirable, to say the least.
As far as friends fooling around with me and finding it, I don't think much of playfighting/faking a punch/wrestling around/slap-flapping, and my friends know it. I think it's kid stuff. If I'm with somebody who likes to do that, I tell them one time, politely, that I take it seriously. If they persist, I grab a body part and cause them some pain. Not a huge amount, just warning pain. I haven't had a need to go farther, at least with anyone I want to be around. But those who know me well, know that I carry, so it's not a surprise to them.
I live out in the sticks by choice, and guns are more accepted here. In my daily activities, probly almost half the people I see are armed in some manner, or their mother or brother is. Nothing special about me, I'm just another one. If anything, I'll be asked, "Whatcha packin' today? Is it that blued .38 you showed me before?" I can understand how it might be different in an urban or suburban setting, with more people milling around. Still, as has been mentioned, most people there don't notice squat outside their bubble.
Parker