Dress code for open carry

[Powerhouse]

Whether I carry openly or concealed is usually dictated to me by the weather.

When it's warm out, I carry IWB exclusively. Folks tend to look at you kind of funny when you are wearing a t-shirt and jeans with a pistol on your belt. When the weather turns colder, like it is now, I will carry in my Safariland duty holster. But when I go out I tend to keep my jacket on all the time, so it stays hidden to everyone else but not under so many layers of clothing that I can't get to it effectively.

 

[Espartis]

xxxxl tee shirts that says "free gucci mane" on it....

shorts that are 5x too big for me and soo long they look like shantx.... oh and of course my sweet red bandana

Least suspect looking way to carry a gun...i swear the police will never kick down my door and search my place for drugs and guns...

[Broken External Image]:

 

[unclear.six]

xxxxl tee shirts that says "free gucci mane" on it....

shorts that are 5x too big for me and soo long they look like shantx.... oh and of course my sweet red bandana

Least suspect looking way to carry a gun...i swear the police will never kick down my door and search my place for drugs and guns...

[Broken External Image]:

WAKA!!!!....FLOCKA!!!...

lol

 

[unclear.six]

Thats not true for all people. Maybe with how you like to dress, but you probably don't dress like I do.

How do you dress?

 

[jsquared]

How do you dress?

xxxxl tee shirts that says "free gucci mane" on it....

shorts that are 5x too big for me and soo long they look like shantx.... oh and of course my sweet red bandana

Least suspect looking way to carry a gun...i swear the police will never kick down my door and search my place for drugs and guns...

[Broken External Image]:

No but really, I like my t-shirts on the smaller side, and jeans/pants slimmer, so anything IWB is tough and always prints horribly. Appendix carry is not too bad but not comfortable either.

 

[Luke]

Bear44 says:

Sorry Luke, you are correct. It was cwbyinjeep that made the statement about vigilantism and being PC. To be fair, he did not call me a vigilantly. He said that others may view it that way.

Luke:

My bad..... couldn't remember what he said, just knew that I didn't say it.

Bear44 says:

As to the tactical advantage of CC. If you are not trained to deploy the weapon quickly or you are carrying it in a way that severely limits how quickly you can draw it you do loose tactical advantage. However, that is a different consideration than whether the criminal can see the weapon or not. Some common sense and practice will mitigate any problems with deployment. The only compromise as to the weapon that I carry so it can be easily concealed is that it is compact in size. Otherwise, it is a 45 ACP in 1911 type. I also shoot it very well. I'm not a fan of pocket pistols as a primary or deep concealment either. I wear it on the right hip in a secure, but very fast holster. If you are not already familiar with the Bianchi Snaplok, check it out. The Serpa is also a fast holster, but I don't care for them because I have read reports that by placing pressure on the index finger during the draw there have been incidents of ADs even with experienced shooters. I conceal it with either a jacket or, in warm weather, a vest. I also weight the right pocket so a flick of the wrist gets it completely out of the way. I still believe that CC gives you more opportunity to choose when the bad guy knows they have a problem and that does give tactical advantage.

Luke:

Training is the key...... I have always advocated training and encourage it as well. I will go along with the statement that conceal carry may give you more of an opportunity to decide when you will get involved, but it may also put you into a position that escalates the situation when you decide to reveal that you are armed.

Bear44 says:

As for getting involved in an incident. Take the same situation that you use as an example. The two men apparently attacking a woman. Could YOU see that and walk away? Somehow I doubt you could. If you are armed, are you going to walk up and ask what is going on or are you going to draw your weapon and walk up and ask what is going on? If it were me and there was any question about what was happening, I would place my had on the weapon without actually drawing it. I also don't think that there would be much trouble criminally even if I did draw the weapon. Since they added "reasonable cause to believe" to the statute, it has helped in most cases of honest mistakes. Unfortunately, you are completely correct about civil action. We live in a litigious society and it is the risk you are going to take. I have accepted that. If I'm willing to risk my life, well.......

Luke:

Yes we live in a society that will supports litigation, and it can be expensive. It cost me almost $10,000 to prove that I was justified in an altercation that I had. I have a friend that was fired on and he fired in self defense, it went all the way to trail and cost him over $15,000 to prove that he was justified. The scenario that I used was a true story, it happened in Alabama when a Bail Enforcement Agent was attempting to arrest a Bond Jumper, a citizen tried to intervene, the jumper got away and the BEA pushed for the individual to be charged with Aggravated Assault and they also sued him in civil court for funds lost do to the actions of the citizen.

Bear44 says:

As far as being a "wana-be hero". Thank you for not actually calling me that. I have carried for over 30 years and have only drawn my weapon twice as a civilian. Once prevented my wife and myself from being mugged and the second was precautionary when a burglar rapidly vacated our home as we arrived home. He never even saw the weapon. I have never felt the need to draw it in any other civilian circumstance. So I am definitely not LOOKING for trouble. My feelings about the duty to protect others is based in the fact that I can not morally avoid a dangerous situation when another person is in trouble and I may have the ability to stop what is happening to them.

Luke:

I wouldn't have called you anything. I don't know you except by your writings, but rather caution you to consider your actions. As pointed out above, rushing to someone's aide can become very costly. Much thought and consideration should be put into such actions. Situational awareness must constantly be maintained as these instances can pop up at a moments notice with little to no warning and you may already be in action before you know what is going on.

Bear44 says:

I will completely disagree with your statement that I "don't have the right to say that it's the best way". I absolutely DO have that right! And you have the right to disagree with it or not even listen to it.

Luke:

You may disagree but you still don't have the right to say that your way is the "best way." You have the right to say that it is the best way for you, but people are different and different things work for each of us.

I apologize for the shortness of this, but it is the second time I typed it.

Luke

 

[Bear44]

Bear44 says:

Sorry Luke, you are correct. It was cwbyinjeep that made the statement about vigilantism and being PC. To be fair, he did not call me a vigilantly. He said that others may view it that way.

Luke:

My bad..... couldn't remember what he said, just knew that I didn't say it.

Bear44 says:

As to the tactical advantage of CC. If you are not trained to deploy the weapon quickly or you are carrying it in a way that severely limits how quickly you can draw it you do loose tactical advantage. However, that is a different consideration than whether the criminal can see the weapon or not. Some common sense and practice will mitigate any problems with deployment. The only compromise as to the weapon that I carry so it can be easily concealed is that it is compact in size. Otherwise, it is a 45 ACP in 1911 type. I also shoot it very well. I'm not a fan of pocket pistols as a primary or deep concealment either. I wear it on the right hip in a secure, but very fast holster. If you are not already familiar with the Bianchi Snaplok, check it out. The Serpa is also a fast holster, but I don't care for them because I have read reports that by placing pressure on the index finger during the draw there have been incidents of ADs even with experienced shooters. I conceal it with either a jacket or, in warm weather, a vest. I also weight the right pocket so a flick of the wrist gets it completely out of the way. I still believe that CC gives you more opportunity to choose when the bad guy knows they have a problem and that does give tactical advantage.

Luke:

Training is the key...... I have always advocated training and encourage it as well. I will go along with the statement that conceal carry may give you more of an opportunity to decide when you will get involved, but it may also put you into a position that escalates the situation when you decide to reveal that you are armed.

Bear44 says:

As for getting involved in an incident. Take the same situation that you use as an example. The two men apparently attacking a woman. Could YOU see that and walk away? Somehow I doubt you could. If you are armed, are you going to walk up and ask what is going on or are you going to draw your weapon and walk up and ask what is going on? If it were me and there was any question about what was happening, I would place my had on the weapon without actually drawing it. I also don't think that there would be much trouble criminally even if I did draw the weapon. Since they added "reasonable cause to believe" to the statute, it has helped in most cases of honest mistakes. Unfortunately, you are completely correct about civil action. We live in a litigious society and it is the risk you are going to take. I have accepted that. If I'm willing to risk my life, well.......

Luke:

Yes we live in a society that will supports litigation, and it can be expensive. It cost me almost $10,000 to prove that I was justified in an altercation that I had. I have a friend that was fired on and he fired in self defense, it went all the way to trail and cost him over $15,000 to prove that he was justified. The scenario that I used was a true story, it happened in Alabama when a Bail Enforcement Agent was attempting to arrest a Bond Jumper, a citizen tried to intervene, the jumper got away and the BEA pushed for the individual to be charged with Aggravated Assault and they also sued him in civil court for funds lost do to the actions of the citizen.

Bear44 says:

As far as being a "wana-be hero". Thank you for not actually calling me that. I have carried for over 30 years and have only drawn my weapon twice as a civilian. Once prevented my wife and myself from being mugged and the second was precautionary when a burglar rapidly vacated our home as we arrived home. He never even saw the weapon. I have never felt the need to draw it in any other civilian circumstance. So I am definitely not LOOKING for trouble. My feelings about the duty to protect others is based in the fact that I can not morally avoid a dangerous situation when another person is in trouble and I may have the ability to stop what is happening to them.

Luke:

I wouldn't have called you anything. I don't know you except by your writings, but rather caution you to consider your actions. As pointed out above, rushing to someone's aide can become very costly. Much thought and consideration should be put into such actions. Situational awareness must constantly be maintained as these instances can pop up at a moments notice with little to no warning and you may already be in action before you know what is going on.

Bear44 says:

I will completely disagree with your statement that I "don't have the right to say that it's the best way". I absolutely DO have that right! And you have the right to disagree with it or not even listen to it.

Luke:

You may disagree but you still don't have the right to say that your way is the "best way." You have the right to say that it is the best way for you, but people are different and different things work for each of us.

I apologize for the shortness of this, but it is the second time I typed it.

Luke

Luke,

With all of the reasons that you give to not get involved or even defend yourself when fired upon, I have to wonder why you carry at all. All of your reasoning argues against carry. OC or CC.

Again, I DO have the right to say the way I carry is the best way and you have the right to disagree. That's what the First Amendment is all about.

For some reason you seem to think that I am some newbie that has not already thought all of this through completely. You are very wrong in that assumption. My credentials are not just from the range, but also the real world.

I also question a mindset that would think that it is possible to draw a weapon and NOT be escalating the situation.

You also never answered my question. If you became aware of a situation where it appeared that two men were attacking a woman, would you walk away because you feared the possible ramification of getting involved? It sounds like you would. Look for a new thread asking about what permit holders think their responsibility to the public is.

 

[chief401]

I very rarely open carry, when I do, it is my springfield mil spec ss in a paddle holster. Most of the times I conceal my 45gap. With that being said, I dress for whatever things I have to do that day, cargo shorts in spring and summer, jeans or cargo pants with untucked button up shirt or hoodie. I do agree with Luke on the people carrying a cheaper weapon and big old ugly holster, that might be all they can afford, they also might be well trained I do not know. My first handgun was a Norinco 9mm thank goodness somebody stole it ha ha. Not really, if you own a Norinco good for you. I also agree with the element of surprise with conceal carry, a bad person, thug, etc.. will not know you are carrying until you use your weapon. Just my thoughts!!!!!!!!!

 

[Luke]

Luke,

With all of the reasons that you give to not get involved or even defend yourself when fired upon, I have to wonder why you carry at all. All of your reasoning argues against carry. OC or CC.

Again, I DO have the right to say the way I carry is the best way and you have the right to disagree. That's what the First Amendment is all about.

For some reason you seem to think that I am some newbie that has not already thought all of this through completely. You are very wrong in that assumption. My credentials are not just from the range, but also the real world.

I also question a mindset that would think that it is possible to draw a weapon and NOT be escalating the situation.

You also never answered my question. If you became aware of a situation where it appeared that two men were attacking a woman, would you walk away because you feared the possible ramification of getting involved? It sounds like you would. Look for a new thread asking about what permit holders think their responsibility to the public is.

Bear,

I'm gonna be a little short and to the point here. I started carrying a gun some thirty three years ago and I carried for the the protection of my family, myself and our property. I started carrying long before I took any of my many oaths to protect liberties and public. As I have previously noted a couple of times already, I have also faced the "wolf" and know the cost of drawing that weapon. It is not because I assume that you are a newbie that I caution here, but because I know that there are newbies here that have not considered the price that may have to be paid. I try to paint them a picture of real life.

I know what my skill level is and what I can do. I, like some other here, shoot more in a month than many shoot in years. I don't shoot down a single ally lane because that won't prepare you for a practical situations. I have also been in a ambush situation whereby I had two guns and neither did me any good, so it amazes me when I see someone that is so sure of things. Now, see, I don't assume anything about you. You may be just as skilled as I, but the fact that you can't conceded that your way may be the best way for you but not for all tells me that you don't have the experience of maturity level that you claim to have. That is just my opinion. There is no "all around best way to carry." Different methods work for different people, just like there is no "best" gun to carry.

Most of the time I carry a 1911 or Springfield XD on my strong side hip, but sometimes the "best way" is a shoulder holster. My back up is almost always on the left ankle, but that is defiantly not the "best" place for it. The best place for me for the back up would probably be cross draw. You see, when maturity is reached, you teach a person to find what is "best" for them and not try to sell your way as best.

By the way, I read over the other thread and it seems that there have been some people that have chimed in that have some real world experiences in shooting. Some of them that have been the one to pull the trigger, some of them just know someone that did and know how hard it can be.

As for the girl........... I take these things on a case by case basis.

Luke

 

[talkstosquirrels]

There are definitely two sides of it from a perceived standpoint. The reality is, that if you live in state that allows open carry you are allowed to cary no matter what the hell you are dressed like. By NOT "dressing up" I think the carrying individual may be questioned more, which if that individual answers by explaining the law, will educate the sheeple more as to their rights. If you look like an cop or an agent, I would imagine that you would not be questioned as much if at all, therefore not having the opportunity to educate.

As to the open carry, or element of surprise aspect of concealing your weapon debate... I don't think we all just want to shoot someone, therefore not needing an "element of surprise", or even have to justify the pulling of our weapon. Now, moving a coat aside and exposing your weapon is enough to diffuse many potentially lethal situations and does not require justification. If you need to gently and deliberately "access your keys", or "get your cell phone" at the proper moment, it can be very effective by the sheer display of the position they now know you hold. Now pulling your weapon.... takes it to the next level and this is another story altogether.

IMHO...