Guns - to Carry One or Not?

[ArtW]

The only person who should feel intimidated by the sight of an openly carried firearm is someone with inimical intent toward the carrier of the firearm
Do you have ill intent toward me? No? Then my firearm isn't a threat to you.
You do have inimical intent toward me? then I do want you to be intimidated, that way I'm less likely to have to USE the gun
I don't want to shoot anyone, I don't want to go to court, and if someone sees the gun and decides not to rob me, after all, that's a good thing, for both of us
That's called a deterrent
That said, I don't often carry open, because of the number of people who aren't inimical to me who have an irrational fear of a man with a gun, who might be folks I'd like to know

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I wish I could hunt down the source now, but a few years back I read that statistically speaking, you are far FAR FAR more likely to either 1)have your gun stolen, or 2)accidentally shoot a family member/loved one/yourself than to ever use a gun in defense of person or property.  Anecdotal evidence, at least in my world, bears that out.  In five decades on the planet I've never know anyone who used a gun on a "bad guy", but I do know folks who have had guns stolen or accidentally discharged

I tend to be very suspicious of such claims for one simple reason.

Statistics on Defensive Uses of Firearms are very incomplete, at best.  Example:  You are walking down the street at night and someone pulls a knife on you and demands your wallet.  You pull a gun, cover him, and tell him to "freeze".  Instead of "freezing", he turns and runs off at a high rate of speed.  Of course, you aren't going to shoot a fleeing person.  (REAL good way to end up in prison for the rest of your life!)  There was no one around to witness all this, of course, so you re-holster your weapon and go on your way.  Nothing is reported.

Nobody knows how often something like that happens, but the best estimate is that there are 13 or 14 non-shoot Defensive Uses of Firearms for every 1 Defensive Shooting that occurs.

Liars.  Damn Liars.  and Statisticians.

Wonder if the book "How to Lie with Statistics" - which I read in high school back in the 60s - is still in print?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

 

[mayble]

yep, i should have known better
when will i learn?

 

[ArtW]

I've had more than one of those 'no shoot' scenarios, including a home invasion
I think the folks who get shot with their own guns were probably folks who, when the ball dropped, couldn't pull the trigger, which is why I say, 'if you're not 100 % you can do it, don't get one'
Of course I'm somewhat biased

 

[Gary68]

The only person who should feel intimidated by the sight of an openly carried firearm is someone with inimical intent toward the carrier of the firearm
Do you have ill intent toward me? No? Then my firearm isn't a threat to you.
You do have inimical intent toward me? then I do want you to be intimidated, that way I'm less likely to have to USE the gun
I don't want to shoot anyone, I don't want to go to court, and if someone sees the gun and decides not to rob me, after all, that's a good thing, for both of us
That's called a deterrent
That said, I don't often carry open, because of the number of people who aren't inimical to me who have an irrational fear of a man with a gun, who might be folks I'd like to know

the guy with the open carry just became a deadly threat to me,the other people around me cant just blow my brains out,he can,i dont like that and usually leave,sorry dont trust you enough to put my life in your hands,now of course there are a couple more with concealed carry but ignorance is bliss

 

[Gunny]

The most volatile subject on any forum that I have belonged to is guns. Whether for or against people need to realize that weapons are a fact of life here in the states.

A weapon in the hands of someone who does not know how to use it properly, long gun or pistol, is almost as dangerous as the bad guy with a gun. If a person does not carry a weapon and gets in a bad situation either cooperate fully and hope for the best or run. If you run, bob and weave, keep your silhouette low and as small as possible and keep hauling ass until you are safe. If trained in the martial arts you may be able to disarm the person, it's a deadly decision if the person has a gun.

I doubt if anyone on this forum has fired a weapon in anger while a civilian. I haven't and I have carried from the day I retired from The Corps whether it was legal or not. I've been robbed once while talking on a pay phone (remember those?) when I got out in a dodgy area to call and get directions. The guy had the drop on me and he was scared, pistol was actually shaking. Gave him my wallet and 170 bucks and he took off. I suppose I could have shot him after he took off, but it would have been in the back for a measly 170. Not worth him dying for.

If someone decides to carry and is not trained, find you a good instructor, many cops moonlight as instructors, and practice, practice, practice. Learn the laws of using deadly force then practice some more.

Rob

 

[Gunny]

The open carry thing got me in trouble with the guys who were for it when they started M-16s or Ruger Mini's slung on their shoulder and they were proving a point that it is legal here in Texas. This was before open carry for all weapons was approved. I told the guy who was organizing the protests that when someone comes in a restaurant I am in and has a semi-automatic weapon my PTSD kicks in full blast. He told me "tough shit". Then went on some rant about gun rights. I told him that he and all of his buddies with slung rifles would be dead should I feel threatened. Unslinging a rifle and chambering a round? Hell. I would have emptied my Glock and reloaded twice. He hates me to this day and I hate him right back.

I'm going to get an old west quick draw holster for my Ruger .41 single action. Just for shits and giggles.

Rob

 

[flying kurbmaster]

if I see a person with open carry I personally avoid them, my perception is that they are not a very nice person, perhaps a bully, insecure, or unstable, that is what goes on in my head when I see them, if they were carrying M-16s I would think they are really crazy and get out of there asap, I would cross the street if I saw a bunch of gangsters, the reaction that goes on in my head is the same for open carry. I also don't sit around people who do drugs, drink a lot or smoke.

 

[Queen]

Rob, I've been jonesing for a cowboy gun and holster set up, if I lived where open carry was an option, I'd have to get one just for the nostalgic fun of it.

 

[slynne]

I wonder too how many people here have ever been shot. I have. When I was 17, some friends of mine and I were driving in a not terrible but not entirely good neighborhood in Detroit. I was driving but some of the young men in my car were drunk and admittedly were being a-holes. I guess someone wasn't having it. They pulled out a pistol and started firing. I was hit although luckily not directly. The bullet grazed the back of my neck. There was a LOT of blood and I was pretty scared but luckily not hurt too badly. I didn't even need stitches. Still, ever since then, I have had a pretty big fear of hand guns. Oddly, but probably because of the time I spent up north, I don't have the same fear of long guns used for hunting.

At any rate, I have a fear of handguns but I am not sure it is irrational. Just sayin. I also have had since then a policy of no a-holes in my car.

 

[Gunny]

The Ruger was my first civilian weapon. Kicks like a Missouri mule but I guess a sentimental favorite. It stayed put away for years, not allowed on base or duty stations overseas. A good holster is big money. With a bit of practice you could be like this guy....

 

[LeeRevell]

A Navy buddy and I both had our personal handguns aboard ship, kept locked in the armory. We could check them out on request to go shoot at a base range.
Mine was a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Convertible (.45ACP and .45 Colt cylinders).

One problem I realised with open carry, is it marks the carrier as a target to potential goblins. This came to me once at the local outdoor range, when I was the only one of my group carrying a gun on my hip, loaded ready for use. No one else did, just had rifles. We were talking and range was "cold", so those rifles were benched and empty.
A man drove up, walked to the firing line carrying a Glock pistol in his hand, looked,at us, then began shooting out to the target frames. Done banging off his magazine full, he left, never having said a thing. All the while, my Spider Sense was tingling, I was on Condition Orange, and had my right hand on my holstered .357Magnum revolver. Had he meant trouble, I was the logical first target, being the only one armed.
This was a weird experience. I have never been unarmed since then.

 

[DannyB1954]

the guy with the open carry just became a deadly threat to me,the other people around me cant just blow my brains out,he can, I don't like that 

What makes you think others can't blow your brains out? A bad guy going to brandish a weapon for a while before they commit their crime? Hey everybody let me give you a chance to call LE. The thing that you miss is the bad guy packing a weapon in his shorts might tend to leave it where it is with knowing others there might not take kindly to him. How would you ever know there was a bad guy with a gun was even there?  Criminals are usually cowards. They go to no gun zones for easy victims, (or places they think no one else will be armed). 

It isn't the people who you know have a gun that should concern you, but how many bad guys there are in the world that do carry concealed and do not have your best interests at heart.

 

[Gary68]

What makes you think others can't blow your brains out? A bad guy going to brandish a weapon for a while before they commit their crime? Hey everybody let me give you a chance to call LE. The thing that you miss is the bad guy packing a weapon in his shorts might tend to leave it where it is with knowing others there might not take kindly to him. How would you ever know there was a bad guy with a gun was even there?  Criminals are usually cowards. They go to no gun zones for easy victims, (or places they think no one else will be armed). 

It isn't the people who you know have a gun that should concern you, but how many bad guys there are in the world that do carry concealed and do not have your best interests at heart.

i don't see to many bad guys if any but i do see a whole lot of stupid and stupid with a firearm is not a good thing

 

[DannyB1954]

i don't see to many bad guys if any

I thought I explained that part. How do you know who is a a good or bad guy? At any rate there are many of us carrying concealed who keep an eye on the open carry people. I have yet to see anyone open carry and behave badly.

 

[bullfrog]

I've only encountered a bad guy with a gun twice in my 65 years of life and only once was I a target. I came closest to being shot was in a Circle K in the worst of Tucson at 1 AM during a robbery by one of the several other customers shooting at the thief. This was 40 years ago and some little old lady that couldn't hardly see almost got me. I'm more worried about people with guns that don't know or practice using them and stupid kids with guns or untrained dogs than I am wild animals or crazy mountain men. Most wild animals can be avoided or scared off and I try to stay out of the woods during hunting season and Circle K after dark.

 

[Ballenxj]

Don't let your dogs go after coyotes.  Just because you see one doesn't mean there aren't more.  They often hunt and deal with dogs in a pack.  One runs, your dog chases it, and the rest of them come up behind and hamstring him.  Then he's coyote dinner.

This is exactly how they work. One will bait your dog, and once said dog takes the bait, well, you get the idea. Coyotes are smart.
I would still pack a gun though because there are a lot of two legged coyotes in the world.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Rob, I've been jonesing for a cowboy gun and holster set up, if I lived where open carry was an option, I'd have to get one just for the nostalgic fun of it.

Why not go all out and get a BBQ gun?

 

[Queen]

Why not go all out and get a BBQ gun?

Had to look that up.  

I'll just blow the savings account and get an original Colt Navy, that would be spiffy!