On my way to Organized Play to have my ass handed to me at a prerelease game for the new set of Magic: the Gathering (I did manage to "win" one round, but only because we ran out of time and the other guy threw the last of our three games… and one of the rounds I "lost" because we once again ran out of time and I threw the last game – ties help no one.), and I had to stop for gas at our local Kroger – their list prices are as good as anyone’s, and since they give you $0.03 off a gallon in exchange for being able to build a database on your purchasing habits, every little bit counts these days.
So there I was pumping away, making my appropriate notes on GasBuddy, when the person on the other side of the pump – a late-40s-ish man who looked like he had just left a church service – piped up out of nowhere with, "So what do you have in that little pouch on your belt?"
I glanced down – mostly to ensure I had pants on (I had been playing Tribes all morning, so my preparations to leave were somewhat… hurried) – and replied, "Oh, that’s just a reload." (The pouch in question is a custom fabrication by Michael’s Custom Holsters, modeled like this one but colored to match my holster from them, of which I really need to take pictures.)
The man’s response was… amusing: "Oh… *blink*… oh."
Given the way I was standing and the fact that both of our respective attentions were on refueling our vehicles, I doubt he had noticed that I was quietly openly carrying, and had to process through exactly what I would need a "reload" for. On the other hand, I doubt the revelation was that unsettling to him – he immediately asked what kind of material my knife‘s handle was comprised of (stag horn, per the manufacturer), and I handed it over to him for a closer inspection, which he seemed to appreciate.
We finished pumping and wet our separate ways. No muss. No fuss.
And that is all there is to it – openly carrying a firearm simply is not that big of a deal. Carrying a firearm is not that big of a deal. Yes, it literally can mean the difference between life and death in certain circumstances, but it is definitely not something to come unhinged over. If you do not want to carry a gun, do not carry a gun; if you do not want to be around people who carry guns, do not be around people who carry guns (if they are kind enough to let you know in the first place).
But the very second you start demanding that the government limit my rights and my freedoms and my liberties due to your baseless fears and your specious phobias and your outright bigotry? Yeah, you just surrendered the high ground, along with any chance of me taking you seriously.
Outstanding.
My only issues with OC have been with gun stores asking me to conceal it.
Everywhere else people have been receptive to it.
Makes no sense. We are our own worst enemy.
I might just be able to dig out a few pictures for you. I’d love to see yours though
With one, and only one, exception (at a convenience store near a high school) I have good or neutral responses to my open carry. Keep it up!
Linoge, would you happen to share what holster you use?
All of mine are open top, and if I decide to open carry, I would want at least a thumb snap holster, if not a formal retention holster…
@ Ebbs: Just another non-eventful day in openly carrying
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@ PT: Coal Creek Armory’s rules are simple – no handling of loaded firearms in the store. They do not care how you carry it, but no touchie.
As for other gunnies’ responses to OC… well, that is a topic for another post (which I have probably already written
).
@ Jennifer: Nah, no need – the lack is entirely due to me being lazy, which I will rectify one of these days. Maybe this weekend.
@ Wolfman: Never had a negative experience myself (save online, with those folks who do not necessarily agree with us).
@ Mark: A custom-designed open-top OWB holster. No snaps, no straps, and no retention aside from gravity and its own grip. Honestly, I have only read of a single instance where a non-LEO open carrier was forcibly relieved of his firearm and it used against him, and since I carry at the 3:30-4 o’clock range, my elbow is pretty much always resting on it.
Coupled with the stories about push-button-retention holsters being… problematic, and I am comfortable.
I think you might be right, but all the same, I think I will go with a thumb snap, at least, Just In Case™.
I had wanted a Safariland duty holster, but after some thought (will I ever get into a wrestling match with a fleeing felon? Likely, no), have settled on just going with a thumb break. Draw stroke remains much the same as normal, and I get at least some protection from a grab.
Totally understand why you would, and since it is a matter of personal preference, I have no particular vote on what you carry either way
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I had to deal with the old “push the retaining loop out of the way” holster in the Navy, and they kind of put me off retention devices in general, aside from instances like you mention, or potentially motorcycle-riding.