So the other day I'm filling up at the gas station and open carrying.
The guy at the pump next to me (his vehicle is behind mine) is also filling up and he is also open carrying.
He comes over and starts a conversation . . .
What do you carry?
What kind of holster?
Do you like it?
The usual gun stuff.

But then he whips out his Taurus G2C and proceeds to clear it (and sweeps me with the muzzle while trying clear the chamber).
Then hands the empty gun to me.

Not wanting to be rude to a fellow gun guy, I take it and look at it. Fondle it a bit then hand it back to him and say something like "nice pistol".

I did NOT take out my SIG and let him play with it ! ! !
I mean, dang!, we are in public!
In full view of anyone else in public!
The last thing I want is some soccer mom to freak out and dial 911 with a "two men with guns" call.

We wrap up with a handshake and a "nice to meet you" and go our seperate ways.

But the whole thing just made me uncomfortable.

Normally, if I see someone else carrying, I just leave them alone. I don't wanna make a "thing" out of it, especially in public.

If we notice each other carrying, I usually just give a subtle nod. Kinda to say "hello brother".

I certainly don't start playing Show-&-Tell with loaded guns in public.

Did I handle this correctly?
Have you been in a similar situation?
How did you handle it?

I imagine I would have been shocked like you were.... that someone out there carry’s a Taurus!! I keed, I keed. Yeah it would have surprised the heck out of me, but I think I would have said something to the manner of “Dude, put that away... someone’s going to call the police!” I understand wanting to pat another gun owner on the back, but we do have some idiots on our team.

You don't have a concealed carry permit?

Similar situation: A dude I barely know works in a store I shop at. Busy place with lots of people moving around. This guy once shouted across the store "What kind of gun are you carrying today"?
I replied "shhhh... Its a secret!
I think anyone who overheard this just thought we were joking. But I was not happy.
What a stupid thing to do!
I think you handled the situation pretty well. And I have no doubt open carry is legal for you and your reasons for doing so are valid for for you.
That said, this situation is a great example of why I never open carry.

I don't open carry, but the OP's experience is why I don't like meeting people in parking lots, grocery stores, any place where there is not a common purpose to gather or do business. Too many loons running loose. Not to mention what their agenda might be. My standard practice is to get the hell away and remember that person as one to avoid in the future.

quote:

Originally posted by Oldrider:
I don't open carry, but the OP's experience is why I don't like meeting people in parking lots, grocery stores, any place where there is not a common purpose to gather or do business. Too many loons running loose. Not to mention what their agenda might be. My standard practice is to get the hell away and remember that person as one to avoid in the future.

This.

Open carry invites all sorts of bad behavior and draws a lot of attention. I'd almost rather keep my pistol in my car than advertise to the unwashed masses that I'm packing.

Not judging you for open carrying...I don't care. But that is yet another reason why I don't! That would be very awkward with no easy way to handle it, you did the best you could. Ignoring or correcting the guy would have just likely led to friction/conflict and dragged it out more.

I see the need & desire for open carry, in particular environments / areas.

We don't have OC in Florida, but I could easily see myself doing so on my own property when doing chores (and I can probably legally do it here anyway, on my property, I just don't). Even then, I'm sure I would at least untuck my shirt to conceal if I ever had to leave simply to keep the trolls at bay.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

I can probably legally do it here anyway, on my property

Your own property? Yes, you can do it, it's perfectly legal here in Florida.

When working in my hangar, if it's a hot day (Florida, remember?), I will sometimes take my outer shirt off, wearing a t-shirt under it. Once my outer shirt is off, I'm open carrying. Legal, inside the hangar, since it is property that is under my control. Not legal if I step out of the front door onto the taxiway.

Same thing working around my yard. Open carry is legal, maybe not smart, as it might tend to freak the neighbors (if they even noticed). My yard, legal. Step onto the street, not legal.

The last time I open carried we were on vacation and stopped at a large Harley dealership to look for some t-shirts. I thought what the hell, I’ll leave off my cover shirt. I was well-dressed and with my wife. I was rewarded by having a manager shadow me throughout the store, thinking he was being cool about it. I saw him immediately and played it cool myself, hoping that maybe he would see that not every OC’er is a threat and needing to be treated with suspicion.

I decided that outside of shooting outdoors I would probably not OC again.

That said, my gun does not leave its holster. It’s not for show and tell, and neither is another person’s gun. I would not have taken the other person’s gun in my hand- there’s no reason for me to. I would have been polite and probably have asked him to kindly put that away. Nothing more said, in the hope that maybe he would have a glimpse of understanding.

I wear a "5.11 tuxedo" at my academy, and we open carry with a badge on our shirts and on our belts beside our duty weapons.

I f'n hate it when we go out to lunch. It draws so much unnecessary and unwanted attention. The cat calls are awful: "I didn't do it!" "Hands up! Don't shoot!" "He did it!" "See that gun kids, if y'all don't behave I'm going to have him take out his gun!"

It's so bad, I've even looked into some of the new generation lightweight fabrics for a summer time jacket so that I can be concealed while at work.

As for the original question, I wouldn't even consider open carrying, but it's a free country and if your jurisdiction allows for it, then so be it, but be prepared for the questions and the people. It will likely happen most every time you're out and open carrying. You might have to say something like, "Sir, I'm so sorry, I'm in such a hurry. I apologize but I don't have time to discuss this right now. Please excuse me."

As for the original incident, I think you handled it about as well as you could have.

One of the many reasons I don’t open carry.

As politely as possible, "Let's leave our guns holstered. I am familiar with your make of pistol and I think that it's a good gun. I don't need to see it."

I would have said "Thanks but I don't want my fingerprints on your gun".

Bruce

Open carry and Taurus. All I needed to know. Derp and derp.

quote:

You don't have a concealed carry permit?

Yes, I do. This state allows Open -or- Concealed carry with its Handgun Carry Permit.
But some days I just wanna open carry!
Soccer-moms and gun-fearing-weenies be darned!


At the same time . . . it does occasionally generate unwanted attention/interactions.
But only very rarely (at least in my experience).
I reside in a very "Red" gun friendly state.
So most people either don't notice, don't care, or (at the very least) just don't say anything.

As always, I appreciate the advice and comments offered here.

quote:

Originally posted by DukeMinski:

quote:

You don't have a concealed carry permit?

Yes, I do. This state allows Open -or- Concealed carry with its Handgun Carry Permit.
But some days I just wanna open carry!
Soccer-moms and gun-fearing-weenies be darned!

I reside in a very "Red" gun friendly state.
So most people either don't notice, don't care, or (at the very least) just don't say anything.

As always, I appreciate the advice and comments offered here.

I hope you appreciate this advice and the comments I'm about to provide at your request: As an active LEO, I "open carried" for years, while working uniformed patrol. Every single moment, myself and other officers were/are required to be aware of our surroundings and those who are nearby because of the threat of a gun takeaway. Unlike most citizens, we were trained to anticipate that threat and (hopefully) deal with it appropriately if an incident occurred. There were times during the course of my 30+ years as a cop when persons did try and take my gun, and I was able to retain it, but why on Earth would I ever want to put myself in that position if (as an armed private person) it wasn't necessary? You're not out there as a paid, on-duty cop, where your uniformed presence is required and have a moral (if not legal) obligation to those served to make your presence known and be accessible. Armed citizens are carrying to simply protect themselves and their family members from an eminent threat of death or great bodily injury.

Why invite a threat to your own safety, by an unnecessary public display that needlessly frightens those "Soccer Moms and gun-fearing-weenies"? You do know that they have the ability to translate that fear to increased restrictions on our rights to carry firearms, through their power at the ballot box, right? Does your vanity (over your present ability to open carry) outweigh the harm done when moderates that could support 2nd Amendment issues with their vote, see your derogatory comments and tip the scales in favor of the anti-firearms demagogues?

The carrier that is the subject of this post demonstrated some pretty immature behavior (IMHO), but how much less immature is it to completely ignore that the fact that instead of even attempting to educate others on the value of an armed, law abiding citizenry, you spout off with, "...some days I just wanna open carry"???

Like it or not, we (firearms owners) are all representatives of that which we advocate (respect for the rights described in our Constitution's 2nd Amendment). Flippantly treating those around us with such an attitude only serves to harm our ability to win at the polls and in the courts. I can appreciate where a clerk in an all night convenience store might reasonably argue why openly carrying a handgun is necessary (although I'd still rather carry concealed in such a position), but the wannabe "Tacticool" guys wearing BDUs, loadbearing vests, a handgun, and an AR or AK slung while visiting the local public park or shopping in K-Mart? Their actions might be just another example of exercising a lawful right as you are, but could very easily lead to successful legislation restricting that right in the future. Do we really need to fight that costly fight if it can be avoided by simply demonstrating some maturity and good judgment?

It bears repeating; that the laws which enable private persons to responsibly carry concealed, can help prevent violent crime by reinforcing in the mind of potential offenders that anyone and everyone in their immediate presence might be armed. If such a violent criminal were to have entered a populated location intending to commit an offense, any open carrier would naturally be the first to be "neutralized". Carrying concealed is safer for the person carrying, for those around him, and works better in an environment where so many members of the public are ambivalent and uncommitted about the issue of armed citizens in common areas.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

I can probably legally do it here anyway, on my property

Your own property? Yes, you can do it, it's perfectly legal here in Florida.

When working in my hangar, if it's a hot day (Florida, remember?), I will sometimes take my outer shirt off, wearing a t-shirt under it. Once my outer shirt is off, I'm open carrying. Legal, inside the hangar, since it is property that is under my control. Not legal if I step out of the front door onto the taxiway.

Same thing working around my yard. Open carry is legal, maybe not smart, as it might tend to freak the neighbors (if they even noticed). My yard, legal. Step onto the street, not legal.

Same here in the People’s Republic of Kalifornia, at least on property one owns or controls one can carry open or concealed, no permit needed. Not so sure about in the rented hangar at the county airport. Might be legal, but lots of folks would probably have kittens if one open carried there.

I just carry my P228 IWB in one of Ryan Grizzle’s City Slicker holsters if I’m wearing clothes and not at the Post Office, court, or the airline side of an airport. At home, out and about, it is always in the same place and concealed. It just keeps things simple.