OPEN CARRY IN TEXAS

Another encounter I had was about two months after OC became legal when I was in Lowe's
Some son-of-a-bitch in a white fedora hat came over to me and said that I was going to shoot myself in the foot with my Glock
I told him guns don't go off by themselves
Then he went on about how he was a retired sheriff's deputy and he was in law enforcement and he had been trained to carry a gun
He was the biggest horses ass I have ever met

vmax said:

Another encounter I had was about two months after OC became legal when I was in Lowe's
Some son-of-a-bitch in a white fedora hat came over to me and said that I was going to shoot myself in the foot with my Glock
I told him guns don't go off by themselves
Then he went on about how he was a retired sheriff's deputy and he was in law enforcement and he had been trained to carry a gun
He was the biggest horses ass I have ever met

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Which Lowe's?

I need to shop there!

vmax said:

Another encounter I had was about two months after OC became legal when I was in Lowe's
Some son-of-a-bitch in a white fedora hat came over to me and said that I was going to shoot myself in the foot with my Glock
I told him guns don't go off by themselves
Then he went on about how he was a retired sheriff's deputy and he was in law enforcement and he had been trained to carry a gun
He was the biggest horses ass I have ever met

Click to expand...

He sounds like he is trained to smoke poles

vmax said:

Another encounter I had was about two months after OC became legal when I was in Lowe's
Some son-of-a-bitch in a white fedora hat came over to me and said that I was going to shoot myself in the foot with my Glock
I told him guns don't go off by themselves
Then he went on about how he was a retired sheriff's deputy and he was in law enforcement and he had been trained to carry a gun
He was the biggest horses ass I have ever met

Click to expand...

Withdrawn ...........

Please, I specifically DID NOT ASK ABOUT THE ADVISABILITY OF "OC". You are free to discuss that elsewhere. I asked ONLY about what folks have experienced.

leVieux

Heh

Renegade said:

Which Lowe's?

I need to shop there!

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Abilene by the Mall. He wore a damn white fedora hat and pastel shirts. I always seen him in the outside plant area. I saw him there a few times over the summer. He was in line ahead of me one time giving the poor young girl clerk hell over something that someone at the customer service desk did.
A real pecker head

as I heard once on a Sienfeld show.. "we all hated him"

I have to laugh at the naive remarks about how open carrying a gun all the sudden makes you a target. I believe just the opposite, the only time I hear of a bad guy trying to take a gun that is open carried is from a cop, and then it's usually in a struggle. I'm not out to arrest anyone.

cops get into fights with drunks and dopers who try stupid crap. Thats why most of them carry a level 3 or greater holster.

I have only seen one video of a guy getting his pistol yanked from his belt by some hood rat. Not sure if he was CCing and printing bad or if he was OCing. Will try to find the video.

Situational awareness + a good retention holster are key

Here it is:

Fritz said:

If I was a bad guy in need of a gun, an open carrier would be my first and easiest target. Beats breaking in to a house


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I don’t think that open carriers are common enough in the environment to count on this scenario fitting into some bad guy’s devious plan.

leVieux said:

Please, I specifically DID NOT ASK ABOUT THE ADVISABILITY OF "OC". You are free to discuss that elsewhere. I asked ONLY about what folks have experienced.

leVieux

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My apologies for hijacking your thread.

MTA89 said:

Here it is:

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ASP is the BEST YouTube Channel.
To the OP... I don't have any OC stories. Sorry... But this is a good thread.

My apologies . . . but . . . leVieux--you seem wrapped kinda tight. You gonna be ok?

May I ask this question? If it was the norm to see at least 2 or 8 or 16 etc... OC people in just everyplace you went to... would the CC folk be more open to OC?

I had a guy ask me in a restaurant once "What are ya shootin'?" I told him I was carrying a Springfield XD in .45ACP.

All the comments and discussions I have had since OC'ing have been positive, most asking what is necessary to do so. I had one guy ask if he could OC with an out-of-state license, I told to verify that his state had reciprocity with Texas, then recommended he look at the DPS website for the Texas License to Carry a Handgun Laws booklet (LTC-16) which is an excellent primer for anyone wanting to carry (openly or concealed).

I occasionally hear remarks like "he's carrying a gun!" but the sources never seem alarmed by the sight of it. I have caught people staring memorized at it (it's not like it's a BBQ 1911 or anything! ), but again I have yet to have a negative encounter while carrying. Obviously I am friendly and smiling to anyone who seems to notice or remark about it, just to lower any tension they may have about it. I understand not everyone is as comfortable around firearms as most of us are, so I don't want to contribute to their fears (quite the opposite).

I am still waiting for the day someone asks if they can "hold it!"

Cheers! M2

FireInTheWire said:

May I ask this question? If it was the norm to see at least 2 or 8 or 16 etc... OC people in just everyplace you went to... would the CC folk be more open to OC?

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I am not driven by the choices of others, but I also OC'd the first minute it was permissible (00:01 on 1 Jan 2016) so I may be a bit of a "trendsetter!"

I understand why some may be a bit hesitant to do so, much like the first time you conceal it is very unfamiliar and a tad alarming; but after a few walks through Walmart most people quickly adjust and get comfortable with it. OC is the same way, all it takes is a little time to get used to it and soon you realize it's no big deal. In fact, it is a bit anticlimactic in that you quickly realize that the vast majority of people don't even notice it and if they do, the majority don't care!

I suspect on many occasions people just think I'm a peace officer or something along those lines, to be honest I cannot even begin to estimate how many folks in Texas even realize that open carry is allowed! It was newsworthy for a very short time after it became legal, but quickly dropped from the headlines after the media realized it was pretty much a "non-event." Campus carry actually caused a bigger comotion, and even that died away fairly fast.

So, my advice is to anyone who is contemplating open carry but is hesitant to do so is to ease into it. I am not sure a crowded Walmart is the best place to start, try a smaller store or even a gun shop (if allowed). Build up your confidence in doing so and make sure your initial paranoia drops to a reasonable level (where you are alert to your surroundings but not in a panic about anyone being close to you). Develop the habits that help you safely OC (maintaining your situational awareness up and your weapon protected by protecting your strong side when someone is close by, i.e. keeping them on the side of you away from your pistol and/or resting your arm or hand on top of it) and you'll quickly get more comfortable with it. You'll soon realize it's really not as big of a deal as you initially thought, to the point where it all becomes second nature and you don't even think about it any more (like driving! ).

Cheers! M2

vmax said:

Another encounter I had was about two months after OC became legal when I was in Lowe's
Some son-of-a-bitch in a white fedora hat came over to me and said that I was going to shoot myself in the foot with my Glock
I told him guns don't go off by themselves
Then he went on about how he was a retired sheriff's deputy and he was in law enforcement and he had been trained to carry a gun
He was the biggest horses ass I have ever met

Click to expand...

Sounds like you aren't very familiar with politicians or evangelists, if that is your "biggest horses ass" !

leVieux

easy rider said:

I have to laugh at the naive remarks about how open carrying a gun all the sudden makes you a target. I believe just the opposite, the only time I hear of a bad guy trying to take a gun that is open carried is from a cop, and then it's usually in a struggle. I'm not out to arrest anyone.

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I don't think a bad guy would try to take my gun. I just think I'd be the first to get shot if bad stuff was going down. To eliminate resistance.

I'm certain no bad guys would try the take my gun until I was dead.