Does anyone feel that open carrys to risky in there neighborhood?

[RobbieJCampbell]

I want to open carry, but feel like i my be hassled more by drug addicts and police. I live in a small city with rising crime, witch is why i want to do it. Any advise?

[Bikenut]

Please allow me to begin by suggesting that you make absolutely sure you understand the laws, ALL the laws, regarding open carry in your State and any pertinent (if they apply) local ordinances where you intend to carry.

Then..

Do not allow yourself to be intimidated by either police officers who do not have any legal reason to harass you.. (if they have a legal reason to harass you then it is you who screwed up not knowing the laws).. or by any citizens who just don't like to see legally carried guns in plain sight. If you are not doing anything wrong (or illegal) please do not let some jerk try to guilt you into thinking you are doing something wrong.

Now... let me also very strongly.. extremely strongly... damn near shout in your ear ... suggest.. following the link below to discover the laws for Maine from people who already open carry in Maine.

Good luck to you...

Maine

[UATKP]

"Does anyone feel that open carry's to risky in their neighborhood?"

It would be way too risky to openly carry when out-and-around in my neighborhood, since open carry is outlawed in Texas. However, I do open carry on my own property which is in a normal neighborhood in a small city in Texas. My neighbors all know me, and most of them think I'm sort of a kook; but they also think I'm a nice guy, too, because I've never made enemies of any of them, and go out of my way to help people, regardless of who they are. No one has ever called the cops on me as a MWAG. Thus far.

If open-carry were allowed in Texas, I would open carry all the time; but I wouldn't flaunt it, and I wouldn't be so brash as to walk into the wrong type of crowd then, just like I don't walk into the wrong type of crowd now when I'm carrying concealed.
I don't subscribe to the fear of being shot first just because I carried a gun openly. I don't know of any statistics that say a BG would shoot me first if I were at a place where he was planning a hold-up of some kind. Face it... the BG is also human, and unless he's wired out of sight on drugs, he wants to live just as much as I do, and probably wouldn't even try something if he saw someone close by with a gun on his hip. If he's wired out of sight on drugs, I would probably recognize that fact, and conduct myself appropriately; because at this time in my life I'm too old for anymore fisticuffs, and I am always aware of my surroundings.
Stay safe,
Uncle Al

[araczynski]

i'd be more worried about the guy(s) that see you and think "oooh, a free gun for me."

[Stan45]

If the streets are that bad then I like to have the lead team member to have a shotgun, the rest of the team can have AR's.
Several passes and the streets should be cleaned up.

[Firefighterchen]

i'd be more worried about the guy(s) that see you and think "oooh, a free gun for me."

Which guys are those? I haven't heard or seen them before...

[Tucker's Mom]

For a start, welcome to this group. We have a good number of helpful people around to show you the direction of where to take your conversation with them.

If you are young and fit, it will be nice and appropriate to be able to open carry for you, but practice first -- drawing, reholstering, drawing, reholstering...many more times as you can until it becomes second nature to you. Like others had said, if you practice situational awareness you will be as safe as you can be open carrying. Know the laws of your area, your state and the places you are going to go to or intend to go to. Where I am here in Missouri, it is supposed to be an open state, but county laws changes at every turn, some allowed open carry and some don't.

[SGB]

If the streets are that bad then I like to have the lead team member to have a shotgun, the rest of the team can have AR's.
Several passes and the streets should be cleaned up.

Yeah, those guys run in packs reeking mayhem in the open carry states.

[Bikenut]

i'd be more worried about the guy(s) that see you and think "oooh, a free gun for me."

Please provide cites and/or links to actual incidents where a bad guy, or group of bad guys, targeted an open carrier specifically for his gun.

Then compare how many incidents you DON'T find with how many hours of open carry is represented by people open carrying for decades... yes... decades!... just in Arizona.

Please understand I'm not trying to be a jerk.. I'm pointing out that if open carriers were being targeted specifically for the gun in any significant numbers the anti gunners would make sure every incident was reported in the media...

So... heard of any actual incidents lately? Ever? Got links to newspaper articles/news coverage?

[RobbieJCampbell]

if you dont think that a crack head would try and steal your gun then your not thinking at all! people around here seem to be one or the other, i've heard of a open carry permit even thou its not required! anybody know anything about at?