Just walk around with a straw and a bagel. Probably be more skeptical than if you walk around with a firearm. 
haha!!
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I’ve never lived around open carry folk. To me, the idea is just foreign.
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You’re in Massachusetts right, @AAlan? I don’t see many open carrying in Wisconsin either - aside from when I’m at the range.
Maybe I just don’t register that they’re open carrying because I just assume everyone is carrying. Would that be considered condition white?
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Yup. Western MA, where open carry is technically legal, but if anyone reports you, its breach of peace. And trust me, EVERYONE would report me.
MA is not a gun friendly state, so I assume no one is carrying, at least legally. I am actually surprised to find people that I know also carry. Condition white to me is equivalent to being oblivious to my surroundings. If I assumed everyone carried, and felt safe, then yes, condition white. Can’t live that way here, because of all the illegal guns running amuck.
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I don’t necessarily feel safe, I just assume everyone has a gun. 
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@AAlan and @Dawn I just looked on my Concealed Carry app and Massachusetts DOES ALLOW OPEN CARRY. And the same for Wisconsin. I hope that this helps. And the CONCEALED CARRY LAWS app is a free app. and it gives the gun laws for every state. Along with the do’s and don’ts for the states as well.
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Definitely, @Reloader54. I don’t see much of it even though it is legal. 18 year olds can even open carry in Wisconsin!
That sounds so backwards to me - you can’t concealed carry until your 21, but at 18 you can open carry. Love the laws!
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@Reloader54 yup, Open carry is legal and will get me instantly jailed with permanent loss of personal property. Go figure.
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Open carry in Michigan at 18 too. But if your shirt covers a half inch of your firearm you’re in trouble.
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I too am not a big fan of open carry. I don’t feel the need to “advertise” that I have a weapon.
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Welcome to the Community, @Ben! I’m with you on not wanting to advertise.
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I tried open carrying for a short while, but when I noticed how uneasy people were around me I went to conceal carry full time just so I didn’t have to deal with the starrin at me like I was going to do something stupid.
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I think I posted earlier in this thread that I open carry around the house doing yard work and such. It has stopped things from walking away from my back yard.
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Open carry in public, although I like legally being able to do so, is a stupid idea. Anyone can come up behind you and take your piece. Keep it concealed, so as to not advertise you’re carrying…
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That depends in part on your retention system. Not many people are willing to try and take a gun from a shoulder rig and there are other good retention systems out there for other types of holsters as well.
I mainly do open carry around the house and doing yard work. Things in my back yard and front yard lawn ornaments have stopped growing legs since I started doing this. It has even started a few good conversations with people in the neighbor hood who have been out walking.
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Welcome to the Community, @Carolyn, glad to have you here!
I like being able to open carry legally as well, but I prefer the element of surprise that concealed carrying gives me as well.
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One thing I find interesting when this topic comes up is that most people assume that you’ll be carrying in a crowded place. They also assume that it’s only to defend their self.
When you spend your time on horseback or 4 wheelers in our US Forests and on private land the views kinda change. It’s far safer and easier to carry in a strong holster on my side on a horse than pocket or IWB carry. My “public” encounter is usually gassing up the truck on the way to the forest.
Anyway, point is when we mention open carry most people think of crowded environments.
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That’s a legitimate observation. My hubby is very comfortable open carrying, and in MO we can, but the most crowded place we usually go is the feed store or one of the tiny country restaurants… and I’ve never seen them full.
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A lot of it, I think, depends on where you live. Urbanites favor concealed, Country dwellers favor the comfort and ease of access that open carry gives. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again. Open Carry demonstrates that there are responsible gun owners and carriers in a public way. Concealed does not. If you’re not comfortable OCing then don’t, but we all meed to come to the table and recognize that we (gun owners as a whole) need to be more public and approachable to counteract the media anti-2A hype.
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