I’m headed to a large outdoor festival where there will be lots of people including kids. I’m torn as to whether I should C/C or not. I would never risk a gun fight in that type of croud, opting for bugging out at the first sign of trouble. I’d love to hear the thoughts of others on this issue
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A few questions to consider for yourself…
- Will it be legal to carry there?
- Will there be alcohol there?
- How crowded will it be? (Wall to wall people who will bump up against you?)
- How comfortable are you with carrying in a large crowd?
- Who will be with you? (Will you be able to escape quickly or will you have a bunch of kids/family to worry about?)
My responses:
- A lot of the festivals in WI do not allow carrying. They check bags and have metal detectors. So I cannot carry at those.
- If I’m going to have an alcoholic beverage, I won’t carry a gun.
- If it’s wall to wall people and someone will always be bumping up against me (happens a lot at the fireworks in Milwaukee), I won’t carry a gun. If it’s a large crowd, but spread out (car shows, flea markets), I will carry.
- I’m fine with carrying in a large crowd as long as it’s not wall to wall.
- Since it’s usually just my boyfriend and myself, I’m not too worried about not carrying as we can move quickly and he’s a rather intimidating looking guy (until he cracks a smile, which is pretty often).
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Dawn all your input is good. I’m in Missouri so restrictions on carrying are few. I’m still working out what would be "best practice " for this kind of situation. Looking forward to more input.
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Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
That is just my opinion. (As long as it is legal)
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Other than the alcohol thing, I would carry if I could. As for the crowd if the worst happened,…the only thing I could think of is drop to the ground and shoot upward towards the bad guy. Shooting at that angle is generally a bad idea for good reason. If you miss completely, that bullet will probably go a mile or two. That’s bad. If you hit, it should stop the bullet from spinning like a football. If it penetrates all the way through, it won’t be spinning like a football. It should be going decently “slow” when it comes back down… in theory.
Or shoot at a downward angle, probably a better option if it’s that close… Witch, I guess it would be under a self defense situation.
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If anybody is interested, Saturday August 3rd Michigan Open Carry and Delta County GOA are hosting a gathering for firearms owners in Escanaba at Ludington park, Noon to 4pm EST.
I’m going to try to go to this event, carrying is encouraged.
Sorry to hijack, but it’s relevant to this topic.
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@Spence, if you’ve got a link,maybe start a thread in the regional group? I might try to go, depending on what’s happening at work.
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@Michael7 here’s a good synopsys of where we are NOT allowed to carry in MO. It depends on what sort of venue your event is held at.
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If it’s legal I’m carrying, that being said that level of comfort comes with time so as previously mentioned how comfortable are you. And just because a bad guy shows up doesn’t mean you have to run towards the fight. When I’m with my family that comes first. Peoples safety is their responsibility some take it seriously some don’t that’s not my issue. Once my family is safe I’ll reevaluate the situation and determine what the next steps are.
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1.Its legal as long as the event is not a permitted event
2.I don’t drink alcohol, and don’t hang out in bars
3.I avoid “wall to wall” people gatherings
4.Im comfortable carrying wherever legal
5.Me, my wife, and our son. She can defend herself, and he’s almost as fast as me.
Not to yank my own chain, but, I’m a big guy. Although I do blend in, when and if the time comes, I stand out. At a recent church get together, I was wearing a blue Carhartt shirt. We were having a friendly whiffle ball game. One of my friends referred to me as “The Blue Monster” and it stuck. I’m kind of like a Grizzly in the wild. Don’t mess with me, and I’m nice at a distance. Agitate me, invade my space, or encroach on my family, then…
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This is simple to me. Is it legal for me to carry? Do I plan to consume alcohol? If the answer to the first question is yes and the second question gets a no; I’m armed. As I told a patron at Pete’s Diner earlier this week when I went in for lunch, it was a hot day and I didn’t throw a cover shirt on, so I was open carry. “If I was expecting trouble here, I would be eating at Cattleman’s (about 10 miles away). I don’t expect you to have a heat attack either, but if you keel over, I do know CPR and how to use the AED. Its called being prepared”. Conceal and have at least level two retention.
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I carry wherever it is legal, but you should follow your gut & only carry if you’re comfortable in your surroundings.
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1: If so, then Yes
2: If so, then I probably won’t be there (assuming this is not just a few folks having a beer or something)
3: If it is wall to wall, then I probably won’t be there
4: Very, but I still try to avoid them out of a minor bit of paranoia
5: Wife and/or (Grand)Children: You can bet that I’ll be carrying and I’ll be doing my best to keep escape routes in mind. That will be my FIRST option, if available. If not, get them to COVER then protect at all costs.
Please keep in mind, this set of answers is a quick reply to the 5 points from Dawn, not a comprehensive decision set. ALL decisions to carry shouold be taken with care and thought, since they will all, nmore than likely, be unique situations.
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I carry everywhere I legally can, you can’t pick the time and place where you’ll find yourself in a deadly force defensive situation.
Having it doesn’t mean you have to use it, but not having it when you do need it can leave you no options but prayer.
Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Like I tell young people all the time, leave yourself options.
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I agree Michael7. Bugging out/retreat is always the best option.
Carry where ever you can. Avoid consuming alcohol.
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If it’s legal, I carry. If it’s not legal, I usually dont go. Large crowded areas can be easy targets for those looking to do harm.
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I mentioned in an earlier post. My boys were both in the mass shooting at Borderline here in Thousand Oaks last year. It was a popular country dance bar. They don’t like it when I say bar but they served alcohol so there you go. Anyway, They had many off-duty LEO’s there and no one was carrying due to alcohol being served.
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Where legal sad to say have a “designated Shooter” just like “designated drivers”.
Sad to say but bars are a particularly high risk environment particularly the parking lots.
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