To Open Carry OR Conceal Carry

After teaching Defensive Tactics to the police academy for 22 years I have an observation.
NONE of the general public [ ok,maybe 5% ,maybe ] have any training in WEAPON RETENTION !.
Meaning that if some crazed,liberal,terrorists goes for an OC gun.
They might ---- or might not get their mits on it.
IF they just get to touch off a round,I DO NOT WANT THAT TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR ME !.
If you want to OC,please do it in and around only those who don’t mind a stray bullet.
ANYONE,yes even me can and has had my gun taken from a level 3 security holster by a trained martial artist.
They are taught to do it in PRISON."
Rant off,carry on = but please NOT O.C. in my AO.

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" The open carry say " I open carry as a deterrence, preventative carry. People see the gun and may think twice, or reconsider there actions".
Unless they are meth heads, in which case they are crazy paranoid and will go berserk on you in short order,
We have a lot of meth going on in my neck of the woods, so concealed carry for me.

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Once again, everyone’s comfort level is different. If this is for you cool. Train that way, head on a swivel, live in the yellow.
I’m just glad you carry and protect yourself and the ones around you.

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I love this illustrations’ with pictures, great work. I would love for a chance to not have
to worry about tucking my dress shirt just right to wear conceal and carry a firearm. It is
like hiding my package of smokes from my mother and the great neighbors.

I am not a teenager any longer and It is enjoyable to not have cigarettes’ every again. They
won’t stop bullets either.

I like to carry a firearm, but for me, Do it the best way and for life Thank you. I bet 10 bucks and
that you can carry the best way and you can do it too.

Safety First Always…

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@Jerzees - Could you please expound on what the European style
tourist is please, it sounds like something I would take interest in. :vulcan_salute:

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@Mike_T, hard to explain in words. It’s far from Hawaiian style. Loose shirt is ok, but either one flat color or plaid.
I’d say it is more stylish…

e1 e2 e3 e4

This one is a little different… I use it after work
e5

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Well it is the USCCA not USOCA

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Plenty of irrational fear going around. If you see me open carrying and it bothers you that badly remember this: you’re free to leave. I’m not going to force you to stay. A little situational awareness and knowledge go a long way.

Not to dig on LEOs here, but the vast majority of them have a pitiful amount of training. Departments simply do not invest enough resources in training them, they are left to persue it on their own, and many don’t. They simply are not the golden standard people like to claim they are.

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I do know many LEO’s and many do have some pretty good training. There are in house or Department training academies that do a pretty good job. These are generally at the larger Departments for cities.

I have been to GunSite Academy many times. Most classes comprise about 60% former military, 30% LE and the last 10% or so, civilians. These %'s were different based on what the firearm was and what the course was.

When speaking with LE at these, they usually came in small little groups, maybe 2 or 3 were from the same force, maybe a small town police force or low population county sheriff.

On the flip side, I know enough to know when a LEO has little to no training. These have mostly been constables. (not trying to be mean or profile just my observation)

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Let’s be honest, the ones who do go get training usually are footing the bill themselves. I’m making generalizations here yes. I’m sure there are plenty of departments that have funding to properly train their officers. However those are going to be departments with a lot of funding, a lot of departments are struggling to make ends meet.

The nearest city department to me has 5 officers counting the chief. The county i live in has 8 officers, the sherriff, 4 deputies and 3 corrections officers, all female inmates have to be shipped to the next county because there is nowhere else to jail them. MSP runs about 4 officers in my county though in emergencies they can come from neighbouring counties.

None of them have adequate funding, they train with their firearms once a year to qualify, except for MSP who have to twice a year. MSP in my county must travel downstate to qualify in the winter.

Yes that’s the officers of my area. I have family in cities and states around the country, several of whom are LEOs. None of them receive any more than training with the basics via their departments. My closest cousin is spending over $200 a month for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes, no reimbursement and he’s not allowed to claim it when filing taxes.

Here we will have to agree to disagree, because I can outshoot, out fight and de-escalate better than any LEO i know. And that’s sad since my employment only covers the de-escalation training. The rest i persue on my own as well.

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@Jerzees - Thanks for the update, I am looking for something for Concealed Carry
in the heat here in Palm Bay Fl. I have a fishing vest, however in 95 degrees and
100 % humidity it is still hot. The OldGnome suggested the spandex t shirt with
gun holder. May have to look at that closer. The cold is easy, heat is tricky cause
you can only take off so much. Mike_T :fire:

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@Mike_T,
I’ve been never using garment with holders. I don’t trust them. Good holster mounted on sturdy belt is a must for me. Even 95F doesn’t change it.
For high temp and humid, this is my style:
ee1 ee2

(this is not me, pictures copied from Internet)

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@Jerzees Wow that looks just like you, thanks for the heads up. Yes shorts and
a gauze shirt are good, if I wore shorts the reflection off my legs would be
bad for everyone’s eyesight that was in the area. :flushed:

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Wear gauze long pants then. I love them. :ok_hand:

( this is also not me) :joy:

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@Jerzees - Got you !!

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Conceal carry the best way to go, always in stealth mode I say for my choice.

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I’m concealed all the time except here on the farm. Open carry will cause you to receive extra attention, something I don’t need when carrying. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone nor impress ‘em with how cool I am. When I worked FD/EMT many many moons ago ( before CC) I never went anyplace other than work in uniform. Why? Think about it, you walk into the local stop n rob when a goblin is robbing the place he is going to shoot, NOT read the patch on your shoulder. Same thing to me with OC…YMMV

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I have to go around low key and blend in. It’s my profession. I carry concealed 24/7. That being said around on my property I always carry open in case of snakes that crawl or walk on 2 legs. Always have a plan.with a backup plan. Train always be observant. The only time I open carry is when I am in uniform. Be safe and remember you have 3 good reasons to carry. 1. Protect yourself. 2. protect.your family. 3. Protect your country. Good day and.God Bless.

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As a sister in arms, I agree completely

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As an older guy, I can say that same thing. I no longer have the upper body strength either.

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