ADulay
Regular Member
All,
Just finished up a very nice, six state motorcycle trip up through Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
All open carry states!
As the motorcycle was all packed up for an extended camping trip, I was able to open carry up through Florida and into Georgia where it all bacame academic.
I joined up with two other riders in Chattanooga and proceeded to hit the Deal's Gap area (big motorcycle hangout) and get the adventure moving.
In the 7 days of travel, only ONE time was I ever asked about the Glock 23 on my belt, and that was on the last day in Valdosta, Georgia by the night attendant at the motel I checked in at. Explained to him that open carry was legal in Georgia and that seemed to satisfy his temporary curiosity.
Along the way we hit multiple diners, restaurants, gas stations, parks, stores and anything else you run into during your daily chores. Even pulled up next to an Ashland county sheriff (Ohio) at a stop light and although he was on my strong side, he never even rolled down his window to ask about it.
It was such a nice relief to not have to cover up when going into a store. Just put it on in the morning and forget about it.
Even in large groups of people, nobody ever mentioned it and at a few of the motorcycle shops, a few guys would ask about the open carry thing.
As usual, most people carrying guns are woefully ignorant of thier own state laws!
I've found the most common "argument" from other gun owners as to why they don't, or won't, open carry is because they are self-conscious about it and feel it wouldn't be right for them to do it. They didn't say they didn't like it, they just wouldn't do it themselves. The next question I would ask them is where they carry their gun concealed. MOST of them said it was at home.
I"ll just assume that if you leave your "concealed carry" gun at home, that openly carrying one is out of the question!
In passing I'll mention to them that open carry is a very comfortable way to have their gun available all day long, even in the summer. I think maybe a few of them started to think about it then.
Anyway, it was a great trip. Lots of miles, met a lot of good people and saw some excellent places. The original Bob Evans Farm was one of our stops and as usual, not a single person mentioned anything about the guns and there were a lot of people in places like that.
Open carry is a learned way of carry. A lot of people won't even try it. Once you get over the initial "stigma" of having your gun out in the open, it's actually quite normal to do.
Of course, if your personal defence weapon is sitting in a drawer back at the house, it really doesn't matter what your preferred method of carry is, right?
AD (open carry advocate and full time practitioner)
Just finished up a very nice, six state motorcycle trip up through Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
All open carry states!
As the motorcycle was all packed up for an extended camping trip, I was able to open carry up through Florida and into Georgia where it all bacame academic.
I joined up with two other riders in Chattanooga and proceeded to hit the Deal's Gap area (big motorcycle hangout) and get the adventure moving.
In the 7 days of travel, only ONE time was I ever asked about the Glock 23 on my belt, and that was on the last day in Valdosta, Georgia by the night attendant at the motel I checked in at. Explained to him that open carry was legal in Georgia and that seemed to satisfy his temporary curiosity.
Along the way we hit multiple diners, restaurants, gas stations, parks, stores and anything else you run into during your daily chores. Even pulled up next to an Ashland county sheriff (Ohio) at a stop light and although he was on my strong side, he never even rolled down his window to ask about it.
It was such a nice relief to not have to cover up when going into a store. Just put it on in the morning and forget about it.
Even in large groups of people, nobody ever mentioned it and at a few of the motorcycle shops, a few guys would ask about the open carry thing.
As usual, most people carrying guns are woefully ignorant of thier own state laws!
I've found the most common "argument" from other gun owners as to why they don't, or won't, open carry is because they are self-conscious about it and feel it wouldn't be right for them to do it. They didn't say they didn't like it, they just wouldn't do it themselves. The next question I would ask them is where they carry their gun concealed. MOST of them said it was at home.
I"ll just assume that if you leave your "concealed carry" gun at home, that openly carrying one is out of the question!
In passing I'll mention to them that open carry is a very comfortable way to have their gun available all day long, even in the summer. I think maybe a few of them started to think about it then.
Anyway, it was a great trip. Lots of miles, met a lot of good people and saw some excellent places. The original Bob Evans Farm was one of our stops and as usual, not a single person mentioned anything about the guns and there were a lot of people in places like that.
Open carry is a learned way of carry. A lot of people won't even try it. Once you get over the initial "stigma" of having your gun out in the open, it's actually quite normal to do.
Of course, if your personal defence weapon is sitting in a drawer back at the house, it really doesn't matter what your preferred method of carry is, right?
AD (open carry advocate and full time practitioner)
