OC Dangerous?

imported post

I am all for OC. However for me I prefer to CCW. When OC everyone knows your armed, which is a double edged sword. First off it may deter a potential attack. However if a criminal is determined and your in his way, your the first to go. Now I am sure we are going to hear about condition yellow and situational awareness. But even professionals can miss a threat. LEO's sadly get caught up from time to time, and get injured/killed by criminals. If you are CCW you have the advantage of surprise, not to mention you dont stur the sheep everywhere you go. I OC for four years at my previous assignment and had no issues because of the culture of the state, not to mention crime was far less then here.

imported post

I gree OC may stop some of the things happing to you, however if a person is going to shoot you OC'ing he will do it to start with CC'ing. I think OC is a bit harder to do then CC because people can see it, and make a grab for it. However i can also see someone giving you a hassle for OC'ing..Ie some thugs mess with you.

imported post

This has been mulled over so much its not even funny, not here, but all boards. You will never come to one "correct" answer, it is impossible. Both have their advantages and disadvantages at different times and in differnt situations. The one thing I have seen a lot of people promote here is oc as a way of helping people to recognize their right to carry a firearm, and to exercise that right.

You say LEO's get caught up, sure they do, it is their job to protect others, if you worry about yourself and you don't have to worry about others, you can keep a higher awareness.

I, however, oc and cc, and do so for different reasons and on different occassions, I think it comes down to a matter of personal preference and legality foremost. Other than that, I do not believe there is a correct answer.

I would not say that OC is dangerous, it is only as dangerous as you let it be, that goes for firearms in general, just like anything else, driving a car, walking across a busy street, etc. If you keep a high situational awareness, have the proper gear and training, you have done everything in your power to keep yourself safe and responsibly own a firearm.

If someone wants to hurt you badly enough, they are going to do it whether or not you are wearing a firearm visibly, it rarely happens simply because someone has a firearm on, I say rarely only because I cannot assure you that it never happens, however I think the benefits of carrying a firearm cc, or oc, GREATLY outweigh the risks.

imported post

You are probably right in the situation of a determined criminal. Having your weapon concealed gives you the option of deciding if you want to get involved and use it. Having it open usually means you have to get involved.

However most criminals are opportunists. You might never know that a crime didn't happen because the criminal saw your weapon and decided to go elsewhere. So, the determined criminal seeing your weapon and shooting you first would be a very rare event being that few people are victims of crime.

LEO's getting shot is a different case. It's their job to stop crime. This brings them into a lot more bad situations that the average person does not.

On the positive side for OC in hot weather the draw from an OC rig can be faster then an CC rig while wearing shorts and a t-shirt, especially if you like to tuck.

So the decision is like any other in life, risk versus benefit. Should I OC today and take some slightly greater risk while being comfortable and educating the public that not everyone with a gun is on a shooting rampage, or am I going someplace where I think I might want the choice of not getting involved and CC assuming that I can make that choice legally.

imported post

I've yet to hear of more than one incident in which an OC'er was attacked due to their firearm being visible... and itwould have been avoidable if the person hadn't been oblivious to thebg sneaking up behind them, as he was walking down the street.

Personally, in a situation where I am somewhere that BGs decide to hold up, I would much rather them find out I have a weapon from across the room, and be able to find cover and draw quickly, than for them to find my weapon after I have been forced to lie on my stomach and they are going thru my pockets with a gun to my head, because I wanted to keep a 'low profile' (this has indeed happened).

Speculate all you want about things that have never happened, but I'm not going to get executed for 'playing it safe'. CCing for the reasons given is no better than reasoning that people should comply with the demands of their assailants, for fear of upsetting them and causing them to take some negative action.

When you are present during a robbery, etc... don't fool yourself by thinking that you have some 'choice' about whether or not you are involved, armed or not (unless you have the ability to escape, which is the best option, armed or not).

imported post

Walking down the street can be dangerous.... eating fast food, drinking too much beer, skydiving, etc, etc.... Does that mean I'm going to stop protecting myself by OCing since its my only option for legal carry? NO!

Stop being such a sissy.

imported post

Bravo_Sierra wrote:

Walking down the street can be dangerous.... eating fast food, drinking too much beer, skydiving, etc, etc.... Does that mean I'm going to stop protecting myself by OCing since its my only option for legal carry? NO!

Stop being such a sissy.

Click to expand...

Why is OC your only option? Can you not get a carry permit?

And are you refering to me as a sissy?

imported post

VegasSig wrote:

Why is OC your only option? Can you not get a carry permit?

And are you refering to me as a sissy?

Click to expand...

Permits are expensive. I wouldn't have one if I didn't work in Denver. I OC ev everywhere else.

imported post

I can't complete the background check because I can't accurately write down every address I've lived at in the past 10 years and the exact durations. I also don't want to pay nearly $250 for the permit.

imported post

Bravo_Sierra wrote:

I can't complete the background check because I can't accurately write down every address I've lived at in the past 10 years and the exact durations. I also don't want to pay nearly $250 for the permit.

Click to expand...

Is there any way round that? Possibly going in and asking if you need all the addresses, or can you give them the recent ones.

imported post

Bravo_Sierra wrote:

I can't complete the background check because I can't accurately write down every address I've lived at in the past 10 years and the exact durations. I also don't want to pay nearly $250 for the permit.

Click to expand...

Interesting, I have had 11 address entries on my permit application. I used my credit report, no biggie. I paid closer to 200$ with 3 weapons on my CCW. The money I can understand, 200-250 bucks is not peanuts to me either. But the piece of mind is what counts to me. The permit atleast shows in a court of law that I have gone the extra mile to learn the laws, saftey, have a clean history, blah blah blah. IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERANCE, should you be involved in a shooting. You can believe that or not, but it does give your attorney more to support your defense. " My client is licensed by the state of Nevada, has completed a state sanctioned course in use of deadly force, safety, has passed an extensive background check, ect."

imported post

My credit report does not show address that I have claimed on my drivers license. That discrepancy could get my permit denied... and that's that last thing I want. It would basically amount to lying in the eyesof the law.

Any other ideas guys?

imported post

Bravo_Sierra wrote:

Any other ideas guys?

Click to expand...

Walk into the sheriffs office, ask the guy in charge of the permit stuff. Explain your situation to him. You never know, there may be something you can do make it work. You realy can't lose anything but a little time doing this.

imported post

FogRider wrote:

Bravo_Sierra wrote:

Any other ideas guys?

Click to expand...

Walk into the sheriffs office, ask the guy in charge of the permit stuff. Explain your situation to him. You never know, there may be something you can do make it work. You realy can't lose anything but a little time doing this.

Click to expand...

Or you could save yourself some time and call someone on the CCW detail at LVMPD. I am sure your not the first person to have this problem. How many address's do you think you have?

imported post

already made that call. They said if they have to dig up the info themselves and find something I didn't put down, then it would be denied. I'm only 28, 10 years ago puts me at at.. thats too many keggers, homelessness, sleeping on couches for months at a time, and all out a very foggy part of my life. I can remember a rough location, but not an apartment number or the duration... DMV won't help and neither will Social Security.

imported post

It's not an issue - I can tell you from experience.

There are a number of addresses listed on my credit report that I never lived at. They pop up now and then when my ex-wife does something. I never bothered to jump through the hoops to have them removed. I even have "aliases" listed on my credit report with my first name and my ex-wfe's maiden last name.

Filled out the NV app as best I could remember, and any discrepancies between what I submitted and what "turned up" on my credit report were obviously ignored, as I have a perfectly valid CFP in NV. (Also Utah and Florida.)

Good luck,
Bob