Extended Open Carry

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I've carried concealed for a long time. I started open carry a couple of weeks ago and I'm still a newbie. All of my open carries have been about 15 minutes or less. Even on the days where I carried all day, I was only in public for about 15 minutes at a time. It seems there was never enough time for me to settle down.

Today I went grocery shopping for my family, by myself. I was in the store for about an hour. I had to concentrate on more than just myself and having a gun. I had to get what my wife put on the list. It was a very good feeling to settle down and to do what I needed to do. I never became numb to my surroundings but I went on with business. I really feel this carry will help me in all of my future carries, open or concealed.

Later Bryan

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Welcome to OC'ing.

You can get kind of "distracted" from true situational awareness while OC'ing with a kind of observing of harmless people around you for their reactions.

It can end up being a form of ego entertainment and a waist of your public observational diligence watch for this in yourself.

I have noticed it in myself and it can keep you from being truly objective to any possible real dangerous people.

You may also start to notice that your now publicly observable gun is like a precious new born child to you, you will always be in constant passive yet protective contact with it what I mean is my inner elbow is always over it , mostly touching it , my elbow is shielding it in any area were there are multiple persons around me.

I have also noticed how you look & dress is paramount as to how the general public precives you as an openly armed person.

I dress clean, I look clean , I am clean cut and look like a cop, or military man.

I also have a calm happy go lucky relaxed confident demaner and it translates into a calmness of the strangers around me they hardly react at all.

Its psychology, the psychology of authority, of non threatning attitude and calmness

I have also noticed that angry , evil minded, marginal types, misfit anti social young men , many of them Meth users, stoners, metal heads, petty theives etc....., they see me as a "the man", "a narc", "the enemy" what ever word you use they "know" right away that I am no the other side of the fence from thier world of the street , they have an imdeiate mixture of fear and loathing of me.






( just some observations about my 1 year of full time OC )

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Steve, thanks for your response. You nailed a bunch of what I am experiencing.