First open carry

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Well, I've been a CCW holder for almost 5 years. I've been doing a lot of reading on open carry and recently bought a holster and decided to OC.

I went for a bike ride down a public path in the city of Midland, and later walked to McDonalds and bought a drink.

I think only a few people actually noticed I was carrying, and only one, if none were talking about it. (I wasn't sure if they were or not, but I really wasn't paying attention to them)

No incidents. Will continue to carry openly.

I think that if more people that could legally do so were to OC, criminals would be seriously afraid to do anything. However, I'm paranoid that someone who does not know the law may react badly if I tell them no when they ask if I am a LEO.

I'll be honest though, I feel like I'm doing something wrong... It will take time to become comfortable with it.

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Ooops, posted to the wrong place. Moderator please move to appropriate section (new to this forum) sorry for the inconvenience.

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Congratz!!! You will get more comfortable the more you OC!

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ethernetweb wrote:

I'm paranoid that someone who does not know the law may react badly if I tell them no when they ask if I am a LEO.

I'll be honest though, I feel like I'm doing something wrong... It will take time to become comfortable with it.

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Here's the voice of experience: people overwhelminglydo not react badly after being told an OC'er is not a LEO. It has happened to me several times, being asked that question and I answer "no". A person who asks is, really, mostly curious. So use that curiousity to enlighten them. I suggest a good response is "No, but areyou aware that open carry is lawful in Michigan?" Hopefully, that gets a good conversation started.

Yes, since you are new to OC, your feelings of a little anxiety about it are understandable. I went through a similarthing a year and a half ago, when I started OC'ing. It wears off after a while and you gain confidence and see "what does NOT happen".

Welcome aboard!

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When asked if I'm a LEO I ask them if they are.

They then say "well you have a gun" I then say "Yes, and where is your's?"

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ethernetweb wrote:

However, I'm paranoid that someone who does not know the law may react badly if I tell them no when they ask if I am a LEO.

I'll be honest though, I feel like I'm doing something wrong... It will take time to become comfortable with it.

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I felt the same way you did when I first began to OC. It takes time and confidence.If you know the laws pertaining to carrying a firearm from front to back, it will help with your confidence in carrying. If a regular citizen reacts badly to you OCing, remain calm (even if the other person isn't) and explain legalities of OCing in the state of Michigan to them. Some may be more accepting than others, but the law is the law.

I've been OCing for almost 4 months, and have only had 1 encounter with an LEO. Other than that, I have yet to have a single stranger make a comment about me OCing. I beleive someone on here went 4 years OCing before they had their first LEO encounter. If differs from city to city, but as more and more people have been OCing, holding picnics, litter pickups, sending emails to their local police departments, etc, more and more people/LEO's are becoming familar with the legalities of it and how to handle it.

Just remember that if you encounter an LEO while OCing you are not obligated to provide ID, your name or address (some still choose to, but that is their/your choice), unless you are OCing in a PFZ (Pistol Free Zone), which requires the carrier to have a CPL.


Give it time, I'm sure it will grow on you.

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dougwg wrote:

When asked if I'm a LEO I ask them if they are.

They then say "well you have a gun" I then say "Yes, and where is your's?"

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LOVE IT!!! Gets a good point across succinctly! I'm going to keep that response in my verbaltoolkit and try it out next time.

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I did some more reasearch and developed a good reply of my own.


"Because I'm a responsible law abiding citizen who cares about my rights and the reduction in dangerous felons."



I OC'd again today while going to a doctor visit. Sat in the waiting room and had about 10 to 15 people see that I was OC'n including the staff. Nobody asked any questions and simply said hello as nothing was out of the ordinary. The doctor said absolutely nothing. Nobody seemed uncomfortable.

After the doctor, I went to K-Mart, and walked around. Uneventful.

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If and when anyone ever asks 'are you law enforcement' I think ill respond with "How is that relevant?"

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I usually just say, "No... but I assure you that I am authorized by the highest federal and State powers to carry this weapon. You're welcome to check with the local PD if you're uncomfortable taking my word for it."

I've only pulled this one out of my pocket a few times... but while they are busy trying to make sense of what it means, I am usually busy getting on my way. I understand that Constitutions don't "authorize" me to do anything (they enumerate)... but semantics aren't important here.

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The few times I've heard that, it's almost always been from kids. I guess I really just don't look like a cop.

Anyway, my common response has been something like "no, anyone with a legal gun and no criminal history can carry their gun". But I've always thought it would be funny to say "yes sir, I'm here to enforce the constitution"

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Again today, I walked to McDonalds OC'ing around 8pm on this Friday. There were a lot of people there of all variety and age.

There was a semi-long line, and I stood there for some time. I'm quite sure several people noticed my gun in it's holster. A couple quick looks from strangers, but they did not seem concerned or afraid and were happily talking about other things.

There was a guy in front of me with two young boys that were kinda hyper. He didn't see my gun right away, but I do believe he noticed it shortly after standing in line. He disappeared from the line shortly after. Not sure if he didn't want to wait, his kids were being too rambunxous or he was uncomfortable about my OC.

An older lady asked me if I was in line, and I said yes. She made short conversation with me and was polite. I'm fairly sure she also saw that I was OC. She seemed quite nice.

They screwed up my order and I didn't notice until I got home. Most likely coincidence, but being that I'm new to OC, can't help but wonder if it was an intentional mistake. The reciept was incorrect also, so the girl that took the order was the one that got it wrong. She didn't seem at all concerned so it was most likely just a communication error.

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ethernetweb wrote:

Again today, I walked to McDonalds OC'ing around 8pm on this Friday. There were a lot of people there of all variety and age.

...

They screwed up my order and I didn't notice until I got home. Most likely coincidence, but being that I'm new to OC, can't help but wonder if it was an intentional mistake. The reciept was incorrect also, so the girl that took the order was the one that got it wrong. She didn't seem at all concerned so it was most likely just a communication error.

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Yes, communication error indeed! Only 7% of what you say is part of the communication, 38% is tonality, and 55% is Body Language. I would say that OC falls into the "Body Language" definition. When you said "hold the bun", she probably heard "he has a gun".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication#Types_of_communication