Open Carrying a large revolver

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I'm a resident of WI and the only time I've open carried my S&W 460 revolver is when I was out hunting. I have a shoulder holster because the revolver itself weighs nearly 5 pounds and I haven't found a hip holster I'm willing to pay the money for to carry it. This is my first and only handgun at the moment and I'd like to open carry it more often, but I don't really hear about a bunch of people open carrying a large revolver. The gun is not difficult for me to handle despite its size, and if it's loaded with 45 colt it has almost no kick whatsoever. Do you think it's a good idea to open carry such a large handgun in a shoulder holster?

We can't conceal carry because if we could, I wouldn't care about this then, I'm big enough that the gun fits nicely under my coat and I still have plenty of room to draw. I'd be carrying a 45 acp around if I could afford one right now, but I'm graduating college soon and money's tight at the moment. Your thoughts on the matter please, the barrel is roughly 6.5" long and it's a S&W XL Frame revolver. I observe the law and unload the handgun and case it whenever I transport it, and I usually keep the case in the trunk so it's not within arms reach.

P.S. I'll have to get a picture of me later with it holstered and post it here.

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Pyro01 wrote:

I'm a resident of WI and the only time I've open carried my S&W 460 revolver is when I was out hunting. I have a shoulder holster because the revolver itself weighs nearly 5 pounds and I haven't found a hip holster I'm willing to pay the money for to carry it. This is my first and only handgun at the moment and I'd like to open carry it more often, but I don't really hear about a bunch of people open carrying a large revolver. The gun is not difficult for me to handle despite its size, and if it's loaded with 45 colt it has almost no kick whatsoever. Do you think it's a good idea to open carry such a large handgun in a shoulder holster?

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What kind of ammo are you loading in the 460 for your non-hunting OCing?

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I'd expect you would get a lot more attention with that huge revo you lug around, but there isn't anything to make it any better or worse than a "normal" gun. If YOU are comfortable carrying it, go for it. You are ultimately responsible for whatever comes of it.

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Cor-Bon DPX ammo in 45 long colt.

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I must say, very interesting choice for a first handgun. I can tell you that generally smaller firearms (at this point pretty much anything) are much easier to carry. However, you can only carry what you have!
And welcome to OCDO by the way!

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I have been thinking of getting a nice western-style rig for my Super Redhawk so I can take that out on the town.

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In this year of 2009 we have a lot of chioces in what gun to carry. The only food for thought I could give anyone is this... If you carry a gun you had better be ready to use it if you have to. You will not be at a range, you will not shoot your best... You would be shooting to save your life. It will be fast. Your best bet is a center mass shot. You will never be the same after it.

I have a .44 mag, it is not a self protection gun, at all. The size alone takes away any thought of keeping it on my person for protection. I'd have to also state, that I feel the need to protect myself from people, not deer... My .44 has way to much power to ever use it for self protection. It might be your right, but, I just ask that you think about what you are doing. If you carry a cannon, you do make me look bad... And, in the real world, you willlook like a joke. But this is all just my feeling on the carry of a monster gun for self protection... Hey, you can carry a AR, but you will set me (or my wants) back a few years... It is still your right.


I guess my point is that one can carry rude...

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40% of us nuts agree... Too big...

Well, now it is 40% that it is good...

I guess the bottom line is, just do what you need to do.

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the machine is the machine, big or small, they all do the same thing. To the "sheep public" big or small, it would still be a threat (in my opinion). Carry what your comfortable with, carry what you can afford, and what you own. My problem is I carry a HiPoint (yeah, I know, crappy, I already heard about it), but love the shoulder rig I have, on the hip tugs my pants. So if I carry shoulder horizontal, it sticks out the back, if I carry vertical it sticks out the front. I'm now at peace with it, and just let it stick out. No mistaking what's there with me to be sure. Bottom line is criminal, be deterred, and go elsewhere.

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One last bit; Better check, in the forum here, or around to see if shoulder carry is Open Carry. You don't want to get pinched on a technicality, and some authorities love to pinch on technicalities! I don't shoulder carry in public for that reason.

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Shoulder carry is still considered open carry as long as the fire arm is visible, meaning not covered by your coat.

What would be the difference if your upper arm shadowed the fire arm while using a shoulder holster or if your lower arm shadows the fire arm while carrying on your hip.

It is one and the same.

As far as the size of the fire arm, that is up to you. Personally I would think you would be more comfortable carrying something smaller.

However, if that is all you have then what can you do?

Welcome to the forum.

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Welcome to the forum.

A large gun is no more or less legal than a smaller gun, and it is much better to have it and not need it than to not have it, but need it.

That being said, I would be looking for something more compact and manageable when finances allow. Some of the others may have more input here, but my concern is overpenetration. If you are forced to shoot to save your life, will your bullet go through the bad guy and hit somebody else? That is not a situation I would wish upon anybody.

Have a good one,

Geoff

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I too will welcome you. Another supporter of OC is ALWAYS a plus.

As to your rig, we all carry what we got. At the first OC picnic, I carried a 44, it is what I had. Now I carry the glock, smaller gathers less attention.

As hunting season heats up, I carry the 44 more.

Having said that, perception does weigh on the choice, but you will findd, even if some of us wouldn't carry that firearm, prefering something else instead, we will all support whichever decision you make.

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I'm in Tennessee, but I have been carrying a 6" .44 magnum. I'd like to get a shoulder holster for it to look cool, but I just open carry on a belt holster for now. I used to carry a 5" 1911 and a couple of magazines in a shoulder holster rig and I really liked it. If I had the cash for a460xvr I'd have one along with a smith and wessonholster, or maybe a Keltec plr-16.



Here is the smith belt holster I think it looks good. (taken from here)







Here is a cool shoulder holster.

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Well, since a friend of mine carries an UZI SBR in a holster when he's not carrying his S&W 500 concealed, I'd say no, it's not too big.

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Well, since a friend of mine carries an UZI SBR in a holster when he's not carrying his S&W 500 concealed, I'd say no, it's not too big.

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Well, it's a hunting gun, so not really a good choice for defensive purposes. But it's not too large to open carry. There is no gun too large for open carry-- as long as you are capable of carrying it! We're forced to open carry in Wisconsin.

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AaronS wrote:

In this year of 2009 we have a lot of chioces in what gun to carry. The only food for thought I could give anyone is this... If you carry a gun you had better be ready to use it if you have to. You will not be at a range, you will not shoot your best... You would be shooting to save your life. It will be fast. Your best bet is a center mass shot. You will never be the same after it.

I have a .44 mag, it is not a self protection gun, at all. The size alone takes away any thought of keeping it on my person for protection. I'd have to also state, that I feel the need to protect myself from people, not deer... My .44 has way to much power to ever use it for self protection. It might be your right, but, I just ask that you think about what you are doing. If you carry a cannon, you do make me look bad... And, in the real world, you willlook like a joke. But this is all just my feeling on the carry of a monster gun for self protection... Hey, you can carry a AR, but you will set me (or my wants) back a few years... It is still your right.


I guess my point is that one can carry rude...

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Interesting points, AS. I do disagree that a .44 mag is not a SD gun. It's plenty good for that, IMO. But .44 mags are generally at the very inconvenient end of the spectrum for SD carry.

I do agree with your suggestion that a person, carrying rudely, as you put it, can make his brethren "look bad." An example of that would be some maladjusted showoff who decides to walk about the business district or a busy residential area toting an AR or an AK...

Would someone who carries a 460 make others/we/me look bad? (What's the barrel length, btw?) Ahhhggrrgh. I guess not. I'd suspect he was just showing off some. I'd just shrug andexplain it to someone that way...like some people drive an H1 to the grocery store.






Pyro01 wrote:

HankT wrote:

Pyro01 wrote:

I'm a resident of WI and the only time I've open carried my S&W 460 revolver is when I was out hunting. I have a shoulder holster because the revolver itself weighs nearly 5 pounds and I haven't found a hip holster I'm willing to pay the money for to carry it. This is my first and only handgun at the moment and I'd like to open carry it more often, but I don't really hear about a bunch of people open carrying a large revolver. The gun is not difficult for me to handle despite its size, and if it's loaded with 45 colt it has almost no kick whatsoever. Do you think it's a good idea to open carry such a large handgun in a shoulder holster?

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What kind of ammo are you loading in the 460 for your non-hunting OCing?

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Cor-Bon DPX ammo in 45 long colt.

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Wow, good choice. Have you actually carried your 460 in a non-hunting situation in public yet?

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No, I haven't worn it yet in a non-hunting situation, mainly because I was concerned about this. My gun has a 6.5" barrel, so it's not the length of my arm or anything like that. That leather holster is freaking sweet, I should look into it. I like my shoulder holster setup, it can be a pain sometimes putting it on over a coat, but it distributes the weight nicely, and it looks good when carrying. I don't need a heavy duty belt when using a shoulder holster, it merely just needs to be able to reach my belt to keep it secured to my person. However, I've been looking for a hip holster as well, just so I can have the choice to use it if I want. All your responses is doing wonders for my confidence, I'm a pretty confident person, but I was just a little uneducated when it came to open carrying. Never saw anyone else talk about carrying a revolver, much less one that weighs nearly 5 pounds. It is comfortable for me to carry though, 5 pounds is nothing in the holster or my hand.

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Pyro01 wrote:

No, I haven't worn it yet in a non-hunting situation, mainly because I was concerned about this. My gun has a 6.5" barrel, so it's not the length of my arm or anything like that. That leather holster is freaking sweet, I should look into it. I like my shoulder holster setup, it can be a pain sometimes putting it on over a coat, but it distributes the weight nicely, and it looks good when carrying. I don't need a heavy duty belt when using a shoulder holster, it merely just needs to be able to reach my belt to keep it secured to my person. However, I've been looking for a hip holster as well, just so I can have the choice to use it if I want. All your responses is doing wonders for my confidence, I'm a pretty confident person, but I was just a little uneducated when it came to open carrying. Never saw anyone else talk about carrying a revolver, much less one that weighs nearly 5 pounds. It is comfortable for me to carry though, 5 pounds is nothing in the holster or my hand.

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The only bummer (if you do carry this .460 for self protection), is that I bet I can get off 2-3 rounds of 9mm for every one .45 long. At the same time, my little 9mm will not go through a car door so good... I love my .44mag, but I only use Mag. loads in her, and it is just to slow for me to use for protection (IMO). Also, one good .44 will go through two or three people (hard to use in a city)...