I carry both ways and it's mostly dependent on what I'm wearing. My jackets all hang lower than my firearm so when the coat is on I'm CC but if it comes off I'm usually OC. In weather that doesn't require a jacket I primarily OC.
I have several different reasons.
Sorry for the length of this.
Tactical: The research that I've read (and I cannot for the life of me remember where I read it) says that a large majority of felons told the researchers that their #1 fear when commiting a crime against another person was that the victim was armed. They also told researchers that they would go for the soft target over the hard target even if the the hard target would garner them a bigger take. They would rather rob 30 little old ladies for $10 each than one muscle bound cage fighter for $300.
The OC of a firearm places the wearer squarely in the "hard target" category making them a less desirable target.
Many people say that they prefer CC because they want the "element of surprise", this just doesn't make sense to me. Surprise is a great tactic for an offensive manuever like an ambush but it is a lousy tactic for defending against one. The very fact that you need to draw your weapon means that you are already smack-dab in the middle of a life and death situation....how does surprise help you at that point? According to the NRA in the VAST majority of self-defense uses of a firearm the mere presence of the gun was enough to deter the attacker. Logic tells me that the sooner the presence of the gun is known the sooner the attacker chooses to find another target.
This brings me to the OODA loop. In any interaction (this is very simplified) we go through a series ofsteps these are Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. We first observe and take in all the information around us,we then orient to that informationand run it through the filters of our experience, morals, ethics, desires, etc., we then decide what to do and then we do it.
When a criminal attacks you he is already four steps ahead of you. He is in the Act phase of his OODA loop. He has already observed you and found you to be a desirable target. You on the other hand are on the first stage of your OODA loop as you observe the attack unfolding (hopefully). CC of a firearm does absolutely nothing to affect the attackers OODA loop until you can rally your self to action....at least four steps behind your attacker. OC of a firearm however provides the attacker with information during the initial Observe phase of his loop and that information is that you are most definitely a hard target. It is my contention that CC of a firearm does NOTHING to prevent the attack from ever happening while the deterent effect of OC convinces the majority of criminals to look elswhere.
Now, onto the idea that if a criminal sees the openly carried firearm that they will choose you as a target and make their attack plans in order to steal your gun.If I put a security system in my house with the window decals that say "protected by XYZ alarm systems" could a criminal interested in breaking into my house go on the internet and learn all about XYZ alarm systems and learn how to disarm them? Sure. Could that criminal get a job with XYZ alarm systems and then learn exactly what system I have so he could disarm it and rob me? Sure he could. But the chances are much higher that he will go down the street to find an easier target that doesn't have an alarm system.
Are there people who may target you for your gun? Yes there are, but this is a numbers game and I feel the OC of a pistol will offer a deterent to greater number of people than it will entice.
And due to the way Michigan law is written by OCing AND having a CPL I can legally carry in more places. I can open carry inmost of the PFZswhere a concealed carrier must disarm.
Technical: Others have mentioned they can draw faster from OC and I agree. I also agree that I can carry a larger firearm and as Clint Smith from Thunder Ranch has said:
"I never met a man that had been in a gunfight and wished that he had a smaller gun. Ever."
And for me the most important aspect is that I can easily draw one handed. I don't have to fumble with a cover garment with my off hand. This is important for me becausebeing able to draw one handed frees up my other hand for fending off a physical attack.
Social: CC of a firearm also does nothing to show the antis and theneutrals that law abiding citizens with firearms are not to be feared. They need to see us WITH our firearms, going about our business with our families and doing normal every day things, with guns on our sides. Fear is bred from unfamiliarity and the only way to make people not fear guns is for them to become familiar with them and the only way for them to become familiar with them is to actually SEE them.
Political: This one will be short. A right not used is a right given away. I don't say it's lost because if we freely choose to not usethe rights guaranteed to us by the U.S. and Stateconstitutions then we freely give those rightsaway. They were notlostand nobody took them from us. We rolled over and meeklyhanded them over.
Thanks for askin'
