List Your Open Carry Experiences Here

Raggs said:

Seems the only one who wins in these suits are the lawyers on both sides

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While true - if a department loses enough civil suits, it is possible for them to lose their insurance coverage. It has happened before. Forcing smaller departments to disband. That I think is one and maybe the only good thing about the current set up. The fact that we use tax dollars to buy said insurance, then that insurer pays out those tax dollars to a tax paying citizen(s) who have been accosted by badged criminals, goes to show how far our country has slid into the crapper! Nothing will change until criminal cops start going to jail or at the very least losing their belongings to the people they victimize. Only then will the "good" cops force out the turds in the ranks. Just my honest opinion - YMMV

Well...I've been OC'ing every day for about 3 years now, and still have not had a problem, which I find strange yet awesome considering I don't dress, look, or act like most of you guys, but I'm totally fine with that!

Leaving home without my Glock these days feels like leaving home without my pants, so she's always on my hip. Luckily the new girlfriend doesn't mind, she always reminds me to "Grab the first love of my life" before I go

Anyway, OC everywhere, including Target, Starbucks, and other places that (apparently) I'm not supposed to go to, and I haven't had any problems at all. Also OC at work every day, no issues, a ton of questions, so many that I've started to print out MOC Tri-Folds and keep a stack on my desk for people.

So yeah, still, not a single problem. Not a single "You have to leave" or "Why don't you cover that up" so that's a plus, a few "Do you really have to carry that...that thing!?" From random people every few months but I just laugh it off and smile at them.

Next...I will OC a S&W 500 for ultimate bear/rhino/vampire protection.

@ Mike - I imagine (could be wrong) your appearance may help. Meaning most of us look like average joe's, while you appear radically different, which may make your typical anti's pause. Why? Because, they are more than willing to bully someone they are 99% sure is a peaceful, law-abiding person, you present them with the "wild card" factor & they don't want to open up a barrel of hurt. No offense meant. Perception is reality for those who judge a book by its cover & not by its content. Sad little folks...

Keep up the good work & stay safe & carry on Sir.

FreeInAZ said:

@ Mike - I imagine (could be wrong) your appearance may help. Meaning most of us look like average joe's, while you appear radically different, which may make your typical anti's pause. Why? Because, they are more than willing to bully someone they are 99% sure is a peaceful, law-abiding person, you present them with the "wild card" factor & they don't want to open up a barrel of hurt. No offense meant. Perception is reality for those who judge a book by its cover & not by its content. Sad little folks...

Keep up the good work & stay safe & carry on Sir.

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Very true. I don't even mind if anti-gun people are afraid of me, but I've been told a few times by people who OC that I should try to "dress nice" so that people would be more accepting with me carrying...which I think is a load of crap. If you're fighting for your right to carry, why force yourself to conform to look like "normal" americans to do it? It's not like I wear a "Smoke Meth and Hail Satan" shirt (And yes they exist) while carrying!

MikeTheGreek said:

Very true. I don't even mind if anti-gun people are afraid of me, but I've been told a few times by people who OC that I should try to "dress nice" so that people would be more accepting with me carrying...which I think is a load of crap. If you're fighting for your right to carry, why force yourself to conform to look like "normal" americans to do it? It's not like I wear a "Smoke Meth and Hail Satan" shirt (And yes they exist) while carrying!

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The way people dress has an effect on how they are perceived, Right or wrong it is the case. Some people, myself included, try to put a good face on OC to help our cause. I am not telling you how to dress but lets not pretend it has no effect on people, some even in the gun community.

Raggs said:

The way people dress has an effect on how they are perceived, Right or wrong it is the case. Some people, myself included, try to put a good face on OC to help our cause. I am not telling you how to dress but lets not pretend it has no effect on people, some even in the gun community.

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My way of defining that is, "You are what people think you are......to them." It is an extension of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Raggs said:

The way people dress has an effect on how they are perceived, Right or wrong it is the case. Some people, myself included, try to put a good face on OC to help our cause. I am not telling you how to dress but lets not pretend it has no effect on people, some even in the gun community.

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Well, I don't dress or look like a hoodrat or anything, so I'm sure I'm still helping the cause. Regardless, I still get a ton of people who come up to me and ask about OC, and I've never had a problem, or have had anyone give me dirty looks.

On a side note, saw a guy OC'ing on a belt around his waist yesterday...not even attached to his pants, because his pants were close to his knees. That scared me and amused me at the same time. How are you going to defend yourself if you have to take tiny steps due to your pants being around your ankle? Stop the madness! :banghead:

OC'd in the Secretary of State's Greenville office. Very busy inside. Later in Walmarts. Uneventful as expected.

These are the same noodle heads that say "you don't need a gun at home!" Apparently they have never heard that 100% of home invasions happen in the home...

No fixing stupid! Crime rates mean little when someone is trying to kill you. and yes people have been murdered in Troy too.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/24673504/clerk-shot-and-killed-at-troy-gas-station

smellslikemichigan said:

So, I was walking home down the sidewalk on Livernois from the repair shop around the corner with my wife after dropping off my truck for an oil change... open carrying as always. A guy in the opposite lane slowed down a little and yelled out his car window "you don't need a gun in Troy, man!" I just laughed loudly and smiled at him. It's so easy for people to be rude to the man with the gun when they know you are clearly not a threat. It's funny because, over breakfast, Robert Harris and I were just discussing how little negative attention we have been getting lately...

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lol at that hyperlink for rob harris. The admins really need to turn off that unwanted/automatic hyperlinking feature in the forum software.

it's because i copied it over from facebook

since i had a negative experience last week (guy yelling at me from his car about guns in troy) i figured i would follow up with a very positive story. this morning, my wife and i were at sam's club filling up at the gas station. because my eyes are always on the swivel, before i even stepped out of my vehicle, i identified the man on the other side of the pump from me as DPD. he was wearing a mock turtle with DPD embroidered on the collar. he wasn't in uniform, just the shirt.
i pumped my gas for a minute or two, then he said, "you know your gun is showing, right? i indicated that i did and that i was open carrying. he started to say something about a license and i said, well, i'm not concealing now, so i don't need it. at this point i'll admit i was starting to begin to feel a little defensive. he said, "when you get back in the car it's concealed."
i agreed with him and then we struck up about a 5 minute conversation in which i learned that he is retired DPD. i also learned that he is 100% for all citizens being allowed to carry guns everywhere that cops can... and he's against PFZs. he was a really great guy.

the500kid said:

I don't usually post because my OC life is so uneventfully boarding and this is no different. So I went to the Detroit Zoo today and while nobody said a word was stared at pretty long and hard by 3 different men within the first 15 min to the point, my usually oblivious to everything on going around her, wife made a comment about two of them. I had noticed them but didn't care. Other than that it was a good uneventful trip to the Detroit zoo.

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You OC'd at the Zoo with no problems?

One of my friends is an employee for the Detroit Zoo and he said that any firearms at all are against rules and he's been forced by his bosses to ask at least two people who were OC'ing to leave over the last few years. He told me this before I started OC'ing so I figured I wouldn't even try it.

Looks like next time I go to the zoo I'll give it a shot.

Oh! Also, while OC'ing by my girlfriends house the other day (Wayne State Area) I had a cop walk up to me so fast he was borderline jogging and he looked really pissed off. Figured I was about to get tackled, or tased, or shot...and neither of those sound like something I wanted to experience on a nice sunday morning.

I froze, had no idea what do do. He stopped about 12 inches from me, and stuck out his hand. I was like really confused, so I stuck my hand out to shake his, and he just says "Thanks for carrying bud! Back to work now!" turns around, and jogs about a block away to his car. Apparently he pulled over just to scare the crap out of me and shake my hand.

I'd call that a pretty good OC experience. The rest of my days are boring. A bunch of "Damn bro, nice gat" at work...which annoys me.

MikeTheGreek said:

You OC'd at the Zoo with no problems?

One of my friends is an employee for the Detroit Zoo and he said that any firearms at all are against rules and he's been forced by his bosses to ask at least two people who were OC'ing to leave over the last few years. He told me this before I started OC'ing so I figured I wouldn't even try it.

Looks like next time I go to the zoo I'll give it a shot.

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I too have OC'd at the zoo without issue... thought that might be because I had my sister and her four kids in tow.

Evil Creamsicle said:

I too have OC'd at the zoo without issue... thought that might be because I had my sister and her four kids in tow.

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Shucks...look at me, damn kid taking someone's word for something instead of OC'ing and finding out for himself. Shame on me. I'll take the Zoo off of my Anti-Gun list then. Woohoo!

the detroit zoo is publicly funded and thus preempted. they probably still engage in scare tactics to law abiding gun owners to get them to stop carrying there, but ultimately, i don't know of them asking anyone to leave for not complying.

Well it took three years but I knew that sadly, it was bound to happen. Last night around 10, a friend and I decided to go grab some food after working on his truck. We headed to Ihop in Benton Harbor, and I was OCing as always. We walked in the door and were greeted by the hostess who asked our preference on a booth or table. An older guy, who I assume was the manager, came around the corner and asked how we were doing. Before either of us could reply I saw him glance at my gun and he gave me an appalled look, and said "I can't let you come in with a gun." I asked him what his reason was and he simply repeated himself. I turned around to told my buddy we were leaving. The guy then said "You don't have to leave, just put it in your vehicle." To which I responded "Sir, I'm not disarming myself because you or anyone else feels uncomfortable, and you've lost my business for good." As we left I checked around the doors and windows and there were no signs or stickers posted anywhere stating no weapons, though it doesn't matter as either way, I won't be returning to that Ihop, at least until I have been in contact with the head manager or owner.

I've OC'ed in that location several times without comment, though not in the last year or two.