Just moved to TN....well kinda....

S&W-40 · Oct 7, 2013

Hey all, I actually moved to TN about a year ago and have read the open carry report on this forum a few times and for some reason decided to join today! I am originally from NY (yuck) and spent my last 6 years in San Antonio, TX. (great state) I am liking Tennessee so far, but cannot wait to move out of Nashville and out into the country...currently looking in Wilson, Rutherford, and Williamson counties for 10+ acres. I have been a concealed carrier for 5+ years and have never OC before but I am looking forward to my first time of doing it in the near future! Any pointers?? Anyway, just wanted to say hello and introduce myself!:banana:

Kopis · Oct 7, 2013

welcome! I live in AR just across from Memphis so i OC there quite regularly. I try to dress well and be clean shaven if i OC. I've never had an issue and it seems people rarely even notice. a few weekends ago, i was slumming in bike gear and went across the street to give a few bucks to a guy in a wheelchair (who was right next to an LEO in a squad car), the LEO just glanced up and went back to texting. I know it seems scary at first but just go for it, you'll almost assuredly be posting up how no one even noticed.

S&W-40 · Oct 7, 2013

Kopis said:
welcome! I live in AR just across from Memphis so i OC there quite regularly. I try to dress well and be clean shaven if i OC. I've never had an issue and it seems people rarely even notice. a few weekends ago, i was slumming in bike gear and went across the street to give a few bucks to a guy in a wheelchair (who was right next to an LEO in a squad car), the LEO just glanced up and went back to texting. I know it seems scary at first but just go for it, you'll almost assuredly be posting up how no one even noticed.

Really? Interesting for sure! I plan to OC at Walmart for my first time since that seems to be where most people OC at. (at least from what I read) I'll be sure to post my first experience!

Fallguy · Oct 8, 2013

I have had a permit since 97 have only started OCing recently and still don't all the time, but first few times was like when first started CCing, felt like everyone knew, everyone was looking, cops were about to descend upon me from all directions (Ok maybe not that bad lol). But truthfully most don't even notice, I think a few had seen it but didn't really have any big reaction.

My biggest advise is to carry it and look like you are doing nothing wrong, because you aren't.

FTG-05 · Oct 9, 2013

S&W-40,

Welcome to the board!

If you plan to start OC'ing, just be aware of:

- OCing will make you a target and you'll be shot first - happens all the time
- If you OC, you're obviously an attention *****
- OCing is tactically unwise
- If you OC, you'll lose the element of "surprise"

Just getting you used to what all the OC Fudds will be saying about you!

OK, now that we have that crap out of the way, Welcome again to the board! :banana:

Silvertongue · Oct 10, 2013

Welcome to the forum!

You're going to meet people who dislike you for your choice to open carry, who give you odd or apprehensive looks, and who may even point at your gun and ask questions. Just remember to be polite, and funny usually helps. Some possible answers to FAQs are:

Please don't point at my gun, it isn't pointing at you.

Yes, it's a real gun. And yes, these are real muscles. -flexes-

No, I'm not a cop. WAY too much paperwork.

Well if I don't have it on my hip, I lean a little bit over to the left (or right, if you're a lefty).

Because I have a small penis.

S&W-40 · Oct 15, 2013

FTG-05 said:
S&W-40,

Welcome to the board!

If you plan to start OC'ing, just be aware of:

- OCing will make you a target and you'll be shot first - happens all the time
- If you OC, you're obviously an attention *****
- OCing is tactically unwise
- If you OC, you'll lose the element of "surprise"

Just getting you used to what all the OC Fudds will be saying about you!

OK, now that we have that crap out of the way, Welcome again to the board! :banana:

I haven't open carried yet, and I am honestly leaning at not doing it. I have carried concealed for 6+ years and love it. I love the "no one in here knows I have a loaded firearm on me"... Really OC for me would just be to feel what it was like and that would be it. I'll 99.9% stick to CC, mainly because I am very comfortable with it, and due to the element of surprise in a hostile situation! :banana:

Silvertongue said:
Welcome to the forum!

You're going to meet people who dislike you for your choice to open carry, who give you odd or apprehensive looks, and who may even point at your gun and ask questions. Just remember to be polite, and funny usually helps. Some possible answers to FAQs are:

Please don't point at my gun, it isn't pointing at you.

Yes, it's a real gun. And yes, these are real muscles. -flexes-

No, I'm not a cop. WAY too much paperwork.

Well if I don't have it on my hip, I lean a little bit over to the left (or right, if you're a lefty).

Because I have a small penis.

HAHA! Great answers to seemingly harmless questions!! I especially like the small penis one....a buddy of mine who is 5'5" drives a lifted F-450 and he uses a similar line! LOL Appreciate the info guys!!

Kopis · Oct 15, 2013

Silvertongue said:
Because I have a small penis.

Speak for yourself!!!!!!!!!!!! But i guess you make up for it with the tongue huh? :lol:

S&W-40 said:
I haven't open carried yet, and I am honestly leaning at not doing it. I have carried concealed for 6+ years and love it. I love the "no one in here knows I have a loaded firearm on me"... Really OC for me would just be to feel what it was like and that would be it. I'll 99.9% stick to CC, mainly because I am very comfortable with it, and due to the element of surprise in a hostile situation! :banana:

I thought the same thing for years. I actually joined here only because this site strangely isnt blocked at work and IT just blocked my triumph motorcycle forum that ive been accessing for the past 7 years! Anyway, i eventually tried OC as a social experiment at first and really enjoyed it. I've always known that my draw is terrible when CCing, always seems to get caught on my shirt.

I half @ss OC in the wintertime a lot though with a jacket and OTW holster, some cross draw too but i encourage you to give the OC a try three times before you knock it. Bums never harass me for money when I'm OCing, it's only the less reputable people seem to notice like the unsavory characters downtown that have crossed the street to stay away from me yet at sams club, kroger and home depot, no one even notices!

independence · Oct 16, 2013

S&W-40,

I was the same way about wanting to mostly CC and maybe just try OC but was surprised to find out how addictive OC was!

As of not too long ago, I now OC every chance I get. At work I am required to CC, but outside of work I OC about 80% of the time. If you love the feeling of "no one in here knows I have a loaded firearm on me" you will probably love the "everyone in here knows I have a loaded firearm on me" feeling.

Here are my reasons for OCing:

-Faster draw
-*Element of surprise (not joking!...see below)
-Easier (Tucking my shirt in with my CrossBreed SuperTuck takes forever and is a pain!)
-An opportunity to educate the public and normalize guns in my community

When I say element of surprise, I am referring to the deterrence of crime. CC-only people often say that CC gives you the element of surprise. But that is only if you are able to fight concealment clothing and draw fast enough. Even then, you have only surprised the attacker after the crime is underway, which can diminish your success. With OC, I can potentially have the element of surprise by them being surprised that I am armed and simply leave before committing any crime! They then go and seek easier prey. I'm no CC hater though, and there are definitely times in which I prefer to CC, like in large crowds or cramped seating.

I live in the country and have never had a problem OCing. There are some CC-only people in my community who think I'm crazy for OCing, but they tolerate me and I have had no real problems. I OC in Walmart, restaurants, etc. The only times which I am aware of that LEOs observed me OCing was Rangers at National Parks. In those cases, they just looked at my handgun and then looked away. I had no trouble with them at all.

Walmart is indeed a good first place to OC. That's where I first OCed to. Give it a try! I believe in the right to OC without having to follow some sort of of "good guy" dress code. However, looking nice never hurt anybody and if it makes you feel less nervous, then consider doing your first OC in dress clothes. A gun can add to your style!

Maybe sometime me, you and Kopis should meet in a central location like Jackson, TN and have lunch together OCing!

Trocki · Oct 16, 2013

Welcome to the forum S&W.

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?114083-Places-I-open-carry-near-Nashville-Franklin

I moved from West Nashville to Williamson county about 6 months ago. I keep a list of places I carry without issue, which could be updated. I have only ever had two incidents that could possible be seen as negative here since I started OC'ing over a year ago:

A young girl, 6 or 7 years old, saw my handgun and started crying "Mommy mommy he has a gun!" The mom was instantly confused, and clearly not because I was carrying, but confused at her daughters reaction. My guess, the mom was not aware that her daughter was taught to fear any adult carrying a gun while in public school. The mom calmly explained to her daughter "It's ok honey. Guns aren't bad unless bad people use them"

Another, much less negative was a teenage girl saying "OMG is that a gun?" "Yes" "Why do you carry a gun?" "I'm a bodyguard" "Oh, who do you bodyguard?" "Him" <pointing at my son> "You... and anyone else who might be threatened by somebody they can't defend themselves from."

My LEO contacts have actually been great (this is hard for me to swallow, growing up in Chicago). Nashville Metro and Williamson county LEO's have never tried to disarm me, and have even said things like "When we know you have a carry permit, you have an instant friend"

Welcome to Nashville!

independence · Oct 16, 2013

Trocki said:
Welcome to the forum S&W.

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?114083-Places-I-open-carry-near-Nashville-Franklin

I moved from West Nashville to Williamson county about 6 months ago. I keep a list of places I carry without issue, which could be updated. I have only ever had two incidents that could possible be seen as negative here since I started OC'ing over a year ago:

A young girl, 6 or 7 years old, saw my handgun and started crying "Mommy mommy he has a gun!" The mom was instantly confused, and clearly not because I was carrying, but confused at her daughters reaction. My guess, the mom was not aware that her daughter was taught to fear any adult carrying a gun while in public school. The mom calmly explained to her daughter "It's ok honey. Guns aren't bad unless bad people use them"

Another, much less negative was a teenage girl saying "OMG is that a gun?" "Yes" "Why do you carry a gun?" "I'm a bodyguard" "Oh, who do you bodyguard?" "Him" <pointing at my son> "You... and anyone else who might be threatened by somebody they can't defend themselves from."

My LEO contacts have actually been great (this is hard for me to swallow, growing up in Chicago). Nashville Metro and Williamson county LEO's have never tried to disarm me, and have even said things like "When we know you have a carry permit, you have an instant friend"

Welcome to Nashville!

Hmm...Good stories and I don't wanna rain on the parade, but these LEOs' reasoning is deeply flawed. Carrying a firearm is a God-given right that is neither granted by a Handgun Carry Permit or the Constitution. Law enforcement should be respecting the rights of all citizens, not only those who have jumped through silly hoops to get a plastic card in their wallet. They should be granting the same innocent-until-proven guilty mindset to non-permit holders. The average person should be treated with dignity from the get go. You are a good guy until you show that you aren't. That's how it should be. In case you couldn't tell, I'm for carrying without a permit. Permits are just another way for the government to make money and make us feel that are rights are not actually rights but rather privileges. I have an HCP but begrudgingly. Why does the state of Tennessee need to grant me the privilege to carry a handgun when that right already belongs to me? Beware of feeling special because you have a permit. It's a trick. We should not believe that because we have a permit we are a class above. The average citizen should be allowed to carry as much as you should be allowed to carry. In fact, Handgun Carry Permits are a form of oppression. Just sayin'...

S&W-40 · Oct 23, 2013

Kopis said:
Speak for yourself!!!!!!!!!!!! But i guess you make up for it with the tongue huh? :lol:

I thought the same thing for years. I actually joined here only because this site strangely isnt blocked at work and IT just blocked my triumph motorcycle forum that ive been accessing for the past 7 years! Anyway, i eventually tried OC as a social experiment at first and really enjoyed it. I've always known that my draw is terrible when CCing, always seems to get caught on my shirt.

I half @ss OC in the wintertime a lot though with a jacket and OTW holster, some cross draw too but i encourage you to give the OC a try three times before you knock it. Bums never harass me for money when I'm OCing, it's only the less reputable people seem to notice like the unsavory characters downtown that have crossed the street to stay away from me yet at sams club, kroger and home depot, no one even notices!

After reading what I have read here and elsewhere, I am going to try OCing!

independence said:
S&W-40,

I was the same way about wanting to mostly CC and maybe just try OC but was surprised to find out how addictive OC was! As of not too long ago, I now OC every chance I get. At work I am required to CC, but outside of work I OC about 80% of the time. If you love the feeling of "no one in here knows I have a loaded firearm on me" you will probably love the "everyone in here knows I have a loaded firearm on me" feeling.

Here are my reasons for OCing:

-Faster draw
-*Element of surprise (not joking!...see below)
-Easier (Tucking my shirt in with my CrossBreed SuperTuck takes forever and is a pain!)
-An opportunity to educate the public and normalize guns in my community

When I say element of surprise, I am referring to the deterrence of crime. CC-only people often say that CC gives you the element of surprise. But that is only if you are able to fight concealment clothing and draw fast enough. Even then, you have only surprised the attacker after the crime is underway, which can diminish your success. With OC, I can potentially have the element of surprise by them being surprised that I am armed and simply leave before committing any crime! They then go and seek easier prey. I'm no CC hater though, and there are definitely times in which I prefer to CC, like in large crowds or cramped seating.

I live in the country and have never had a problem OCing. There are some CC-only people in my community who think I'm crazy for OCing, but they tolerate me and I have had no real problems. I OC in Walmart, restaurants, etc. The only times which I am aware of that LEOs observed me OCing was Rangers at National Parks. In those cases, they just looked at my handgun and then looked away. I had no trouble with them at all.

Walmart is indeed a good first place to OC. That's where I first OCed to. Give it a try! I believe in the right to OC without having to follow some sort of of "good guy" dress code. However, looking nice never hurt anybody and if it makes you feel less nervous, then consider doing your first OC in dress clothes. A gun can add to your style!

Maybe sometime me, you and Kopis should meet in a central location like Jackson, TN and have lunch together OCing!

Great information and advice! I would definitely be up for an "OC lunch"!

Trocki said:
Welcome to the forum S&W.

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?114083-Places-I-open-carry-near-Nashville-Franklin

I moved from West Nashville to Williamson county about 6 months ago. I keep a list of places I carry without issue, which could be updated. I have only ever had two incidents that could possible be seen as negative here since I started OC'ing over a year ago:

A young girl, 6 or 7 years old, saw my handgun and started crying "Mommy mommy he has a gun!" The mom was instantly confused, and clearly not because I was carrying, but confused at her daughters reaction. My guess, the mom was not aware that her daughter was taught to fear any adult carrying a gun while in public school. The mom calmly explained to her daughter "It's ok honey. Guns aren't bad unless bad people use them"

Another, much less negative was a teenage girl saying "OMG is that a gun?" "Yes" "Why do you carry a gun?" "I'm a bodyguard" "Oh, who do you bodyguard?" "Him" <pointing at my son> "You... and anyone else who might be threatened by somebody they can't defend themselves from."

My LEO contacts have actually been great (this is hard for me to swallow, growing up in Chicago). Nashville Metro and Williamson county LEO's have never tried to disarm me, and have even said things like "When we know you have a carry permit, you have an instant friend"

Welcome to Nashville!

Interesting stories, but I don't really see them as bad in any way... Is there a list compiled somewhere (on here?) of good places to OC?

independence said:
Hmm...Good stories and I don't wanna rain on the parade, but these LEOs' reasoning is deeply flawed. Carrying a firearm is a God-given right that is neither granted by a Handgun Carry Permit or the Constitution. Law enforcement should be respecting the rights of all citizens, not only those who have jumped through silly hoops to get a plastic card in their wallet. They should be granting the same innocent-until-proven guilty mindset to non-permit holders. The average person should be treated with dignity from the get go. You are a good guy until you show that you aren't. That's how it should be. In case you couldn't tell, I'm for carrying without a permit. Permits are just another way for the government to make money and make us feel that are rights are not actually rights but rather privileges. I have an HCP but begrudgingly. Why does the state of Tennessee need to grant me the privilege to carry a handgun when that right already belongs to me? Beware of feeling special because you have a permit. It's a trick. We should not believe that because we have a permit we are a class above. The average citizen should be allowed to carry as much as you should be allowed to carry. In fact, Handgun Carry Permits are a form of oppression. Just sayin'...

I feel you're a bit off topic here. I'm really not wishing to discuss what is a God given right, a civil right, or anything else of that nature. I understand where you are coming from and I respect that, but at the end of the day I love being armed, and in the state of Tennessee in order to carry I need a permit, so guess what, I'm going to have a permit. It would be amazing if you didn't need one and could carry CC or OC until proven guilty for a crime that took that right away, but unfortunately, that is not the case. Again, that's why I have my permit.

Trocki · Dec 14, 2013

S&W-40 said:
Interesting stories, but I don't really see them as bad in any way... Is there a list compiled somewhere (on here?) of good places to OC?

I included one in my reply.

Kopis · Dec 18, 2013

Any update from the OP? I remember the first time i tried OC. I took the wife shopping at sams club, kroger then home depot. I was shocked that virtually no one noticed. The first few times, you keep feeling not normal so i encourge you to do it three times before saying it isnt for you.

Just moved to TN....well kinda....

S&W-40

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Kopis

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S&W-40

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Fallguy

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FTG-05

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Silvertongue

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S&W-40

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Kopis

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independence

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Trocki

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independence

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S&W-40

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Trocki

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Kopis

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