I don't that an OC WOULD HAVE FAIRED TO WELL IN THIS SITATION

Note that the victim, by his own admission, planned and trained with the explicit assumption that "if the BG knows I am armed he will shoot me first."

Given his expectations, given his tactical approach, and given that he luckily came out on top, it's no surprise whatsoever that the event played out to confirm his preconceptions.

But what does that tell us? I can report that, around the country, the vast majority of gun store and shooting range employees OC. Most places, everyone on staff is visibly armed (or they make little effort to conceal).

Clearly, most gun store and shooting range employees feel that a visible deterrent is a good idea given the attractiveness of their merchandise to criminals. They probably suspect that pretending to walk around unarmed will only attract people looking for easy guns.

In this case, if he's so sure the guy thought they were all unarmed, would he have attacked at all had he known he would face at least three armed employees (as any responsible gun store would require most of those present to be armed, IMO)? A gun which he knows to be susceptible to jams is OK for corralling "human cattle", but not confidence inspiring if your notion is to start a gunfight.

marshaul said:

Note that the victim, by his own admission, planned and trained with the explicit assumption that "if the BG knows I am armed he will shoot me first."

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On several occasions while OCing, I've received that "oh crap" vibe from others, and a much more rare vibe sizing me up for a confrontation. I've long since found a (pardon the pun) disarming demeanor usually deflated the issue.

Given his expectations, given his tactical approach, and given that he luckily came out on top, it's no surprise whatsoever that the event played out to confirm his preconceptions.

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Self-fulfilling prophecies are more common than we realize, particularly when human emotions are involved.

Clearly, most gun store and shooting range employees feel that a visible deterrent is a good idea given the attractiveness of their merchandise to criminals. They probably suspect that pretending to walk around unarmed will only attract people looking for easy guns.

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Reasonable, given about 10,000 years of recorded history...

In this case, if he's so sure the guy thought they were all unarmed, would he have attacked at all had he known he would face at least three armed employees (as any responsible gun store would require most of those present to be armed, IMO)? A gun which he knows to be susceptible to jams is OK for corralling "human cattle", but not confidence inspiring if your notion is to start a gunfight.

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Reliability was my primary criteria when choosing my current carry piece. Reasonable knock-down power, magazine capacity, and handgrip fit and feel were the other factors.

An ancillary benefit is the fact that a full-sized all-steel black semi-automatic weapon in a tactical holster seems to convey a fairly clear message. The problem is, there's always the very rare off-chance that some lunatic might do something stupid. Clearly, no one's trying to start something. However, no one wan't gun jams. That's just not fun!

I think we should start a competing meme - if a bad guy can't see that you're armed, more likely than not you'll be the first one attacked.

BB62 said:

I think we should start a competing meme - if a bad guy can't see that you're armed, more likely than not you'll be the first one attacked.

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Concealed carry will get you attacked first.

Want to look like a victim? Conceal Carry.

Given that you're being attacked, which order you're killed in is hardly relevant. And only CC can guarantee that you'll be attacked in the first place.

marshaul said:

Given that you're being attacked, which order you're killed in is hardly relevant. And only CC can guarantee that you'll be attacked in the first place.

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Agreed. But then that is why I suggested that the laws of averages makes leaving it to the citizens the best option. BG seeing someone OC, if in and of itself is not a deterrent, it may remind the BG that for every OCer he sees, there may likely be one or more CC citizens. Mixing it up makes it even more difficult for a BG and the OCer serves as the reminder of this.

Just another way to look at it maybe...

deepdiver said:

Agreed. But then that is why I suggested that the laws of averages makes leaving it to the citizens the best option. BG seeing someone OC, if in and of itself is not a deterrent, it may remind the BG that for every OCer he sees, there may likely be one or more CC citizens. Mixing it up makes it even more difficult for a BG and the OCer serves as the reminder of this.

Just another way to look at it maybe...

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I think that's a great way to look at it, deepdiver. We've long been aware that your average criminal isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Sometimes, a visible reminder that law-abiding citizens carry firearms may be enough to snap him back to his senses, at least enough that he considers, "Well, if he's carrying, how many others are carrying?"

One never knows...