i've never seen an OC'er have his/ her gun taken or been shot by a BG for OCing. however in my personal exp. i have seen people intentionally stand 15-20 extra feet AWAY from me because i was carrying, i have seen people cross to the other SIDE of the street because i was carrying and i have seen some "undesireable" people in a bad area of biddeford eyeing me as i a approached, but as soon as i walked under a street lamp and my Glock 20 became visible, they turned and walked away with a very quick pace................seems to me the whole 711 scheme is backwards.
You walk under a street light and a crowd of bad guys just scatters away.... come on man... There are a lot of storytellers on this forum dont be one of them....
When you see people standing 20 feet away from you or switch to the other side of the street, i know its kind of a preferred thought process for most people on this board to think "Damn, he must be a criminal if he doesnt like my gun, I just prevented a robbery/murder/rape" but the thing is, ALOT of people dont like guns and will try to avoid them. Thats just how it is right now.
Theres a big difference between a hardened, cold blooded criminal and your average soccer mom who gives you a wide berth when you pass in front of kmart. In that fabled "711" situation it depends on who and what is happening. If some sheisty 16 year old and his friend take his dads .38 and come in expecting to make their move i would rather be open carrying in hopes of scaring them away.
On the other hand if a deadly career criminal ran in with the intent of doing whatever it took to get the money, id rather be concealing because im not relying on emotions(fear) to prevent some crazy, drugged up, drunk scumbag from shooting or stabbing me in a rage because im closest to the counter, or just in his way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rysWX_WW89Y
Imagine being some white yuppie with a fanny pack on and a shiny 1911 on your right, standing right in line when that dirtbag walked in. A lot of people would probably say "Well id do a .3 second draw and shoot his gun out of his hand obviously!" but uh..... this is real life.