*raises hand*

I've been saying it for a long time now - how I wish more people would choose to open carry. So... good job!

Nope, sitting on mine.

But it is good to get these opinions out there for discussion.

I will be moving to Wisconsin in the next few months. My understanding (from reading through packing.org and wisconsinconcealedcarry.org) is that while concealed carry is currently forbidden in Wisconsin, open carry is legal -- you don't even need a permit.

Of course, the caveat is that you should expect the police to occasionally be called. In that regard, it is no different from open carrying in MN.

Until the law in WI changes, the only way I will be able to carry is open. And if I'm going to open carry in Wisconsin, I might as well open carry all day every day, even though I work in MN.

In light of that, I find Pinnacle's experiment very interesting, and I'm glad he did it.

TK

I was gassing up at the local SuperAmerica in Eagan tonight, when I spied another fellow coming out of the store with a bag of stuff. Clean cut looking, open carrying strong side, retention holster, looked like a Sig to me, but I was some distance away. He didn't look my way, or I would have waved to him. Glad to see others going about town like it's no big deal.

LOL - You know I put in (no offense Chunk) but then elected to pull it out so as not to offend you.

Mostly-

At your own risk, I'd say. Most of the CCW advocates in WI I've talked to have the opinion you won't just get checked by the po-po, but would likely be harassed or even charged with disturbing the peace or some other convenient charge (depending on what county you're in). There's quite a bit of discussion along those lines at www.thehighroad.org if you're interested. Just search it.

I'm in Menomonie nearly every weekend, and I'd never consider it. But then, as a wise instructor and forum-keeper once said to me: "Test cases are for other people." YRMV, IANAL.

I checked out TheHighRoad.org today, mpthole sent me a link to a specific thread (6 pages) about open carry in Wisconsin. Very interesting discussion. Prudence would seem to indicate that I talk with my local police chief (St. Croix Falls, Polk county) to see if they are going to try and cite me for disorderly conduct, or if they will be reasonable about open carry.

I'm definitely going to have to get involved with WCCA or the like, and help to make sure that a CCW law gets passed as soon as possible.

TK

Well, it was a beautiful day today, and I decided to walk to work. It's about a half mile walk. As I was walking, I was getting hot and wanted to take off my suit coat, which conceals my gun. I got to thinking about this thread, and decided what the hell, I'll give open carry my first try. I took off my coat and kept walking. To be perfectly honest with you, that stunk. I was becoming paranoid about the paranoid people, couldn't pay attention to the beautiful day anymore, and after about a tenth of a mile ended up walking awkwardly with my coat covering my gun. I didn't feel comfortable or enjoy myself with my gun unconcealed until I got onto a park trail away from the residential streets.

I might have to do just a tiny bit more of this just a little bit to get a little more comfortable with it, but it really sucks that I feel like I need to worry about people seeing my gun. A wool suit coat gets hot fast. We'll see. This was more of a spur of the moment wanting to be comfortable and enjoy myself than something I planned on doing. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy myself all that much.

Amazing - makes you feel like you are doing something wrong....... Even though you are not.

I think the getting used to it thing doesn't just apply to open carrying. When I first got my permit and started carrying concealed I was sure everyone could tell that I had a firearm on me and that I was somehow doing something not quite acceptable. I might as well have been wearing a sign. That caused me to worry about if anyone could see it. That caused me to check that it wasn't showing which was a dead giveaway that there was something there. Now 2 1/2 years later, it seems so natural to me that when I go somewhere, the gun is on my hip and I know that there is nothing unusual about possesing a means to defend myself. What could be more comforting?

Yup. Very common.

I was at my daughter Rachel's fencing class the other week, and there was a guy fiddling with something behind his right hip. "Have your permit long?" I asked him. He blushed.

Joel,

There are classes for building fences?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

"Try real hard next time."
--Walter Slovotsky

My 2 cents worth:

1) Most people who see what the tinfoil hat crowd like to call 'printing' don't know what they are looking at.

2) The only person who thinks they stick out while carrying concealed is normally the person carrying, 99% of the rest wouldn't notice if you had a sign on your chest. Don't worry about it.

3) When I see someone 'open carrying' (like me for instance) in an OWB holster with a retention strap, I think either 'cop' or 'someone trained'

4) The only people I watch for are those who stick the gun down their pants - now they need watching carefully; most criminals wouldn't spend the $$$ on a good rig that probably costs more than the POS Jennings 'fowty' they're packing in their shorts.

5) Using 'open carry' as a method of demonstration or an exercise of our constitutional rights is a two edged sword; the antis will use it as ammo (no pun intended) to prove that we want to walk around brazenly terrorizing soccer moms, the feeble minded, and the elderly with our evil bangsticks ('why couldn't he keep it covered, at least?, I woz terrified!'); those in favor won't even comment. As to whether people stereotype you as a 'raving gun nut' just waiting to go 'postal' when they see your holstered handgun, we won't change their minds by ramming the 2nd amendment down their throats, unless the campaign is big enough to get national coverage a la LGTG community.

Luckily where I live, most people could give a sh*t when they see a gun, unlike the crowd in the Metro. I have open carried occasionally in restaurants, cafes, gas stations, grocery stores without a second thought; no one has even mentioned it to me.

I suspect that's the case. I was the same way when I first started carrying, then I grew accustomed to it and no more problems. We'll see how I feel about it with a little time.