The Hidden Benefit of Open Carry

Not far behind the intensity generated by well-worn topics like 9mm vs. .45 ACP and GLOCK vs. 1911 is the always controversial question about the advisability of open carry. Lots of experienced gun gurus you know and respect advise against it. From a practical standpoint, aside from the loss of the element of surprise when you carry openly, they argue that any advantage in quick deployment that open carry may give you is minimal.

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Others would argue that most people who carry a gun suck at deploying the firearm quickly and smoothly and there’s a huge difference between the two carry systems for the average armed self-defender. But ease and speed of deployment isn’t the topic here. One aspect that lots of experts fail to address is an another mission critical aspect to open carry…deterrence.

The first person I ever saw openly carrying a firearm was an African American gas station owner in Atlanta. As a ballistically sheltered northerner I was taken aback by the stainless steel Smith & Wesson 686 holstered on his hip. When I asked him about the gun he had a simple explanation. “It shows the bad guys I mean business.”

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