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Encounter at the park

4K views 35 replies 29 participants last post by  sid1 
#1 ·
Over the weekend I had taken my five year old son to one of the state parks (Mirror Lake State Park) here in Wisconsin, when I encountered an individual who was open carrying a small pistol on his belt. He was there with who I thought was his son at the park also. As he came by I politely said hello. I was some what surprised when he simply scoffed and actually scowled at me as he walked by. I thought now here is a guy who was having a bad day, or thought he was a bad ass because he had a gun on his belt. I brushed my hand to my side and felt some what reassured that my concealed carry was discreetly hidden at my side. I led my son to another part of the play ground and kept an eye on this person as he wondered through the park/ beach area. I couldn’t help but wonder if he had a permit, seeing that a permit is required to carry in the state park system; and if he did have a conceal carry permit, why wouldn’t you conceal it? It just seams that to open carry gives away a tactical advantage. Let a lone to display an attitude that would only seem to feed the anti-gun people more fuel regarding the so call "gun toting types".
 
#2 ·
Maybe the guy is a jerk with or without a gun. As far as OCing...up to him if it is legal. There have been many threads on the pros and cons of OCing. A personal choice and I don't really care unless the are trying to start something and videotaping it for Youtube.
 
#3 ·
:confused: Meeting friendly people is the best part of OCing.
 
#4 ·
I couldn’t help but wonder if he had a permit, seeing that a permit is required to carry in the state park system; and if he did have a conceal carry permit, why wouldn’t you conceal it?
Which just goes to show even pro-gun people mistrust open carry folks.
 
#5 ·
He's having a bad day, ignore him.
Move on with living...:smile:

As I tell my high school students, sometimes you have to give people the respect that they do not deserve.
 
#8 ·
I know this has been discussed here, but i am not a big fan of open carry. It scares some people, and i also think it is not an advantage in most situations. Also, a higher than average percentage of the folks who open carry seem a bit weird, in my limited experience. Not all, of course, but more than one might expect. For most of us, let's be careful and discreet- let the bad guys wonder who might have a gun.
 
#10 ·
Sooo, you pro 2A or just pro CC? Got news for you. Folks that don't like guns don't like guns whether they can see them or not. In this encounter take away the gun from the picture and it is just a typical guy that likes to be left alone. I swear, sometimes folks on this forum are worse than the Brady Bunch. If someone isn;t doing it to be provacative for a You Tube video, let them express their rights.
 
#9 ·
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I wouldn't have a problem with someone because they were open carrying. I would give them the same regard as anyone else & react accordingly.

The sour puss attitude might lead me to do as the OP did, & put some distance between us. Who needs that anyways?

:ticking:
 
#11 ·
OC guy was in a bad mood, or he is just a jerk. Theres one in every crowd...
 
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#14 ·
Don't be too quick to judge the guy. You never know what he may be going through in life. Ever heard the story of the man with rowdy kids who were acting up on the subway and just ignored his kids actions? Someone finally asked, and he said that his wife had just passed away and his kids didn't know how to deal with it. This guy in the park may be going through a divorce, a custody battle, or even cancer in the family. Of course he may also just be a jerk. You never know.
 
#15 ·
Here's a quote from Catbert, the evil director of human resources:

"You don't need experience. Cynicism is almost the same thing as experience. Just try always assuming the worst about people and you'll usually be right."

While I find this amusing, it has a certain ring of truth. For example, if I see somebody not putting their shopping up in a parking lot, I can either assume that they accidentally forgot, or they are a lazy jerk. 99% of the time, the second thing will be true. However, I'm not always so cynical. It depends on the situation. Sometimes I give people the benefit of the doubt.
 
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#17 ·
Bad day or not when someone politely says hello I make a point to say hello back. But when I say hello and it is returned with a scoff I just let it roll off . I'm happy , not my problem he is a jerk. Hope he didn't ruin your day with your son!
 
#18 ·
Similar but different... years back in Alaska, my buddy and I take a break from fishing and decide to drive in to the State Park a bit further to check out the waterfalls. I stow the 12g slug gun I've been slinging (I consider anything below .454 "bear spray") but my bud keeps his Blackhawk in its shoulder holster. We walk up the trail a bit towards the falls, passing a couple day-old at best piles of bearcrap dead-center of the trail... it is the salmon run after all.

While we're at an overlook area, some folks show up and ask my friend what's up with the gun. He just says "Bears."

They say - "Well, we heard they stay on the other side of the river." (Now, they've walked up the same path we have, btw).

We chuckle a bit and return to watching the waterfall. After they leave, my friend says:

"How 'bout you yell 'Bear, bear!' really loud and I'll touch off a few into the woods?"

We didn't of course, but we still laugh about that time today.
 
#20 ·
Really....Why?
 
#28 ·
People are not going to be more or less friendly because they have a gun on their hip. Infact, if you read enough of these scenarios you'll notice that people that are carrying are less friendly because of their "SA" and their preparedness to defend themselves. If I saw someone open carrying I wouldn't worry about it. It would appear that they have "less to hide" than someone concealed carrying. Someone that isn't legal is more likely to wear a gun in a concealed method than on their hip where it can be noticed and questioned (as it is being questioned here). I conceal carry exclusively unless I am working on my house or doing something active at home. I see people mention the "tactical advantage" of concealed carry vs open but I don't understand that completely. It seems like the advantage is only to surprise someone before you defend yourself instead of first letting them know you are armed.

Anyway, I think there wasn't much to worry about here.
 
#29 ·
Each type of carry has its merits. Unfortunately, there are grumpy, armed people (I think it tends to tarnish the 2A movement). I think you did well to be more alert if you felt uneasy.
 
#32 ·
If you are going to OC, you really should avoid acting in a manner that would make people view you negatively. I know with some the very act of OCing is not tolerable, and there isn't much you can do about that, but you should at least not snub people who say hi.

(I'm assuming that the OP doesn't look like a sketchy mo-fo.)
 
#33 ·
To everyone here who have made the decision to open carry and may have felt as though I expressed a negative opinion regarding open carry, I feel I must apologize, for that was not my intent. I am certainly not qualified to say which is better or not tactically. Carrying at all is fairly new here in Wisconsin and to me as well. I must admit until it was allowed, I never carried. I am a rookie at best at all this, and it’s very informative as to the varied opinions on the forum. As far as I am concerned regarding the other guy at the park, he was someone who just didn’t wish to engage in conversation for what ever were his reasons. Admittedly I was a bit miffed by being snubbed. But I was there to enjoy the park with my son, and that’s what I did. :smile: Best regards to all.
 
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