[Bumper]

Arizona\'s Open Carry

In Arizona you are allowed to carry openly without a permit. To carry concealed you need a concealed carry permit. A part of me says that does not make sense, the other part says it makes perfect sense.

When I first moved to Arizona, even as a person that has almost as many guns than the local gun shop, I was somewhat taken aback at passing members of the local motorcycle club pass me while packing a handgun on his hip. After a while, I even ventured out a few times with a fully loaded hip. Nobody said anything to me, nobody ran for cover and the police didn\'t stop and question me. I doubt that they even saw me. In the 14 years after that, with the exception of LEO or other gunowners at ranges, gunshops, etc I can count on one hand the number I have seen openly carrying a handgun. I guess they don\'t feel anymore comfortable with than I did when I tried it.

I do, however, carry my handgun with me when I go to work downtown every day. When I get in the car, I pull it from my bag and place the holstered weapon between the passenger seat and the console on my Jeep Grand Cherokee where it is available should I need it. It is also fully visible to an officer should I get stopped, which has happened once over the years.

In that meeting, as the officer approached my door, and asked for my license, registration and proof of insurance, and BEFORE I made a move to retrieve them from my wallet and glove compartment, I told him I had the pistol. He looked in and asked me to grasp it between thumb and forefinger and hand it out to him. As I was handing it to him, he asked me if it was loaded and I told him it was. Only then did I gather the documents he had asked for and passed them out to him. At that time he asked me why I was carrying the weapon and I told him I worked just off Van Buren Street in downtown Phoenix and he seemed to understand. Upon returning to my car, he handed me a warning citation, my documents and my pistol. He handed me the magazine separately and asked me to not reload until he had pulled away. I responded \"no problem\" and he added, \"Thanks for your courtesy and for declaring your firearm.\"

I do like having the right to openly carry, even though I don\'t normally exercise that right.

Do others feel the same way and had similar experiences? Do you regularly open carry or just limit yourself to carrying it in the car with you, fully visible in the seat next to you?

 

[Guest]

I Wish California Had Open Carry

I know I could get in trouble for it, but I am carrying concealed in my car. I don\'t carry on me and won\'t until I get through with my training and get a CCW. I am hearing some discouraging things about being able to actually get one. A friend who is a police officer is going to try and help me. Seems like an open carry would make concealed carry a moot point if you were just interested in carrying in your car.

 

[Bumper]

Open Carry

While it may sound like it, open carry is not everything it is cracked up to be. Don\'t get me wrong, I appreciate the right to carry openly, but when you stop at a convenience store for something and push your weapon out of view, it is instantly considered concealed and you are subject to the laws of carrying a concealed weapon. Additionally, if you carry openly on the street, you will get a LOT of attention. Open carry can get you in a lot of trouble if you aren\'t carefull.

 

[Guest]

Open Carry

I guess that makes sense, most people would still be shocked to see someone carrying on the street in the wide open. Maybe some day it will be so common nobody will pay any attention.

 

[Guest]

In California they would ....

REALLY be in shock seeing someone carrying openly on the street. Hopefully, one of these days this state will turn around.

 

[Bumper]

Please

Don\'t panic any of the liberal Californians over there, they may come running across the border to Arizona. We already have enough problems with half of Mexico coming over here. Conservatives are, of course, always welcome. Liberals? Please stay where you are )

 

[Tangle]

Bumper,

Strange you should mention open carry in AZ. I stayed in Prescott for about two weeks taking a handgun course followed by an edged weapons course at Gunsite.

I open carried every day, everywhere I went. I was never noticed, except by some youngsters who couldn\'t wait to grow up so they could carry.

However, I was always conscious of who was around me and had the thought that if a gunfight broke out I\'d probably be a \"shoot me first\" target. I also couldn\'t help but wonder if it was a bit of an affront to \"tuff\" guys.

The second trip to Gunsite, I took the concealed carry class in conjunction with the level two hadngun course I was there for, so on subsequent trips I carried concealed and liked that much better.

Actually, Tennessee\'s Handgun Permit allows open carry, but nobody does. While it would be good for the public to see good guys carrying guns, it would probably cause trouble.

As I understand it, if somebody calls the police because they see your gun, the officer can ask you to remove the gun or leave the area or charge you with disturbing the peace.

 

[Bumper]

Prescott is probably a little more accepting of the open carry than here in the Phoenix area since it is more rural. They are more used to seeing people carry openly. I can count on one hand the number of open carries I have seen in the Phoenix area other than the range and gun shows. Most of them (maybe 4 of 5) have been bikers. I always figured it was because they just didn\'t give a crap what people thought and nobody would probably question them. I always wondered if open carry would be like wearing a \"shoot me first\" sign, as well. Carrying concealed is definitely the way to go, but like I said before I appreciate the ability to wear openly.

So what did you think of Gunsite? I have never taken a class there but heard nothing but good things about their training. Another well known training facility in Prescott is Suarez International although it seems most (but not all) of their training is offered out of town.

 

[Tangle]

Originally posted by Bumper
Prescott is probably a little more accepting of the open carry than here in the Phoenix area...

That makes sense; seems like the closer you get to biggness, the more alarmed and paranoid people become.

Originally posted by Bumper
So what did you think of Gunsite? I have never taken a class there but heard nothing but good things about their training.

Gunsite is great! I took the last of their four handgun courses, Advanced Tactics, last summer and it was intense. I think we did six FOF simunitions simulators in one day! However, the class was small and I think we had time to do a bit more than usual.

Originally posted by Bumper
Another well known training facility in Prescott is Suarez International although it seems most (but not all) of their training is offered out of town.

I had every intent of going to one of those, but I got to hanging around the Saurez forum, and was disappointed at so many bashing remarks directed at Gunsite. There\'s gottal be some history there somehow.

Training schools are expensive and it\'s interesting that most are willing to spend more on an entertainment center than really good tactical and shooting training.

Course I\'m a little adicted to training; you could say I\'m a shooting school junkie. I\'m already planning to attend a course at Gunsite next summer and don\'t know what I\'m going to take yet.

 

[Bumper]

Alot of the bashing may be just because they are competing for the same money in the same geographical area. I have heard good things about both of them.

What I don\'t like (not mentioning any names) are the cliques that seems to surround some of the training facilities/offerings that are out there. It varies in intensity but some of them are pretty critical if training is not conducted \"their way\".

I have always wanted to attend one of the major training companies training but always wind up at the local gunshop/ranges training classes. Possibly not as thorough (although I am not 100% convinced) but valuable training at less cost. And I also get to support a local business in the process. Gunsite, Suarez and Front Sight are all on my list to visit.

 

[Tangle]

Bumper,

The gun training business must be challenging. If you teach certain methods and staunchly support and defend them then you\'re accused of being dogmatic and outdated. If you change too much, it\'s an admission that what you were teaching was wrong to start with or you go with every new thing that comes along.

\"Alot of the bashing may be just because they are competing for the same money in the same geographical area...\"

Unfortunately, it\'s more and deeper than that and it is one way.

You can do/experience things at Gunsite that you generally can\'t do at the local facilities.

Sounds like you shoot a lot or at least regularly and it may be \"backing up\" a bit to go to a school because most teach specific tried and tested techniques and they want you to start with the basic class first.

 

[Bumper]

You may be right. I do a fair amount of shooting; usually once a week to the range to send 200-300 rounds down range. Far from a novice, I am always open to new techniques and methods. When I first started shooting handguns, I just shot whatever came natural and did okay. I taught myself point shooting from the seat of a tractor. When I went to the military I, of course, shot the military way and improved a bit. But when I went through the police academy I got a LOT of trigger time, and specific techniques of the department and improved really quite a lot. Today I am a pretty fair shot but my eyes are starting to tell me I am 53 and not a kid anymore. I am not dead on the ten ring every time but definitely in the kill zone. I still like to learn though.

 

[bendable]

re open carry: are you prepared for the attention you will attract?

I went to shooters world and got an Az. c.c.w permit ,
it makes life so much easier.

 

[KC135]

Open

Carried open on a couple of trips to Az. Then about 98 when out there I applied for my Az permit.

Suarez has too much baggage for me.

Gunsite is well run, good instructors, and the time to see and talk to Cooper is fast diminishing.

 

[Bumper]

Originally posted by bendable
re open carry: are you prepared for the attention you will attract?

I\'m not, I carry concealed

 

[Tangle]

Originally posted by Bumper
You may be right. I do a fair amount of shooting; usually once a week to the range to send 200-300 rounds down range...

I average about 200 rounds a week myself.

Originally posted by Bumper
Today I am a pretty fair shot but my eyes are starting to tell me I am 53 and not a kid anymore. I am not dead on the ten ring every time but definitely in the kill zone...

I\'m on longer a kid either; I\'ve been 49 for nearly 10 years now. .

It\'s the lens of the eye that gives us the problem. As we get older, the lens \"stiffens\" and our eye muscles can no longer force the lens to focus up close; that\'s why we have to hold the newspaper so far away and can no longer focus sharply on the front sight. Low power reading glasses can help.

Once when I went to Gunsite, I discovered I couldn\'t shoot as good there as I do at home. Thinking the elevation (>5000 feet) may be allowing my eye to expand and degrade my focus on the front sight, I bought some 1x reading glasses and they made a world of difference. I ran that by my eye doctor and he agreed that that was what was happening. The interesting thing was I didn\'t notice the problem so much until we got to longer ranges.

I still like to learn though...

I think that\'s one reason I try to attend a school every year. Plus, I now am pursuing more tactics. I just keep learning new ways a guy can get killed trying to defend himself!

BTW, with your background, I\'m pretty sure Gunsite would let you skip the level one class (250) so you could take the 350 class - you ought to do it - it\'s challenging and has more tactical stuff and I think two FOF simulations.

 

[Erich]

New Mexico has open carry (in the places where carry is legal) without a permit, but it\'s almost never done. If I see one citizen carrying openly every three years, it\'s surprising.

Part of that may be that I live in Albuquerque and work in Santa Fe, but it was also true when I lived in Farmington (a smaller city in the Four Corners area) for a year.

I think it\'s a shame, but I understand why folks don\'t want to alarm anyone. Concealed carry only recently went into effect here (early this year), but based on my work in a gun store and as a prosecutor, I know a lot of folks were just carrying concealed illegally in order to not cause a stir.

There are a LOT of guns in cars hereabouts.

 

[Bumper]

I hear you, Tangle. That\'s exactly what has happened to my eyes. At 53, it started happening to me about 4 years ago.

I may break down here soon and attend one of the Gunsite courses. I would like to learn some more advanced tactics. I don\'t mind taking the basics again, I just hate paying for it

 

[armoredman]

I open carried for years here, before the CCW law. I was in class for the permit ten days after the law went into effect! Open carry is legal, and really used to be unremarkable. I rarely had anyone give me grief, except a few resturaunts, all of which are now out of business.
I knew a guy who rode a scooter, flame paint job, with a loaded AK on his back. Legal as church on whatever day you choose. A few cops stopped him to ask what he was doing, but they didn\'t harass him.
I open carried into several banks, (yes, legal), and the only comment I got was one teller asking what load I liked in 40!
CCW is better, as the BGs don\'t know who to shoot first in a robbery, and no little old ladies vacationing from New Jersey or California have heart attacks, but it is very nice to have that option!

 

[Bumper]

With the exception of always carrying openly in my car, I only open carried a couple of times when I was out and about. I remember when concealed carry was passed, alot of people were paranoid that the DPS was building a database from which to confiscate weapons. Even I held off until about the time I found out the black helicopters belonged to the Border Patrol, lol.

I have fun going to the mall, movies, etc and watching people and trying to spot those that are carrying. It is encouraging how many do. There\'s so many fanny packs in use, it looks all the rage