I OC almost exclusively and I carry every day and everywhere that I go. I had a CHP, but did not renew it and will not be going for another one. I live in Durham county and have had almost zero issues with anyone, including cops. I've been standing next to both sheriff deputies and durham city police officers and never a word was said. I have had two people try to get in my face - one at Lowes and one at Golden Corral. Both times they complained loudly to management and both times the managers had no problem with me carrying whatsoever. Those were both years ago, though.
Most people do not even notice. There have been a few times where some one noticed with wide eyes, but hopefully they left the encounter realizing that they were near a gun and nothing happened. There was one time where a little kid saw my pistol, went wide eyed, and pointed it out to his mother. She calmly told him that there was nothing wrong with it.
Most encounters I've had, though, have been very positive and I do what I can to use it to let people know what their rights are, which is why I made the NC Gun Rights flyer, so I can hand it to them. There are so many people who have absolutely no clue what their rights are.
Any instances where someone was targeted because they were OCing are really just statistical noise. The norm is that an OCer is not targeted.
I am a believer in the idea that OC is a deterrant. There aren't going to be any statistics for this because you can't compile data on non-events. There is no cure all for anything, so, yeah, I'm sure that there are some nut jobs out there that would not be deterred, but I'm willing to bet that the average would rather pick a softer target.
Also, if I do get "targeted" as the first one to be shot, and you happen to be in the same place, you're welcome, you now have a little more time to react.
I won't argue about the CC "element of surprise," but I just don't get that at all.
Anyway, I carry to protect my family and myself and there is a side benefit of being able to talk to people about guns, I guess I'm a bit of an activist that way.
Most people do not even notice. There have been a few times where some one noticed with wide eyes, but hopefully they left the encounter realizing that they were near a gun and nothing happened. There was one time where a little kid saw my pistol, went wide eyed, and pointed it out to his mother. She calmly told him that there was nothing wrong with it.
Most encounters I've had, though, have been very positive and I do what I can to use it to let people know what their rights are, which is why I made the NC Gun Rights flyer, so I can hand it to them. There are so many people who have absolutely no clue what their rights are.
Any instances where someone was targeted because they were OCing are really just statistical noise. The norm is that an OCer is not targeted.
I am a believer in the idea that OC is a deterrant. There aren't going to be any statistics for this because you can't compile data on non-events. There is no cure all for anything, so, yeah, I'm sure that there are some nut jobs out there that would not be deterred, but I'm willing to bet that the average would rather pick a softer target.
Also, if I do get "targeted" as the first one to be shot, and you happen to be in the same place, you're welcome, you now have a little more time to react.
I won't argue about the CC "element of surprise," but I just don't get that at all.
Anyway, I carry to protect my family and myself and there is a side benefit of being able to talk to people about guns, I guess I'm a bit of an activist that way.