Noob with a noob question....

[twenty3]

Hey guys and gals...first of all i really appreciate all of the great info here on the board..been reading for a while and deciced to join...thinking about getting a permit but had a potentially brilliant question..if u can legally open carry in DE, why conceal? Is it that people will test u more? Please dont flame on me, im just curious as to the reasons...the permit process seems long and expensive...thanks

[craigwill201]

Harassment when somone calls to report "man with a gun". Hey thats a nice gun lets go snatch it and run.

[Lumspond]

Exactly. Most people you encounter will be unaware it is a open carry state.
There is a open carry forum as well.

[formerly known as frank]

I borrowed this line, and have used it before, but it illustrates this question quite well. "Guns are like penises, display one and someone will call the police."

[Hawkeye]

It is a matter of personal preference and convieniece. I do both.  I am aware of some who obtain a CCW to make it easier to OC. For example, you cannot open carry in Dover unless you have a permit.  Also, having a CCW makes driving in a vehicle easier if you OC as you do not have to take the gun out of your holster and place it in plain view while you are driving.  Passage through safe school zones is also less complicated with a CCW.

[Hawkeye]

Open carry without a police car = people looking for trouble with find you.

Actually the exact opposite is true. Studies show that bad guys avoid people who are open carrying and go look for easier prey.

"Guns are like penises, display one and someone will call the police."

Only if it is big enough to be seen.

[Condition 1]

CC has numerous tactical advantages over OC, that is the primary reason I chose to CC. Next to that, I really don't like the attention OC draws and less yet the possibility of being asked to leave an establishment...

[twenty3]

Thanks for the responses..here is my amateur non gun carriying(yet) opinion..if im a criminal and I see a guy OC I'm not messing with him..just like if I see a guy or girl walking a pit bull, I'm going aftr the guy with the poodle, or no dog at all..my buddy conceals and had a guy walk up on him on his passenger side and tell him to give him money..it was a very tense situation he said and he almost had to draw on him as the guy wldnt move on aftr several warnings..if he was OC and the guy walks up and sees the gun I'm pretty sure he's moving on..idk, I don't hav experience either way

[MarinoTactical]

My opinion- CC is definitely the way to go. OC draws way more attention than I'm comfortable with. It's probable that in most cases, it will dissuade the common criminal from trying to make you a victim. On the other hand, violent/strung out/armed criminals could target you for your gun. If I were to OC, I would probably be paranoid and get whiplash from looking around all day. That being said-if I were to forced to choose between OC or unarmed, I'll take OC any day.

[czer]

My take is OC just scares the heck out of the general public by creating the impression that you want to intimidate people. When a uniformed LEO open carries, it is different, since the uniform sends the message that they are there to protect the average guy (in theory). If you are not in uniform, the nakedness of the gun sends random messages, many of them negative, that you may not intend to send.

[oldgraygeek]

I agree that we have a right to carry openly... but I choose not to, for reasons already well-stated by others in this thread.

[joek]

When I see someone in plain clothes open carrying the first I do is look for a badge next to the piece which usually means they are law enforcement.   BUT, remember anyone can buy a badge.  Be vigilant!

[TwistedKarma]

  there are tons of senerios both ways.   It comes down to what you feel comfortable with.

[rusirius]

Thanks for the responses..here is my amateur non gun carriying(yet) opinion..if im a criminal and I see a guy OC I'm not messing with him..just like if I see a guy or girl walking a pit bull, I'm going aftr the guy with the poodle, or no dog at all..my buddy conceals and had a guy walk up on him on his passenger side and tell him to give him money..it was a very tense situation he said and he almost had to draw on him as the guy wldnt move on aftr several warnings..if he was OC and the guy walks up and sees the gun I'm pretty sure he's moving on..idk, I don't hav experience either way

You're on a CC board, so in general most of the answers will lean toward the CC side... If you asked the same question on the OC board, you'd no doubt get the majority of answers stating why OC is better...

The bottom line is, it all depends on what you are most comfortable with and what you feel is best or right for you.

For me I choose to CC, for several reasons, but the two that are most important to me are, A) I don't attract attention... I like to live in the shadows... I don't want people staring at me, wondering who or what I am or why I have a gun.  I want to be every other Joe out on the street unless forced to become someone different.  B) I like the tactical advantage.  If something goes down around me, I want to reveal I have a weapon on my own terms.  When I play poker I don't throw my cards face up on the table and play the entire hand letting everyone else know what I have... Sure I might still win, but it's a little hard to bluff.

To address your point above... You're right... SOME bad guys might see you have a weapon and choose to move off to another target.  On the other hand, it could have the exact opposite effect.  If I'm a bad guy who happens to NEED a gun, I might just try to take yours...  Or if I was going to rob this store, and I see you have a gun too, I might just shoot you dead before you ever even see me... Now not only don't I have to worry about you with your gun, but I've also made a statement that they need to take me seriously and I probably won't have any more "trouble" out of other people...

Now here's the important point though... Notice what we're doing here?  We're playing "What If...."  That's sometimes a FUN game to play, but it's a pretty ridiculous one when it comes to insight.  You can't pretend to know what's going on in someone else's head.  Especially when they are drunk, high, insane, etc...  If you like to CC like myself, you might find yourself in a situation where you were attacked and that person might have avoided you had they known you had a gun... On the other hand if you like to OC you just might be shot dead or have your weapon taken before you even know what happened.  So there really is no right or wrong answer... It just comes back to what you think offers the most advantage for YOU in YOUR situation... Again for me, that means CC... But for you or others it might be different...

[SturmRugerSR9]

Welcome Twenty3
The long and expensive part of your post, I look at like this. The long time could be good as it allows a cooling off and investigative period. CCWD permits in the wrong hands are bad for the rest of the permit holders. The expensive part is because og the anti-gun politicians in Delaware. They want to make it hard to afford for as many as possible. It's like a resturant that charges unreasonable prices on their menus. They want to keep the "riff-raff" out of their place. Here in Delaware the "Delaware Way" is to try to make as many barriers to firearms owners as possible. In some states it's a matter of $50.00 or less and take a basic firearms safety course.
Some places offering CCDW courses are a rip-off. There are several places that will do the course for $150.00 in one or two sessions. Then there are places that want $250.00 to $450.00, up to 6 sessions. But the fact remains that the state clearly states what is to be taught, and how many rounds are to be fired. It pays to shop around for courses, just like anything else. As long as they are authorized by the Attorney Generals Office of Delaware. That's a must.
I did a lot of research before I started the process and have under $325.00 into the whole deal, including ads, prints, photos, training, application fees, and ammo. This of course doesn't include a pistol. I already had that for a couple of years.
Good Luck to you.