The pistol toter probably had a one-size-fits-none $15 nylon holster , no retention.

From the article ;

"An incident involving a stolen gun caused a commotion at Walmart on Skibo Road on Thursday afternoon.

About 3 p.m., Fayetteville police spokeswoman Asia Cannon said, inaccurate information based on radio scanner traffic began circulating about a shooting at the Walmart. Officers arrived and discovered that a man had grabbed a gun off another man who was open-carrying the weapon. The man who grabbed the gun then ran off.

During the incident, someone yelled out in the business about a gun, and a commotion broke out. Cannon said one Walmart employee was treated by emergency personnel for an asthma attack. No one else was injured.

Cannon said the man who stole the gun was last seen running toward Yadkin Road. The incident remains under investigation, and police are searching for the man. Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 483-TIPS (8477)."

http://www.fayobserver.com/news/20171222/stolen-gun-at-walmart-causes-panic


I'm actually surprised that this doesn't happen more often. Judging by some of the yahoos I see carrying it looks like they'd be easy marks.

Mike

Poke a finger in a guys back and say stick 'em up. Grab his gun while his hands are up and you have a real one to play with. I can see it happening easily.

I figured we be seeing this.

Good way to die.

I too am surprised that we don't see more of this. But I don't know if the rarity of it is a function of the demographics in those places where OC is more common - or the reverse.

Not even a little surprising. Most of the folks I see open carrying in public are tacticool tards.

I know it's judgmental for me to say this, but the kind of people I see doing open carry don't impress me as the kind who would be great tacticians.

Yeah, had an old coworker who liked to brag about OC in public malls and whatnot. What a douche.

I could picture the type: mid 60s, morbidly obese, mouthy, all-day campfire poster prancing around walmart with a dont mess with texas shirt on, open carrying

They used to teach us in karate class, "It is a wise tiger who keeps his claws concealed."
In other words, don't go around bragging that you are a black belt.

Likewise these open carry guys are begging for trouble.

Also not trying to poke fun, but I saw an older gentleman come into Chili's other day I swear he was old enough to have been in the relief force to Mafeking! Poor fellow needed assistance just to get in! Personally a non-issue with me, but I just felt it would have been to his advantage to have it concealed. Just an observation. Hell, he may have been #1 bad dude. I dunno???

Am I the only one that finds that statement hilarious?

No your not Charlie!

Well, that's why you don't use a Fobus paddle holster !

My wife and I had breakfast last Sunday in a Coney restaurant and I saw a guy with open carry walk past our table on his way to the cashier to pay. It didn't bother me but I thought there's a reason that conceal carry would be conspicuous in certain instances - unless the guy just wants to show off.

Grand Coney?

Open Carry is.........Look at me.

Prayers sent.....I can't imagine how bad your life must suck...

I SEE THIS A LOT AROUND HERE, BUT, IN THIS AREA PEOPLE DON'T REALLY CARE AND THOSE WHO DO ARE 99% TRANSPLANTS OR ELSE PASSING THROUGH. YEP, US REDNECKS LIVE AND LET...... AND THOSE WHO DON'T, USUALLY LEAVE. WHOEVER THE FOOL WAS THAT WAS CARRYING THAT GUN, HAD NO BUSINESS WITH IT, AND THE BIGGER FOOL WHO GRABBED IT, WAS REALLY LUCKY THAT THE GUY DIDN'T HAVE A COMPANION WHO ALSO CARRIED. THAT KIND OF MONKEY BUSINESS GETS PEOPLE HURT, TO SAY THE LEAST.! ME, i CARRY CONCEALED AND BEING EX-LEO, IT STILL IS AVAILABLE, YET CONTROLLED. CARRYING ONLY WORKS IF IT'S A SURPRISE TO THE ATTACKER.... THEN IT WORKS WONDERS. NOTHING DEMORALIZES A SHOOTER LIKE SOMEONE SHOOTING BACK..!

While open carry is legal in a lot of places, being legal does not make it a smart thing to do. Open carrying in the woods, or around the farm makes sense, but doing the same thing in Walmart, or Starbucks, etc, just squanders your main tactical advantages of concealment and anonymity. I've had guys tell me, "Oh, anybody sees my gun knows I'm serious, and they'll find somebody else to mess with!" Which, of course, is utterly complete bullschit. Just the mere sight of a holstered gun does not cause your average thug to quake in fear, but simply causes them to replan their attack. Instead of attacking from the front, they'll just wait til you're not looking, clip you in the back of the head, or just shoot you, then take your money AND your gun from your dead or unconscious body.

"IF" I were to open carry, it would be appendix. Anyone who wanted to snatch it, would have to be in front of me. Saw a gentleman carrying in an Academy Sports in St. Peters, MO a few weeks ago. 1911 cocked and locked with a thumb break. He was leaning over the gun counter looking at pistols. In my mind, I unsnapped the holster and took his gun... but in reality, I simply shook my head and wished he were smarter.

I saw a go not long ago, open carry, no retention, pushing a shopping cart at Walmart. 3 year old daughter was in the cart, he of course had one hand on the cart pushing it and he was talking on his cell phone with the other hand.

It would have been EASY

Yes, you probably are. There is not a damn thing funny about an asthma attack and a good thing the medics were there to treat the person.

Yep. Agreed. By far and away the vast majority of all individuals i see open carrying are LEO. And yes, I couldnt agree with either of you more.

Why are you yelling?

When I read the OP's link I had similar thoughts about the person, but when I saw it was in Fayettville, I wondered if the dude had on a "Don't Mess With Arkansas" t-shirt or a "Don't Mess With North Carolina t-shiirt. Either would have fit the scenario fairly well. My first thought was Arkansas for some reason.

Probably a 20 something , morbidly obese , mouthy , internet troll on his once-a-month outing from his garage "apartment" at mom's house.


Mike

Mike, does North Carolina now allow open carry?

Open carry (in urban or crowded settings) has always puzzled me. With concealed carry, no one knows you have a gun and the element of surprise remains (in case of an emergency). Open carry allows all to know you are carrying and might make you the first target. Sure, you might have the right to open-carry, but is it the wisest thing?

Also, open carry can alarm gun opponents which could lead to letters to state representatives to put more laws into place. Why stir up a hornet's nest if there's no need to?

NC has always allowed open carry with certain exceptions.


Mike

A lot of wisdom in that statement...

Lotsa "snatchers" in this world. Pistol or purse or whatever. Especially with pistols those who can open carry should be fully aware of that possibility and take the necessary precautions.

OMG! Are you hacking into my computer camera!

In states which are shall issue or CC is authorized without a permit, I can't see a logical reason for open carry in a non-outdoors environment.

Often being back in the home state of AZ, only time I'm open carrying is the revolver on the gun belt when out hunting or in the woods, or when ducking into town for a few quick groceries or gas. Hell, even at camp when the hunting is done for the day, the .44 and belt get tossed on the cot in favor of the glock or sig under the jacket.

In a situation where you may need a firearm against another human, I can see no reason where it would be an advantage to telegraph the carrying or possession of said firearm before it was time to draw it.

Tactically speaking, I much prefer the "surprise mothafugga!" approach.

To All,

Open Carry has been legal for a good while now here in TX but other than of the FIRST DAY that OC was lawful (YEP, like a lot of other Wild & Rebellious Texicans, I carried openly at The Alamo that ONE day.), I've seen NOBODY in San Antonio (other than uniformed police & security officers) carrying openly in at least a year.

In point of fact, the ONLY civilian that I've seen carrying a handgun openly even in the rural area was a middle-aged lady at a gas statrion near Marble Falls, who was carrying a Colt's Peacemaker in an "old school" gunbelt/holster. - She saw me looking at the obviously old rig & said, "This .38-40 was my grandfather's, when he was a SGT in the Texas Rangers. I don't often carry it away from the ranch, as everyone wants me to take it out & show it to them."

NOTE: When I'm on our family farm or camping/fishing, I sometimes carry a long-barreled .22LR S&W revolver unconcealed. Otherwise, I don't open carry anywhere.

yours, tex

I'm a Vision Center Manager for Wal-Mart, and you guy are pretty much spot on. The nimrods I see open carrying fit your descriptions pretty well. We also get a few of the guys carrying a Bowie knife. One comes in wearing the thing on a criss cross rig in the center of his back. I'ts pretty funny to see.

This Thread pretty much mirrors everything I've said about open carry in an urban area for a long time. Other threads of come up here on the fire about open carrying I've never been a big fan of it and I've been called all sorts of names because I'm not a fan of it but my opinion will never change on that.

The guys I see doing it are neither old, nor morbidly obese - but I almost never set foot in walmart.

Last year I saw an old guy packing groceries into his car and instead of a handgun, he had a medium sized sheath knife and I thought to myself that it wouldn't be a bad idea for a guy his age as kind of a non-verbal don't mess with me kind of thing. That knife probably gets used day to day way more than any handgun would.

I most enjoyed that the spokesperson was named Asia Cannon. In Fayettenam, home of Ft. Bragg.


mike r

I see it a LOT here, usually a young man with an Uncle Mike's holster and a plastic Ruger of some variety in it, and his wife and maybe a young child with them. There are lots of fast food joints here. We don't eat out often, but it seems we see someone open-carrying every time we go out. Now and then I'll see an old guy with a much smaller pistol, worn openly, but not often. It's usually a younger guy around here, with the cheapest high-cap 9 he can find.

,

Its easy to see right off the bat what a genius you are.

What do you imagine Hillary looks like nekked?

Kentucky has been a open carry state for as far back as I can remember and long before our CCDW permit became legal. Very seldom have I ever seen a private citizen open carry in more populated urban areas but have and occasionally still do out around small rural communities. As a personal opinion it seems to me that in any actual serious armed robbery, car jacking, kidnapping, or crazed shooter situation anyone open carrying a firearm would probably be who bad guy(s) would want to disarm and/or eliminate first. Although I had a KY CCDW permit I regularly open carried a handgun as a requirement of a job I had for a few years where I handled and transported large amounts of cash openly in public all by myself. While open carry might've been enough to deter some impulsive spur-of-the-moment robbery attempt I also knew and accepted that if anyone wanted to accomplish their goal bad enough what ever that goal was and didn't want to risk being identified and/or shot at themselves they could've taken me out at anytime before I could ever make use of my gun.

Said it before and I'll say it again...not a big fan of open carry.Carry concealed, it keeps the snowflakes and the bad guys ignorant... surprises are like gifts...its better to give than to receive....

.....somewhere in Arkansas of course......

I was in Home Depot today and notice a guy checking out with a pro concealed carry shirt on. Took 2 seconds to see the imprint of his carry gun would never have noticed it but for the shirt. We can open carry here I don’t believe in advertising it.

Did Ol'flave move to Arkansas.

Or maybe somewhere in Washington state?

If one is good, you know two gotta to be mo' better...

Since TX passed open carry 2 years ago, I've seen a grand total of 3 people doing it.

And the only time I do it is when hunting or working on My Ranch. Period.

chlinstructoir,

EXACTLY & SPOT ON.

yours, tex

Bet somebody just wanted to re-gift a Taurus................

Since the wife has asthma, and has very nearly died from it several times, no.....I can't say I find any humor at all in that statement. Between asthma and a heart condition, I could lose her tomorrow, or ten years from now. Asthma is no joke.

I love walking around my local wally world. My wife and I count how many idiots are open carrying. Our record is 4 in one visit. It gives me a warm fuzzy knowing if SHTF these open carry idiots are the first to get shot while us CC people can blend in until the right time to take care of business.

I like seeing the open carry targets!!
Elk Country

Well yeah, but it's really hard to conceal my 6" M686..............

Im a huge proponent of open carry. Keeps peoples eyes on the idiot and off of me. If you wear 5.11, Proper, Vertx, etc, you might as well open carry. Nothing screams, "Im the guy with the gun!" Like 5.11 clothing or accessories.

Tip for OCers, dont use urinals.

ROFL!

Gonna be some fast dimocrats getting free pistols.

God forbid when one of those free pistols goes and kills some poor innocent. Gonna be hell to pay for the good old 2A.

I took that comment to mean that it was hilarious that the asthma attack was considered a result of saying "gun". I didn't think the comment meant that asthma attacks are funny. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Nope, you were right.
Some folks act all sensitive/democrat.
My kid has asthma, pretty bad too.
I have it....not too bad.
Thought somebody saying "gun" causing somebody else to have an attack............ funny.

elkcountry; All,

TELL EVERYONE how many unformed security & police officers, that you know of , who got their handguns "snatched" or for that matter got in shootouts with a mass murderer..

Personally, I heard of ZERO. = Mass murderers & most armed criminals are COWARDS, PREFER & PREY UPON helpless, cowering, unarmed victims.
(That's why I favor allowing every background checked, trained & law-abiding GI to carry.)

I know that the LIBs would just hate it but if a few dozen armed felons got shot/killed by armed/trained marksmen each month & those shootings were widely covered on TV, there would soon be a lot less armed felons trying to commit armed robbery, shooting up schools/churches and attempting other predatory crimes.
(Here in metropolitan San Antonio, about one felon every day is STOPPED from completing his crime by an armed householder. - About 400 such STOPS were reported to our city/county LE agencies in 2016.)

yours, tex

i'm bringing the neck gun into style. folks don't mess with a man with a 1911 in condition zero pointing at his own neck.

Cops have to fight for their guns quite often, although they have the advantages of training, and retention holsters to help them keep control of their weapon, so seldom is the criminal successful, although they occasionally are. Here's just a few from the 1st page of search results.

Baltimore Officer

Multiple Officers

Minnesota Officer

I am not a LEO. I have never played the part of a LEO in a movie or on TV, but i do know that firearm retention is a big issue whether you carry openly or concealed. Retention holsters have become the standard from what I observe. Before you decide to carry in public there are lots of decisions to be made.

Arizona has very permissive laws concerning carrying firearms. No permit is required for concealed carry, although we have provisions to obtain a permit which is recognized in several other states. I carry concealed almost all the time and I have spent a lot of time and money to decide what is comfortable and what works for me. I have spent several hundred dollars on holsters and carried several different firearms. The solutiom I came up with is a compromise of several things and probably wouldn`t work for someone else. The only time I carry open is on the ranch or when I don't plan to be out in public. I even modified my chaps to allow for open carry without another belt. One pair has a holster attached to them.

There have been some very good reasons brought up for not carrying openly in public. Firearm retention being one of them. Also not letting people know you are armed and public perception (paranoia) concerning the prescence of a firearm. I support the idea of a national concealed carry permit to enable people in some of the blue states to decide for themselves.

Before the retention holsters were well developed and put into service and an emphasis placed on retention training about 20% of police officers that were shot, were shot with their own gun. I had a tussle with a great big drunk sumbuck one night and while grappling with him my 4" 686 .357 service revolver fell out of my thumb break duty holster and landed within inches of the guys right hand. I was on the dudes back stuck to him like a tick trying to get some advantage, he was now on his hands and knees when the gun crashed onto the bar's floor right in front of his right hand. He saw it and I could feel the guy tense and bunch up, I knew I was in real trouble right then. I had a S&W M38 Airweight snubby in an ankle holster. I told the guy in a steady voice if he reached for that gun I would kill him. Who knows which one of us would have won a fast draw contest but I guess that sobered the old boy up some as he lifted his hand up and away and said, "No, I'm done." Carrying a weapon isn't a game and can get very real very fast.

Lanyard cord tied off to belt and wpn might help some of these tackleberry open carry types from getting their shyt snatched. Give a lanyard a tacticool sounding name and they will buy em I bet. Called em "dummy cords" in the army. Maybe something like "tactical personal retention cord" in the civilian world would sound really cool to people.

Thats a great idea. Hardly anyone will do it, but its a great, practical idea.

With your last sentence, I do get the impression that you are under the impression that the tacticool cottage industry is civilian driven. By shear numbers, yes I bet sales are greater in civilian markets. But look at any LEO on or off duty in any state on the east coast (Me to FL and inland to INdianna) and there's no doubt as to who the tactitools are.

While in the Police Academy we studied MANY instances of LEOs having or attempted to have their pistol snatched. Retention techniques were drilled into our arrest control section and during firearms qualification. Most police officers shot with their own service weapon get complacent about retention and end up paying the ultimate price. 90% of the officers I worked with carried a backup weapon. Backups aren't there for when your primary weapon is out of ammo, it's there to get your primary weapon back!

I'm 100% for open carry laws. In fact, I open carry when I'm hiking or trailriding when concealed carry is difficult. However, when I'm out in a public place, I just prefer to carry my weapon where a bad guy can't see it!

Elk Country