Could go myriad directions-here are just a few ways to look at it.
1. Bad guy sees pistol. Eliminates potential threat from the get-go.
2. Bad guy sees pistol...rethinks his intentions.
3. Bad guy sees pistol. Doesn't matter, he's sticking with his agenda.

 

4. Bad guy sees pistol and tries to snatch it from you while your back is turned.

 

Or you get a brazen bed guy that decides he wants to challenge you because you have it exposed

 

And bc I'm a chick. They'd be underestimating what I can do but they unfortunately don't know that. 😂

 

Never let the enemy know what you have until You absolutely have to

 

Get a great retention holster and rock on.

 

Get a great retention holster and rock on.
View attachment 1260641

That's a good way to lose a tit.

 

FWIW I’ve been in plenty of LGSs where the owners and employees OCed and never heard of an issue.

 

not really a good comparison , in my 37 years as a cop gun stores historically open carry or not have not been a regular target of robbers.
Smash and grab after hours , yes.

 

A local jewelry store the owner's family and counter people all openly carry pistols.

 

Key word here is "ALL"

 

If they see the shop employees are armed, the vast majority of miscreants are probably more likely to leave and either find an easier target or choose a new profession.

 

I’m always of the mindset that it makes you a target. The BG will always have the element of surprise on his side.

 

i don't see a down side, as long as, as already said, use a holster with good retention and the practice with it. you probably realize a gun by itself is not an answer to stop robberies. be sure you follow the law and be prepared.
also, does the building have video? you need to know your actions have good witnesses,and video is a good witness...

 

I'm on the fence here. It DOES garner attention... but that can be good or bad.

 

Like so many things in life- no one knows how it will play out until it does.

I’m sure plenty of examples can be found to prove whichever point you want to make.

Therefore, you need to go with what you are comfortable with and what the odds say are best. And I’m not sure what the odds say, but I’d venture a guess they say the sight of a gun generally is a crime deterrent. But there is always an exception.

Like seatbelts in a car. They save a lot of lives, but someone will always mention the remote case where they malfunction and keep someone from exiting a burning vehicle.

 

Do you think carrying open, as an employee behind the counter at a smaller store would be a deterrent or possibly invite a problem?

If it's just you doing it? Maybe, maybe not. You probably don't want to find out.

If it's everybody doing it? Yes.

 

This.

I work part time in a LGS. EVERYONE open carries. Then, if there's an issue, there's more than one good guy with a gun.

If I were alone? I'm a target.

 

Open carry at say a gun store is one thing. There are likely multiple employees packing and probably even some customers. I would think a gun store might be only for the dumbest of criminals to target.
A convenience store or like with one employee is a different story. If there's one guy they know is armed a plan can be put in place and executed easier and therefore would make a much better target than a store full of strapped employees that you can't keep tabs on at all times.

 

Open carry at say a gun store is one thing. There are likely multiple employees packing and probably even some customers. I would think a gun store might be only for the dumbest of criminals to target.
A convenience store or like with one employee is a different story. If there's one guy they know is armed a plan can be put in place and executed easier and therefore would make a much better target than a store full of strapped employees that you can't keep tabs on at all times.

And yet, plenty of gun stores see (attempted) robberies.
Don't underestimate stupidity...

 

Interesting question. I agree there are several outcomes of open carry.

On one hand, it’s something of value for the bad guy to take/steal as well as the cash etc.

On the other hand most indoor ranges seem to prefer open carry by their employees. So at any given time there are at least 5 or 6 folks clearly armed - I consider that a deterrent

Then again, I prefer concealed with a good measure of situational awareness in my every day travels for the elent of surprise.

you pays yur $$ u takes yur choice.

 

I open carry all the time. I've got a good retention holster(Blackhawk CQC Serpa) along with a G20 in it. I practice with it. I go on the premise the BG will think twice and choose someone else. Also I really keep a close eye on my surroundings. I think practice and and being aware of what's going on is the key.

 

That’s my favorite retention holster. I use this for most of my handguns.

I also carry a couple of Fox Karambits; one in each front pocket. These have the Emerson wave feature which allows for extremely rapid blade deployment.

 

In a high crime area, open carry , not really doing anything, they will case the store first and if they come in hot they will probably attack you first. If your target is worth the risk they won't care.

 

I see the word “probably”, which indicates opinion instead of fact.

Do we have any known cases where this has happened? I know of the opposite where they were waiting for a guy with a gun to leave.

 

There is no hard and fast rule . There is no definite answer to the question . Only opinions . You can't know how someone will react to the sight of a gun .

 

At every gun shop I visit the people behind the counters are open carrying. It seems to work for them. If you could get other employees to open carry along with you it would most likely be a larger deterrent.

 

We've never had this discussion before. I'm anxious to read all the responses ten or twelve pages from now.

 

That's a hard question to answer. I prefer conceal carry. YMMV

 

Or you just paint yourself the first target.

 

Don't expect open carry to deter.

It increases your chances of being targeted for ambush. The bad guy(s) will plan to hit you suddenly, faster, and harder than you can effectively react.

Mentals may be attracted to your gun.

Bad guys may consider your gun as a challenge.

You lose the tactical advantages of deception, surprise, and fast transient maneuver - tactics that allow you to change the situation more rapidly than the bad guy can comprehend, allowing you to penetrate and disrupt his time competitive decision-making process, and defeat him.

 

My thoughts exactly. I just need other opinions.

 

I work in a small retail store. I carry my Glock concealed 100% of the time. But, armed robberies are up nearby and of course, I'd prefer not to have to shoot anyone.

Do you think carrying open, as an employee behind the counter at a smaller store would be a deterrent or possibly invite a problem?

I'm curious to see what everything says. View attachment 1260640

I'm an FFL and at our store, all our employees carry concealed, whether inside or outside the store (although open carry is illegal in FL outside your place of business/home). You visit some other gun stores, and some of the staff does open carry however.

Whether open carry is a deterrent, absolutely not. The OC crowd is so full of it, if a visible gun was a deterrent, then why are people still shooting and killing cops every week?

If it was a deterrent, then why have OCers on video had their gun snatched out of their holster ?

We've yet to meet a single reasonable person that can explain how OC is more beneficial that CC. There are situations where OC is preferred and even necessary such as when hunting or at a tactical/IPSC match or camping, but that's about it.

If you live in an OC legal state, look at the average OCer - they have to worst junk guns, worst holster setups, and are oblivious to their surrounding. I am still certain that more go about like that to make a political statement/"own the libs" mentality than for authentic self-defense purposes.

 

Whether open carry is a deterrent, absolutely not. The OC crowd is so full of it, if a visible gun was a deterrent, then why are people still shooting and killing cops every week?

Criminals are not one homogeneous segment of the population. They differ in their motivations, general intelligence, and experience.

Also, and this is critical, the media does not report every crime - only those that help sell ad space. So unless you study the FBI's UCR, or local equivalent, you're not going to have an accurate viewpoint.

 

OP had a very specific scenario (retail staff member small store), so that’s a little different than general “open carry”.

I don’t feel qualified to give an answer, but would suggest as noted prior, even a small group of employees open carrying might mitigate a lot of the downsides of a single person working alone most of the time open carrying.

 

I see gun store employee group carry as a different dynamic than just one store clerk. Similar to a group of open carrying cops, odds are decent that at least a few of them are decently skilled with a gun. A bad guy might have to guess which one is the Barney Fife of the group or which is the retired special forces operator, which would make a sane person just turn around and leave. But I don't see a single armed employee at a retail store as much of a deterrent when 100% situational awareness is impossible, especially while focusing on other tasks of the job. You would be worse off if they know you're armed.