Open-Carry Guy Robbed of His Gun

   10.11.14

Open-Carry Guy Robbed of His Gun

Carrying a gun openly may seem like a good idea, but giving away your secrets is almost always a bad move. William Coleman III of Gresham, Oregon learned that the hard way when his openly-carried–and newly-purchased–pistol was stolen from him at gunpoint.

Coleman was reportedly loitering and talking with a cousin around 2:00 AM when he was approached by a tall, thin, black male who asked him for a cigarette. After asking Coleman about the pistol on his side, the man pulled a gun from his own waistband and said, “I like your gun. Give it to me.”

Coleman handed over the Walther P22 pistol that he’d bought earlier that day, and the robber fled in his flip-flops.

If Coleman had been carrying concealed, he would almost certainly have never been approached and would still have his pistol. The point of carrying a gun is to create safety and security, not to attract attention. Carrying openly attracts unwanted attention and ensures that anyone approaching you will know that you are armed and take precautions against that, like pulling their gun first and potentially taking yours.

Carrying concealed keeps people guessing. A potential robber or thief has to wonder, “Is that person armed? Can I get away with attacking or robbing him or her?” It also means that if they approach thinking you are unarmed and without wielding weapons of their own, you have an advantage.

Open carry also makes many non-gun people uncomfortable, while concealed carry provides the benefits of having a handy firearm without stirring up fears and emotions.

There are many reasons to carry a concealed firearm. We can’t examine all of them here, but one of the top reasons is that nobody is likely to approach you, pull a pistol, and steal your gun. That has got to ruin your day.

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Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.

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