Michael in GA posted the following in the comment section . . .
Is it counterintuitive to open carry a sub compact pistol? I was at a restaurant for my wife’s birthday with her and her mother. A man one table over stood up and had a Smith & Wesson M&P9 Shield on his hip.
I nudged my wife and gestured with my eyes toward the gun. She looked and said, “That’s great!” I said no, it isn’t.
If you are going to open carry, carry a full-size. The Shield is designed for concealment. By open carrying it, you have just removed the most important advantage of a sub compact and ignored all the advantages of a full-size gun.
She said I shouldn’t criticize a fellow gun carrier. My point is, once you join the armed citizenry, why not do what makes the most sense? Why limit capacity, accuracy, reliability, power for the ability to conceal and then open carry?
I would rather conceal a full-size than open carry a sub-compact.
A couple of reasons come immediately to mind.
Michael says he’d rather conceal a full-size handgun than open carry a subcompact, but that’s hardly a universally held viewpoint. If you’re going to own just one pistol, lots of gun owners would rather have one they can effectively conceal when open carry isn’t an option.
For a lot of people, carrying a full-size M&P, even under a cover garment is about as discreet as Sherman marching through Georgia.
Or maybe the carrier has smaller hands and doesn’t feel as comfortable with a full-size pistol, or doesn’t shoot them as well as they do a smaller gun.
But we’re sure you can come up with some reasons yourself. Let Michael know your thoughts in the comments below.