It wasn’t until we heard voices coming up the trail that I remembered I was open carrying. Self-consciousness crept in along with a flash of uncertainty about the legality of stowing a sidearm visibly on my person. Had I really read the regulations completely enough? Would these people call a ranger and cause a situation?
We were on the Ozark Trail in the Mark Twain National Forest and only now, on the second day of the trip, began encountering other backpackers. The holster was laced to my pack’s waist belt and hung just to the right of my 
bellybutton, the profile of the Glock’s handle sharply silhouetted against my red tshirt. A middle-aged man leading the oncoming party and I shared a pleasant head-nod-fellow-backpacker acknowledgement, though his eyes remained on my abdomen until we passed. I got the same reaction from the remainder of his group. I made sure to greet them all with a friendly hello. Another guy we encountered graciously stopped to help us out with an unscheduled shuttle (See A Trail of Weeping Feet) and he too noticed the gun on my hip, yet still offered us a ride. I left the gun on my pack in the way back of his SUV as a courtesy.
You’ve probably seen the videos online of guys going into family restaurants with long guns slung over their shoulders, cell phones recording, just hoping someone confronts them. These guys, while within their rights, are tools.
Now let me caveat by saying that I think the entire country was intended and ought to allow the open carrying of firearms by law abiding citizens, but that’s not the world we live in right now. I get what they’re trying to do though…make people aware that in that particular state, in that particular municipality, openly carrying a firearm is lawful and that it’s possible to be in the presence of a gun without getting shot. It’s a noble end but a terrible (and detrimental) method of informing gun-fearers about the usefulness of firearms. There are more effective ways to influence public opinion.
In my case, I was open carrying for practical purposes. Primarily, the gun gave me quick options to respond to the few but present critters in the forest like feral hogs, mountain lions, black bears and meth lab technicians. There were also members of the fairer sex on our trip and open carrying provided a peace of mind for them no whistle or cell phone without signal could. Open carrying served actual purposes rather than just being a prop for a stunt.
But I’m not so gun-crazy that I don’t believe I wasn’t also making a statement. My hope was that seeing a friendly outdoorsman dressed in typical backpacking gear (not clad in military surplus fatigues and face paint) would contradict any previously held stereotypes about gun owners. It’s a small but reasonable step to normalize visible firearms in public.
And reasonable is the keyword in all things 2nd Amendment, not only in the scope of its practice, but also in the shaping of public sentiment by our own practices. Open carrying my pistol was the right configuration for that piece of equipment on that trip; a Waffle House with your Remington 870 during the dinner rush…not so much. Purposeful carrying paired with a courteous attitude will do more for gun rights than any contrived public confrontation. Intentionally making people uncomfortable and suspicious will only reinforce stereotypes and keep us at odds with folks who aren’t yet in the choir.
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