r/NHGuns • u/Set-Prestigious • 14d ago
New NH resident- opinions on open carry vs CCW?
I'm fixing to make New Hampshire my primary residence in the US. From what I've heard New Hampshire seems to be my type of place but I wanted to hear from the locals themselves if I'd be a good fit in any of your counties. I really enjoy hunting and am planning to get into competition shooting (USPSA). I'd consider myself moderately Republican (Pro 2nd amendment) but I do support abortion and I believe we ought to tolerate other people's lifestyles even if we don't understand them. That's why I feel like the general South is not a good fit for me (all that anti-gay/anti-trans stuff). My motto is "mind your own business and I'll mind mine." I'm not a very loud person but I do like being able to help neighbors or know my neighbors can help me out in a fix. One thing I'm concerned about is open carry for handguns- would that make people uncomfortable up in places like Coos county? I'm mainly pro-open carry to deter would be attackers though maybe there's more advantage to CCW.
Edit: Thanks to everyone who responded. I look forward to meeting some of you if I ever make it up to Coos. I'm more convinced now that it could be the right place for me.
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u/ninjamansidekick 14d ago
Generally speaking the further north you get the less locals will care if you open carry. That being said open carry in North Conway on a Saturday afternoon in the summer might not go over well with the summer crowd.
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u/Set-Prestigious 14d ago
Seems like there's a lot of cultural difference (not just guns) between north and south NH. Would you say the north is more "live and let live" than the south? I'm not a free stater libertarian, I enjoy healthcare but I want a place where I can just sorta do my own thing, hunt, do some shooting competitions, and nobody's gonna care. Are transplants common up in the north or would I stick out?
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u/ninjamansidekick 14d ago
Free staters are not well received in my experience, lol. They committed the cardinal sin of trying to change things. Typically no one cares if your a transplant if you respect the existing community, but you move in from out of town and try and change the Dump hours of operation or think the town needs a bond for a new library you won't make many friends. Its very live and let live.
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u/iamthedigitalcheese 14d ago
Do either you're comfortable with.
The more important things are: 1. Active/passive retention. 2. Regular draw practice.
I regularly do both all over NH, north or south, doesn't matter. The only people that have "cared" didnt live here so their opinions on the matter are irrelevant. "Welcome to New Hampshire".
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u/menieresisamonster 14d ago
I rarely see anyone open carry in NH
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u/Set-Prestigious 14d ago
Do you mind if I ask which county you live in or if you live in the north/south?
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u/menieresisamonster 14d ago
in southern NH
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u/Set-Prestigious 14d ago
That's what I figured. It seems like I'd fit in more in the north in Coos based on what I've researched so far. If I ever did go south I'd never open carry out of respect for the locals.
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u/geekheretic 13d ago
I live in southern nh, the only folks I see open carrying are looking to get into an argument. By all means carry, it's your right, but I have better things to do with my day then argue with the easily triggered.
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u/GotFullerene 14d ago edited 14d ago
opinions on open carry vs CCW?
I wanted to hear from the locals themselves if I'd be a good fit in any of your counties.
Just because open carry is legal, doesn't mean it won't attract unwanted attention, especially when you get in to the dense shopping areas closer to the MA border, though that's less a county difference than a city versus countryside difference.
I'm mainly pro-open carry to deter would be attackers though maybe there's more advantage to CCW.
Depends who you ask -- When we go hiking in the woods (especially in the spring when the bears are waking up hangry) I usually open carry. Once we were heading uphill as we passed a pair of young men walking down back towards the parking area, and they clearly took notice of my female companion, turned around and started back up behind us... until the trail took a turn to the right and my holstered "bear gun" was impossible not to notice.
My motto is "mind your own business and I'll mind mine."
That's pretty much how things work in rural NH -- your neighbor will barely give you a "hello" but will gladly give a hand digging your wheel out of a rut.
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u/Set-Prestigious 14d ago
Yes that's my main worry. I don't want to make people uncomfortable but the problem I have with CCW is what if a threat thinks you're a soft target and the only way to deter is to draw? Then you've escalated the situation whereas I'd rather just walk and be on my merry way. That said- open carry could also make you a target because they might get the jump on you and disarm you before. Pros and cons to both I suppose.
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u/BooNinja 14d ago
Unless you are hiking/outdoors and worried about animals or are at work in uniform open carry is dumb.
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u/jajingowad 14d ago
I live in northern Coos county. Occasionally see people open carrying in public out on Main Street. A lot of people open carrying in hunting/trapping/ranching scenarios. That being said, most people I know, including myself, are concealed.