Guns on a Boat, Yes or No?

[NoTies]

Shame we're not protected by a constitutional right to not have firearms being carried by the sort of people that think shooting from a moving vehicle is clever. On the high seas is generally the only time you would be legally allowed to present a firearm and apart from Somalia I'm not privy to any other areas where yacht piracy is a high seas problem. I have been subject to several incidents with pirates but they were all on cargo ships and we had defence strategies in place that did not involve firearms. And guess what, I'm still here to tell the story and I didn't feel the need to take the life of some poor fisherman because developed nations had forced him into illegal activities to feed his family. The risk vs reward for attacking a yacht are pretty bad for business unless they rely on ransoms. Much better to pinch a whole bunch of cargo.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by NoTies

Anyone who believes a round fired from a non repeating rifle on a boat is going to hit its target ...

No real difference to shooting kangaroos from a moving vehicle.......

[NoTies]

Any shooting from a moving vehicle is pure insanity in a non combat situation.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by NoTies

Any shooting from a moving vehicle is pure insanity in a non combat situation.

Totally agree... just saying it can be done... chance of shooting driver etc quite high... on a boat my biggest fear involving gun use in general would be blowing hole in bottom of own boat... bit of an 'own goal' situation....

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by NoTies

The risk vs reward for attacking a yacht are pretty bad for business unless they rely on ransoms. Much better to pinch a whole bunch of cargo.

They haven't been pinching cargoes off Somalia, everything big ( oil tankers and such) and small ( the few yachts they have taken ) has involved ransoms... but it is a lot easier to get a shipowner to pay up than the family of some mug punter....

[NoTies]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

They haven't been pinching cargoes off Somalia, everything big ( oil tankers and such) and small ( the few yachts they have taken ) has involved ransoms... but it is a lot easier to get a shipowner to pay up than the family of some mug punter....

Tis a common tactic in the South China Sea and throught the various SE Asian straits to steal the cargo or even the whole ship, they're not interested in sailboats. Somalia is a different story though and anybody who sails there unescorted probably wouldn't pass the intelligence test needed to own a firearm (is there one?)

[GrowleyMonster]

I have fired both rifles and pistols from sailboats and shrimp boats, and everything from M-14s to .50 Cal machine guns from ships. With frequent practice, a surprising level of competence can be attained. Just saying.

A boat under sail is a much more stable firing platform than a skiff. Just saying that, too.

Bear in mind that a fiberglass yacht offers concealment but very poor cover. Concealment simply means the other guy can't see to shoot you and would have to expend more ammo to stand a good chance of hitting you. Cover means you have some object between you and your enemy that his rounds can't penetrate. If you pop your head out the hatch, he doesn't have just half your head for a target.. He also knows pretty well where to aim for a center of mass shot. So as you consider what if scenarios, keep in mind the important difference between concealment and cover in a boat susceptible to bullet holes. The security offered by presenting only your head above the hatch is mostly only a comforting illusion.

Before tossing any firearm overboard, serial numbers should be completely obliterated. Stamped numbers can be recovered if not ground out deeply enough. It should be disassembled and the parts tossed seperately. You should determine whether any trawling is ever done at the dump site. In Mexico it is common to see shrimp boats dragging for brown shrimp in up to 45 fathoms of water, as a relevant example. Tickler chains and nets could simply pass over a gun on the bottom, or scoop it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1AM...e_gdata_player

Getting rid of our M-4s prior to entering a gun unfriendly port. The security team documents the weapon dumping for CYA purposes when this is done. Note that they tossed both upper and lower groups together, and the bolt still in place, which out of an abundance of caution I would not have done. I am not in the video... I was shooting it.

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by NoTies

Shame we're not protected by a constitutional right to not have firearms being carried by the sort of people that think shooting from a moving vehicle is clever.

The purpose of shooting from a moving boat is not for fun, it's a necessary action because kidnappers/hijackers have already brought along their guns in a moving vehicle.

On the high seas is generally the only time you would be legally allowed to present a firearm and apart from Somalia I'm not privy to any other areas where yacht piracy is a high seas problem. I have been subject to several incidents with pirates but they were all on cargo ships and we had defence strategies in place that did not involve firearms. And guess what, I'm still here to tell the story and I didn't feel the need to take the life of some poor fisherman because developed nations had forced him into illegal activities to feed his family.

You seem to have more anger for ordinary gun owners than you do for pirates.

The risk vs reward for attacking a yacht are pretty bad for business unless they rely on ransoms.

But they do rely on ransoms, hence the problem.

For this reason European hostages are the highest in demand, since several European governments will pay ransom demands (the USA and UK do not).

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by NoTies

This gem is part of the reason I don't want people cruising round with guns onboard. Anybody who boasts about shooting from moving vehicle has questionable firearms sense in my opinion and would be a very real danger to others.
And still nobody can actually put their hand up and say they have shot from a moving boat (and hit their target)

Why would you say that, no experience I guess?
Shooting from a moving vehicle can be as safe or safer than shooting while walking.
You know for many years the National Forrest service has shot wolves in Alaska from aircraft.
With the appropriate level of skill / training almost any activity can be safe, even offshore sailing

[Phantoms]

Originally Posted by NoTies

because developed nations had forced him into illegal activities to feed his family.

Way to go, turn the criminal into a victim and the victim into a criminal.

[NoTies]

It appears your desire to be Rambo is blinding you to the bigger picture. Off you go to play cowboys and Indians, I'd rather speak to proper cruisers who don't live their lives in fear of imaginary threats.

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by NoTies

I'd rather speak to proper cruisers who don't live their lives in fear of imaginary threats.

obviously not because you are still bothering with this thread.

[atoll]

heading up pirate alley in the next 36 hours.
need to give the crew a safety briefing...... and.........how to use rocket flares most effectively ..........................

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by NoTies

It appears your desire to be Rambo is blinding you to the bigger picture. Off you go to play cowboys and Indians, I'd rather speak to proper cruisers who don't live their lives in fear of imaginary threats.

One way I have learned to get a thread you don't like closed is to make insulting remarks in order to inflame others.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by NoTies

Anyone who believes a round fired from a non repeating rifle on a boat is going to hit its target except by a fluke has obviously no experience and should be the last person to own a gun.

Whether or not guns on board is good idea or not, you know there is a procedure that is used on a regular basis to address your statement. It's called training and practice. In my job, we got a lot of training in how to hit something with a firearm while moving.

(You ought to see the Coast Guard's range set up to train gunners on the HITRON units out to hit a moving outboard motor from a moving HH-65 with a bolt action .50 caliber. If they couldn't teach people to do what you say can't be done, that whole program would be a failure, and it's not.)

HITRON: Hunting drug dealers from helicopters (VIDEO)