Boating and Firearms

Sua Sponte said:
The only time I vary from this practice is if we are going to be near Canada. I then swap out my HK for an assault rifle; a Wilson Combat UT-15 with all the fun furniture, including side-saddle dual magazines (60 rounds on the rifle) with Hornady TAP ammo (armor-piercing). Don't want to have to put into a Canadian port in the event of an emergency with a pistol on board!
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:huh:

So the Canooks don't have a problem with an AR clone that can drill hole after hole reliably at 500 meters, but balk at a relative peashooter .40 cal pistol that has a range of barely 50 meters (on a good day) and is capable of a fraction of the volume of fire!?!?!?

WTF?

Bahamians make more sense..... you can have Ma Deuce on your boat -- as long as it stays on your boat and you tell them all about it -- down to the last round.
 
pKai said:
:huh:

So the Canooks don't have a problem with an AR clone that can drill hole after hole reliably at 500 meters, but balk at a relative peashooter .40 cal pistol that has a range of barely 50 meters (on a good day) and is capable of a fraction of the volume of fire!?!?!?
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It's totally crazy, but totally true. I don't get it either.
 
Off coastal NE, all I have to worry about is the occasional petty thief, maybe someone capable of causing a little harm. The Mossberg 500 is a little heavy. My usual carry weapon of choice is the easily concealable and rustproof S&W 442. My stainless S&W M&P40c is nice too, but a little heavy for the summer. I can't really conceal that well in shorts.
 
If I carry on the boat, it's most often my trusty S&W Model 36 Chief. I've been carrying it more than any other gun I own for about thirty years now, and I'm real comfortable with it.
 
This vessel is armed...sidearm for day trips, 45-70 lever for extended trips....everyone on board has qualified with both. Being from Colorado, guns are second nature as is the training to use them....Provide training and they are inanimate objects and an asset
my .02
 
KRB64 said:
I thought the 442 was blued. Is yours stainless or something else?
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I have the SeaCore model. It has an aluminum alloy frame and carbon steel cylinder. I live and play around salt water and have never seen any rust on it. It is cleaned and oiled after use or at least once a month.

This gun is light at 15oz, but still feels balanced and without too much recoil. It packs enough stopping power with the +P ammo and a speed strip to do the job as my primary, but is also easy to carry on my Uncle Mike's ankle holster as a BUG.
 
Admiral and I both keep Springfield XDs on board. Can't wait to get out of Milwaukee so I can say they're nice to have onboard instead of should have them.
 
That is why I love living in Louisiana. Only down in the south can we carry a shotgun or rifle on our truck gun rack. I was once in Dallas Texas where I was going to school, when one of the students showed me his .357 mag as a Deputy passed by. The Deputy stopped to see what was going on and from there we started talking about our guns. Love it.

Ted
 
Wow, you guys must boat in some dangerous waters to be totin' around some of the armament mentioned above.

I didn't used to keep a gun on board. One night we were anchored in an out of the way place and I was awakened around 0200 by the sound of a small boat motor. I snuck a peek to see what was going on and saw about a 16' alum fishing boat with small motor and two guys. No fishing gear visible. The boat idled around mine twice at a distance of about 25 yards then went about 50 yards away and shut off the motor. They sat for about 10 minutes talking, then fired it up and left.

I now keep a Model 60 with +P+ ammo and some extra rounds.
 
JVM225 said:
If I carry on the boat, it's most often my trusty S&W Model 36 Chief. I've been carrying it more than any other gun I own for about thirty years now, and I'm real comfortable with it.
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I think it was legendary pistol shooter Elmer Keith who said "Beware of the man who only carries one gun 'cause he probably knows how to use it."

I'm that way with my model 60. I carried it for years as a backup gun while working as a cop. Out to 50 yards I can probably hit what I want. Inside 25 yards I'd bet my life on it.
 
Gofirstclass said:
Wow, you guys must boat in some dangerous waters to be totin' around some of the armament mentioned above.
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Not really. The only near-incident I've ever had in 30 years of boating is described below... and who knows... it could have been nothing. They never got close enough for us to find out...... but they sure ran when they saw exploding coconuts shooting plumes of water 30 feet in the air.... Maybe they were just 4 guys out fishing (I saw no gear) and they thought "I" was the pirate!!! :wow:

It's one of those "Better to have it and not need it.." things.......

I also have 4 bilge pumps on my boat when she barely "needs" (as in "regularly uses") one.
 
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I also carry one of my smaller pistols on board for every trip. (I already have it with me from the car ride to the marina...) I don't normally have kids on with us. But when we do bring kids out, the gun gets locked in a small electric-combo safe in the cabin.

-Seth
 
Gofirstclass said:
I think it was legendary pistol shooter Elmer Keith who said "Beware of the man who only carries one gun 'cause he probably knows how to use it."

I'm that way with my model 60. I carried it for years as a backup gun while working as a cop. Out to 50 yards I can probably hit what I want. Inside 25 yards I'd bet my life on it.
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Why don't you use .357 in that? What length barrel? With the 2.125" barrel, you aren't likely to hit what you want, but you won't need to stop a threat at 50 yards.
 
JV II said:
Why don't you use .357 in that? What length barrel? With the 2.125" barrel, you aren't likely to hit what you want, but you won't need to stop a threat at 50 yards.
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JV, the Model 60 is a .38 Special only pistol on the "J" frame. It's got the 2" barrel (approx 2'). You may be mistaking it for the Model 66 2" on the "K" frame with the round butt that shoots a .357 round.

As to your statement about not hitting what I'm aiming at, I routinely qualified with that model 60 on the standard PPC combat course where you shoot at 7 yards, 15 yards, 25 yards and 50 yards. My qualification "game plan" was to make every shot from 25 yards & closer a 10 ring shot. That way I could afford to pull a few at 50 yards. My qualifying scores with the 2" Model 60 were in the low- to mid-1200's (out of a max score of 1500).

Now before you start thinking I'm puffing smoke up your tailpipe, let me tell you that I shot PPC with a 6", carried a "Distinguished" rating for many years and my scores were usually around 1460 and higher.

No brag there, just fact based on shooting about 10,000-15,000 rounds a year for about 10 years while I was shooting in competition.
 
Gofirstclass said:
JV, the Model 60 is a .38 Special only pistol on the "J" frame. It's got the 2" barrel (approx 2'). You may be mistaking it for the Model 66 2" on the "K" frame with the round butt that shoots a .357 round.

As to your statement about not hitting what I'm aiming at, I routinely qualified with that model 60 on the standard PPC combat course where you shoot at 7 yards, 15 yards, 25 yards and 50 yards. My qualification "game plan" was to make every shot from 25 yards & closer a 10 ring shot. That way I could afford to pull a few at 50 yards. My qualifying scores with the 2" Model 60 were in the low- to mid-1200's (out of a max score of 1500).

Now before you start thinking I'm puffing smoke up your tailpipe, let me tell you that I shot PPC with a 6", carried a "Distinguished" rating for many years and my scores were usually around 1460 and higher.

No brag there, just fact based on shooting about 10,000-15,000 rounds a year for about 10 years while I was shooting in competition.
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I thought you meant this: http://www.snubnose.info/docs/model60-15.htm

Hats off. That's impressive. Shooting from my 1 7/8 inch 442 J-Frame at 25 yards has the accuracy of throwing rocks. Getting a 10 ring shot is not easy. My M&P is much more accurate, obviously due to the longer barrel and heavier weight. Either one will do the trick within my LOA of 12 yards.
 
JV, here's my Model 60...
Model60-1.jpg


If you're familiar with Model 60's you'll notice that I bobbed the hammer on this one and installed an orange ramp in the front sight. The ramp is more for looks than function, but the bobbed hammer made the gun much easier to carry in an ankle holster or in the pants holster. This gun has had a lot of work done on it to make it smoother and it's 100% reliable. It's probably had 5,000-7,000 rounds through it and it's never misfired.

I put some cross hatched cuts in the top of the hammer so it can still be cocked if I want to, but I've always just fired it double action.

It made a very nice backup gun while I was a cop and makes a nice carry gun now.
 
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