Personal Protection while on the hook

[Alex F]

If you are alone as a single boat...yes. Larger boats are desirable for human smuggling....it's a bigger business than drugs.

:wow: This sounds like the stuff you see on TV appears to be much closer to home than one would think. Very sad and it puts very negative selling point on my dream to move south and do trips like Bahamas. It takes whole fun out of boating. I wander if anyone does these trips or small/great loop alone for this reason?

 

[avguy]

Then if things get really bad....

#1: Barrett M82 .50 caliber rifle

....you can always resort to plan "B"

John F.

So does this thing come with a quick release mount? Think it will fit on my anchor locker hatch? After reading this thread I never realized I was so under prepared for recreational boating....:lol:

 

[Sundancer]

We go in and out of Canada and the customs dock doesn't allow any kind of weapon. So the guns stay at home. As I recall (I'm old, bad memory!) you can't even take pepper spray over and back. So we use a better alternative that shoots a nice stream even further. It's also cheaper and comes in larger bottles. Wasp spray! It shoots a stream a LONG distance is worse on the eyes, nose and lungs than pepper spray and is overlooked by customs and law enforcement. Oops, did you get in the way of the wasp nest I was spraying? I'm SO sorry!

 

[Jack380AC]

We're on the hook EVERY weekend in the Chesapeake.

Has anyone ever had a "situation" of any kind on the Bay? Can you share the story?

 

[trit21]

:wow: This sounds like the stuff you see on TV appears to be much closer to home than one would think. Very sad and it puts very negative selling point on my dream to move south and do trips like Bahamas. It takes whole fun out of boating. I wander if anyone does these trips or small/great loop alone for this reason?

I have done several crossings and although with a group have never had any problems or seen or heard of anyone having problems that I know personally. Yes, they do happen and you need to be aware of situations that MAY occur.

I have also taken serveral trips to S. FL from Daytona and once you get offshore just south of Cape Canaveral you are out of sight of land for 1 hour or so, about 15 miles off from what I remember but have never seen or heard of any problems there either.

Again, there are problems you need to aware of when going to the Bahamas or out in the open water but it is not like we are offshore near Somalia. I mean damn people, stop freaking everyone out about pirates of the Bahamas.

 

[NoThanksDad]

We're on the hook EVERY weekend in the Chesapeake.

Has anyone ever had a "situation" of any kind on the Bay? Can you share the story?

None here :smt038 biggest issue is boneheads throwing big wakes too close. (nothing compared to drug and people smuggling)

 

[Gofirstclass]

By way of a personal introduction, I had a long career as a cop during which time I was a firearms instructor, armorer, hostage negotiator, competition pistol shooter and was involved in one shooting situation against a guy who tried to take me out with his 12 gauge. (I won) I taught a Home Firearms Safety course to civilians and numerous firearms courses to officers all over WA. I do know a little bit about firearms and what the various types are capable of.

I have a CCW but almost never carry one when I'm away from home.

After reading these posts I'm truly amazed about the ignorance of (or unfamilarity with) firearms that some people have demonstrated. I don't mean to criticize, but when someone tells me he can take out an engine at 1000 yards with a .44mag, I just laugh. It ain't gonna happen brother, no matter how good a shot you are.

An incident a couple of years ago made me start carrying a handgun on the boat when we overnight. We were on the hook in an area off the Columbia River when I was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of a small outboard motor idling near our boat.

I poked my head up enough to see a small (15'-16') aluminum boat with two guys in it. I watched as they circled my boat twice at a distance of about 20 yards. They then idled about 50 yards away and shut off the motor. I could hear them talking very softly but couldn't hear what they were saying.

Not having a gun on board, I started thinking of what kind of weapon I could use if they tried to board the boat. What came to mind was the boat pole, large kitchen knife, etc.

Fortunately after a few minutes they started the motor and drove away.

It was that incident that made me start thinking about keeping a gun on board and which of the several guns I own should it be. I settled on a S&W Model 60 with several speed loaders, all filled with +P+ hollow points.

I decided that a shotgun would be too unwieldly in the confines of a boat. I also am a helluva shot with a handgun and felt that, even with the Model 60, an intruder would be "mine" out to about 25 yards.

The Model 60 won out over the semi-autos I own simply because they are fool proof. Just about the only thing that will jam a revolver is a squib load that lodges between the cylinder and barrel. That can be fixed, but it takes a minute or two.

Just my $.02 for what it's worth.

 

[Woody]

By way of a personal introduction, I had a long career as a cop during which time I was a firearms instructor, armorer, hostage negotiator, competition pistol shooter and was involved in one shooting situation against a guy who tried to take me out with his 12 gauge. (I won) I taught a Home Firearms Safety course to civilians and numerous firearms courses to officers all over WA. I do know a little bit about firearms and what the various types are capable of.

I have a CCW but almost never carry one when I'm away from home.

After reading these posts I'm truly amazed about the ignorance of (or unfamilarity with) firearms that some people have demonstrated. I don't mean to criticize, but when someone tells me he can take out an engine at 1000 yards with a .44mag, I just laugh. It ain't gonna happen brother, no matter how good a shot you are.

An incident a couple of years ago made me start carrying a handgun on the boat when we overnight. We were on the hook in an area off the Columbia River when I was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of a small outboard motor idling near our boat.

I poked my head up enough to see a small (15'-16') aluminum boat with two guys in it. I watched as they circled my boat twice at a distance of about 20 yards. They then idled about 50 yards away and shut off the motor. I could hear them talking very softly but couldn't hear what they were saying.

Not having a gun on board, I started thinking of what kind of weapon I could use if they tried to board the boat. What came to mind was the boat pole, large kitchen knife, etc.

Fortunately after a few minutes they started the motor and drove away.

It was that incident that made me start thinking about keeping a gun on board and which of the several guns I own should it be. I settled on a S&W Model 60 with several speed loaders, all filled with +P+ hollow points.

I decided that a shotgun would be too unwieldly in the confines of a boat. I also am a helluva shot with a handgun and felt that, even with the Model 60, an intruder would be "mine" out to about 25 yards.

The Model 60 won out over the semi-autos I own simply because they are fool proof. Just about the only thing that will jam a revolver is a squib load that lodges between the cylinder and barrel. That can be fixed, but it takes a minute or two.

Just my $.02 for what it's worth.

+1 Great post. Input from the knowledgeable and experienced can't be beat.