Arms For Your Boat

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statelineblues

statelineblues

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OKay, something to take your minds off the bills, wrapping paper, twinkle lights, etc...

You own a 27-foot boat (power or sail, your choice) and you and the family often take it out for day and weekend trips, occasionally going for week-long cruises.

What firearm(s) would you keep on board and why?

Here are the conditions:
Assume you are sailing the largest body of water closest to you (east coast - Atlantic Ocean; west coast - Pacific ocean; southern states - Gulf of Mex; upper central states - Great lakes; etc..)
You, spouse, 2 kids (under 15) are the 'crew'
Only weapons YOU can legally purchase in your home state

This is just for FUN, so don't over-read the question!:rolleyes:
 
Boat guns

1. Springfield M1A Socom...handy carbine length....30 caliber range to keep miscreants @ arms length

2. Mossberg Marine 12 Gauge..this is in either stainless or nickel..for corrosion resistance

3. Springfield xd45 13 + 1 capacity .45 caliber...'nuff said
 
Just for fun I would have to follow Quint's lead from the movie Jaws and keep an M1 Garand and a Greener Harpoon gun along with a couple of flare pistols on board.
 
1 or 2 stainless pumps 12 ga.......#1 buck and slugs. about 50 shells combined each pump.

1 or 2 stainless ruger mini 30's........300 rounds of ammo each rifle.

no need for a pistol IMO.
 
Man the guns, Mr. Christian!

I'll take an AR or M1A because of its capacity and rapid fire. Bolt guns are no good for walking fire into a moving vessel from another moving vessel.

I'll take a shotgun because of versatility and big holes slugs make. A small agressive craft could be potentially sunk at close range.

I'll also take a handgun, preferably large capacity. This is the one situation where a handgun is needed due to tight quarters and large capacity is needed because of the 1) inability to get cover or distance for a reload and 2) pirates always have more men below deck. :neener:
 
When I go out, I just have my pistol (1911). Don't keep a rifle on board but I know people who do. The pirates of the Great Lakes are a friendly lot.:D

However, I'll play, matey, arrrr, shiver me badger.

I'll take a pair M14 clones with AP, a 12 ga. shotgun, and a couple of pistols for me.

Wifey will have her pistol and an AR, give the boys ARs and pistols.

I'd want something big around (BAR in .338, a .375 H&H, .416 what have you) loaded with solids as an anti-boat weapon. I'd want a scoped, suppressed .22 rifle on board and a bolt action .308 as well. Flare gun or three, empty bottles, laundry detergent and fire extinguishers around as well.

Everything as stainless and weatherproofed as I could. Lots of cleaning supplies then too.:D
 
Im in south Louisiana; EVERYTHING seems to rust and corrode down here. The glass on our windows, and windshields on our cars rust down here:rolleyes: .

Gotta go with a stainless Mossberg Mariner, stainless Ruger 10/22 and a stainless AK. Oh, and bikini's that go well with stainless for the ladies. :neener:
 
I think there have been some good threads on this before here. I'm closest to the Gulf of Mexico, which means a risk of cruising too far out of US waters. In that case I'd only take what I'd be willing to donate to the "old man in the sea". You get caught out of our waters with an AR or M1A and you will probably be treated like you're on your way to Bay of Pigs II.

In any case, I'd probably just stick with shotguns, which would be a great excuse for me to buy one!
 
I'm thinking something along the lines of an AR-10 that's had the bejesus Duracoated out of it, or kitted with stainless parts... Ought to be handy enough for most work and be able to reach out and get the message across to distant pirates.

And I'll need a cutlass. Yarr.
 
. Mossberg Marine 12 Gauge..this is in either stainless or nickel..for corrosion resistance
Click to expand...

Bingo. Or the Remington equivalent.

An EBR onboard is gonna' draw the ire of the Coast Guard a lot more than a shotgun despite your being "allowed" to have it should you get boarded for any reason.

Also, you should consider where you'll eventually have to put into port. Does that state have a ban on EBR's? Where does the state's jurisdiction end on that particular body of water? (I'd be on the Chesapeake Bay and it's tributaries so MD's laws would apply.)

But if I was a VA resident and had a ccw permit, would I be in violation by sailing with my handgun on the Potomac River (northern shore is MD, southern shore VA) which is regarded as under Maryland's authority?

Sorry, I know this wasn't supposed to be over analyzed. :neener:
 
I'd take:

1. A 12 gauge pump (your choice). It would be nice to have a stainless one but if you take a blued one, give it a good coat of protection, and wrap it in a garbage bag if will keep okay. You need to check it on a regular basis.

2. A SKS with fixed magazine. This should keep you out of trobule in states with "assault weapons" laws like NJ, MD, MA etc.

3. A revolver as you have to have one hand free to hang onto something on a boat and the immediate action drill to deal with a dud round is one handed.
At least 38 special.

I worked marine enforcement in FL for awhile. My first question when doing a boarding would be "do you have any weapons on board". If they said no, then I became suspicious.
 
Easy one... the three I already have for that duty... (I only need my own boat, instead of a friends...)

Remington 870 Marine Magnum

Smith & Wesson 5406

all stainless and plastic Ruger Mini-Thirty
 
Only know of a few uses

A couple of cruisers transiting the Red Sea routed pirates w a shotgun and ramming.
Reese Palley, also in Red Sea used a full auto AK-47 to cut through his damaged mast to prevent further damage.
Sir Peter Blake was killed by pirates in Brazil when his shot gun jammed.
Bob Bitchin (publisher of Latitudes and Attitudes) used a handgun to awaken a guy who had nodded off while on watch.
 
A marine shotgun for sure.

But i would be happy with a m1a/m1 (sealed in plastic till i needed it) and a 9mm or 45 pistol on my belt. And no shotgun. Really i dont see much use for one against pirates with AKs the limited range on a shotgun would hurt. I would want a longer range weapon to get them as they are attacking. And the pistol is on me at all times, so if they sneak up i have some chance going against 15 armed pirates vs me:scrutiny: :(

If i had the money i would get all three, Oh and that sonic blaster. One of those for sure
 
How about a,

light cannon that shoots a 5lb ball. You could also put grape shot into it.
Then repelling pirates would get interesting.
A machete, and a good sidearm would be my real choices.
Can we have limpet mines?
 
El Tejon said;

Wifey will have her pistol and an AR, give the boys ARs and pistols.
Click to expand...

Wifey? Is this hypothetical or have you succumbed to the feminine wiles of some lass? Are congratulations in order? Are you guys registered with ammoman? ;)

Jeff
 
Sailing with weapons can very tricky from a legal standpoint. Few places that you are likely to sail to allow the sort of weapons that we can have in the good ol' US of A. So all legal issues aside.....

1. A .308 caliber battle rifle with reflex sight. I am thinking a FAL with an eotech. All the metal that could be would be stainless or chromed.

2. A nickle-plated 870, 18" with a pistol grip.

3. Springfield Armory XD45

4. About 6 empty Jack Daniels bottles, filled 2/3 of the way with gasoline, and a layer of powdered detergent disolved ontop of the gas.
 
fwiw
Passagemaker magazine Nov/Dec isshad an article by Steve D'Antonio, their mechanical guru in which he related his unscientific testing on the penetration of pistol and rifle ammo through fiberglass. He used an AK, a 9mm pistol and a couple of other of his personal guns (don't remember what other makes or calibers) against some fiberglass rounds that had been cut from various hulls during installation of bow and stern thrusters, etc. Hull fiberglass is generally thicker than superstructural glass. He found that all the rounds he tried punched through. I don't remember any more details, but will check when I get home tonight and post more specifics tomorrow, unless someone else does so before then.
 
I guess Atlantic ocean for me. Rather limited in what I can own here.

1. Benneli M4 12 bore shotgun for fighting on board the boat

2. Barrett M95 .50 BMG rifle for hitting distant threats

3. Southern Gun Company straight-pull AR15 5.56mm NATO for medium range shooting

4. Muzzle loading cannon in any caliber - just for fun :evil:
 
REM 870 and 1911. Possibly AK

These are the two that go on my brother's Bost Whaler when he goes out and about.
When I kayak in the wilderness I take a Smith model 60 3" .357MAG.
I can't carry a rifle on the kayak, or I'd bring an AK.
As for corrosion: The weapons aboard most US Navy vessles are parkerized, and get cleaned once in a while. A great while. They don't rust unless they are left on deck (M-60s and M-2s)
The M134 minigun is mostly stainless, but the barrels aren't, and they don't really rust much either.
 
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