Hello folks I just wanted to talk about a recent trip to the Island of Roatan Honduras. I saw no police the few days I was there. However I saw many security officers just about everywhere there was a bank, gas station, hardware store or anywhere where people spent money. They were everywhere. The firearms were quite the mix. A lot of revolvers S&W and old Colt 38 specials or 357. Most of the pistols appeared to be Sigs. I saw a bank security officer carrying a M 14. However what really stood out was the shotguns. I saw a lot of security officers carrying pistol grip only shotguns. Usually Remington 870s. Some had slings some just held them, I have alittle experience with pgo shotguns, while fun to shoot and with some practice you can be somewhat accurate. I am not wanting to start a debate on the merits of pgo shotguns. Just never actually saw them being carried around. It seems the imtimidation factor was the reason they were carried. Btw the shotgun officers carried no pistols just the shotguns. Anyone seen pgo shotguns being carried?
Honduras pgo shotguns
- Thread starter dodo bird
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
No.
Not in this part of the world anyway.
One has to wonder if they get any training, or just hand them out to the new hires?
See any ammo for them?
rc
Not in this part of the world anyway.
One has to wonder if they get any training, or just hand them out to the new hires?
See any ammo for them?
rc
No I really wanted to take some pictures. I didn't want to draw any attention. I was reading in a guns and ammo article online that Honduras is number 10 in the world for citizens to own firearms. USA Number one of course. It was a resort Island and by Honduras standard very safe (not saying much at all). I wouldn't want to live there. Even our driver to dinner saying I would get mugged right outside the police station in many areas. The water was crystal clear! That's why people go there, and it's cheap.
Captcurt
Member
Never noticed it much in Honduras but did see more guns on Cozumel and Belize. The only pgo shotgun was a carried by a guard at an ATM in San Miguel on Cozumel.
Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
PGO shotguns have been popular in that part of the world for thirty years that I know of.
Now as to why, I can't say, other than that they are short and easy to get into and out of vehicles with...
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/castle/cat_honduras_guatemala.php
-- http://www.vagabondquest.com/caribbean/honduras/woken-by-explosions-at-5-am-in-honduras/
Now as to why, I can't say, other than that they are short and easy to get into and out of vehicles with...
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/castle/cat_honduras_guatemala.php
-- http://www.vagabondquest.com/caribbean/honduras/woken-by-explosions-at-5-am-in-honduras/
lemaymiami
Member
Like most in third world countries the folks you see armed that way are just making it up as they go along. You'll spot the folks with training if you look at how they carry themselves and what if any weapons they display openly. That doesn't make the untrained ones a bit less dangerous at close quarters (and that danger I'm speaking of is specifically towards bystanders if weapons come into play....).
I figure anyone carrying in the manner shown in the accompanying photo is much more about intimidation than any real skill with the weapon... but that's just me.
Many years ago I read an article about Guatemala written during the bloody insurgency going on at the time. The author had observed more than a few places with armed guards on their premises as a daily precaution (including quite a few armed with submachine guns...). At a MacDonalds he tried to take a picture of a guard armed with a sub-gun and was waved off by the guard, who said, "MacDonald's no like" - while pointing the weapon at him.
Anyone who assumes that other places are as civilized as we are (most of the time...) is asking for a very rude surprise...
I figure anyone carrying in the manner shown in the accompanying photo is much more about intimidation than any real skill with the weapon... but that's just me.
Many years ago I read an article about Guatemala written during the bloody insurgency going on at the time. The author had observed more than a few places with armed guards on their premises as a daily precaution (including quite a few armed with submachine guns...). At a MacDonalds he tried to take a picture of a guard armed with a sub-gun and was waved off by the guard, who said, "MacDonald's no like" - while pointing the weapon at him.
Anyone who assumes that other places are as civilized as we are (most of the time...) is asking for a very rude surprise...
And a heck of a lot more comfortable to shoot!
WestKentucky
Member
I saw the same, both at roatan and belize belize (best belize it). In Belize I had the opportunity to ask our tour guide about the weaponry because each bank and each school had a similar front door setup, 2 armed guards, one with something small and automatic, typically ak47 but a few m4s there too. The other side was a PGO shotgun every time with one exception which was a tactical shoulder stocked rem 1100. I asked specifically if Belize had a high crime rate that prompted heavily the armed public and she said not anymore, but kidnapping and bank robbery was still somewhat common locally. I asked how often the banks get robbed...let's stop here for a sec, the banks were small poured concrete structures with few if any windows and the walls appeared to be about 4 ft thick, metal roofing which was considerably better looking than the residential portion of town, appeared to be pretty thick, at least from the tour bus....the tour guide lady said that bank robberies have slowed down over the last few years since military helicopters take care of what the armed guards don't handle on their own. Seems a good deterrant, and her mannerisms indicated that those guards knew how to handle their weapons very well. I can only imagine that a shotgun would be for point shooting from waist or chest level in close quarters to make it easier to maneuver. From what I saw it was a 50-50 mix between automatic and pump, mainly remington.
Gordon
Member
semi auto PGO shotties : other than AK types are very special custom affairs, Remington never made one, but a few class 3 manufatures did modify them and they are very $$$$ .
WestKentucky
Member
I wonder why...concern over limp-wristing the gun, controlling the gun enough to not accidentally double tap, or was it just an engineering feat to get enough gas in the action with a short barrel to operate the gun.
DaleCooper51
Member
I was in Honduras about 15 years ago for work and don't recall the firearms. What still sticks in my mind was the overwhelming smell of 2-Stroke gasoline.
Captcurt
Member
If I remember correctly, most semi -autos don't cycle well when you get under18" or so.
1911 guy
Member
I might have to concur with the intimidation theory. I spent a lot of time in the M.E. and pistols were prestige and intimidation items. Demonstrating any skill beyond what we would consider marginal put one in the ranks of Rambo or John Wayne. Lots of "important" people carried them, relying on the associated effect. Most of these people used them as dramatic emphasis, waving them around rather than shooting. I do know they were loaded, as I saw plenty of ND's.
bangswitch
Member
Were you in Roatan as part of a cruise? I was also in Roatan, back last November, and noticed the very same thing. We had stopped for gas while on a shore excursion, and there was an armored car pulled up at the door to the combination gas station/convenience store. Three guys at the back of the car, two with shotguns like you describe, and one with an AR. Inside the store were two more guys with shotguns, plus the two guys servicing the ATM inside (they both had sidearms). There was also the armored car's driver, and another in the passenger seat.
The guys with shotguns all looked like they would use them at the drop of a hat, all had body armor and ball caps with the security company's logo.
My daughter, who works for a cruise line, says that Roatan after dark is a place you wouldn't want to be unless heavily armed. There are a few enclaves for the tourists that are relatively safe, but outside of them it's like the wild, wild West. Roatan is a weekly stop for her on this contract; she says she likes it the best of all their stops (which include Belize City, Costa Maya and Cozumel). Diving is the largest single draw for tourists, due to the barrier reef along the north shore.
I was also in Belize then, only saw two armed guys, who looked like militia. Sort of paramilitary dress, both were carrying M4's on a single-point sling. I did see a big sign about 10 miles out of the city, advertising a rifle range nearby.
doctorjohn
Member
I was down there several years back. Landed in San Pedro Sula, and we were transported to the interior on a private school bus, 4 hours. We had Honduran army guards with loaded M16s, one in the front of the bus, and one in the back. I saw quite a number of guards with pgo shotguns. The whole thing was an eye-opener for me. We had no problems at all, and the local folks in the interior were friendly.
No It wasn't a cruise. We just flew down there. I have traveled the world alittle. I agree the security was an eye opener.
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