Take a gun deep sea fishing

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"Yes, what they don't know, won't hurt me. "
humm...not so sure id follow that line of thinking with Coasties....now your in the territory of the feds and thats no place to take chances and as far as foreign ports go...watch yer top knot....
 
Prudence suggests being sufficiently armed everywhere possible. Boats are no different. Wisdom suggests being aware of the geographic restrictions related to that decision. Prudence & wisdom are vital to staying both alive & out of prison. The better informed you stay, the more prudent & wise you are. The "Deep Sea" and its related ports are no different. BE WISE AND PRUDENT.
 
You need to be sure to hit what your aiming at :)

I heard a story that my grandpa was fishing in a navigation channel of the Arkansas river (not exactly deep sea, but scary enough.) He pulled up a 5ft alligator gar. If you have ever seen one at an aquarium, they are lazy, if you ever see one in a boat, they are vicious bastards. In a panic my gramps pulled out his trusty .38 and emptied it into the gar. After the commotion was over he had 3 small holes in the bottom of his boat :)
 
Thanks for all the responses, so i guess this clears up alot about having a firearm on a boat but what about actually discharging it while on the ocean. Does this again depend on the state/country whos waters you are in, or is it generally a legal no-no?
 
A few additional thoughts about weapons on boats... from a retired cop that currently works on the water full time on small boats.

Boats don't stop bullets at all.... If you're unfortunate enough to be in any situation involving firearms - do your best to E & E the heck out of there. If there's an area of the boat that's below the water line you can find some cover there - otherwise it's your motor or a cooler filled with ice to have any protection at all from incoming rounds....

Next, if you must have a weapon aboard you'll want to take extra corrosion precautions, keep it carefully covered, etc. That same extra care should go to your ammo (I'd want a waterproof container for ammo and make a careful inspection of each round monthly to verify it's still in good shape - by the way that does not include any form of spray lube, particularly if it's WD40... keep that stuff away from your ammo, period.

Lastly, and this concerns cruising sailors or boaters planning on visiting another country by boat. No matter what anyone else suggests, make a serious effort to find out that country's firearms laws (and also ammo regs) since they will apply to you... I've known one guy (my dentist) who ran afoul of Bahamian law and ended up in the clink over it.... He ended up losing his boat, and lots of money to extricate himself and he was only in violation of fisheries laws..... Within the last year there was a public appeal for a charter captain detained in Mexico over just having one or two firearms aboard the boat he was running as they visited the country (and I don't believe he was even the owner of the vessel or weapons....). Unless you're looking for a lot more adventure than most - make a point of learning and following weapons laws in other countries. That song, "Send lawyers, guns, and money" isn't very funny at all when you think about it....

I'll get down off of my soapbox now. By the way, I fish day & night everywhere from the urban coastal areas of Miami/Miami Beach to the wilderness areas of Everglades National Park. Many times I'm fishing anglers I've never met (and may never see again) these past 15 years. I wouldn't even consider having a firearm aboard...
 
Sure, just the other day....

There is a 9mm on my right hip, concealed is concealed!
Private boat, I did ask the skipper, he said O.K.
 

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My brother lives on a 55footer in Florida most of the year and keeps a stainless mini-14 aboard.
 
I used to do a lot of offshore fishing off the coast of ME and NH. I always took a sidearm with me. When one is 30 miles out on the high seas, there is no one to help or protect you. Sitting at anchor fishing, there is nothing to stop some lowlife with bad intent from pulling up along side and robbing or killing you for your boat or whatever. There are no video cameras and no witnesses to tell the tale of what happened to you if you have no way of defending yourself. I was boarded once by the CG while out fishing, they asked if there were any weapons on board. I told them yes, in that bag, a 9mm handgun. They said OK, just stay away from the bag. No problems with the CG as far as having a weapon on the boat.
 
Ralph, I'm very familiar with the Joe Cool case - and think anyone that accepted that charter wasn't exactly using their head. I first worked on charter boats in 1973 on the old Castaways docks where all present were either convicted felons - or on their way to their first felony conviction. Many of those captains came to grief one way or the other and that was the era of the "Jimmy Buffet" type smugglers where most involved weren't exactly Scarface... I walked right off of those docks into the Dade county police academy at the very end of 1973.... and was more involved in the rough side of life in that area than I ever wanted to be for the next 22 years...

Some years later I asked another captain about what happened to one of the more flamboyant operators from that time period. I was told that he was in the "fifty five gallon drum business".... Not catching on very quickly I asked if he was in manufacturing or sales and was told that he was supposed to be in two different steel drums somewhere.... Back in the seventies the usual euphemism when someone got what they deserved was... "he went fishing". That was the equivalent of "going for a ride" up north.

By the way if anyone thinks that no firearm means no weapons... every boat I've ever been on had more than several weapons choices right at hand. All you need is the moxie to use one and to act quickly and without hesitation.

In my police years I was never without a sidearm (often more than one) no matter where or when... I don't miss those years at all.
 
Here's a partial list of the weapons available on most any fishing boat...
1. Ice pick
2. an assortment of knives from very small to the size needed for a removing a head...or cutting up anything man sized into little bitty pieces suitable for disposal at sea....
3. Along with an assortment of gaffs (and maybe a harpoon or bangstick) there's usually at least one fish billy...
4. Plenty of the items needed to make things that shouldn't be talked about on an open forum...
5. lots and lots of rope, heavy fishing leaders,etc.

All that's needed are the stones to actually use them and deal with the consequences...
sounds like some bad old black and white movie, doesn't it.
 
Sounds like 4 average days of a typical week for me...and your right, I tell any "non fisherman/boater" that board my boats..."Boats may be the most dangerous places there are. Everything is sharp and pointed"
 
lowerunit411 said:
"Yes, what they don't know, won't hurt me. "
humm...not so sure id follow that line of thinking with Coasties....now your in the territory of the feds and thats no place to take chances and as far as foreign ports go...watch yer top knot....
Click to expand...
I didn't say lie to them, just don't volunteer.
For that matter, I haven't forgot what those goons did during Katrina.
Illegally seizing guns and refusing to even give a receipt. I really don't like thieves.
 
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