Guns on boats

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 478
  • Start date Start date
D

Deleted member 478

Guest
Yep, we've all read and posted on threads about the sense of guns on boats. My personal stance is that I didn't think it is clever to have a firearm aboard until I came across the PEPPER GUN. It looks like a torch, has an LED torch, it's not lethal and is easy for a novice to use (I was given a demo yesterday).

What strikes me as smart-ish is that, like those pepper sprays that disarm you and anyone within several metres of the spray, is that with this peppergun, you can fire at a threatening target many metres away eg pirates in a parogue and not be affected by the pepper (assuming you are not firing into wind) and that you can get many pirates with one reasonably aimed shot.

I am seriously considering buying one. What does the panel think?
 
Nothing less than 'B' turret off HMS Belfast would do for me.

Flippancy aside, I just feel so sorry that its necessary for you to consider this, but I do understand that things are very different in your part of the world.

Tim
 
It's not only in my part of the world.

There is no way I will ever buy a firearm in the traditional sense of firearms, but too me, this 'flashlight' may give me more time to assess a threatening situation with it in full view of the threat and hopefully, 'they' will not see it as anything other than a flashlight.

... or am I missing the point?
 
I NEVER carry a weapon of offence in a civillian environment. The other guy always has a bigger one (!) and is prepared to use it. No win, Sunday Sermon over!!!
 
If you do fire this, and it doesnt stop (all of) your assailants, then the flashlight needs to be a paddle, coz your up [--word removed--] creek.
All the reasons for not having a firearm are valid the moment you use it as one.
 
If I was some bad-ass chap about to come rob you, of an inclination to carry (and therefore presumably use) a firearm, and you discharged anything in my direction that could not be immediately distinguished from a firearm, I would think my natural inclination would be to shoot back.

So sequence of events goes: Intruder approaches, you identify, you discharge pepper, intruder shoots, you go 'ouch', intruder leaves.

In my book, you still lost. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
John get an AK47 for backup. pepper to dissuade then brrr brr to make sure they get the message, the new zealander copped it because imho he had an unwieldy long, a small rugged assault weapon like the AK gives firepower plus ease of use in confined spaces plus the option of dissuading before they get near the boat.
stu
 
I wouldn't give the option of being dissuaded - if I were to encounter pirates I'd either give up or shoot to kill..

If I were convicted in the UK I'd only get 10 minutes in prison and £50 compensation for the damage caused to my ear by the sound of the gun /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

In all seriousness though, i wouldnt fire a weapon unless it was to kill as above, and in the right circumstances I wouldn't hesitate to do so if it meant my family and I would live - the odds of proving it was me would be very tough IMO
 
It's OK for all you ex-servicemen who have killed already. You won't hesitate for the instant that gets the rest of us killed.
If you are going to show a weapon, you have to be prepared to use it before anything else happens - even if it transpires it could never have happened....if you see what I mean.
 
Is there such a this as a proximity alarm for boats?
Because you really need to know before the pirates are aboard. If you are below and people are on your deck you cannot know how many there are, and where they are. They already have the advantage on you. I am in favour of arming your self for protection but if you start blasting away with pepper spray or AK47's you are going to have some pretty p***ed of people on your hands.
 
Dear Mr Stingo (aka a nice bloke and quite reasonable all things considered)
Dont even think about it would be my advice,its the wrong attitude to cruising.
Guns begat guns and unless you have a history of creditable military training and are psychologicaly prepared to engage/initiate and WIN a firefight (and scarper or deal with the authorities..) then -imo- just act scruffy,travel in convoy if necessary in dodgy waters,laminate your passport and dosh into the side of the hull...and try to stay out of trouble.
 
Looks good to me.

[ QUOTE ]
What strikes me as smart-ish is that, like those pepper sprays that disarm you and anyone within several metres of the spray, is that with this peppergun, you can fire at a threatening target many metres away eg pirates in a parogue and not be affected by the pepper (assuming you are not firing into wind) and that you can get many pirates with one reasonably aimed shot.

I am seriously considering buying one. What does the panel think?

[/ QUOTE ]Thanks for the tip. Is it too obviously a pepper spray gun so that it would be seized by customs in those countries that ban it? If not I'll definitely follow this up while in the USA. At present we carry CS gas (in tins disguised as cosmetics) which curiously is illegal here. Its been a great morale booster to have one to hand in some of the places we've visited.

There was an interesting case a little while back of a couple who managed to hold armed Venezuelan pirates at bay by retreating below and squirting mace through the hole that was knocked through their locked hatch. So it can be done.

Pepper spray is illegal in Britain, so where did you see it?

Incidentally, I met an experienced yachtsman today who carries dynamite. He says from personal experience that chucking a stick is a great deterrent to pirates. And it doesn't count as a firearm - customs rarely ask if you are carrying explosives. But I guess that's going too far.
 
Re: Looks good to me.

Hi Andrew

I am actually back in SA at the moment and was shown the pepper gun over the weekend, so buying one in the UK does not really cause a problem for me.

Having experienced mace at a bar where a fight broke out, I was impressed how it immobilised everyone, including the bouncers for at least 30 minutes. The fighters very quickly developed a placid attitude and did what they were told from there on. Before I set off cruising a few years ago, someone was kind enough to give me a mace thingie, disguised as a pager. The problem with it is that you MUST be in very close range for it to be effective, and that means I too will be effected. At least with this pepper gun, you have the choice of popping a pepperball if there is a reasonale distance between you and the threat.

My inclination is not to be armed at all for the very reasons that most posters on here have sited, but this flashlight has slightly altered my thinking because it does not look threating, say like an AK47 would. I would even go so far as to say that I doubt that a pirate would question why I have a flashlight in broad daylight. My guess is that he may chuckle to himself that I hope to defend myself with a flashlight.
 
It looks interesting.

A firearm is a liability unless you are prepared to open fire on anything that comes within range over which you have ANY doubt. (Extreme example: Just look at how the RN lost boats because they were not sure that an approaching vessel was a threat!! Should they have blown the Iranian patrol boats out of the water?!).

Carrying a weapon changes everything, and invariably for the bad. I have been in very dangerous situations (on land) involving drunk/drugged armed men, which were defused by imbecile smiles and handshakes. If I had been armed I would have had no choice but to shoot very early and the situation would rapidly have gone to ratshit.

However, this device seems to allow you to play the harmless imbecile until you decide that the danger is easily manageable and it is worth the risk of a fightback. If it truly looks like a harmless torch, then it may well be worth a look. The shock factor of a sudden turnaround would be a big asset to you, but you would have to think very carefully about how you would robustly follow up. Can the bad guy run away? I certainly would not use it against 'many pirates', but a lone intruder possibly carrying a knife - maybe.

Give us some feedback if you get one. Can it be stored 'charged' for long periods ?
 
Yes it can be stored charged. The co2 cartridge lasts for 5 rounds, or one magazine and the seal is only broken on pulling the trigger on the first shot.

A BIG drawback, is the reloading time because the co2 cartridge and magazine go into different locations. I would estimate at least 1 minute, which would be like a lifetime if you haven't disabled the threat with the first 5 shots.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I wouldn't give the option of being dissuaded - if I were to encounter pirates I'd either give up or shoot to kill..


[/ QUOTE ]

Well said - a gun is not a deterrent.

You should only carry one if you are prepared to use it, and are prepared to use it first.
 
Let's see.

Boat full of ill-intentioned vagabonds. Maybe a couple of assault rifles and a medium machine gun.

They approach.

At 30 feet (max effective range) you pop a pepper pill at them.

Their senses are assaulted, they point their weapons in your general direction and empty the magazines.

Maybe they miss you (may they don't) coz they can't see so well.

But the good ship Stingo now resembles a pepper pot (sorry about the pun).

Meanwhile bad guys have backed off and are beginning to recover.

And reload.

Don't fancy your chances in round two.

...As a way of disabling a single opponent at close or medium range, maybe. But on a boat full of black hats, I don't like the odds.
 
It sounds total madness to carry anything resembling a weapon, unless you have a real one and are absolutely sure you would use it and could kill all your assailants before they could reach for a bigger one.
 
The only worthwhile "yacht gun" I've seen was on the quarter deck of a large motor boat. A 20mm cannon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

geem
So many boats heading for the Caribbean
2 3 4
Replies
71
Views
3K
Sea Change
Sea Change
O
General Thoughts on a Crownline 242CR around 2000
Replies
3
Views
319
ontheplane
O

Share this page

Top