On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 02:44:12PM -0400, jim sims wrote: > sounds like yet more good reasons for > > 1) not going anywhere near there > > 2) deck mounted .50 cal barents sniper rifle. As a former AF guy > reminded me recently - if someone tries to attack your boat, it's a > "naval engagement" - not a shoot out. Accurate long range firepower is > the key.
Oh, how I (and many others) wish that it were that simple. Having dealt with the issue of firearms aboard for a number of years, as well as having heard about many other cruisers' experiences, here are a few points to consider: a) As a former long-term firearms instructor, let me assure you that without long and constant practice, a firearm is simply a good way to make lots of noise and possibly kill yourself or your kids/wife/dog. In addition, unless you're mentally and emotionally able and willing to kill - let me repeat that word, KILL - another human being when your instincts say that you must, you're going to fail, and most likely die as a result. If you cannot absolutely commit to doing that, don't ever pick up a firearm or threaten anyone physically in any way. This doesn't make you a coward, by the way; this makes you a wise person who knows their limitations. b) Meanwhile, the other guy will be shooting at you - since he was desperate/stoned/freaked enough to pick up and point a gun in the first place, and since you have conveniently escalated the situation to the level where he now feels he must use it. This may spoil your aim further, and possibly severely inconvenience either you or anyone surviving you. c) A 50-caliber rifle is a piece of fine, complex machinery that requires constant maintenance. A deck-mounted one - i.e., one constantly exposed to the salt air - that required level of maintenance borders on obsessively ridiculous. This works fine for, say, the US Navy, which has an essentially unlimited work force - but is not an option for the average cruiser. d) When I was actvely teaching pistol-based self-defense, we recommended putting 1,000 rounds down the pipe *monthly* for anyone who wanted to stay at the top of the game. This was not some lightly-chosen random number, nor was it excessive for the purpose. FYI, 1000 rounds of .50 ammunition runs about $2500. Erm, that would be *monthly*. e) In addition to using a firearm well, you would now _also_ need to learn to use a deck-mounted weapon. One that fires a single round when you squeeze the trigger, so you won't be able to walk your fire onto the target. One that you'd be using in possibly rough seas - while your boat is squirelling around, pitching, rolling, yawing, and heaving. Upshot: forget it. Unless you *are* Rambo. And - as if that wasn't enough - in addition to the practical perspective, we also have the legal one. The fact is that, once outside the US, firearms on boats fall into two categories with regard to how the host country looks at it: 1) Barely acceptable annoyance. This is where they get to say, "oh, right - you're an *American*...", impound your weapon and ammunition until the very last moment before you leave, and possibly "lose" it in the process (to whom, exactly, are you going to complain, and why would you expect anything resembling justice?) Oh, and PLEASE don't try to hide it: if they catch you, you'll lose your boat *and* you'll go to jail. _And_ the US consul will laugh at your relatives' attempts to get you out, since you actually and knowingly broke the law. 2) Illegal as hell. The fact that you even entered their waters with firearms makes you a criminal, and the absolutely best case that you can expect is confiscation and being told to leave their country NOW. The worst, or even the average case, I'll leave to your imagination. Last of all - at least last in my list here, although far from last in the list of applicable problems - given that a modern 50-cal rifle costs in the range of $10k or so (read "about 200 times the annual income of the average customs official"), who here would bet on the rectitude of every single official in every single country that you'll enter? Not me. So, I might carry a Webley flare pistol and perhaps some shotgun shells that fit it scattered about (and *will* declare and surrender those as required); I might carry a couple of spear guns on board; maybe a jury-rigged Taser; possibly a few custom solutions of my own that I won't discuss here - but nothing that can be directly classified as a firearm. The US is not the rest of the world, and guns are one of the largest distinctions in that difference. -- * Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET * _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
