Piracy & Firearms: Another View

Yachting Noonsite ^ | March 27, 2007 | Mike Rostov

[marktwain]

Here is a link to the Soldier of Fortune Magazine site:

http://www.sofmag.com/wp/soldier-of-fortune-magazine/

[Girdyourloins]

But,But,But, -- shouldn't the the fact that no one is Supposed to have guns stop the piracy???? Then wouldn't we all get along and sing Kumbaya??? /sarcasm off

[mylife]

Hey...

You don’t get rich writing a lot of checks! ;)

[zeugma]

JIC™ 500® Mariner® kit includes:

* Also tightens nuts, bolts, cuts bait

Awesome! ;-)

Want one of those.

[zeugma]

As for legality, civilian ownership of naval artillery was an expectation, when the Constitution was written. It is an implied right (unlike most of the crap the Supreme Court makes up). You can't have letter of Marque without armed merchantmen.

I was extremely disappointed that the phrase "Letter of Marque" was not even mentioned in the latest Supreme Court ruling on the 2nd Amendment.

[ASOC]

Crusing World is an interesting magazine, the cooking articles/food storage tips are fab as well.

THey have posted a number of articles over the years about carrying AK47s as a self-defense measure.

I dropped my subscription a number of years ago due to the nature of some of their adverts.

SOF is a must buy each month, the old edition goes to son #2 (as a Grunt, he enjoys the writing) for our recycle efforts...

[Travis McGee]

We shot every round on board first. Took most of an afternoon. Got to torture test a mini-14, rapid firing several mags, then quenching the barrel in sea water, then rapid firing more. No lube, no nothing. Lots of fun. Until we deep-sixed them. That was sad.

[Kenny Bunk]

There was a rash of piracy around the Caribbean in the mid-70' s, to which Ruger responded with their stainless steel Mini-14, and Remington et al with their SS pump 12-gauges. Not a bad idea to back them up with pistols.

Nowadays, I'd recommend something heavy and scoped in the rifle department. Since the ubiquitous RPG's have the capability of making mincemeat out of a yacht within range, one might want to counter them at long distance.

As far as the paperwork goes, it varies from place to place ... but "Don't ask ... Don't Tell" seemed to work in many places, and wasn't onerous in others.

[Travis McGee]

It’s extremely unusual on the ocean for it to be calm enough to use a scope, unless it’s maybe under 3 power. You cannot get a steady rest, such a thing does not exist on a boat on the ocean, so you must fire off-hand, from a sitting position usually. With a scope of 4X or more, you will not be able to hold a target.

Actually, the best way (in daytime) to aim is to spot your splashes. Even500+ yards out, you see your splashes easily unless it’s really rough out, and then you don’t need to worry about pirates in speedboats.

A semi-auto with lots of bullets is the ticket, in either 5.56 or 7.62. The idea is to just put a ton of splashes in the water around the pirates to help them remember an urgent appointment elsewhere. They are not Marines storming Tarawa, and have no interest in testing your accuracy with their chests.

If you hit them great, but the idea is to deter them at long range. If you are taken by surprise and you find them upon you at close distance, typically right up your stern, then again a semi is useful. Or a shotgun.

BTW, a S.S. Ruger Mini 14 was one of the guns now on the sea bottom off of Hualtuco Mexico.

[Travis McGee]

PS, here's the new book cover, out in March.

[Kenny Bunk]

Publication pingo-rama!!~

[Kenny Bunk]

The RBYC has most of its trouble from camel-mounted raiders from Mauretania. However, the camel was known as the "Ship of the Desert."

The one-humper would be properly called a "sloop-camel." The double-humper is either a "ketch," or if the mizzen-hump is stepped abaft the camel's rudder post, a "yawl."

Just FYI, in Arabic, "Barack Obamba" means "Hard-a-Port!"

[Vinnie]

Saw a chromed Moss500 at Dick’s yesterday. $249 IIRC.