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Sailing long distance - what wold be a good firearm?

What would you have on a boat, going far?


  • Total voters
    58
I have a friend with a boat who travels offshore with a gun. There are various rules for various counties. Basically you have to have a storage locker that the captain controls and they have to be on a ATF form 6 going in and out of America. I would do an AR and a Glock and call it good.
 
Well, what gets you a ticket for a routine search? Coming back to Key West from Cuba I was shocked that no one checked us. No one boarded the vessel. There was a trip to customs day after arrival, and we had to go find the office.

So, how often do these routine checks happen, and how thorough they are? This is more of a rhetorical question, as mentioned above I dont intend to break any laws.
In this case it happened in International waters during drug interdiction ops back in the early 90s and the vessel was flying a flag that didn't match the registry, so it wasn't a routine port inspection. We escorted the boat to Guantanamo Bay where they took it apart.
We had Coast Guard personnel on board and they could board vessels that Navy personnel couldn't, not sure about the legalities involved.
I got to go out with the Coasties on their small boat as an escort because I was one of the few sailors on my ship that was hand grenade qualified, but was not allowed to board suspect vessels.
 
With a long sea voyage, weight and size are a crucial consideration. Fending off a boarding vessel and harvesting food in desperate situations are also very important. May I suggest one that's not on the list?

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Would obviously depend on laws that apply, but if I were only allowed one, it would definitely be a 12 guage pump and various ammo. Birdshot would allow you to eat (in the event of something catastrophic), buckshot for defense on board, slugs could disable another vessel if need be and give some range, and they make flares for them. Also relatively cheap and dead nuts reliable (Mossberg Mariner or Remington Marine Magnum would be my picks).

If multiple guns are allowed or an option, I'd say stainless revolver and an auto rifle of your choice (AR, Mini, etc.).

I'd definitely invest in a quality case/safe. Also, depends on if it will be just you or companions.
 
If your weapon was certainly going to be legal in every port of call that you go to for supplies, or just to be a tourist, then I would get a semi auto battle rifle in 308 caliber .
I have no particular recommendation as to the brand or the style as long as it’s semi auto and uses 20 round magazines I’d be happy with it.

I would want the 308 caliber over lesser calibers, and over a shotgun, because I want to be able to penetrate about an enemies boat if they are using a boat to attack me.
Whatever they hide behind on their vessel, I want it to be no more than “concealment”— not cover.
 
An AR-10 type weapon with a flat top upper and equipped with a red dot sight would be just about ideal.


HOWEVER, you can’t ignore the law. You will have to follow the gun control policies of every nation, and possibly even every city, that you visit.

I haven’t done any of the research, but it may be the case that semi automatic military rifles are forbidden. Some countries severely restrict any caliber that is used by the military, and for those reasons you might be better off with a 243 caliber rifle or one in 7mm -08 instead of 308.

The laws of the nations you visit may accept a pump action shotgun or a pump action or lever action rifle, but not a semi auto that uses detachable magazines.

I wouldn’t mind having a combat shotgun on board but I think it would be less useful than a rifle, especially if you are trying to fend off attackers who’ve tipped their hand while they’re still chasing you in a vessel.

Among rifles that are not of the “assault weapon“ style, I like the pump action hunting rifles such as the Remington 760 or 7600, and I like lever action rifles including the Henry, the Marlin, and the Winchester.
 
I would maybe take two or three guns. One, a rifle to deter boarders before they get too close, (The guy in the video that I posted in post #10 said the "pirates did not turn away until he pulled out the AR) a shotgun with buck, slugs and bird and a pistol.

You really need some sort of locker of safe to store them in when in port or at anchor in case of burglars when you are off the boat and shopping or sight seeing. I think the guy in the vid speaks about some sort of lock up in one of his vids.
 
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