12ga shotgun vs. 2 boats of Pirates

The Highroad ^ | March 11, 2005 | Rodney J. Nowlin, USN Retire

[beebuster2000]

good post. thanks

[TexasCowboy]

Uhhh......having been there, I've got just one question:

What in the heck were they doing there in the first place?

[rudy45]

ping

[R. Scott]

…armed with a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot

The first shotgun I ever fired was an 8 gauge. Every time I read of this stuff happening, I think of that old goose gun.

[SpyGuy]

Who in their right minds would be sailing a couple of yachts in a pirate-infested area of the Gulf of Aden?

[mylife]

The bow of the pirate boat came right up against Gandalf‚s stern and two men stood up on the bow with guns to board Gandalf. That was a serious and probably fateful error on their part. I shot both of them.

[E.Allen]

The 12ga range can be extended dramatically by using a rifled choke (or barrel) and 12ga saboted slugs. You'll easily hold a 4"-6" group at 100yds, and should be able to hit something the size of a boat at 200-300 yds with practice. The slug will leave one hell of a splash to let you know which way to correct your shot.

[Shooter 2.5]

Mini-14's are pretty much crap. The barrel heats up and shooting at 200 yards is a waste of ammo. The only good thing is they are reliable and don't fit into the so-called Assault Weapons category in places like California.

If someone can afford a yacht, they can afford some decent bolt actions and some M1A's, both in .308. Shotguns should be available for all participants.

[libstripper]

Barrett is going to be making a lot of sales to long distance sailors.

[spodefly]

Remington 870 Marine Shotgun:

Caliber	12 gauge
Make	Remington
Model	870 Marine Magnum
Barrel Length	18"
Weight	7.5 pounds
Action	Pump Action
Finish	Electroless Nickel
Capacity	6+1
MSRP	$545.00
Sights	bead
Notes	3" chamber

[Vor Lady]

Modern day pirate ping. Argghh!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Hand me down the A-5, mama...

[csvset]

In other pirate news...

Coalition Maritime Forces Intercept Hijacked Vessel

[Travis McGee]

WOW! Amazing story. The report is excellent, and it appears to be as he stated, a well organized attempt at piracy. The pirates were only done in because they chose to board too soon, unaware that an American yacht might be armed, and might fight back! Against typical unarmed Euro yachties, they would have had another fun night of murder, rape and robbery. No doubt the pirates were overeager to begin the festivities. As the writer stated, they could have stayed off at rifle range and shot the sailboats to pieces before boarding.

[Travis McGee]

The shotgun was effective because the pirates chose poor tactics and came into shotgun range too soon. It would have been useless beyond 100 yards. A good weapon to have, obviously, once the pirates came inside of its range.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Who in their right minds would be sailing a couple of yachts in a pirate-infested area of the Gulf of Aden?

Who in their right mind would sail west for India from Spain? Being in your right mind is totally overrated.

[Travis McGee]

Uhhh......having been there, I've got just one question: What in the heck were they doing there in the first place?

Circumnavigating. It's a big deal for world cruising sailors to accomplish. You either have to go up the Red Sea, or under Africa. Either way is tough.

[Vigilantcitizen]

The shotgun was effective because the pirates chose poor tactics and came into shotgun range too soon. It would have been useless beyond 100 yards. A good weapon to have, obviously, once the pirates came inside of its range.

No doubt. Bad guys are rarely good at proper assault tactics. Like you posted earlier, the pirates probably thought their pray was defenseless Euro's.

[Travis McGee]

It's not a question of affording the weaponry, it's the legality of possessing them in most countries where you must stop over. Declaring an M1A or an AR-10 is on a level with declaring ten pounds of C-4 or heroin. BIG problems!

[Bear_Slayer]

The .308 could engage them at a greater range and more accurately

What are your thoughts on 12GA /w sabot rounds in a rifled barrel?

It seems ot me that the accuracy is there /w much greater stopping power.