bullets and fishing

[Cephkiller]

I think the many situations described here prove what I've thought all along.  The statistics that the anti-gun proponents always quote about being more likely to harm yourself or a loved one than an assailant with a handgun do not take into account all these situations where violence was averted becase of the presence of a sidearm.

I have only had to draw my gun once on a person and the mere sight of it changed the guy's mind.  My wife and I were on a dark street one night when a crazy looking dude approached us rapidly while brandishing a large knife.  The appearance of my .45 made him change directions pronto!  He left the area much faster than he approached us  ;D

[Gatorbassman]

We used to carry them all the time while fly fishing in Wyoming and Idaho. Not for protection from people, but for protection from moose. They are the most dangerous animals in that part of the country.

[grimlin]

LOL @ muddy man's response!

Does anybody else have the restrictions for hours on the lakes?I know they have them here...i bet it helps too.I doubt i'd be going to any lakes early in the morning without a partner(now i just need to find somebody)..i usally do alot of my fishing during 8am to 6pm.Usally there is already a few guys out there fishing.Just to be safe i like to go where i know there's people around.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I *** all of yall that can carry in your state im in Maryland only ppl that can carry are police and if you own a business's do carry my 870 in my truck at all times .I suppose that's a deterrent .I still find it hilarious that Wash DC has a no guns in any homes laws but has the highest crime rate in my area >you would think hey politicians "here's your sign" LAWS don't work Criminals don't give a shyt about your stupid little laws its proven each day in DC >We all know the states with the lowest murder rates are states that allow concealed carry.Another thing places that have high murder rates with firearms ALWAYS get on TV and blab about how they have a 300 mill dollar TASK FORCE  to fight crime each YR with our tax money HMMMMMMMM

[jomatty]

i started carrying at a number of places that i fish, hike, and camp.  when i started bringing my 4 year old son with me i found myself in a few situations where i felt uncomforatable.  if i was by myself i probably wouldnt have been worried but when you run into some sketchy drunk folks in the woods it makes you ask yourself "could i take care of myself and my son if i had too"  and the answer was probally not if they had a weapon or if there was more than one person.  i know that im a lot more comforatable with a glock .40 on my hip.  and when we are camping i sleep that much better.  this makes it well worth it for me.

matt

[RecMar8541]

Ok with the things I am reading here, I felt compelled to post this, about carrying a weapon.  

Something to remember and to think about.  

A weapon as carried by most of you is for protection, to get you out of a bad situation.  The key there is OUT OF A BAD SITUATION.

A fight, on any level requires that two or more persons have the intent to do harm to one another, for whatever motive.  Example: He is trying to rob me, and I am trying to stop him.  The assailant has the will to harm you because he wants to Rob you, You have the desire to harm him to stop him.  Per our example.

The only thing it takes to end that fight is for one of the parties to lose the will to fight.  A weapon carried for self defense is just that.  Defensive, a part of your exit strategy.  Sometimes the sight of a weapon will be enough to make an assailant decide to seek easier prey, but not always.  

Be ready to use the d**n thing if you have to unholster it.  I am not a proponent of the dont pull it unless you are going to fire it theory. I said BE READY.  If simply brandishing the weapon causes the attacker a moment of pause, and he tries to retreat, let him.  You are not Dirty Harry, you are simply removing yourself from a bad situation.  Do not attempt to apprehend him, just get the hell out of dodge.  Attempting to apprehend him puts him on the defensive, and may cause him to escalate the situation as a means of escape, in effect you have become the attacker.

If he tries to retreat, let him!  His will to fight is gone, and you have come away intact.

My serious hope here is that none of you ever have to use a weapon.  It is not a pleasant thing.

Somethings you can to to deter.  Be aware of your surroundings, if someone approaches you look them in the eye, and greet them in a cheery fashion.  This shows you are not afraid, and exudes self confidence, that alone can cause someone to choose a "softer target".

I wish all of you well.

Recon

[Cephkiller]

Somethings you can to to deter.  Be aware of your surroundings, if someone approaches you look them in the eye, and greet them in a cheery fashion.  This shows you are not afraid, and exudes self confidence, that alone can cause someone to choose a "softer target".

This reminds me of another time my wife and I were lost in East St. Louis.  I am a firm believer in the concept you described here.  I pulled the car over in the "ghetto", locked the doors and got out.  My wife was FREAKING OUT!  I told her, "Don't worry.  If I act tough, they won't bother us."  I strolled right up to a large group of gangsta - looking guys and asked for directions.  They told me where I was going and I got in the car and calmly drove away.  I got beat up pretty bad for that (by the wife).  I was young, stupid and full of testosterone then.  I would never do that now  ;D ;D

P.S. I wasn't carrying a weapon that day.

[flyphisher #]

back in 98, there waas  guy that lived in my dorm freshman year of college was from over near Atlanta. His family had a problem with trespassers hunting on their land that year during turkey season. He was in the woods and thought he was calling in a turkey, well so did 2 guys that were hunting illegally. Well, he ended up in a confrontation with these two guys....he held had them had gun point, unarmed them and was going to make them walk out of the woods to call LE.....At some point on of them grabbed his gun by the barrel knocked him down and beat the ever-living crap out of the guy. He looked bad when he came back to school.

[Guest avid]

do carry my 870 in my truck at all times .I suppose that's a deterrent

Ya think?  

[Guest the_muddy_man]

I have a picture of my ex mother in law I show that to em and even the baddest of them start weepin like babies!!!!!!!!!

[GeneinTX]

This is a very interesting thread. I have fished all over the country and never had an incident. This is an eye opener.

I do not use certain ramps if I am going to come in late at night. They are isolated and not in a park per say. Some good advice may be to not use ramps that are in areas like that. I have heard about alot of break-ins of tow vehicles while parked at the ramp.

I fished some rivers and swamps in SE Georgia that were so isolated that anything could have happened.

The only times I have ever heard of an incident on my home lake that involved a firearm, was an accidental (negligent) discharge of a pistol that hit a bank fisherman on the other side of a cove.

[LCpointerKILLA]

I'm glad that I have never had a confrontation or anything of the sort here. It seems that here in central Florida anyone who is on the lake or river (duck hunter/ angler) is generally pretty cool. I don't feel like I would need a weapon to protect myself here.

[Bass Smacker]

I have a picture of my ex mother in law I show that to em and even the baddest of them start weepin like babies!!!!!!!!!

   Muddy

I do the same thing. Saves on bullets  

[Baconstrip]

Glock 30 in the front pocket of my tacklebag.

[RecMar8541]

Muddy be careful with that weapon, it maybe considered cruel and unusual!!! hehehehe

[Pa Angler]

I have a picture of my ex mother in law I show that to em and even the baddest of them start weepin like babies!!!!!!!!!

Now that's funny.

[FatBoy]

Well, here's my story:  When I lived in Atlanta, me and three friends went on a canoe trip down this river right before they dammed it up and turned it into a lake.  On the way there, we stopped for gas and met this weird kid with a banjo...but that's for a story for another time.  On the way down the river, these two hillbillies came out of the woods with a shotgun.  They thought we were G-men looking for moonshiners.  One of em thought one of my friends "had a real purty mouth!"  The two canoes got separated, and the hillbillies caught my two friends in their canoe.  They made one of my friends strip down nekkid and then made him squeal like a pig......I'll won't bore you with the gory details.  I heard they made a movie about us; maybe you saw it.  

BTW, I used to look just like Burt Reynolds.  ;D ;D ;D

[bassdocktor]

FatBoy you story sounds oddly familiar. Did you happen to sell the movie rights?

[jomatty]

rec makes an excellent point and i certainly subscribe to what he says.  if i ever pull my gun i am prepared to use it but would still prefer that it is enough of a deterrant that i dont have to do so.  if forced to protect myself or my family i certainly will but God willing i will never have to use the gun on another person.  there are situations where i dont know what would have happened but i know that i was glad to have a gun and that "accidentally" exposing it at some point very likely helped end a potentially dangerous situation before it escalated.  

and like rec said if someone wants to leave for gods sake let them.  im not gonna try to make a citizens arrest and put someone, even someone who meant me harm, in a spot where he feels the need to panic.

[Bankbeater]

Never anything with guns but a couple of years ago down at Bull Shoals the owner of the resort we were staying at told us to take everything back up to the cabin with us. It seems people that were staying at some of the resorts in that arm of the lake were having their boats robbed at night. So one night we were trying our luck at night fishing off of the bank near the dock, and up walk a couple of guys through the woods. I guess they weren't expecting to see anyone at that time of night and they took off back through the woods. We told the owner about it and he said that they had probably been watching to see when the dock was active.

[Guest Bountiful_Waters]

When I was living in Panama working on a drug suppression team, I used to fish a very isolated spot miles from civilization where a river ran into the sea. Good fishing for snapper, etc.. I was amazed that in the middle of nowhere, people would come out of the jungle line. I always carried my Beretta and showed it more than once, which solved the issue. Just to give you an idea, some locals stole my Pitbull I had tied up under my porch to prevent them from breaking into my car at night. I guess she wasn't a very good guard dog. Ended up seeing her at a Panamanian Marine barracks. There were more of them than me so I left it alone. Little thing called "Operation Just Cause" happened the same year and the Marines met our Infantry at night. Still didn't get my dog back, but paybacks were hell. 2 Vulcans aimed at the same barracks can really look pretty at 1am when they let loose.

[captbob]

Muddy: Why bring a picture?? Bring the real McCoy then you'll really have the odds, and if it goes bad you're still coming out ahead.

Rec: My definition of self defense is "Do unto others as they would do unto you, only do it first". You may get a rash of trouble out of it but you'll be the one to tell the story.

 Prudence-Awareness-& even wimping out are all preferable to a confrontation, but when there's no escape as in "We don' neeed no steenkin' badges" it's best to-(I forgot who)--bring a gun to a knife fight!!.

[llPa1nll]

Wow, I must say this really opened my eyes to allot. I live in NH and have never ever had a problem on the water with someone. Well there was that time with a Barney Fife Marine Patrol Officer, but he dropped the ticket later on. In all seriousness I never had planned on an altercation on the water or at a launch like some of you have mentioned. Very rarely do I go fishing by myself but I will be more cautious from now on. It also makes me think do I really need a firearm? Great thread guys, althought Im glad I dont have a story to add to it...

[Lucky Craft Man]

Man, where do you guys live?  I have been fishing for 20 years (and most of that time was spent hiking desolate streams and lake shorelines) and the worst I can say that has happened to me was my line was crossed.  I never even dreamed of getting robbed or having to carry a gun while fishing.  I guess I have been very lucky up until this point.

[Avalonjohn44]

The great thing about living in VA is that you can carry on your hip, perfectly legal. Just the sight of the gun on a hip is detterent enough. I am not a small guy, but like another poster said, there are always some drunk campers, or poaching types (usually illegals in my neck of the woods) that just won't be happy unless they are messing you. I've had my tackle kicked over, been surrounded, had a guy repeatedly try to snap my rod tip while his buddies laughed, rocks chucked at me, trash and cigarettes thrown at me, etc. A few times I was able to just back away and get out of the situation, a few times I had to cast a rattle trap at somebody's face before being able to flee. Ever since I began carrying openly, I have not been in one situation, people just pass me by.

Another thing to remember, pulling your gun out and showing somebody (even if justified) can be considered 'brandishing a weapon' and it can get you arrested. Say you show your pistol at some threatening idiot, and he leaves. He can easily get to the parking lot, call the cops, give them his story (in which he did absolutely nothing wrong of course) and guess who gets arrested, gets a court date, and possibly even their firearm confiscated? YOU. So be careful, be smart, be alert and use self restraint. The idiot(s) that would mess with you when fishing are the same spineless toads that will not hesitate to lie to the police to get you back...

And we all know how knowledgeable, unbiased, and fair the courts are to people brought up on charges of assualt with a gun or brandishing or whatever, don't we...