Coast Guard Inspections

[Ariel]

I just read on another forum that in Maryland and New Jersey, when the CG stops a boat for an inspection one of the questions asked prior to boarding is if there are weapons on board. If the answer is "no" and they find a flare gun they will concider the gun a weapon and can cite the boat owner for lying to a federal officer.

I find this incredibly hard to believe as the flare gun is no more a weapon as is a galley knife or baseball bat or a line used as a garrote. We have been stopped twice in the past two seasons and answered "no" to the weapon question each time.The CG inspected the dates on the flares each time without comment on the flare gun. Also, if the CG is doing this, they would be asking this question in every state, not just in MD and NJ.

Has anyone had this experience or is this another case of "hearsay" making the rounds?

Dave
s/v ARIEL

 

[Stu Jackson]

Probably, but why not just keep it simple, rather than an either / or?

Say "No guns, but we do have a flare gun as required for safety purposes."

Covers you both ways. You could also look up the safety gear recommendations of the CG itself on their website or any good reference book and cite some examples.

 

[Ross]

The question is ," Do you have any firearms on board?" Should they ask if I have any weapons I will answer ,"Yes" and list the galley knives, pots, pans, hammers, hatchets, screwdrivers, insect spray and spray cleaners and fire extingisher winch handles. What did I leave out?

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Ever see the movie Dead Calm?

 

[Bill1565]

I carried real weapons. I answered yes. What they did was radio serial numbers in to check for stolen. They put the weapons back. Interesting to me was no one commented on heads, holding tank, or lectro san. Don't know if they looked or not.

 

[Ron20324]

The question is ," Do you have any firearms on board?" Should they ask if I have any weapons I will answer ,"Yes" and list the galley knives, pots, pans, hammers, hatchets, screwdrivers, insect spray and spray cleaners and fire extingisher winch handles. What did I leave out?

My mother-in-law's acid tongue.

 

[sailingdog]

Ummm... you let your mother-in-law aboard the boat???

My mother-in-law's acid tongue.

 

[Eddie7045]

Ariel, I really doubt it. Stu has the best answer which

is to cover yourself by disclosing that you have a flare gun, just to be on the safe side.

In our local theater, in a play, a character produced a switchblade knife from his pocket and laid it onto a table. Technically, he was concealing a switchblade knife which would be illegal, except that, under the circumstances, there was no intention to genuinely conceal it. To top it off, one of the actors was the chief of police of our town, who took a bit part in the play for fun and would be totally aware of the situation further exepting the situation further from an illegallity. To remove the chief of police totally from any possible explaination, the producer opted to have the switch blade dissassembled, the automatic parts removed and disposed of and added further blocks to render it inopperable, thereby sacrificing the switchblade per se and making it valuless as such and went to considerable expense in order to produce a detained prop.

 

[Bob J.]

I think Ross hit the nail on the head in regards to the term "firearms". I would not
recommend when asked if you have weapons on board saying I have a flare gun.
They're the CG, they know you have a flare gun or
Next they'll want to take those away for people

 

[Chuckbear]

After many years with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and working closely with the Coast Guard, I have never seen nor heard anyone offer a flare gun as a weapon nor have I ever experienced or even heard of the Coast Guard having an issue with someone on board not declaring a flare gun as a weapon. The Coast Guard expects to see flare guns aboard and usually would be surprised not to find them. But of course if it is on the Internet, it must surely be true. So Dave, how about you call CG Dsitrict Five and come back and let us know how they responded. But we will probably hear them laughing from here. Chuck

 

[Bad Obsession]

I would declare weapons on board....they can't say much as I am LE and carry the proper materials to carry concealed in the U.S. at all times. I have this fortunate habit of running into people that I have had to deal with at work. So far all of these meetings have been good ones but I could see where it could go the other way.

Generally, they don't say much when you have the badge and credentials to back up having the gun. I am very particular about how I carry though as I am a firearms instructor as well.

 

[Tim R.]

They have every right to be concerned. You can purchase inserts that will allow you to fire a 12 gauge shotgun shell from a flare gun. The CG did their own tests on them so they know what kind of damage they can inflict.

 

[Rick Webb]

Why Would You Need an Insert?

How does the insert help a 12 guage shell fit in a 12 guage flare gun?

 

[Tim R.]

Sorry, not an insert but an adapter. I believe it replaces the plastic shell housing.

 

[sailingdog]

There are several adapters... One allows you to fire a 12 Gauge shotgun shell from a 25mm flare gun. The others allow you to fire small caliber pistol ammo, like .38, .380, 9mm, from a 12 Gauge flare gun.

They have every right to be concerned. You can purchase inserts that will allow you to fire a 12 gauge shotgun shell from a flare gun. The CG did their own tests on them so they know what kind of damage they can inflict.

 

[digby sailor]

They have every right to be concerned. You can purchase inserts that will allow you to fire a 12 gauge shotgun shell from a flare gun. The CG did their own tests on them so they know what kind of damage they can inflict.

Total misinformation.you do not need an insert to fire a 12 guage shell out of a flare gun.12 guage is 12 guage that is the diameter of the shell.you do however need to ream the chamber out of the flare gun another 1/2 inch so a shotshell will fit into the chamber then you should make out a will and make final arrangements because you are very likely going to at the very least suffer some sever plastic shrapnel damage.the safest place to be in this senario would likely be in front of the device.However in reverse shouldnt be an issue to fire a 12 gauage flare from a 12 guage firearm.As previouslty stated the reverse is not doable without reeming the chamber as opposed to an insert .Anybody attempting this is in for trouble.

 

[MrBee]

If you have the inserts to enable the firing of a round of ammunition other than a flare then I would think it would be considered a firearm. I would consider it a firearm !

Much ado bout nutin

Bee

 

[Hermit Scott]

Well I heard if you eat pop rocks and drink soda that your stomach will explode. Also masturbating causes blindness, and hairy palms.
If a coastie gave me a ticket for that I would hug him because I felt sorry for him.

 

[Maine Sail]

Well I heard if you eat pop rocks and drink soda that your stomach will explode.

Yeah, yeah we heard it happened to a kid in TX. This isn't true..??

Also masturbating causes blindness, and hairy palms.

I can't see, I can't see...

If a coastie gave me a ticket for that I would hug him because I felt sorry for him.

Just don't touch him with those hairy palms....

 

[Tim R.]

Total misinformation.you do not need an insert to fire a 12 guage shell out of a flare gun.12 guage is 12 guage that is the diameter of the shell.you do however need to ream the chamber out of the flare gun another 1/2 inch so a shotshell will fit into the chamber then you should make out a will and make final arrangements because you are very likely going to at the very least suffer some sever plastic shrapnel damage.the safest place to be in this senario would likely be in front of the device.However in reverse shouldnt be an issue to fire a 12 gauage flare from a 12 guage firearm.As previouslty stated the reverse is not doable without reeming the chamber as opposed to an insert .Anybody attempting this is in for trouble.

I guess I should have spelled it out exactly. Yes, there is a metal based adapter so you can fire live ammunition from a flare gun.

And I do not appreciate your first sentence. Also, if you read the entire thread before typing your insults you would see I responded that it is an adapter. I am fully aware that 12 gauge is 12 gauge.