Carrying ammo into a foreign country is often the same as carrying the firearm itself. Also, in most states in the US you either need a gun permit for that flare insert or they are straight up illegal like in Massachusetts. If you are just going to the Bahamas and feel you must have something onboard, just get a Mossberg Mariner 500 and declare it on entry. Not a big deal in the Bahamas. The rest of the Caribbean it could be a major issue. And never try to hide a gun from customs. That is gun smuggling and treated very harshly. They are smarter than you in this regard and will find it. But as others have pointed out, if you use it there will be hell to pay. There is not castle law or stand your ground law to get you out. Self defense better be in similar response. Even if you shoot a guy wielding a knife you will have to spend time and money to deal with it. My decision will mostly be kept private. But the advice you often read about not making yourself a target will be my biggest defense. I wont be flashing jewelry or cash around. I will pick my anchoring locations wisely. My 31-footer won't be the best looking boat in an anchorage. And no guns will be known to be onboard because that will make you a target as much as cash or jewels. Like Stu always says, your boat your choice. But you better fully understand that choice. Fair winds, Jesse
As a former gun store owner, I've heard these notes from antis of every fashion over many years, and they are mostly nonsense.
The comment re not being a target is valid, however. Except the bit about opting for or developing a ratty boat. So I should neglect my vessel for fear of others? Hardly. Also, only a fool would advertise their weapons to locals.
The part about finding ammo aboard is also a valid concern which I forgot. Yet there are many cubby holes aboard a sailboat with which only the owner might be intimate, not to mention a 1000 different ways to camo the small things.
I'm not saying to break the law. I'm saying it might make a captain more at ease if his equipment were stowed and ignored if he's unsure of the political climate at his particular location, should he as a sailing cruiser end up at an unplanned port. It's what I might do; others can decide on their own.
I can tell you as a victim of violent crime that in the darkness of lethal assault you will look for any weapon within reach. Anything. And you will throw it, bash heads with it, fire it, stab and swing and scream with it until you are either conquered or victorious. The suitability of that weapon at that moment becomes paramount, and all of the opinions on the internet will not change that.
For those who say the odds are very low of it happening, I say I agree. And yet I know that it can, and offshore or anchored in unfamiliar waters, it's just you, and him. People who carry are not necessarily survivalists in caves. They are normal people who understand that there are tools for everything. Including the PLBs, tapered plugs, flares, and life rafts that you will never need.
I'd rather spend time and money for shooting a guy wielding a knife (a deadly weapon) on my boat than spend my life and possibly others' by not defending myself, my crew, and my vessel.
