What Round For A Shark??
Seriously.
While sharks are all fine and good when I’m out fishing for them, a big one can scare the crap out of you when your in a flimsy kayak.
And St Simons has a bunch - though thankfully they like to breed here, not eat people here. Still, as I was out on my Kayak in the intercoastal/St Simons River bay about 1/2 mile from shore, I saw what I thought at first was a dolphin but ended up being a 5 or 6 foot hammerhead come up near the surface.
That’ll put the fear of god in you.
I had my S&W Model 66 (stainless) with 6 rounds of lead nose .357 Mag with me, but frankly I have no idea what good that would do in an actually shark attack.
I usually carry it when I go out more for the occaisional gater you find in the backwaters.
But I’m wondering, if a shark came after my kayak (something I doubt they would do as at 17 feet its longer than most of them, and hollow and plastic) would a gun have any impact???
UPDATE
Sounds like a .45 will do the trick . . . . for a gator at least.
5 comments »
Copy link for RSS feed for comments on this post or for TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
I’ve seen bigger shark fishing outfits keep bangsticks on hand for really big sharks. Just a 12 gauge slug directly into the shark’s head. Ends the fight pretty quick. Animal control also uses them for unruly gators.
Don’t know how easy it would be to carry one on a kayak, and frankly I never would. I’ve never heard of a shark attacking a kayaker. If you hook a big shark, keep a good knife on hand to cut the line.
Comment by Gregory Morris — August 27, 2008 @ 1:17 pm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-505753/Its-Great-White-stalks-ocean-canoeist.html
Comment by Mopar — August 27, 2008 @ 4:19 pm
Mopar
That’s an awesome picture. I blogged it and the original story a couple of years ago.
Yeah Greg. I doubt I’d have trouble with them and have a leatherman with scissors attached to my fishing vest. It has no prob cutting the line, but frankly I think a shark would set on my sea trout hooks or have any problem breaking 15 pound test line. Not sure what the strength on shark line is, but its DAMN impressive looking tackle. They do a lot of shark fishing off the pier here and the local bait shop is more fully outfitted for sharks than anything (they bait them with 2 foot long Cobia).
I actually caught a 2 foot blacktip surf casting the other day.
As to Bang sticks, they use them here too. Its standard equipment for the gator hunters.
Btw, where in Florida are you? Know anyone in Jacksonville looking for an environmental attorney? Would LOVE to move here. Gun maintenance difficulty aside.
Comment by Countertop — August 27, 2008 @ 9:21 pm
“But I’m wondering, if a shark came after my kayak (something I doubt they would do as at 17 feet its longer than most of them, and hollow and plastic) would a gun have any impact???”
Maybe. Folklore has it that sharks are fearsomely difficult to kill, but I know I’ve read accounts of sharpshooters who could routinely kill them with rifles, usually in the .30-caliber range. Whether or not a handgun at five feet would be as effective … I’ve no idea. If the shark was more than a few inches underwater, probably not. If it was on the surface… maybe.
Comment by wolfwalker — August 28, 2008 @ 3:53 pm
Get yourself a single-shot break-action shotgun(or a cheap double if you can find one). Shorten it to minimum legal and have it done in some good salt-resistant coating. Keep it in the boat or even build a set of quick-release clips to hold it on the deck in front of you. Keep a slug loaded in it and you should be set.
Comment by emdfl — August 29, 2008 @ 9:57 am