Have any of you guys ever shot a real gun underwater, or as shark repellent?

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Ishie:
Hmm... and the rock that keeps tigers away.

Ab diving is a bit more high risk than diving since you are pretty much doing a great impression of a less than adequate seal, but off this coast, we're worried about whites if anything, and if they tag an ab diver, that diver isn't going to see it in time to shoot it.
Hearing the Ab diver's stories, left me with the same impression.

Evidently the place he goes is very bad for GW sharks and at certain times of the year only a fool would get in the water.

He dives there year round. I guess that answers a few questions. :D
 
There are two things that will protect you from sharks if you feel threatened by them.

First is education. Back in the 60’s we used “Bang Sticks” in a wide variety of caliber’s from 22 to 12ga.. But back then we didn’t know crap about what was dangerous and what wasn’t.

I’d like to know when someone is going to invent a “Sea Urchin” repellant. Though not scientific I’ll bet those little spinney critters have caused more pain and discomfort than all the sharks in the world combined. Who knows, maybe they will invade the land someday. Make sure you lock your doors at night.

Second is if someone feels so threatened by the critters in the sea that they have to carry a gun underwater, stay home and watch “Attack of the Killer Tomato’s”.

As far as guns go most if not all will fire underwater. Ballistics will vary and performance will be poor but they will fire. The ammunition for the most part is waterproof and will last for long periods of time underwater and still fire.

Relax enjoy the dive and leave the guns at home. We don’t need any “Swim-by” shootings.

Gary D.
 
The Mythbusters tested the bullet-stopping power of water. A .9mm round barely goes three feet before breaking up.
 
The devastating effects of a cartridge fired underwater come not from the projectile but from the expanding gasses. Powerheads or Glock pistols have to have muzzle contact with the intended target for grave damage to occur.
 
sailnj:
It sounds like everyone is armed to the teeth. Isn't shooting a gun underwater just like when the astronauts fired one on the moon and then had to plot it's trajectory for the next several missions. I mean, what's the point?

The one place I thought I was safe from all the street violence,..... oh woe is me
:maniac: :maniac:

What violence?? I'm almost 44 and I have owned a firearm since I was 14. Other then injuring myself, hot casings going down my shirt.. catching a piece of finger with a magazine, there has never been any violence in my home. Maybe two parents and good schools do count for something.
 
I'm not armed in the water. I figure there's no real point, and the risk is minimal.

My mom did use a bang stick on the Cordell Bank Expedition in the 70s, but that's a high GW area and she was the assigned safety whose job was to essentially sit on the bottom and watch for the landlord while other team members collected samples. They did give her the kind of laughable advice that if she used it, make sure the team members were behind her because it could blow eardrums. She said if she was close enough to touch a shark with it, her teammates could deal with bad ears.

Guns don't bother me with education and in the right hands. I have a Model 39 9mm. My worst injury was a shell casing in the bra (by way of the top of the shirt). I just don't really see a need for one in the water. I figure in the water, I am more likely to blow my leg off than get a shark, and if I have time to see the shark, it probably wasn't interested in eating me anyway.

For ab diving off the North Coast, the only places I can think of that would be suicidally sharky would be the Farallons or Ano Nuevo, and you can't ab dive off either, so I'd say why arm yourself? More likely to drown by getting the piece tangled in the kelp.
 
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