Shooting floating targets from boat

jdsteele · Aug 20, 2014

Just an idea....

I live in the extreme boondocks of the Eastern Shore Maryland. My buddy and I both have Designated Collector Status, so we can both carry guns to a 'private exhibition' so that's not an issue.

Anyway, over the years I have collected many floating buoys and such that have washed up onto my property.

Is there any legal or practical reason why I cannot attach one of these buoys to a 50 or 100 foot line, drag it behind my boat, stop the boat, and shoot at it?

This would be in area that the backdrop would be over 5 miles to the nearest 'behind the target' shoreline, with no other boats in sight.

I'm sure this would be fine with shotgun with birdshot, but I'm wondering about 9m pistols with standard target ammo.

I know this is a weird question, but as the law is written, it is totally cool for me to toss a chunk of wood off my pier and shoot it with a 9mm pistol. I have a big chunk of land not near any schools, etc.

And I'm not talking about the Chesapeake near Annapolis, I'm talking about an area where I see about 1 boat every 4 hours 5 miles away.

I read the thread about Montgomery County ordnance, but my boat is in Wicomico County.

Crab Bait · Aug 20, 2014

I'm not sure on the protocol... can the first response involve the consumption of popped corn?

Scottysan · Aug 20, 2014

sure sounds like fun!

240 towles · Aug 20, 2014

I lived out on deal island, I would say that it would be cool as long as you stopped shooting as soon as you saw another boat. I would be worried about DNR stopping you, as they are pretty active in the areas south of wicomico. It might be easier to call thier office first.

dtmeyers · Aug 20, 2014

DNR might not like you dropping lead into a watershed area?

mopar92 · Aug 20, 2014

No. The target backstop would be the water right? Projectiles entering at a slope would have a tendency to skip and continue for miles.

Augie · Aug 20, 2014

mopar92 said:
No. The target backstop would be the water right? Projectiles entering at a slope would have a tendency to skip and continue for miles.

Agreed, search water ricochet, you will find plenty of information, pretty likely to happen at the angles you are describing.

Chris · Aug 20, 2014

Basic Hunter Safety Classes we teach never shoot at anything in the water as ricochets are not just possible but probable. Know your target and what's beyond. Chris

tatoocrab · Aug 20, 2014

DNR will get you for putting lead in water.

rseymorejr · Aug 20, 2014

That sounds extremely dangerous and reckless to me, Bad idea.

Kman · Aug 20, 2014

Please don't.

An attorney I used to work with got a little drunk at his home on the Wicomico and wanted to shoot at something in the water with a 1911.
We tried to talk him out of it, but we didn't know anything.
We watched the first 3 or 4 rounds skipping enlessly across the water and talked him into stopping.

44man · Aug 20, 2014

i have very fond memories of my grandfather teaching me how to skip shot off the water to take out lots of ducks and geese at one time while they were sitting on the water and him showing me how to skip 30 30 bullets all the way across the river. ah the good old days when there were so few of us down here. i wouldnt recommend it now though.

Michael S · Aug 20, 2014

Once your boat is moving on the water, It falls under the same laws as transporting a firearm in a car. If you are pulled over you will be subject to the same penalties.

Besides the fact it is a very dangerous think to do.

jdsteele · Aug 20, 2014

Yeah, I didn't think so...

BigDaddy · Aug 20, 2014

Michael S said:
Once your boat is moving on the water, It falls under the same laws as transporting a firearm in a car. If you are pulled over you will be subject to the same penalties.

If that were true, people wouldn't be able to hunt ducks from a jon boat.
However changing the word from firearm to handgun and everything changes. You are absolutely correct, it is illegal.
http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=14761

I suspect most Marylanders have never seen the southern Chesapeake by boat. The Navy fires rockets and drops bombs down there. It's 30 miles wide by the time you get to VA.

While it might be impressive to track a bullet skipping across the water seemingly traveling to infinity and beyond, the maximum range is achieved by firing it at a 45 deg angle. The maximum range of a 9mm is known, 2500 yds.
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2002/DomnaAntoniadis.shtml

As long as a kayaker, windsurfer or paddleboarder doesn't sneak in down range, it's not totally insane, just illegal.

The kayaker that got shot in June....shot himself
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cops-say-kayaker-lied-shot-himself-twice/

R1Peacock · Aug 20, 2014

A buddy of mine has land in PA. Many years ago when I was young and dumb we would sit on the porch of the farm house and shoot tracers at a pond that was across the field. Very enlightening to see how those things would go left, right and sometimes straight up after hitting the water. We were hundreds of acres away from the nearest house -- would not recommend shooting at water.....

Pinecone · Aug 20, 2014

BigDaddy said:
I suspect most Marylanders have never seen the southern Chesapeake by boat. The Navy fires rockets and drops bombs down there. It's 30 miles wide by the time you get to VA.

Not only the Navy.

I shot a lot of rockets and dropped a lot of bombs on Bloodsworth Island and the Tangier targets.

But for the gun, only on Bloodsworth Island, on the land portion.

John from MD · Aug 20, 2014

Pinecone,

Were you an A-10 driver?

John

Streetgang · Aug 20, 2014

I used to shoot at things on the water for a living... (See my Avatar)
Besides being illegal, this is a very bad idea as it's a huge safety issue. I've seen bullets skip a very long way off. And they do not always skip in the exact same direction you're shooting. It's not really that easy to shoot a bobbing floating target on a bobbing floating boat even with a machine gun.

Bottom line, if you want to shoot floating targets, join the Coast Guard or the Navy.

lx1x · Aug 20, 2014

Streetgang said:
It's not really that easy to shoot a bobbing floating target on a bobbing floating boat even with a machine gun.

cpt Philip rescuers can..

Shooting floating targets from boat

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