done

Never. I have never even had alcohol on my boat at all. I come close enough to falling in without impairing my balance lol. Heck I get so into fishing it is tough enough to me to remember to drink water or gatoraid when I am out all day long. That being said I have been on other folks boats while they engaged, and their boat, their rules, as long as they don't endanger me. On land, i have had my share of beer so I am not going to begrudge those who do so safely on the water.

Couple thoughts: 1. I always carry a small first aid kit on the boat, a small tool set (you never know), a larger (secondary) fire extinguisher in the bow (where I sit and consider it may not be YOUR boat you are putting out). 2. Notify someone else of you plans for the day (where you are going, when your planning on coming back).

I worked for a couple car rental agencies in Buffalo, NY through college. Worked the desk, cleaned cars, moved them when needed, etc. It was alright. Some of those cars got nasty, some got shot, some had needles, some were fine. Had 1 that was confiscated cause the police thought it was used to transport a dead body. Washing, you generally have limited interaction with the public. As long as the folks you work with are alright, you will be alright. Same as any place ya work I guess.

I bought my Tracker Pt 175 txw from the Charlotte BPS. They have their own repair shop onsite. I traded in my old tracker jon for it but did my own financing (got better rates that way) but I found it easy to do and to date they have been easy to work with. The ONLY thing I would be anal about is inspecting the boat before accepting it. I have seen some boats on their floor take some serious beatings

Just goes to show you geese are EVIL. Got in a fight with one in a trout stream. Thing waited till I was chest deep wading and then made a beeline for me. I ended up whipping it in the head with a rod before it left me alone. I HATE geese!

I want to stress guys, if you are adhering to the law in the state you are carrying in, do whichever you feel is right. That being said, for those who do not advocate "Morning officer, I have a Concealed Carry permit and I am carrying x on my person." when being approached by an officer. I don't mean you run to each and every officer, to brag it, but if approached, what is the harm in telling them? As for the comment of the majority of concealed carry folks being mainly inept, I would say, my experience to date does not reflect that. That being said, I would equate it to driving. There are people who drive every day and prove the existance of a higher power in that they manage to survive without killing people on any given day. There are also those who drive exceptionally well. My experience with CCW has been the same. I have seen MANY who could shoot out the bulleye on a target at 30 ft without any issue. I have also seen a guy point a jammed and loaded firearm at his own face, look down the barrel and whack the back of the gun trying to clear the jam. BTW, he was immediately ejected from the range. I would say the majority of what I see in concealed carry falls dead center between those extremes. Safe folks, with standard competency, who carry to protect themselves with the hope they never have to use it. Your experiences may vary but really, I find the majority of the owners I have met to be folks I feel safe carrying around.

Nice! Nothing says I love you AND trust you better than handing your significant other a firearm. LOL.

Most states will have their own. NC has a map from their site that has an idiots guide to what states will honor our CCW. That being said, it CAN change year to year, so keep checking it periodically. Last thing you need is a weapons charge for carrying concealed without a permit.

LOL....yeah in NC you always tell them. If you are not carrying then you tell them you have a permit and are not carrying. It is best not to mess with the cops and I know of no police officer out there who will get ticked at you for notifying them you have a concealed carry permit and the status of your carry (whether you have 1 or not).

Really it doesn't. I do not know about other states but in NC it is never legal to use your weapon to protect property. It is considered use of deadly force as soon as you point the weapon at them. You point it as someone stealing your truck and you can be charged. Our ramp is patrolled regularly and the citations issued for those illegally there I am sure give the dept a lot of cash. Honestly, the best insurance against a break in. I leave the truck locked, but I leave everything inside open (the middle console, back end, etc and empty. In short, unless they want the truck itself (which is not particularly valuable as trucks go) they can plainly see there is nothing of value in there. To date it has served me well. Honestly though, robbing a fisherman is a bad idea. At the least they will have a knife on them. From this thread, a lot of them are armed. Seems like you'd be beter going to Walmart or some department store for a "soft" target for a planned robbery. Which to me, odds are, if you are going to be hit at the ramp, it is going to most likely be by a drunk good ol' boy looking to start something. There are 3 ramps really near me. The other 2 are dirt, no lighting at all, off country roads far from any normal patrol area (in unincorporated parts of the county) and there are always problems at those areas at night. Even boating past them, from the lake they look like trash dumps with beer cans all over the place. The ramp I hit up is pretty well lit, paved and within city limits so they are patrolled by city and county LEOs. While it is not perfect,still the best real option for me. BTW those gun pics are AWESOME!! That must be a nice camera. If I got mine that close to my gun I would get a picture of a black blur.

Fortunately this discussion is only about the whys and why nots, I'm sure if this thread had been on a specific topic it would have been killed long ago. Good moderation. True! LOL.

Someone PLEASE explain the firework to the crotch? What is the best case situation of firing a large rocket into your crotch? I mean he got the worst but really what good comes from that?

If its legal is ain't cheating. Get whatever you want that's allowed under the law. Ain't you fault if you get a weapon that gives you an advantage. When I hunted Shotgun, I had a Remington 1100. Had a nice advantage over the guys with bolt actions or even pump action. It's all good though when ya got one on the hood (actually we would put them in the truck bed). As for assault rifles, I never did understand the issue with them. Yeah they were originally designed for killing people but so are handguns and if you listen to PETA, deer are people so.... :

I am sure Glenn and the mods would not mind that...lol

Ours ran out of bread but they had plenty of ammo. LOL.

Yeah, that is the point with the ramp I an talking about as well. I have fished there for a while, a LOT of folks do. Talking to the Sheriff (Who I have frequently chatted with on the issue), he said while there have been complaints and the occasional fight, and vehicle break-in there have not been truly violent or armed robberies there to date. I think chances are I would not need it but I'd rather be prepared in case I happen to get lucky and be there on the day someone gets a real bad idea.

I joined an owners forum for the firearm I have, got some great info from there on some mechanical stuff. Anyway, they deliberately have a "Politics and Religion" forum. For some stupid reason I looked in there. NEVER again. I was like looking at a wreck between an AMTRACK train full of nuns and a Greyhound bus full of orphans. Just horrible. What's worse the "debates" from that forum got everyone so ticked at each other, they frequently spilled into technical threads. Just a bad idea. I am glad we do not have one here and our off-topic discussions can stay civil, informative, and entertaining the vast majority of the time. In short....love you guys....

Doing a little look on the Dr quoted in the article: http://www.rfpharma.com/subpage1.html She does not seem herself like a legitimate researcher. Looking at her background she seems more like a rainforest management specialist. Though in her defense she does say humans need to wait until legal approval by the proper agency. Would love to think this is legit but it does have a strange feel to it. Guess time will tell.

BTW guys...THANK YOU all for sharing on this thread. It has really been good to hear all your thoughts and see how many responsible folks are out there on the water with firearms and no fatal incidents.

To add to the posts on avoiding the ramp. Believe it or not, this is the best lit ramp in the area. I have used it plenty without issue to date. I do NOT go looking for trouble. I also am NOT going to stop fishing during one of the best times to do so because some punk decides he wants to own the ramp. I have every right to do so, and IMO, it is totally wrong to abandon the only fishing ramp within 20 miles of your home to people illegally there to begin with. I do not go into the 'hood', or into neighborhoods/areas where I have no business being and I do not go running around disrespecting others. I do not run around flaunting money or take other actions that make myself a target. I keep myself aware of my surroundings whatever I do. When I can avoid a unsafe situation I do so. That being said, this is a public launch, it is illegal for them to be there, and I do not think all of Gaston county NC needs to stop fishing and taking their boats out/In at night for these people to illegally fish from the docks. Really, do not take this as slamming anyone. It is something I am pretty passionate about. This is the United States. We do not have to live in fear in this country. One other thing for those who do not have CCW. At least in NC, the right to use deadly force is pretty restricted. For one, if I instigate something. Meaning, if I was to act all macho man and jump up in a guys face and get beat for it, I have no rights to use deadly force even IF they pull a gun/knife on me. You start something you lose that right. Second, someone "starting" something with me, gives me no right to use deadly force. Unless that situation deteriorates to the point where it threatens my life and I can convince 12 jurors that it threatened by life, I cannot use deadly force. Third, the use of deadly force in NC begins the second that weapon is pointed at them, before I pull the trigger. I bring that up, because I do not want anyone to think I am looking for trouble, that I am trying to provoke something. I am a fisherman, I respect other fishermen (on-shore and off-shore). Probably 99% of the guys at that dock at night are absolutely no real threat to me. I carry because of the 1% which I hope I never meet and I hope if I do, do not push it to the point that I have to use deadly force. Also, while I do not go looking for trouble, I am not going to unreasonably alter my life and hobbies out of fear of the 1%. If I did, I would never leave the house. Like I said, no attempt to flame anyone and I fully appreciate the idea of not asking for trouble and keeping yourself out of the place it will exist. That being said, if my choice is, give up the use of my boat when the sun goes down or use the ramp CCW and be vigilant, I am going the second route.

I tried that, everybody told me not to quit my day job. ;D ...well that could be a good thing if you sing for a living.

I am with ya Luke. This guy is one wacked out sicko. I mean what was he thinking!? You wonder what the thought pattern is for someone who would do this. How could you take any pride in a trophy that you did not hunt!? Like mounting a fish you caught out of an aquarium.

I don't blame ya. My sister and brother in law have been cops in my home town for near 20 years. The town is 3 sq miles in size. So the chances of bumping into someone you have arrested is pretty good. Those guys are ALWAYS armed (especially my sister). Thankfully they have never had to use them, which is the case with most of us who carry. One of the defining moments that helped me to see it was when I served on a jury for a murder trial. This house was LOADED with handguns. I mean they had a loaded one in each glove box, had a couple on the nightstand, kitchen drawers, and always on them. NONE of them legal. They had kids all around the house all the time including teens with known gang affiliations. It was an absolute miracle that it took as long as it did for someone there to get killed. All of these folks lived within 15 miles of my house. They drove and mingled with me, I probably saw them out a mess of times. After the murder the dude (who killed his wife) went to the Walmart where I sometimes shop and sat in the parking lot for 5 hours with the murder weapon and 2 other handguns trying to figure out what to do. I am thinking, you know, I hope to God I never had to use one. I hope this gun turns out to be the biggest waste of money I have ever had, but just in case, I wanted to have it for my protection and my family. Going to the range was an eye opener too. There were dozens of "rednecks" in there shooting, ALL of them took gun safety seriously, all of them took the repercussion of using the gun on a person seriously. Sort of put me more at ease with so many law abiding, responsible folks out there. Anyway, as shown on this board, a LOT more folks carrying out there than you realize and rarely ever an incident with these folks.

Ranks right up there with "Hey Y'all. Watch this!" Yeah that is a travesty, we should have a jetski hunting season just like deer or duck. The rule would be you cannot shoot them unless they are within 150 ft of your boat. Would change the fishing scene overnight, lol.

Speaking of unbelievable.... LOL. I had to look back to make sure it was not one of my posts....I have had typing dyslexia all day today. Told my project manager I was sending her my lastest d*c instead of "doc". granted the spelling was not dead on there but still not something you want to email to a female coworker.