After watching a bunch of Sailing La Vagabonde on YouTube, my wife says she wants to live on a boat and sail around the world. She then asked what three guns I’d bring. Ooh, tough question (though it was nice to hear that I’m invited). The first thing that popped into my mind? Stainless. Stainless steel is significantly more rust-resistant, which is great for a field gun, truck gun, hunting gun, or boat gun.
Apparently Ruger customers agree, and have been asking the company for an all-stainless version of the American Rimfire.Ā And Ruger listened. Their press release for the $359 rust resisting Ruger rimfire rifle follows . . .
INTRODUCING THE RUGER AMERICAN RIMFIRE STAINLESS
Ruger is proud to introduce the Ruger American Rimfire Stainless. In response to voice of the customer feedback, Ruger engineers have worked diligently to create a stainless steel configuration of this popular rifle in three calibers. Available in .22 LR, .22 WMR and .17 HMR, these stainless steel and synthetic rimfire rifles live up to Ruger’s reputation for accurate, rugged and reliable firearms.
416 Stainless Steel Barrel, Bolt and Receiver. 18″ Cold Hammer-Forged Barrel Free-Floats in the Lightweight Synthetic Stock, Finished with a 1/2″-28 Threaded Muzzle. Ruger Marksman Adjustable Trigger.
To find accessories for the Ruger American Rimfire, visit ShopRuger.com
USA cruising boats do not carry weapons when visiting other countries.
Stainless steel & synthetic stock. Drop it over board attached to the anchor.
Not necessarily. Various contractors are everywhere.
Spot on. The ability to carry weapons in international waters depends on the flag you fly. Due to many international agreements, U.S. and European vessels can only carry weapons if directly representing a government (i.e. Military, USCG, DEA…)
Bringing a weapon will get you in a world of troubles. ( maybe have a box to tie it to an anchor to keep out of site)
Also, I recall there being a maritime law that prevents boat in being “armed” in international water and (foreign port?). Sorry. Land lubber all my life.
Pretty sure no one has jurisdiction to tell you NO in international waters. In port, that’s a whole different ballgame.
Used to rent a room from a tuna fisherman in Monterey, CA. He had a nice stainless S&W .357 that he carried on the boat to deal with sharks and sea lions trying to steal his catch.
Only mentioned it bc during the pirate frenzy, there was a call for arming the ships on those routes and of course, it was squashed “because we have laws… yaddhee-yhaddhah…”. Can’t have any “armed” ships entering our coastal domain.
Maybe it was just the anti-gun people exerting the gun control beyond the borders.
“…during the pirate frenzy, there was a call for arming the ships on those routes and of course, it was squashed ābecause we have lawsā¦ yaddhee-yhaddhahā¦ā
Enterprising individuals cured that with ‘floating armories’ where sailors could tool up before entering pirate-infested Somali waters:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30512185
And this appears to be one of the companies that provide the ‘service’:
http://www.avantmaritime.com/services/floating-armouries/
From their page:
“Weapon Hiring
Provision of Sri Lanka Government Owned Weapons and Associated Equipment with Sri Lankan Sea Marshals
Weapons owned by the Government of Sri Lanka(GOSL) are available for hire on per-transit basis to Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs). A set of weapons is always accompanied by a Sri Lankan sea marshal provided by Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Limited (RALL) which is a Sri Lanka government business undertaking. Additional sea marshals and team leaders are also available. All weapons, associated equipment and sea marshals are accompanied by an authorization letter issued by the Ministry of Defence ā Sri Lanka, for a specific vessel for a transit.
Weapons and Equipment
A kit consists of following;
3 or 4 weapons of following 2 types.
7.62mm calibre T56 automatic rifles
5.56mm calibre 84-S semi-automatic rifles
Up to 200 rounds of ammunition per weapon
Magazines (4 per T56 rifle, 2 per 84-S rifle)
3 or 4 pouches(Magazine carriers)
Weapon boxes
3 or 4 body armours
3 or 4 combat helmets”
I don’t like the look of stainless steel guns.
A good pass with a grit-blaster filled with medium-grit blasting oxide will make any stainless steel look very similar to old-school parkerizing. Dark gray, with a surface texture that holds lube to help prevent corrosion without actually being slippery.
glass beaded my S&W Mod. 60 357 mag snub years ago and it was dirty looking as hell but it didnt shine anymore, just recently I started to polish it up a bit and now it looks better .
I much prefer stainless steel guns.
Great idea, especially if you live in a humid state. I was just about to buy a 77/22 “boat paddle”. I’m glad these are coming out with the threaded and free floated barrel, I’ll buy the new gun instead. Ruger now needs to focus on getting the regular American Compact rifle out in 7.62X39…that will make a great hunting and varmint gun, now that 8N3 is available again.
here, I’ll use all caps so you Ruger reps out there hear me clearly:
MAKE. A. LEFT. HANDED. VERSION!!!
Agreed!
As a lefty, I miss out on some nice bolt-action guns.
Improvise, adapt, overcome.
I’ve been shooting right-handed long guns left-handed for 40 years.
Yeah, the followup shot(s) might be a bit slower, but if that is critically important, buy a semi-auto .22.
So, what are the other 2 guns you would bring with?
“After watching a bunch of Sailing La Vagabonde on YouTube, my wife says she wants to live on a boat and sail around the world.”
You live in Texas now. Is your beautiful wife fine with sweating a *lot* while on the water? Because electricity at home isn’t like electricity on sailcraft. Your juice on the water is primarily solar / wind turbine with a battery backup. (A loud diesel ‘pony’ genset will get you A/C, but who wants the noise on a sailboat? Really kills the mood…)
You will have lights and power for (modest) marine electronics, and maybe a marine-sealed laptop like a Toughbook, but there ain’t a gonna be no cold-blowing A/C on that sexy sailboat.
” She then asked what three guns Iād bring.”
Phew. You had me worried with the first part…
Anyways –
#1 – Mossburg Mariner. ‘Nuff said:
http://www.mossberg.com/product/590-mariner-9-shot-50299/
2 and 3, whatever you can get away with… *wink* š
I was going to comment about the same 590 Mariner. Good stuff.
In addition, a takedown 10/22, and a G19, with maritime spring cups, of course.
One of those stainless integrally-suppressed takedown 10-22s would be *sweet*…
(Oh, and Jeremy? In the weltering summertime, sleeping on-deck on a sailboat is often a necessity. How is the wife with outdoors… er, you know? *wink* š )
My ex loved the outdoors, but she complained about being chained to the post.
adverse4, even though you fed and watered her regularly?
Some people are just never satisfied…
The SLV crew had their own brush with pirates after sailing west from Panama. Riley drove them off by madly hurtling cans of veggies at them while Elayna hid in a locker.
After the attack they posted a video asking their viewers for advice regarding getting a gun or something else for self-defense.
Attack at end of this video: https://youtu.be/2M3zERmRg2g
Gun discussion: https://youtu.be/R8Nq2LKSnyA
Get a maritime lawyer (not a “sea lawyer”) before you get a gun and get yourself in trouble with your home country and whatever port you visit. There is an effective gun ban on any blue water area (greenwater may be different from state and city laws)
Or ask the War Department for Letters of Marque and Reprisal to cruise against all enemies of the US. Tell them you’re going with 18lbs English pattern long guns (cannon) modified with laser sighting systems and 12 gauge cartridge ignition systems. Then you’d need a stainless 12 gauge to “proof” your ignition powder before taking on Iranian Boghammers, ISIS Jon Boats, and North Korean Commando punts.
I’d also recommend the full 20 + 1/4 volumes of Patrick O’Brian’s “Aubrey/Maturin” series for company and a strategic/tactical blueprint of the running of a happy ship.
“Quick’s the word and sharp’s the action, so it is every man to his gun or rope; for “Surprise” is with us….”
What am I missing here? How many squirrels and woodchucks do you think you’re going to shoot at sea, sparky?
I get that you’re trying to promote Ruger’s stainless rifle. But if you’re going all over the world it doesn’t make a lick of sense to me. Do you plan on catching Tuna, Marlin or other large fish, a 4″ .22LR revolver works fine for dispatching them before hauling aboard. That Ruger rimfire would be handy if you ended up on an island somewhere though.
I’d be more likely to invest in a scoped stainless Ruger M77 in 7mm Rem Mag as a long range rifle to ward off mammalian predators in boats of their own. For more CQ defense against either marine or mammalian problems, a Ruger’s new Tactical Mini-14 in 300 Blackout would work fine. Last would be a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun like Mossberg’s 590A1 Mariner.
The choices of cartridges helps to avoid legal issues in countries that prohibit civilian ownership of “military” caliber weapons or ammunition. Doing research ahead of time for likely ports of call will help this too. If it turned out the Ruger would cause problems (semi-auto), substituting a Marlin lever rifle in .44 mag would suit me fine.
416 stainless isn’t an optimal grade for saltwater environments. For something I designed I’d prefer 17-4PH toward the higher hardness end. At this price point I doubt the 416 is hardened and polished which helps enhance corrosion resistance. There’s not really any way to tell but if it’s a higher-sulphur alloy it really won’t hold up in salty humid air at all.
Definitely oil the thing like it’s blued steel should you keep it on a boat.
Ruger all the new models your company comes out with very year,you cannot make a lefthanded 22cal.boltrifle?maybe your companys sales might go up.