To Shoot or not to shoot

I'm with ya dude, don't shoot. I'm in an overly misanthropic mood at the moment, but I'd answer the same way regardless.

 

i agree with the both of you, People need to understand that they are stepping into the sharks environment and must deal with the consquences. Not saying the death isnt a shame but it happens. The sharks should be safe from humans they are in their natural habitat and its sad that the lack of food is not the only thing that is diminsihing their numbers

 

I also disagree with the shooting!

 

Goddamn China and their shark fin soup and their fur factories.

I realize it's not just China.

 

Sharkwater

Couldn't agree more. Watch the movie "Sharkwater" by Rob Stewart, it will completely change your view of sharks just like it did for me. They are one of the coolest creatures on the planet.

 

there is a near zero chance of killing a shark that's in the water with a gun unless you have a mini gun or some other weapon of destruction. A shot gun won't do it, unless you're firing slugs with the barrell right on it.

I've heard stories of people shooting into the water to scare sharks off...

I also think we don't have the first clue what motivates a shark to attack a human. I hear all the time that its mistaken identidy... Maybe but Im pretty sure that the bottom line is hunger and not bad eyesight. If a shark is hungry enough it will eat whatever it thinks might be food.

 

I'd need to see some ballistics info before I accepted that...Idk, I'd imagine that a 7.62, 30-06, 308, anything in the 30 cal. range would do some damage, and if it is just damage, leaving something wouded is even worse. I know Inuit populations shoot narwhals(not sure if misspelled) and sometimes kill them.

 

well, water is 700 to 800 times denser than air... either 700 or 800, not a varying amount mind you...
so, when the bullet hits the water its losing an enormous amount of energy. I guess if they have the shark hooked and its right at the surface the chances are much better... but a large shark swimming 3 feet below the water... I'd say the bullets are probably just barely making an impact and would leave little injury on the body. Perhaps we should submit this to myth busters for testing... but there is no myth of sharks being killed by people shooting guns at them while they are swimming by...

 

bullets slow down a lot and change trajectory once they hit the water. so a kill shot is only possible for a few feet. maybe 10ft max depending on how powerful the round is

 

Mythbusters did a spot on shooting into the water about 5 years ago.

Turned out the higher the power, the more likely the bullet disintegrates when it hits the water and the faster it slows down.


Anyway, I think it's just plain moronic that some folks chum the water to attract sharks so they can film them, a hungry shark attacks a filmer then they turn around and want revenge on the shark.

Buncha phuktards.

 

My guess is only a head or spinal shot would to kill a shark outright anyway. Its not like they will bleed out as a mammal would. A gut shot would work but you wouldn't have the angle if you were above it. Death by infection is pretty cruel punishment.

 

The oceans have been overfished for decades. There have been mast fish die offs. No more cod off of Cape Cod. What is being passed off as real fish are crap fish like oyster toads. When the pickings are slim, then everything is food.

Rage Against the Machine put it best,"Hungry sharks don't stay hungry for long".




or something like that.

 

I saw a PBS documentary where they did an autopsy of a great white shark. When you see just how tough those animals are, you kind of conclude that bullets won't do much. Even the eyes seemed indestructible.

 

Bullets do no damage when shot in to water. I've seen it done. It slows it down instantly. Maybe if it's right at the surface, but more than a not more than a couple of inches under and it won't penetrate

 

There is plenty of cod off Cape Cod... In the NE we've had strict fishing regs for years. There's plenty of fish out there. When I was a kid you had to know your sh*t to cath a bass, now any schmuck can catch'em... There's no flounder, but that's because they're the favorite meal for seals... See the cycle. There's more fish than there has been in years, from small to giant.

 

I've spent many a day as a kid (back in the 70's) shooting 22's into the water trying to pick off a large mouth bass lounging right under the surface on a hot summer afternoon. Not only did I never kill one but I really doubt I ever hit one.

 

Again, I'm aware of the GENERAL physical phenomena that will occurr when a bullet hits water. But I'm never convinced when I hear general statements like "I've seen it done", etc. Who would sit calmly at the bottom of a pool while someone else fires 30 caliber rounds into it? I know I wouldn't. And for the record, I'm not anti gun, I'm a gun owner and was raised around them. The mentality that we should go get the bad shark that ate the human is the same one that allowed wolves(although I hate to compare sharks to wolves b/c sharks clearly prey on us occasionally whereas wolves eat our retarded livestock and pose minimal threat to us) to be pushed to the point of extinction, moutain lions, etc. Sometimes people get attacked by animals, sometimes we die. And who's going to fund these shark lynchings when someone gets it around here? We want the govt. off our asses when it comes to replenishment, ticketing you poor guys in Jersey, protecting us from ourselves essentially, so will we want them to do it?

 

I'm all about "survival of the fittest," but I wouldn't bring a gun to a knife fight.

 

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode34