Have You Shot Sharks?

Texas Star · Mar 18, 2014

Have you ever shot a shark? I mean on the surface, with a gun. But speargun stories will be cheerfully accepted, too, or bang stick shootings.

Which species? How long? Where did the bullet(s) strike and what was the shark's reaction? Were any kills instant?

Elmer Keith swore that his handloads with his 250 grain hard lead bullet killed some sharks, but that factory .44 Magnum bullets ricochted (sp?) on the water and wouldn't penetrate in the sharks on an ocean trip.

I've read that they have a Y-shaped brain that you have to hit right. I suppose that shots into the gills might work, but slower?

I imagine that a Garand .30 caliber rifle like Quint had in, "Jaws" would work fine, but be a nuisance to maintain right at sea. Would it work on a huge white shark? After all, you can brain-shoot elephants with a 6.5 mm Mannlicher or a 7X57mm Mauser, if you know their anatomy well and are a master shot with a cool head.

Nick B · Mar 18, 2014

We rarely ever took guns in the boat when we used to enter shark fishing tournaments back in the 70's . We would use a 12 gage bang stick .
Hit em right in front of the dorsal fin and it was instant lights out.
Bulls,Tigers,Black tips,Hammer Heads were the usual sharks .

cowboy45 · Mar 18, 2014

If I was in the water and a shark got close enough to shoot, me screaming like a 10 yr old girl would kill them.

boatme99 · Mar 18, 2014

cowboy45 said:
If I was in the water and a shark got close enough to shoot, me screaming like a 10 yr old girl would kill them.

There's a picture, C45 in horse worn jeans, plaid shirt with mop snaps, TL 3 Rs, his Boss of the Plains (perfectly dry), and smoking cheroot firmly clenched in teeth, treading water and screaming out the other side of his mouth,like a ten year old gal.

Only to find out later that the "fin" he saw was just the flipper of a passing sea turtle.

Texas Star · Mar 18, 2014

Nick B said:
We rarely ever took guns in the boat when we used to enter shark fishing tournaments back in the 70's . We would use a 12 gage bang stick .
Hit em right in front of the dorsal fin and it was instant lights out
Bulls,Tigers,Black tips,Hammer Heads were the usual sharks .

Could you have taken guns? What are the laws on that?
Thanks for the informative response.

BTW. will a bang stick work on alligators where it's legal to kill them? Especially on an attacking gator?

Who makes bang sticks and about what do good ones cost?

Jessie · Mar 18, 2014

250 gr .45 lc into top of head of a 7' Mako. No effect. Took 3 shots. I probably missed the brain is all. It was caught on a line and held at the top of the water with its head just breaking the surface. Used a NAA derringer.
It sure tasted good.

THE PILGRIM · Mar 18, 2014

Hemingway used to shoot then with a Tommy Gun. He hated sharks because they would attack and eat the Marlin he was trying to land.

Stevens · Mar 18, 2014

I've shot (.22) a couple of Blacktips on a line just before boating them, not much effect, probably didn't hit the right spot, a good billy works better in that situation. Blacktips are good eating. That was many years ago, sharks are more protected now than many sport species.
Steve W

Texas Star · Mar 18, 2014

Jessie said:
250 gr .45 lc into top of head of a 7' Mako. No effect. Took 3 shots. I probably missed the brain is all. It was caught on a line and held at the top of the water with its head just breaking the surface. Used a NAA derringer.
It sure tasted good.

Gee whiz...I think there are better platforms for the .45 Colt. But I'm glad it ended well.

Makos are said to taste like swordfish, on which they often feed. Is that true?

Was yours pretty acrobatic? They're known for leaping out of the water.

BearBio · Mar 18, 2014

Mako is often "mislabeled" as swordfish.

Growing up in SoCal, all the sportsfishing boats had shotguns or rifles. The rifles were mostly to (illegally) shoot seals.

I've seen several sharks shot. A hammerhead, about 12 ft long. Gun
(12 gauge, I think) had no real effect. Another was an 8 ft blue. Shot in the gills twice with a 12. Just swam off.

Saw a deckhand gaff an 5-6 ft blue once. The shark pulled him into the water (idiot had a thong from the gaff around his wrist). I swear, he climbed back into the boat and only the soles of his boots were wet.

Biggest shark I ever saw was taken by harpoon though==a 35 ft basking shark.

wbraswell · Mar 18, 2014

No sharks, but I have busted gar feeding at the surface, on Sulpher River, with a .44 mag. with mild loads and a big SWC.

LoboGunLeather · Mar 18, 2014

My first tour in Vietnam was spent largely at Marble Mountain Air Field, near Da Nang and right on the South China Sea (not very far from China Beach and Monkey Mountain). At low tide all kinds of fish were in shallow waters surrounded by reefs and shoals, frequently including sharks (usually in the 5 to 8 foot range, about 200 to 300 lbs). A burst or two of 7.62mm from a M60 machinegun took care of business easily enough, followed by a barbecue on the beach. Fresh shark steaks grilled over charcoal with drawn butter, served with whatever beer might have been available (Schlitz, Budweiser, occasionally Falstaffs, and when nothing else could be had there was the local brand "33"). Nothing better for a bunch of guys accustomed to C Rations in the field and "mystery meat with dead bread", dehydrated potatos, and powdered milk and eggs in the mess hall.

Schools of smaller fish were taken using hand grenades. This occasionally resulted in damage to the reef on which we were standing in our steel mesh soled jungle boots, sending us into the water.

Teenagers half a world away from home with government-provided firepower are not likely to miss any opportunity for a little fun, especially when it results in a good meal, too.

LoboGunLeather · Mar 18, 2014

THE PILGRIM said:
Hemingway used to shoot then with a Tommy Gun. He hated sharks because they would attack and eat the Marlin he was trying to land.

I remember reading about Hemingway's legendary yacht cruises. He was known to keep a BAR onboard for sharks. I don't recall any mention of a Thompson gun, although they were relatively common back in the day.

Steve O · Mar 18, 2014

All the sharks I have shot have either been with an Olympus still digital camera, or a Go Pro camera.

Jessie · Mar 18, 2014

Texas Star said:
Gee whiz...I think there are better platforms for the .45 Colt. But I'm glad it ended well.

Makos are said to taste like swordfish, on which they often feed. Is that true?

Was yours pretty acrobatic? They're known for leaping out of the water.

I usually have .410 in the derringer. It was a recent purchase and its stainless so it was aboard at the time. I've never eaten swordfish so I couldn't say. That one was not acrobatic but another one I caught sure was. It was pretty awesome to see.

Rule3 · Mar 18, 2014

When we used to catch Black Tips and brought them to the boat we would pound them on the head with a Billy Club. Loop them by the tail and pull them in they are pretty quiet. Then quick gut them and bleed them and throw on ice or they would spoil.

Throw a fresh one in the boat and all hell breaks lose as the flip and jump and spew blood all over.!! Such Fun!

This was years ago. I would not kill a shark today, Manatee is the new white meat

Old TexMex · Mar 18, 2014

Yes. Many over a 45 year career of sportand commercial fishing. (big tigers,bull shark, gray whalers, blacktip reef sharks and hammerheads)with either 12ga buck or .410 slug. All seized up the instant it hit them. Point blank at boatside.

Bangstick, .303 and 12ga. A couple of times-- gray whalers, hammerhead

Here's a page from my Australia scrapbook w/a couple big Tigers. (1984)They were lasso'd and then dispatched with a point blank shot of 12ga.

THE PILGRIM · Mar 18, 2014

LoboGunLeather said:
I remember reading about Hemingway's legendary yacht cruises. He was known to keep a BAR onboard for sharks. I don't recall any mention of a Thompson gun, although they were relatively common back in the day.

The photo to the right depicts Hemingway and Henry ("Mike") Strater with a half-eaten ("apple-cored") marlin. This fish weighed more than 500 lbs in its half eaten state. It was projected to be more than 1,000 lbs when whole. During the landing of the fish, Hemingway used a Thompson machine gun to shoot the sharks in an attempt to ward them off. The effect of the shark blood in the water was to attract more sharks, which eventually did their damage to the fish. In the end, the state of the marlin recalls somewhat that of the monster marlin in Hemingway's later masterpiece The Old Man and the Sea.

mstuhr · Mar 18, 2014

Readers Digest

Howdy,
There was a Reader's Digest story a long time ago. I want to say it was titled "THE SHOT THAT CAME FROM NOWHERE". A fellow off the NY coast fired at a shark from a boat with a .303, the bullet skipped and traveled pretty deep into NYC and struck a cabbie dead.
Investigators couldn't find anyone who didn't like the victim, no one heard the shot. It drove them crazy trying to figure it out.
I believe the shooter heard about on the news and turned himself in.
All you shark shooters be careful.

Thanks
Mike

moe smith · Mar 18, 2014

I try not to antagonize the sharks. I hear they are armed with lasers.

Have You Shot Sharks?

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