Not bad luck--poor judgement. He must have had at least one crew member aboard--and no excuse for running aground. It may be time to give up that perticular business....
I won't touch that pistol vs gun arguement....and I always find the shorter to be easier to handle--unless doing match shooting. Not sure about "gun" matches...
In seriousness--I feel that 4" is a good size for carry, because a 5" barrel is just more awkward. At short ranges, the accuracy difference between 4" and 5" barrel is minimal (with pistols). It seemed that the paper work was long and difficult--plus just having the weapon seem to put you under some suspician. I made the mistake of giving my profession as "physician" rather than "teacher"--the customs person in Prince Rupert wanted to tear my boat apart looking for drugs. A vessel is allowed to have a "Ship's medicine chest" under international law. This same guy was suspicious because my Buck Sheath knife was in a black leather shealt, with a snap down full cover over the handle. He said it was "military" and a sign that I must have had a gun aboard.
