And I don't consider firearms as a broad subject paranoid. It's when talking about the use of firearms to injure other human beings alongside the best way to store flour is where I draw the line.
I'm just looking at food storage. I'm not interested in surviving apocalyptic-level events via good old wild-west justice.
> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYeVTzPWYAAQuTl.jpg
I suspect you're blatantly trolling, but I'm going to answer you for the sake of completeness
Pirate activity is most often limited to certain parts of the world. I have no desire (or real need) to visit the Gulf of Aden anytime soon to respond to that image you posted as that is one of the hotspots. Another hotspot is the Straight of Malacca, where it occurs against shipping and less against smaller pleasure craft.
Circumnavigations adhering to WSSRC rules typically dictate that each circumnavigation needs to be 21,600 nautical miles and crossing antipodal points. To stay within these guidelines, I can quite easily plot courses that avoid most pirate hotspots, since most of the time will be spent in the Southern Ocean.
I'm more concerned about colliding with whales, squalls and suffocation from leaky gas hoses than I am with pirates.
Never the less, and perhaps it's my American bias coming through here, but I am astonished to discover that some adventure sailors travel great distances without even a single AK-47 on board. In my imagination a revolver wouldn't suffice as a deterrent since it can't be recognized as clearly at a distance, and since many pirates are ex-military they may not be particularly afraid of a pistol.
I personally wouldn't consider navigating the Mississippi delta in a boat at dusk without a shotgun, because there's more than just pirates to worry about, you've got paranoid drug runners looking for their drop zone, hell what about alligators.. it's illegal to harm one, but if a big one's somehow gotten on deck you better believe I'm reaching for my protection.
The point being, you might want to re-analyze "high seas gun battle" for its actual downsides.
I agree that there could be tremendous downsides, but at the same time I wouldn't want to reach for any type of safety gear and not have it.
What if it's not even "real pirates" but rather a haphazard raid by what are obviously hostile teenage boys from a nearby village operating a raft with a single outboard motor armed with only machetes ? These kids couldn't afford a gun and this could happen anywhere where there's poverty not just in areas known for piracy
Another scenario, what about the stranded boat that looks like it's stuck on a sand bar relatively close to port and is begging for a tow. There could be a pretty girl on board. It could be an opportunist type situation where they really did just need a tow, but when they sense you're unarmed they might try to commandeer your craft since maybe they have warrants, or a shaky visa situation inland or whatever.
"Like many merchant vessels, the QM2 now carries armed private contractors when passing through areas of pirate risk... M-16-type assault rifles and sometimes belt-fed machine guns...
For many in the shipping industry, the fall in attacks is a vindication of the decision to massively ramp up the use of armed guards. So far, not a single ship with armed guards has been taken by pirates..." http://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-piracy-idUSBRE91B1...