Mosin-Nagants. They Shoot Whales Don’t They?

February 20, 2015

“Daniel Archibald surrendered Thursday to face charges and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond,” nypost.com reports. “Archibald, who’s from Cape May, widely considered America’s oldest seaside resort, used a Mosin-Nagant rifle to shoot at pilot whales from the vessel Capt. Bob . . . A whale shot with a bullet from such a rifle was beached and then died in Allenhurst, more than 100 miles northeast of Cape May, in September 2011.” Ballistics on a three-year-old whale corpse has got to be difficult. But never mind. Danny confessed. Kinda . . .

Authorities said Archibald told them he had “sprayed” fire at pilot whales, which are extremely social animals, about a month earlier to chase them away from his vessel’s fishing lines.

Archibald’s lawyer Bill Hughes had his doubts about the case.

“I seriously question the U.S. attorney’s decisions with respect to this case,” Hughes said. “I wish the government had done a few things such as a fuller investigation and read the law.”

Under a 1972 federal law, it’s illegal to hunt, kill, capture or harass any marine mammal. The law exempts from penalties commercial fishermen who harm marine mammals incidentally.

Spray and pray you don’t hit whales with a Moison-Nagant? Not bloody likely, as the Brits would say.

Danny’s looking at some serious penalties courtesy the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (amended for fishermen in 1982): $20k per violation and a year in jail. The feds can also ding him for the entire value of his cargo at the time (tuna ain’t cheap). There’s an addition $25k civil penalty on the table, too. Not to mention the permanent loss of his gun rights.

The man who done turned him in could get a $2500 reward. But good luck finding work on another tuna boat. Just sayin’ . . .

67 COMMENTS

Tom in Oregon February 20, 2015 At 20:05

Hmmm.
Let the caliber wars begin!
James February 20, 2015 At 20:05

How do you “spray” with a bolt action? He’s lying it was an AR! Save the whales from the evil black rifle!
- Chris. February 20, 2015 At 20:36
  
  An AR in 7.62x54r? That would be neat… but maybe a SVD would be easier to find?
  - Scrubula February 20, 2015 At 20:41
    
    Could probably build one on a .308 size receiver if someone made the correct barrel/chamber and bolt…
    - Nick February 21, 2015 At 02:15
      
      Good luck with that. The 7.62×54 is rimmed and would cause stacking issues in the mag, a problem that also occurs in the Mosin. That said, I’m sure it can be done, but it’d probably be as reliable as 7.62×39 AR.
    - Russ Bixby February 21, 2015 At 14:21
      
      @Nick: Um, the Mosin has no stacking issues. There’s a little gadget called the interruptor, and it ensures reliable feeding irrespective to stacking oddities.
  - BlueBronco February 20, 2015 At 21:36
    
    Or a Dragunov . . .
- RockOnHellChild February 20, 2015 At 21:18
  
  It can spray clips 30 calibers a second, don’t you know…
- AllAmerican February 20, 2015 At 21:53
  
  Apparently you can, I’ve been yelled at on FUDD ranges for shooting a mosin too fast. Boy, if it woulda been my enfield they woulda thought it was full auto.
  - JWM February 20, 2015 At 21:57
    
    Ditto. And I got barked at for rapid firimg a single action Ruger. Hi speed low drag thumbs.
- Art Out West February 21, 2015 At 03:51
  
  I love the thought of someone “spraying” with a five shot bolt action.
Eric February 20, 2015 At 20:06

Good
Just desserts for a$&h$&le behavior which makes all sensible gun owners look horrible.
Not to mention, shooting whales??
Really??
- Defens February 20, 2015 At 20:24
  
  The Marine Mammals Act is real, and it appears he broke the law. However, I don’t necessarily see where a fisherman shooting at whales in Maine paints all gun owners with the same tarry brush. I seldom see whales swimming past my house in the mountains of Washington, and wouldn’t shoot one unless it was trying to break in and steal my dried krill supply.
  - Eric February 20, 2015 At 20:47
    
    @ Defens:
    1) Cape May is in NJ
    2) we all look bad when anyone is a jerk when using a gun QED
    3) pilot whales eat fish, not krill
    - Another Robert February 21, 2015 At 09:31
      
      Which is supposedly why the guy was shooting at them–to keep them away from the fish he was catching or trying to catch (like maybe his livelihood?). just sayin’…
- RockOnHellChild February 20, 2015 At 21:25
  
  This doesn’t make gun owners look bad to anyone “sensible.”
  
  So yeah, it will look bad to people in NJ.
Disthunder February 20, 2015 At 20:07

You can get one with your C&R license! You know, the one that Firearm Concierge doesn’t like!
Moving on….
- TheBear February 21, 2015 At 10:35
  
  I have no idea why that dude gets articles on here.
  - Swarf February 21, 2015 At 12:16
    
    Because Robert likes assholes?
    
    Danny’s looking at some serious courtesy the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
    
    Good. I hope he chokes on his last can of cat food
  - Geoff PR February 22, 2015 At 20:32
    
    “I have no idea why that dude gets articles on here.”
    
    He is an NFA retailer. He qualifies as knowledgeable in the sale of those toys.
    
    He writes rather well and is entertaining as hell with his rants-peeves.
    
    He has a deliciously vicious sense of humor.
    
    Having spent time behind the counter of pawn & gun shops, his observation of the customers is spot-on most of the time.
    
    Personally, I think he enjoys getting a reaction from people with his writing…
    
    Reactions such as:
    
    “I have no idea why that dude gets articles on here.”
Former Water Walker February 20, 2015 At 20:11

What a jagoff…and I’m not a save the whales guy…
FortWorthColtGuy February 20, 2015 At 20:18

I think there is a dark place in hell reserved for people who kill animals that are not harvesting the meat, not nuisance animals or for population control. Very unsportsmanlike.
- Steve Day February 21, 2015 At 01:36
  
  Same feelings here.
  
  I say the EXPLETIVE DELETED should be fed to piranhas, one inch at a time.
- R February 21, 2015 At 02:44
  
  Agreed…what a piece of shit.
- Timmy! February 21, 2015 At 09:45
  
  “…not nuisance animals…”
  
  I’m not TOTALLY defending this guy but it seems a pod of animals trying to eat the fish you ARE harvesting is the very definition of nuisance animal.
  - Aaron February 21, 2015 At 18:13
    
    how “speciest” of you to put the livelihood of humans above the interests of other people, such as whales and sea turtles /s/
Grindstone February 20, 2015 At 20:24

What a fvcked up thing to do.
AllAmerican February 20, 2015 At 20:41

Shooting whales? What a douche.
- neiowa February 21, 2015 At 18:05
  
  Pretty sure the “Greenpeace” watermelons put the brakes on harpoons and dynamite.
Pieslapper February 20, 2015 At 20:43

Mmmm whaleburgers….too soon ?
- Anonymous February 20, 2015 At 21:37
  
  Blubberwich
  - JWM February 20, 2015 At 21:58
    
    Both of you need to go stand in the corner and think about what you did.
- dh34 February 20, 2015 At 23:25
  
  Isn’t whaleburgers that show on A&E?
  - jsallison February 21, 2015 At 01:20
    
    omg, for a moment I thought this was about lizard-faced fat @$$e$, so, whaleburgers, not kardashians?
    - dh34 February 21, 2015 At 08:28
      
      Different kind of “thar she blows…”
    - Swarf February 21, 2015 At 12:23
      
      So many rimshots, so little time.
- Buster February 21, 2015 At 15:07
  
  I wonder what they taste like deep fried,,,with hush puppies..
Russ Bixby February 20, 2015 At 20:56

Hmmm… a Mosin has some range, and Kansas ain’t all that far from Maine.

Maybe the ND by a kid at the range a couple-three years back hit that whale…

😉
Cinnamon Joe February 20, 2015 At 21:29

Figures the whale swam 150 miles after being shot. If he’d used a Garand, now . . . that’ll take out a Great White Shark! Saw it on TV!
- jsallison February 21, 2015 At 01:21
  
  a 1911 would’ve stolen it’s soul from the outset.
RockOnHellChild February 20, 2015 At 21:31

The whale probably had it coming.
- Geoff PR February 20, 2015 At 22:11
  
  “The whale probably had it coming.”
  
  Er, you mean the whale was just ‘asking for it’?
  
  You’re a braver man than I…
  - RockOnHellChild February 20, 2015 At 22:25
    
    The whale was probably being a d*ck…
    
    Probably trying to steal the guy’s wallet, those whales are shifty.
    - Stinkeye February 21, 2015 At 01:31
      
      A Moby Dick, no doubt.
Aerindel February 20, 2015 At 21:51

Good. Shooting whales is about the biggest dick move you can pull off on the open seas. Hope they give him to the Whale Wars guys and let them keel haul him.
- TokShifter February 20, 2015 At 22:19
  
  Based on what little I saw of that show, those Whale Wars people would be more likely to subject him to the dreaded drum circle torture….
  - rumple February 21, 2015 At 00:18
    
    And the open mouth of….hunger squared.
JWM February 20, 2015 At 21:55

He couldn’t have been shooting a mosin. There’d be a permanent cavity in the ocean where the bullet hit and vaporised metric tons of seawater. The crater in the ocean would remain as all the rest of the water would fear that spot for eternity.

Now a bitty pilot whale shot with an AR could have swam for many miles before the needle like hole in his heart caused him to go flippers up.

Just sayin’.
- Grindstone February 20, 2015 At 22:29
  
  I heard some guy named Mariana used a Mosin to shoot at the Pacific once…
- Model 31 February 20, 2015 At 22:54
  
  I think you’re right. It was .45 acp which vaporized the seawater as described, but it also killed the seawater’s soul, making the remaining seawater undead with no fear.
- jsallison February 21, 2015 At 01:23
  
  Only if Chuck Norris pulled the trigger.
Independent George February 20, 2015 At 22:21

“It’s coming right for us!”
RockOnHellChild February 20, 2015 At 22:29

Don’t hand this guy a Mosin around Rosie O’Donald… Or, wait… I got an idea…
- Model 31 February 20, 2015 At 22:57
  
  Don’t even joke about that…talk about the sea level rising…
  - JWM February 21, 2015 At 09:27
    
    What do you call rosie o’donnel floating face down in the ocean? Water pollution.
Ralph February 20, 2015 At 23:05

In Russia, whale shoots you. Then it annexes your boat.
J.D. Smith February 20, 2015 At 23:26

Never read a more sad and yet funny statements.
Rumple February 21, 2015 At 00:15

I’ve heard tell the Eskimos use .303’s for their work…just a rumor…seems the action works well in subzero weather.
mike February 21, 2015 At 00:16

Foookin idiot.
Sheep February 21, 2015 At 04:35

Why is there a picture of a shark used on a story about a whale? Jumping it?
percynjpn February 21, 2015 At 06:12

Well, since the whale appears happy, I don’t see what the problem is.
Indiana Tom February 21, 2015 At 06:52

Well now, DiFi will want to ban Moison Nagants because of the “spraying” action! I wonder if the “ghost gun” version of the Moison has a 30 caliber clip that can be emptied in half a second? This story seems a little fishy to me.
Lurker_of_Lurkiness February 21, 2015 At 07:45

Honestly I don’t care about a guy shooting a whale by being a putz. I don’t see the big deal.
- Lurker_of_Lurkiness February 21, 2015 At 07:47
  
  I should clarify that by saying legally, shooting an animal and then having it live and swim for a hundred miles is completely messed up; but since he claims it to be an accident and that is allowed I doubt he should be charged.
Aaron February 21, 2015 At 18:07

Whale meat kinda tastes like bald eagle, which incidently a moison nagant works quite well on, too.
Bill February 22, 2015 At 11:41

Now we know why earth was having such a hard time in star trek IV.
Vitsaus February 23, 2015 At 12:05

More fodder for the Mosin fanboys “you can totally kill whales with them, they are so power and accurate.”