Lost a pistol in 7ft of water

Jeyeseven

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Hey, just looking for some solid advice on what can be accomplished. I had a boating accident last week and dropped my Glock 21 (.45 cal) still in its holster. The water is about 5 foot deep and the silt under it is about 12-15" deep. The water has 0" of clarity. I know within a 30' radius of where I went down, but have yet to find anything that I can use from a boat to find the location. I don't have dive gear so I cant stay under for long periods sifting through silt. Any advice????? :?:
 
Research magnet fishing under our search menu on this page

A 10 dollar retrieval magnet from the far east hardware store on a 10 ft rope and a little patience will do the trick
 
A 10 dollar retrieval magnet from the far east hardware store on a 10 ft rope and a little patience will do the trick

That’s not a bad idea. I have a Neodymium magnet that clicks onto my holstered G17 real good!

If that didn’t work I’d get a equinox 600 or AT Pro and get wet....

Good luck man!

(I don’t really have a g17, lost it in a tragic boating accident :lol:)
 

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Underwater camera would be no good, because of the low vis and silt bottom. A detector with a long enough rod to run the coil on the bottom, while you have the controls up in or by the boat, would work, but there may be lots of other trash down there. (There usually is) The heavy magnet is your best bet...unless you're in Michigan. Then Who you gonna call...is Scuba Detector!

Since it's not too deep, a long handle fish net might work. Poke around with a pole until you feel something solid, then scoop deep. Or just mount your heavy magnet on a pole!
Good luck!
 
Where you at? Your location would help so others near you might be able to lend you a magnet.
 
Dragging with a magnet sounds best to me. Contractors use 2 or 3 ft bar magnets on a handle to clean up nails and such, one of those on a rope would cover more area, but may snag worse than a smaller magnet. Hope you have good luck with your recovery mission.
 
Good luck finding it.I lost a chain w/25 keys on it.In 15 ft of water off a dock.Marked the dock EXACTLY where they went in.Bottom had 2 ft of Muck.Used a magnet w/ no luck,called in a diver,...and never found them :(
 
If you youtube magnet fishing you can see it's a popular thing to do. You can film yourself doing it and get a ton of views especially saying gun in the title.

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Yeah I'd suggest using a magnet. You probably won't need a detector because you kinda already know where it is. You'd probably pick up heaps of other iron junk as well. If you recently lost it, it'll still be on the surface of the river/lake, I don't think enough silt would've moved to cover it yet.
 
Walmart sells the fishing magnets online and not too expensive.

You may also contact a local dive shop or scuba club. The major issue is if a round is chambered. Aside from getting struck, you dont want to be underwater if that th hinges goes off...

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That’s not a bad idea. I have a Neodymium magnet that clicks onto my holstered G17 real good!

If that didn’t work I’d get a equinox 600 or AT Pro and get wet....

Good luck man!

(I don’t really have a g17, lost it in a tragic boating accident :lol:)

Thats the ticket GS!! Hey OP! Get a good strong magnet, sort of grid off the area by tossing out some bobbers and sinker so you got some sort of reference area...Then do some careful and conscious vertical drops out of a boat with a very strong magnet...bouncing that magnet carefully along the bottom...work the grid...I wouldnt tossNdrag though...I'd be vertical plunging...

Theres gotta be enough ferrous metal in that Glock or its Holster to stick to a magnet though...might just be the holster snap that does the trick for you...Report back....
 
Man that sucks, I’d definitely go the magnet route. Time consuming but worth it. Good luck


Bounty hunter - treasure hunter - cabelas
Best find to date - 15g platinum ring and 1876 love token
 
You may also contact a local dive shop or scuba club. The major issue is if a round is chambered. Aside from getting struck, you dont want to be underwater if that th \hinges goes off..


There is absolutely no way that the Glock will fire without your finger pulling the trigger. It is physically impossible for it to discharge without your help.
 
you can buy a long coil extension lead for a garrett ace [prob other makes too] so that you could use say a ten foot pole with coil on end probing the lake bed and the rest of detector up in your boat id go that way i think
 
Good luck finding it.I lost a chain w/25 keys on it.In 15 ft of water off a dock.Marked the dock EXACTLY where they went in.Bottom had 2 ft of Muck.Used a magnet w/ no luck,called in a diver,...and never found them :(

Diver you hired was very inexperienced. Probably didn't try very hard. Zero visibility water takes skill, practice, patience and no fear. I have a 100% success rate in marina's of docks. Super easy finds.

A Glock in a holster would be very easy. I would suggest the magnet idea first. Cheap and effective. Water in the northern states is way too cold to play in now.
 
got me a magnet

Hey Everyone, thank you for all the replies. I have been getting boats in order to be able to search when I get done with the several weeks worth of work I've been doing. I have yet to be able to find a metal detector I could rent here (No Dive shops cause there is no clear water in 300 miles) I finally found a "real" magnet. Looks like something out of a cartoon. Will pull up 250lb+. I'm pretty sure this will hold my Glock inside its padded sheath. I don't have to worry about any other metal or much debris because this is a flat spot in a swamp that has never had trees, just the muck. Just FYI for you guys I'm in North Louisiana and have a shorty wetsuit I can use if I need to free dive to find the Glock. I've got 3 kids under 6 and have been working 6/12hr days a week so time isn't a big luxury these days or I would have probably already found it. I used to free dive a bit and once even located a set of keys in 20ft of murky water with no mask (which at that depth is solid black)so I'm not worried about having to get in as much as narrowing down where to look, (sifting through the silt takes time.) I've got another few ideas that include drag nets and home-made 4ft wide retrieval rake. (to sift through the silt with) I'll post again when I have had the chance to go search. Again, thank you for all the advice.
 
I think mounting the magnet on a pole would be better than on a rope. Use the boat to move around. I like Mud's idea of marking off a grid with bouys or bobbers. After you pull in your prize, spend a little time magnet fishing on your day off.
 
Here's a magnet idea for you. I've had this so long, I can't totally remember if it came from an alternator or starter motor, but odds are it came from a starter. It's heavy, so I think I would secure one end with a rope and bob in into the lake bottom. It a very grabbing magnet. You might find a cheap, dead starter at a salvage yard to cannibalize. You'll always find a use for it. Hope this helps.

"End to end" attachment should should make this heavy magnet really punch through silt. Any orientation will logically hit silt depth of the dropped gun IMO.
 

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