old wood gun remodeling project

I just got back from belize, where the locals dive rivers for big tilapia.  for basic materials, they use a steel shaft, surgical tubing and they scrounge the rest- it was quite a sight to see!

i have heard of locals in fiji doing this as well where fish'n'dive has some land. i bet they are damn good at it too since they do it almost daily: )

john

The speargun was ballasted in salt water and was just slightly negative with the front heavier than the tail, just a little. It floats with shaft our and the shaft is a 5/16th 48". Yesterday we did pool trials with it and it went well.

We marked the pool with chalk and started shooting the target about 20 feet away. The shaft drops slightly at 20 feet so that the aim would be about 5 inches above the target spot. From 17" the shaft drop was a lot less and the power from the gun at 3 wraps also pulled dyneema line off the reel. The shaft hit the wood board with power and went through it. The 5/16 shaft sure will be able to do some damage assuming a target can be hit in the ocean.

At 17' the gun was comfortable and the shaft drop was slight. Any more and the shaft lost power and dropped more fast. I think i'll be comfy shooting from about 15 feet max.

The gun is pretty easy to reload and the traditional jbl handle seems comfy. The gun has 2 5/8ths bands and i would love to put another on but it does not have another tab.

i was just excited this gun was easy to move underwater because it carries the maj. of the weight by the handle and the shaft flies straight and true. the muzzle pins allow for easy release of the shooting line as well.

Anyhow, we leave for Santa Cruz Island next Thursday and I'll test it out there. Should be interesting: )

Good luck!  Bring back photos!