69" Bluewater big game Speargun

  • This started in design phase a few months ago, but not much work happening till the last 2 weeks. The goal was a Bluewater gun capable of taking 200 lb tuna in Panama.


    If you have ever see the guns I work on, you know it's always a team effort with Pugz and Ken Hall and Matt Hall. We try to split the work up and each contribute innovative ideas to the process.


    This particular gun, I wanted to address the problem of band alignment, and also make it a breeze to tie in bands. The concept of a "muzzle plate" came into the discussion, and after a few concept iterations I decided pinning in some wishbone inserts would give me the geometry and ease of use I was after.


    After speaking to a couple accomplished gun builders I was well aware how important proper ballast would be on a gun of this magnitude.


    So far we have nearly 2.5 pounds of lead hidden in the barrel, with the muzzle plate making another 1/2 pound. And it still floats in the pool

  • The Muzzle Mock up in wood to test band position and measure


    Lets play hide the lead. 1.25 pounds each side. 3" spacing down sides of barrel


    Lets make wood curls with a spokeshave and lots of saw dust with a rotary sander


    Test fit the Muzzle Plate


    After a very late night of pool ballasting and rigging it's time for a quick sea trial. Well, at least a test fire in the surflne before work



    We polished the pushrod retainer, bling.


    Bye Bye love. Have fun in Panama.

  • Ive been eyeing those photos you've been posting to IG wondering wtf kind of monster you were building. Looking forward to the answers being posted here.

  • Ive been eyeing those photos you've been posting to IG wondering wtf kind of monster you were building. Looking forward to the answers being posted here.


    Its been a mad dash to finish. There will be more questions than answers I am sure.
    The shinny muzzle plate serves 2 main purposes, with some other benefits as well.


    1. Aligns Bands in a favorable way
    2. Makes tying in bands a bit easier than ferrel type.

  • Ken Hall striking a pose minutes before we had to ship it out. Always sad to give birth to a speargun and see it leave home. Remember, Ken is like 8 feet tall, and this gun still makes him look short.



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    Dustan Baker

  • Very cool, how much did it weigh when all was said and done? Great innovation on the muzzle.

  • Awesome idea!!! You guys have really pushed the boundaries out


    Any pics of it loaded


    Not yet, but it looked sweet. If I had one change to make I would tuck the outer(5th) band in more between the two rows. The order in loading is specific, and took some figuring out.

    Dustan Baker

  • Man! What a launch platform, that will throw a shaft with out drama. How was the the feel of the test shot?


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

  • Don,
    Given the time crunch, it wasn't a very through test. It would not be a great idea to be at full load in the surf line. But I did get 3 bands on and it fired level with "zero" recoil. I could have fired one handed no issue at 3 bands.I would not be surprised if the test pilot reports back favorably at full power.

    Dustan Baker

  • Don,
    Given the time crunch, it wasn't a very through test. It would not be a great idea to be at full load in the surf line. But I did get 3 bands on and it fired level with "zero" recoil. I could have fired one handed no issue at 3 bands.I would not be surprised if the test pilot reports back favorably at full power.


    With the wings on that beauty, test 'pilot' is right!!

    i like to spear fish

  • someone there knows his way around the shop, very nice work.:toast:


    after making all sorts of different guns i come back to the most basic things like balance, shape and simplicity. the band alignment thing gets people to do all sort of things, yours is very unique, but you give up power with any design that cuts length off the bands. think about it, a 110cm gun is more powerful than a 100cm, by cutting the bands in order to put them on a muzzle so they're aligned with the shaft you lose several inches of rubber that you would normally have if they were going through a regular band slot. sure with five bands you have some power to spare but.... imho, a better choice would have been a simple band elevator and a band slot.


    the other observation i have is the amount of wood above the handle, a friends sea-sniper cracked in that area on the last trip i went on.


    no nitpicking, just constructive criticism based on my little experience. :)


    again, very nice work and it's great to see something new.:toast:

    steve veros


    in loving memory of paolo



  • Steve, Thanks so much. That means a great deal coming from you.


    Slot + Band Elevator:
    You know, this is a subject I have been pondering for some time. And with a wood gun, it is really really silly to argue against a typical band slot. The slot is king, no doubt. I will use the slot in every single gun up to 4 bands. But 5-6 bands.... any gun I have seen in this range with a slot is just a big messy pile of rubber all fighting for the same space.


    Power, has anyone made power measurements on a barrel with a band elevator compared to one with no elevator? Wild guess..... power is lost with an elevator introduced. Doesn't the elevator make friction on the bands, and reduce stretch? The way to make an elevator would be to have a rolling member on the elevator. But how wants to load up a rolling member in slat water with 5-6 bands? I don't.



    "the other observation i have is the amount of wood above the handle, a friends sea-sniper cracked in that area on the last trip i went on." Well that is scary. Did it come apart or just crack? I've got a much larger cross section in that area than a Sea Sniper. I'll study that some more.



    Thanks Steve!!!!!! :thumbsup2:

    Dustan Baker

  • I have some really exciting variations on this plate in the works. This one was a compromise=1 PART, EASY TO CNC, AND EASY TO INSTALL. It will perform its job well, then the fun will begin.

    Dustan Baker


  • everything is a compromise, yes the bands may bunch up in front of the muzzle when loaded but it sure is a pain trying to figure out which one of the bands goes with another when there are 10 to 12 bands dangling in the from of the gun but thats just me, try it and if it works for you great.


    a crack developed over the handle of the gun, i'm not sure how it happened but remember that particular gun has 2 titanium pipes reinforcing the wood so....

    steve veros


    in loving memory of paolo

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