This is an offshoot of the thread "Bluewater No-Nos"
The topic was shooting guns that you are accustomed to shooting on a regular basis and how that effects us when going to a BW cannon that only gets shot a few times a year.
The consensus seems to be that all one's guns should ideally be the same, with respect to the fact that as guns get bigger, the only thing that should change is the scale.
After spending many years and countless dollars on different guns, I finally found a gun that "spoke" to me and said "The One"! It is a So Cal Tracker II that was designed and built by Gil Gacula of Spear-Diver.
I had Gil make a few modifications to the gun based on personal preferences and specific hunting locations. I had him move the handle back from the "standard" 12-14" that most production mid-handle guns seem to have, to 9" from the butt of the gun. I like this placement because it puts the butt of the gun right in the middle of my forearm. This helps me with aiming by gun far enough out in front my eyes that I can see the but and the tip of the gun simultaneously. It also keeps the butt of the gun far enough away from my face that I will not get a fat lip. I cannot shoot guns while backing up with the other hand. I have to shoot one handed.
The gun also has a semi-enclosed track. I did this because of the areas I hunt and big fish are often shot at close range. I have had several instances of the shaft not clearing the end of the full track after shooting a fish and was fortunate enough that the fish did not tear the shaft out of the track. The half track is enough that it will eliminate shaft whip for taking longer shots, when needed.
The gun is 55"; the perfect length for shooting on the rigs here in the GOM or in the kelp beds off Southern California. I would really like to have this gun made in a 60-65" and have been on the waiting list for quite some time now. Gil has a back-log that seems like it will never end!
The gun is much wider than it is tall. It is 2.5" wide at the butt and 1.75 wide at the muzzle, with a height of 1.75". The butt end is flat on the bottom with 3/4" roundovers on the top. About mid-way through the gun the shape transistions into an oval, making the gun very easy to swing, hence it's name, "Tracker".
The gun is rigged with a 60" 5/16 flopper shaft and (3) 15mm bands. Fully rigged the gun weighs in at 8lbs. Felt recoil is very minimal.
So post up your "Go To Gun"!