Omer Airbalete 110

    Quote from Dan

    Tu casa my friend tu casa :)


    So Don, do you really expect the Airbalete to shoot exceptionally or something? :D I mean I'm sure you shot all kinds of guns, are you really looking forward to some marked performance improvement? Or is this winter talk? :D


    Dan, my philosophy is '' expect what you inspect'' I have many air guns going back 60 years.
    I have not used a production gun to hunt fish on a regular basis ever.If the gun can't be made to perform in my inshore waters it will end up as a wall hanger.


    I don't want to come off as a A-hole but my double has spoiled me, and I need to get back to basics, back to my roots. I have been a Blue water snob for too long, so I'm going to mix it up with climbing down cliffs and beach diving off the wall places by my self.

    No one in my clan would consider using a airgun at this time, many would be happy to shoot fish at 30'
    off the tip. All I want from this gun is a dirty water gun for 10 to 12 feet and If I get rolled on a rocky
    coast in big surf and lose it, I will not be losing much sleep. I want to keep my personal guns for my kid
    to donate some day.
    I should have the airgun in a week.
    Ciao, 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.

    First time I hear the term bluewater snob but I understood right away what you mean. I can't see myself ever becoming a bluewater snob, probably it has to do with the large variety of reef game fish we have here. Actually I've yet to experience bluewater hunting. Without any intention of detracting bluewater hunting I just want to say that the way we dive and spearfish here fulfills me completely.


    Don, you did say that you want the Airbalet as a dirty water gun. One of the main problems that I foresee is that pneumatics tend to be nose heavy to the point of discomfort. In dirty water you often have to hold the gun by the handle in a semi extended/ready to shoot position. I found it to be really taxing on my wrist. Maybe the Airbalete is a better balanced pneumatic.

    Dan, years ago I tested dive gear for Scuba Pro, and handled a custom 140 Mares that was made for the world team. Now, that gun with a 10mm slip tip shaft ( set up for tuna ) was a wee bit nose heavy,
    but still killed hundreds of game fish.


    I still have the 140 mares but I don't want to kit it as the gun has a good history.


    The Airbalete has much better balance then some of the old relics I am quite used to.


    I am a band gun guy, but I plan on using the Airbalete platform for some fun ideas.


    When I use a air gun, I keep it tucked tight to my body until I extend and pull the trigger.
    I also like to lay on the bottom and croak in big WSB to the tip of my out stretched gun.


    There's word's and than there's actions, I should have the thing by the week end so I can start to build shite.


    PS, my 10 year old boy hit a nice home run tonight at his game, he is already 5 foot tall and 105 lb.
    Last night he received his green belt in Shorin ryu karate.... so it's been a good week for a dad.


    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.

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    :toast:


    how's his facial hair coming along ?


    Thanks guys.
    He is very blond and didn't have and hair on his head until he was almost 1 year old.
    I grew my beard at 18 to cover scars.:@
    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.

    Hey Don,


    Congrats on your new gun. I'm sure that gun will have more than enough power to take down a WSB. I stopped using long pneumatics because my shafts kept bending. I went through a bunch one year shooting AJs, Grouper, cobia, ect...

    haha, I grew my first beard at 16 cos i thought my face looked fat(it did) and the hair helped to conceal it, now I hate being barefaced....need my whiskers

    i like to spear fish

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    haha, I grew my first beard at 16 cos i thought my face looked fat(it did) and the hair helped to conceal it, now I hate being barefaced....need my whiskers


    It's bad enough you shoot that cute fish in your avatar... how come you are yelling at it?:D;)
    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.

    Quote from greekdiver

    Hey Don,


    Congrats on your new gun. I'm sure that gun will have more than enough power to take down a WSB. I stopped using long pneumatics because my shafts kept bending. I went through a bunch one year shooting AJs, Grouper, cobia, ect...


    Harry, I have a bunch of shafts in 17/4 and a few Ti. I'll be using a 9/32 slip tip.
    Our White bass make one run, and wrap up in the kelp bed, probably like a Stripe bass ? (never shot one)
    I'm blaming this whole Dark Side thing on you and your cool vids.:toast::toast:
    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.

    I'm just trying to motivate him to grow :)



    i dont hunt for trophies or bragging rights, just enough food to eat.



    I started with a fiberglass polespear and got very good with it right away(i have very strong hands so I could hold the spear cocked for a while) on my second of third trip out I somehow got 5 mangroves that were all over 15"..not huge, but big for mangoes...I ended up eating three of em and gave away one....the fifth fish haunted me on many subsequent dives...I hate to waste, especially a life.


    now i shoot dinner sized fish and try to never even hit my limit unless I know there are others to eat with me...

    i like to spear fish

    Hey Lunkeruster, I do the same thing with Calico bass, I like pan fish that fits in my iron skillet.
    I like the av....:thumbsup2: it makes me laugh ever time I see it.
    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.

    Ok, just a update, got a track # should be in cali Fri. I'm going to beach dive it when it gets here for some
    calico bass and a little recon.
    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.

    I'm going to try some easy back yard camo ideas. I would like the gun to blend in with my Omer suit.
    I scanned the pattern to a test strip with toned down colors. Here it is embed in one coat of west systems G-flex epoxy.
    I borrowed this tech from the surf board guys, except they use rice paper. I researched and found my scanner's color to have pigment that has held up to 30 days of direct Cali sun with out noticeable color loss with out any UV protection. I will use a uv filterd
    top coat over the epoxy. I know Omer has a camo Airbalete but I want a close match to my suit.
    Don

    Quote from Tin Man

    That's a really cool idea. What did you print it on?


    Cheap paper, I wanted the resin to saturate the fibers in the paper. Another idea was to use a clear acetate from a office supply store. My next test will be on a Mil spec green zink chromate primed, anodized
    aluminum. For the wood test I put down one wet coat of west G-flex over maple sanded with 80 paper.I used a heat gun to lift any bubbles and thin the epoxy.Next I applied the scanned paper and sunk it with pin wheel, followed by a top coat of G-flex. I have more testing to do before I go forward on a gun barrel.
    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.

    Tin, if you look at the composite reel on double trouble, you can see epoxy embedded mil spec nylon camo
    over dvinycell. This has held up over twenty years with out maintenance in the sun and sea. I used to camo my paint guns this way as, I played in brackish mud a long time ago.
    Don

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