Handle sheared off gun

    I'm reluctant to post this as I do not have all the details but please, if you guys have plastic handles check for cracks and screw tightness. Over torqued fasteners can cause issues just as fast as under torqued ones.


    I learned Sheri was injured badly during the La Paz World Cup when her handle broke off and the gun butt hit her in the face.:( Her eyes are now OK.:thumbsup2:


    She shoots with both hands on the handle so the recoil impact with her face was hard.
    Julie R. talked to her last week and she is doing OK but has two very black eyes.


    The brand is not as important to me and may not be the sole reason, but it was a hybrid.


    Don Paul

    "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.

    Sorry to hear this, get well Sheri.


    It will be impossible for a brand name not to enter the discussion, and it is important. I met Sheri at a Broward Longfins meeting 3 years ago and she had her gun there, a hybrid, so I'm pretty sure I know what happened. Even if it wasn't the same gun but a gun from the same maker. It's not like this issue hasn't come up before, albeit it's never been a problem to this extent. A crappy handle is a crappy handle. If this kind of accident happens at depth at the end of a breath hold it could turn out even worse.

    i was gonna say...sheri has a quiver of wongs and I doubt she shoot much else...in her words, she collects them like some chicks collect shoes.



    Glad to hear she is recovering well.

    i like to spear fish

    I've seen this sort of cracking and failure occur on mid-handles from guys who use the handle as the pivot point to load their bands, verses a standard hip load or chest load.

    Shoot em when you see em.

    Quote from nsearch

    I've seen this sort of cracking and failure occur on mid-handles from guys who use the handle as the pivot point to load their bands, verses a standard hip load or chest load.


    I believe I want a game gun handle able to take any abuse my bare hands can give out no matter how I cock it or hold it. I'd have a Tin Man or a Alexander on that thing in a heart beat if a handle so much even wiggles.
    A nose pushed up into brain matter would not be something I would risk.


    Don Paul

    "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.

    Just another thought to help keep you guy's safer.... wood handles can and do shear if the grain is horizontal with the barrel. Make sure to dowel or SS pin it the entire height and into the barrel.
    I have seen some very nasty things happen with spearguns.


    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.

    Edited 2 times, last by Don Paul ().

    An important point to note - on the old handles, the countersink holes were triangular... so on some handles, overtightening would wedge & crack the handle. Somewhere around the time of split between DW & Rick, DW had the handle mold changed. On the newer handles, the bottom of countersink is flat, using pan head screws. This mitigates much of this point of failure.


    Not sure if Sheri was like me & just too lazy to switch the handles out for newer ones... but that's a fair possibility. I know DW has publicly offered to exchange any of the old handles for new handles for free.

    I cringe a little when I see home built guns where the handle is simply screwed to the flat bottom of the stock. Regardless of the brand of handle, I am a fan of recessing the top of the handle into the stock, so that the shearing load is distributed to the handle itself, and not born entirely by a couple of tiny #6 screws.

    Edited once, last by Guest ().

    Quote from Tin Man

    I cringe a little when I see home built guns where the handle is simply screwed to the flat bottom of the stock. Regardless of the brand of handle, I am a fan of recessing the top of the handle into the stock, so that the shearing load is distributed to the handle itself, and not born entirely by a couple of tiny #6 screws.


    Most definitely, Ken Jones does this with his DeathSticks and custom handles.

    Shoot em when you see em.

    Quote from Tin Man

    I cringe a little when I see home built guns where the handle is simply screwed to the flat bottom of the stock. Regardless of the brand of handle, I am a fan of recessing the top of the handle into the stock, so that the shearing load is distributed to the handle itself, and not born entirely by a couple of tiny #6 screws.


    What bugs me even more are the gun manufacturers that continue to just slap a handle on a flat bottom... Yokooji & B.A.D. spearguns come to mind. :rolleyes1:


    Those plastic Wong handles need to be replaced with an aluminum or delrin alternative. They break all the time simply because of the material they are made of.

    Alex

    I feel bad for Sheri, that was an awful accident, :(


    I wish that happened to me instead, she has a beautiful face, but she´s as well tough as nails, I hope she fully recovers soon.

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Quote from greekdiver

    I had a wong and sold it because i hated how much recoil it had.


    Even with a 5/16 or 9/32 ? I have never shot one, but I've seen a few with Steve A's handle.
    I have shot 6 band guns in testing that feel like a car crash, and unless I was hunting big Tuna or Marlin would hate to pull the trigger on one. This does not apply to well balanced and weighted guns.
    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.

    But i am coming from pneumatics and rear handle guns. The Abellan i have shoots a 7.5mm shaft with very little recoil. My wong was a 9/32. I guess you get used to it after a while.

    I have a 60 Magnum Hybrid, that I shoot with 3 9/16´s and a 9/32 and is accurate and powerful, no noticeable recoil. I use it with two 5/8´s for the reef and is a delight to shoot. I had recoil issues in the past with not just Wongs, but any other guns including riffes, but that was entirely my fault, cause I wanted to shoot those with heavy shafts and hefty and short bands. Recoil doesn´t concern me tho, cause I am 115 kg (250 pounds) but that "jump" has made my previous guns inaccurate. Is a rigging problem. I have never had issues with the new wong handles, but I use one now (custom made) that fits my hand well.

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    I heard about this a few weeks ago but wasn't sure about saying anything. I didn't want to put any attention on Daryl or the quality of his guns. I think it might be time to upgrade to the Alexander handles on my guns.

    Quote from Mr paul

    I heard about this a few weeks ago but wasn't sure about saying anything. I didn't want to put any attention on Daryl or the quality of his guns. I think it might be time to upgrade to the Alexander handles on my guns.


    I heard about it after our Puke dive together, or I would have told you. :D


    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.

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