Pigtail snap & swivel for speargun muzzle bungee

    What's the best snap to connect the shooting line to the muzzle bungee? IMO it's the pigtail or corkscrew snap and swivel combination such as this one from Speardiver Pigtail Snap & Swivel 450 lb.





    In response to this I often hear guys say that they don't like to use this kind of snap because it's too difficult to attach and remove the shooting line. This is not true, watch the video and tell me if you think it looks difficult.


    Pigstail Snap & Swivel for Speargun Muzzle Bungee - YouTube


    In my experience between the two commonly used snaps the pigstail and the coast lock, the pigstail has more holding power and is much easier/quicker to attach the shooting line to. See this pic of a supposed 400lb coast lock snap that a 20lb barracuda opened and straightened out after the speargun got stuck in structure. I've never seen or heard of this happening with a pigtail snap. I don't think it's possible, another part will have to fail first.



    Why do some find it difficult to use the pigtail snap? Two reasons.
    1. Haven't seen the right way to put the shooting line through. Once you get this rotating motion right it's very easy to do even with gloves. It then makes using the coast lock snap a real PITA by comparison.
    2. Pigtail snaps from different manufacturers may vary in shape. In some the coil/pigtail may be pressing too hard against the stem of the snap, making it difficult for the shooting line to pass. This is easily remedied by pinching the main bend of the snap with pliers to create a little more separation between the coil and the stem. Pigtail snaps from SpearDIVER come ready to use and no adjustment is necessary.

    I don't know what people are smoking when they say pigtails are hard to do. I have used pigtails my whole life down in Baja shooting grouper. Toss the shaft and fish into the boat, undo shooting line at the pigtail and the shooting line comes right out of the fish, no isssues and fast once the ponguero learns...



    :toast:

    Long Beach Neptune


    USCG 50GT

    Here is a tip. Dont ever grab your swivel when you are fighting a fish. It will break. Davie lost a shaft like that by putting a tiny bit of pressure on it. It was a corkscrew snap swivel.

    I use pigtails for every thing except Marlin. I have had 400 lb snap types break twice after too much cycling, even with no load.


    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.

    One of my buddies squashed one fighting something at the nados. It didn't fail but I wouldnt put up against another fish.

    BOBBERRYFISHCARVINGS.COM

    Any snap or other piece of gear for that matter will be more difficult to manage when the hands are very cold.


    The weakest points of either type of snap/swivel combination are at the holes at both ends of the swivel. These swivels will withstand a 450lb load in a straight line, but sideways pressure on that little stub with a hole in it I'm sure will make it fail at a smaller load, which goes along with what greekdiver is saying. The point I'm making is specifically about the corkscrew snap, it's ease of use and holding power.

    Quote from ddonnell

    I don't know what people are smoking when they say pigtails are hard to do. I have used pigtails my whole life down in Baja shooting grouper. Toss the shaft and fish into the boat, undo shooting line at the pigtail and the shooting line comes right out of the fish, no isssues and fast once the ponguero learns...



    :toast:


    I smoke only the finest sticky icky :D I didn't know how remove the line until Dan showed me :) j.p on the smoking part

    i like the pig tail swivel ,much ezer to use with thick gloves and cold hands ,thats what i use and i often dive 45 deg water and have a old injury that makes my right index finger go numb after a hour or two .i think the rep of them being tuff to use comes from the untuned riffe pigtails that come stock on riffe guns ,they are hard to use with a pair of pliers.
    phil

    Even within a batch not all swivels are the same. Some Snap and some Pigtail swivels will be more difficult to open/close. When a pigtail swivel is a bit off line, it can be a real pain in the ass. That being said, they are pretty cool.

    Quote from phil herranen

    i like the pig tail swivel ,much ezer to use with thick gloves and cold hands ,thats what i use and i often dive 45 deg water and have a old injury that makes my right index finger go numb after a hour or two .i think the rep of them being tuff to use comes from the untuned riffe pigtails that come stock on riffe guns ,they are hard to use with a pair of pliers.
    phil


    Probably this is why I don't like them. The only one I tried was from Riffe.


    Next time I need a swivel, I'll give it a try.

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    Soft jaws in a small vice will not leave any scratch's/tool marks that could be the vector of breakage or mono
    abrasion. ;) after the loop is performance tuned.


    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 Marco

    Probably this is why I don't like them. The only one I tried was from Riffe.


    Next time I need a swivel, I'll give it a try.


    That was my problem I was used to the RA style, the pigtails on my Riffe are tough

    Thanks for posting the vid Dan. I will give these a second chance if I ever rig a gun inline. I usually go break away to a floatline due to the size of our fish. I prefer the tuna clips over the swivels. I have only had one snap swivel open up on me and it was a small 45lb'ish white sea bass.

    Tuning pigtails.....always something new here. I too have had trouble with the Riffe pigtails. Never thought of tuning them. The ones I got on my Wongs were apparently already tuned. Thanks everyone.

    I been using the same snap swivel from Bass Pro. Its not as heavy duty as some I have seen. I will tell you this though, I have put a tremendous amount of pressure on it. I have put way more pressure than a fish pulling a float. I have been pulled roughly 40ft through the water at fast speeds with Amberjack, Permit, and African Pompano. This one AP felt like a boat was towing me on the surface. I was going that fast. And still the swivel still works fine. I think that is why I don't change swivel styles. Its been working fine for me.


    The one Dan posted looks way heavier duty metal than the one i got.

    I sometimes prefer snap clip or tuna clip swivels as in heavy surf , cause it takes longer to unclip and stringer a fish, then cliping again when you are at risk to get caught by a huge wave and be washed over the reef. These are some pics of the last surf hunting at the Pacific shore. :



    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Edited 3 times, last by monster slayer ().

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member to leave a comment.

Register a new account
Sign in now