Speargun with safety or without

    This topic has been discussed various times, but I want it to have it's own thread. Personally, other than to satisfy the perceived need for them from a seller's standpoint, and possibly avoid legal issues in the case of an accident, I see no use for a safety in a speargun. I'll state my reasons a little later when I have more time .

    I remember somebody saying that a safety doesn't stop the gun from going off, it just stops you from pulling the trigger. The best safety is proper handling, whether it's a firearm or a speargun, don't point it at something that you don't want dead.

    That negative about a safety is that some folks will use it as the "END ALL" and think they can do whatever they want if it's on.


    Proper weapon handling is #1 safety feature we all can agree on.


    I do like the safety on my lever action winchester being the hammer.


    Just like any safety device it has to used properly, and it can fail. I look at it as it will help reduce the chances of an accident if used properly.


    This is a good Thread, it has everyone talking about it and thinking about it, that will provide less accidents than any trigger blocking mechanical device.

    The only reason I don't have a safety is that I've lost lots of fish to them. Also, I think safeties generally don't work properly, at least on my Riffes. When I pulled the trigger with the safety on and miss the fish, it would fire the next time I switched the safety off.



    I consciously practice gun safety by never pointing it at anyone and I like to dive with my index finger behind the trigger, only moving it to the front when I'm near fish.

    What the "safety" can do to to give (as mentioned) a false sense of total control and to jam the trigger and make you miss that shot! Is has happen to me more then once, in the past. Serious gun's don't have the "safety"... (but I understand your POV Dan, as a business owner)

    Quote from jimcuda

    the only reason i don't have a safety is that i've lost lots of fish to them. Also, i think safeties generally don't work properly, at least on my riffes. When i pulled the trigger with the safety on and miss the fish, it would fire the next time i switched the safety off.



    I consciously practice gun safety by never pointing it at anyone and i like to dive with my index finger behind the trigger, only moving it to the front when i'm near fish.


    ditto!

    A bad day at sea is better than a good day in the boatyard
    George Steele

    Personally I was very hesitant to not have a safety on my custom gun. As a kid growing up using firearms we were always taught to keep the safety on whenever possible. They also told us never to trust a safety calling it the "dummy" switch but we used it regardless.


    Needless to say nearly every gun I had ever handled had a safety until I made a speargun. At first I was a little uncomfortable. It was always a feature that you dont really use but is nice to have. On my riffe the only time I ever noticed the safety was when aiming at a fish and pulling the trigger only to find out its on safe. Ive since gotten used to not having a safety on the gun and I havent had any misfires or accidents. Knock on wood.


    Despite all this there are at least a couple reasons why I like safeties on some of the guns I own. I never allow a loaded gun on the boat but I do feel a little better when loading a gun if the safety is on. Another instance where they are nice to have is when you or your dive buddy passes you their gun or vise a versa so they/you can have their hands free. I trust myself not to pull the trigger but sh@t happens. And possibly the my biggest reason for wanting a safety on a gun is for when I have less experienced friends/family using equipment. All of us on the forum have enough time in the water to control themselves but not everyone is trustworthy with a loaded weapon. Again sh@t happens.


    Bottom line, it comes down to whoever is operating the gun. Personally I trust myself not to pull the trigger but the same cant be said of everyone in the water. And honestly, all the fish you fish you ever missed arent worth the damage that can be caused by an accident.


    Very well said. You sound like a "front sight" type. watch a few front sight vidoes, the safety doesn't seem to slow them down.

    Without the safety, actually a remove the safety on myguns or i glued them in the fire position:cool2:.


    Regards.

    Sadot Hernàndez.

    A safety ONLY prevents the trigger to be pulled. Doesn't prevets the shaft to be missfired. This being said, I understand that is a personal prefference (that I don't have).

    Marco Melis

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

    My issue with the safety is this. On a speargun, the safety is just a trigger lock. There is nothing that adds safety to a misfire. The bands are little potential energy bombs, dying to release their force. The seat is a small little but that arrests that force. To me, a loaded speargun is treated at all times like it will fire on its own at any minute. That way there is no chance for a mistake. A safety is not needed in my mind because it doesn't do anything.

    i like to spear fish

    Safteys are one of those things that nobody actually uses. However in today's retarded world if someone gets shot by a gun and it ends up in court the gun maker/seller/shooter will be in the legal food chain. Any jury that knows nothing about spearguns would find the gun maker at fault if the gun was not built with a saftey. There would also be shared liability for the person that sold the gun. We all know this is complete BS but the people on the jury are typically not the people you would find on this forum or in the water with a gun in their hand.
    Custom gun makers are the biggest target because none of them that I know use safteys on there guns. It is a shame that if someone gets shot with a speargun the attorney's will try and place blame anywhere except where the blame is due.
    Never point a gun in the general direction of anything you do not want to shoot. This includes loading and unloading a gun too. Safteys make the gun manufacturer safer not the people on your boat.:toast:


    Sh@t happens a lot more when people have a false sense of security!

    Quote from marginatus

    Sh@t happens a lot more when people have a false sense of security!


    I agree with this most of all in the safety vs no safety debate. To me it adds confusion and uncertainty. Thats probably why my handgun of choice is a Glock. The only time you shouldn't treat a gun like its ready to kill someone is when you have visually confirmed for yourself the gun is unloaded. Everything else is just bs.


    Even with new and inexperienced divers, if they aren't trustworthy with a loaded weapon they just shouldn't have it. They are just as likely to have a lapse in applying the safety as they are a lapse in gun handling that results in a trigger pull. There are friends of friends etc I wont dive with because they dont have the sense of urgency and care about speargun danger that I do.


    I can see its usefulness as wishinihadgills said. In the same way mechanical safeties on some guns help prevent "glock leg" such as plaxico buress caught a few years ago. A mechanical safety is just a little extra safe if youre sitting on the back of the boat with a gun or passing it off etc. But the way most people perceive a safety I think is more dangerous then no safety.


    Ive seen one too many videos of scuba divers treating their loaded spearguns like unloaded ones, or like a walking stick, carrying ticklesticks and nets as well. :crazy:

    Edited 3 times, last by Reefchief ().

    I recall reading in some older material that the safety could be beneficial for loading and unloading the gun. Probably depends on the mechanism. I always kept the safety on when loading my Biller .

    i have build around 400-500 guns and only 1 guy has ever wanted a safety . a spear gun is nothing like a firearm the shaft can still fire with a safety on and without the trigger pulled (tail of the shaft breaking off , i have seen it happen 3 times now ,and i saw fracture before it happened one other time where the shaft would have broken the next time it was loaded . )

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