RIP Gil Gacula

Damn. Rip. may his memory always be a blessing

So sad, he's built some of the most eye catching guns I've ever seen. Thoughts to his family

R.I.P. Gil

RIP

RIP

Spearguns by Gil, Gil? He was a pretty young guy no?

He was one of the most honest and inspiring people, I ever dealt with, he took engineering to level of art form.

I am shocked.

Probably one of the first guys ever to build a fully enclosed euro.

Once upon a time he built me 2 guns, many years later, I still find myself admiring it every time I see it.

What other builder is selfless enough to freely teach others their secrets.

I will cheerish my Gill gun, and pass it on to my children.

So sad.
Rest in peace and god speed

This Hoo was one of 3 to fall at the hands of my gill Glacula closed track euro 120 last week, he built it for me in 06. What an amazing Man. Stand up guy through and through.

I Actually lent it to a buddy and he landed 2 40+lbs hoos on his first 2 trigger pulls. His spirit lives in that gun. I hope to some day be a fraction as talented as he was. What more can you say about a gun! His skills were second to none.

Thoughts and prayers for his family.

What sad news, someday we will meet, and tell stories of the ones that didn't get away, and I will hear all about your new designs. Still remember when I first found your webpage and got your guns.
They brought me alot of joy! First three times out, got my best Mangrove, mutton, and Gag. Three consecutive trips where I only shot at one fish each time, each time with amazing results.

Those personal achievements still stand as my best an were thanks to having a Gil gun.

RIP

Such sad news. He was an inspiration for a lot of us, not just for his craftsmanship but the lovely nature we should all strive to emulate.

You will be missed.

I'm going to post an email from Gil's wife which I received this morning below. Once this fund is in place, I wanted to throw out a proposal to some of the other gun builders out there..

Let's each make a gun which Gil would be proud of and in keeping with his Style and donate the proceeds of sale to Gils' fund to help support his wife and 4 kids he left behind.

Ulusub is going to make two guns for Socal WSB in support of this cause, I'll try to make them to Gil's standard. If you have a Gil gun and wanted something similar, I can try. I hope some others will come onboard as well.

"I am so touched that you and your friends want to do this for Gil. He truly loved designing and building spearguns. If he could, he would have done it for a living. He had so many speargun ideas, and I am just so sad that he is not with us to share those ideas. I would love to see the gun that is built as a tribute to him.

I am setting up a fund for Gil. There have been so many people that have wanted to do something for our family. His sister and I will be putting up a site and it likely be called the Gilbert Gacula Benevolent Fund where anyone can go online and donate. When we have it up I will let you know.

Here is a link to Gil’s obituary if you haven’t seen it yet:

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dig...50&mid=5841950

Regards,

Darleen Gacula"

This is really really cool Jon, good on you.

Thank you Jon!

I don't have have the building skills, but do have 3 beuchat marlin carbon handles and some teak blanks and boards, I would be honored to give to someone else to build out, I can rig, bands, provide shaft and shooting line, and donate them to this cause. Ideally local to S Fl.

Anyone with the tools and time that would like to team up LMK.

I read something Don posted about a gun he uses for Ceremonial Kills, for quite sometime I had treated my own Gil gun this way, now more than ever.

Im sure all the Guns associated with this project will be equally magical, honoring a legend, helping his family, and getting a piece of diving lore for future ceremonial outings, will surely be something, we can all be proud of participating in.

Im ashamed to say, I meant to do a review of this gun for a long time.

All the drama on the Forums turned me off to posting much.

In honor of Gil and so others can admire his work, I decided to post up these pics.

Gil designed and built this gun for me, I wanted something to bridge the Gap between three guns I used and liked alot.
The Riffe Comp series, the Rob Allen Rail gun, and the Wong Mgs.
To me it was like an epiphany when I found him. I remember the giddy feeling, when We chated about my dream gun, and I realized he would make it possible and attainable, for a student at the time. He could have charged me double and I would have been happy to pay it.

I wanted something Rear Handle like the Railgun, something that would shoot and american 5/16 shaft like the riffe, and something with an enclosed track and enough mass, to drive that shaft accurately and far enough to pack a serious punch at the end of the second wrap.

The "Warrior" was the gun he delivered, and it did not disappoint. It could shoot a thicker shaft than the Rob Allen, had better balance, accuracy and range than the riffe, and was more maneuverable and affordable than the wong. The combination of styling, fit, finish and function, were second to none.

Rigged with 3 5/8s bands at 350% and a 5/16s flopper shaft, it performs spectacularly, a deep reef gun, that isn't a cumbersome cannon.

When I got the Gun, my hunting style and approach changed for the better. I found myself becoming more selective and firing alot less, I landed less numbers but the quality became worthy of such a piece.

I spent several years seldomly photographing my catches, in favor of savoring the moment the old fashioned way, my mental album is packed with amazing days spent floating with the "warrior" in hand,

That guns has landed many many fishes for my

I hope you enjoy the pictures.
It is not an understatement to say, my Gil gun is among my most prized possessions, not just because, it is everything he designed it to be, but also all the memories of a lifetime Gil helped me achive with his passion and vision.

The Warrior!

My Gil gun cavorting with a Ulusub!

Underneath the line guide is a small recess, that the end user can adjust ballast for different shaft overhangs, with just a screw driver, The muzzle is also reinforced behind the band slot.
My dream was that sometime in the future, I could have Gil build me a few more guns.
The moral of the story, Life is short, savor it. If you've thought about a custom gun, building a speargun is a labor of love with very little profit, the fine gun builders in our community are keeping his spirit alive. I thank them for that.