"...More Than One"

  • If you have ever owned a boat, a motorcycle, surfboard, or firearm, the question you end up with is "which boat, motorcycle, surfboard, or gun is the perfect one?" The only answer that most satisfies that question is "more than one." And for us spearfishermen that spend our time in the ocean or fresh water hunting for the next tasty meal the question, and it's inevitable answer, is the same..."which gun is the perfect gun?....The perfect gun is more than one!" Sometimes we go and hunt only to come back frustrated that our gun choice just wasn't good enough for the conditions we found. Especially if you have access to a wide variety of spots that have the potential for different fish species and conditions; shallow reef, deep reef, open blue water, ledges, holes, clear visibility, or low visibility. Or if you travel you do the research, select your quiver of guns and rigging, only to be told by those pesky airline people that your bag is over weight! So the"more than one" issue, while being the usually perfect answer for the "perfect gun," ends up not so perfect. Having travelled to many locations far from home to spearfish with my sons has always been a case of hauling an impressive arsenal of guns for every possible condition. It totally sucks to "need and not have" when you are remote and the conditions are perfect for the one gun you left behind hanging on the the gun rack. Conversely, we've hauled an entire quiver of guns for every possible condition only to end up using one single gun the entire time. That sucks too. So we've hauled gun bags all over Mexico, Caribbean, South Pacific, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Paific and Atlantic coasts of the mainland US. And of course many of those pacific rim and south PAC destinations require connections in Hong Kong, Narita, Auckland, with plane changes, visits to customs, and carrying your gear back to the airline check in counter...a true hassle, but one we're willing to put up with because in our minds we know we're in for an epic dive experience. BUT...what if there was a solution to have the "more than one" perfect gun without having the overloaded quiver of guns? Like maybe the perfect gun is "ONE!"


    Rewind a couple years...I originally saw the Riffe travel euro gun at a dive shop in San Diego and thought that it would be a great gun for hauling on our duel sport motorcycles (yes, I have "more than one") when in AZ and headed to Mexico for a fun weekend of riding and spearing. But while the concept seemed like a great idea, the ridiculous price of that gun didn't seem so great. Then last winter I read a post by hometown spearo Akira dkt where he mentioned he had a home built "take-down" gun...or travel gun. So I contacted Josh and while standing in front of Tokunaga's in Hilo, I asked him if he would build me a travel gun. And he did. It's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, and a very accurate shooting gun. It's a 100-105 cm roller...a great all around length for a roller. And it breaks down to no longer than my long bladed fins, perfect for packing on a motorcycle or in a back pack. But after traveling to various Indonesian destinations with one of my sons this summer and going through that hassle of hauling the quiver of several guns, it occurred to me that if the gun is able to break down and be disassembled, I should be able to have multiple barrels of varying lengths that could be interchanged depending on the conditions...so Josh and I corroborated on what lengths would cover the needs of my hunting. I decided a 75 cm roller, a 100-105 cm roller, and a 135-140 cm conventional gun would be "the perfect gun." So I got on line and purchased a C1 carbon barrel from Speardiver (since Josh used that same barrel for the original build) along with one of Speardiver's new stainless roller muzzles, and had Dan cut and plug the barrels. As always Dan was on top of it and helped me get my set up perfect for my project. I had a few issues with fit etc, but he helped me work through it. I've found that he is more than a "store." He is a solution guru! :cool2: Most places will send you what ever you pay for...even if it's the wrong stuff. Dan at Speardiver takes a personal approach to making sure you're getting exactly what you think you need.


    So now I have one stock, but three carbon barrels giving me the "perfect gun as ONE." Carbon barrels weigh a lot less than three complete guns. I haven't bought Riffe travel shafts (which I'll have to do if I travel by motorcycle), but I have 7.5 mm shafts to fit all three lengths...and the weight I save can help accommodate spare shafts when traveling. I've shot the 75 cm, the 105 cm and the gun is perfect. I'll shoot the 140 cm back in Hawaii this fall and will report on it then. I can't express how stoked I am on this build. Akira dkt...Josh...produced one of the nicest looking guns I own! Hopefully he'll post on the build from the beginning to the finish with the pictures he took during the build. Below I will post the pictures of the completed gun minus the rigging.


    I know every spearo has personal preferences that differ. This gun is the result of what I wanted in a gun. I'm sure there will be some tweaking to get the characteristics of the gun just right. Like maybe a three band muzzle on the 140 instead of the two band muzzle I have on there now. All bands, including the rollers, will be Speardiver's small id 14 mm rubber, or the "no hole" 14 mm rubber that I have saved for this build. I can't wait for the next trip somewhere distant when my gun bag will be lighter and smaller! And the great thing is that as long as you have shafts that fit, there is no limit to how many barrels you can have! And one great advantage to this set up is that I will always be shooting the same gun no matter what length of barrel I install. Kinda like the interchangeable 9 mm barrel Glock has for the .40 cal...same gun, different bullet. :thumbsup2: Now to have a couple more of these builds made for my boys!


    Mahalo for reading!


    Aloha
    Makoa

    HUI KOA KAI O HAMAKUA
    MAHALO KE AKUA
    E MALAMA I KE KAI

    Edited 4 times, last by makoa ().

  • Speardiver's new stainless roller muzzle...more beefy than the MVD and Merou.



    HUI KOA KAI O HAMAKUA
    MAHALO KE AKUA
    E MALAMA I KE KAI

    Edited once, last by makoa ().

  • Every knot is done using the Rob Allen knot...secure and strong, but easy to undo for quick rerigging of gun. I use on the roller band long anchor line, not the short wishbone that loads into shaft notches, and on the pig tail swivel connected to the reel line. So no cuts or line loss when changing barrels and shafts. I love this knot!


    The Rob Allen knot



    75 cm (need a shorter shaft...I like minimum overhang), 105 cm ( complete rigging) and 135/140 cm all with shafts. Changing barrels and shafts under 3 minutes...with roller bands under 5.


    The 75 cm



    The 105 cm



    The 135/140 cm


    HUI KOA KAI O HAMAKUA
    MAHALO KE AKUA
    E MALAMA I KE KAI

  • Here are some close ups of the wood work and design that show Josh's craftsmanship, skill, and ingenuity. The way he worked the teak blank shows a connection to the wood's unique grain characteristics. This isn't your mass produced, production line product. I've seen some of his other unique builds and speargun concepts, and they're all pretty impressive. Best decision for a speargun build I've ever made. As you can tell I'm pretty stoked about it. The trick now will be how to keep my boys from boosting it from my wall rack!












    HUI KOA KAI O HAMAKUA
    MAHALO KE AKUA
    E MALAMA I KE KAI

  • Nice looking gun!


    I've found that for my current spearfishing style the most versatile gun is my Mares Cyrano EVO 100 pneumatic.


    It has a lot of punch and it's lenght is the same as a 75 band gun. I've taken down 70# fish with it.


    It also has a power regulator that reduces the power up to aproximately 30% of total. A nice feature when you have to shoot into caves/rocks.


    If I had to choose just one, that would be my Cyrano.

    Marco Melis

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

  • I've never shot a pneumatic gun. Does it have blue water range? It would be interesting to see what the customs implications are in countries that prohibit firearms. I know with my roller and banded spearguns I have had to do some verbal gymnastics with customs officers in Hong Kong and else where to explain that these are not "guns" but fishing gear! One look at the AR style handles and triggers and they get very suspicious. I wonder how a pneumatic gun would appear to them?


    I love seeing your pictures of you with your boys by the way! Looks like you've had some great spearing trips.

    HUI KOA KAI O HAMAKUA
    MAHALO KE AKUA
    E MALAMA I KE KAI

  • Perception can swing any way. Strictly speaking the only thing required by the airlines is that pneumatic speargun be empty/decompressed.


    What Dan said. Just declare it as "fishing gear". BTW, I've never emptied it when traveling, but I have it loaded to 24 BAR while maximum allowed should be 35. I guess there's a safety factor also. I know I should, but if I'm not asked to do so, I pass... :rolleyes1:;)


    Regarding Bluewater range, it depends on what you call "bluewater". I've only shot one tuna (small) in my life, but wahoos I would say hundreds. Most of them with a simple 110 Euro band gun. :D I can say that this Cyrano is at least as powerful as that 110 (Seatec Snake 110).


    My friend Ernesto took a trip to Tanzania to shoot doggies and yellowfin. He brought his 130 Pneumatic with him and he was the one who got more fish on that trip. Of course, he's one of the better "indians" I've dove with. There's a video in youtube. I'll try to find it.

    Marco Melis

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

  • Yes, I always refer to it as fishing gear. But now the airlines X-ray the checked bags and I got a personal invitation to accompany a customs officer to a back room when I stepped off the plane in Hong Kong. Haha The great thing though is that the guy was a fisherman and the hole experience actually turned out to be a "fish story" telling session before we agreed that they will keep my "fishing gear" in their customs office until my departure the next morning.


    The video is pretty cool. I've never been around pneumatic guns before and really had no idea of their potential.

    HUI KOA KAI O HAMAKUA
    MAHALO KE AKUA
    E MALAMA I KE KAI

  • Yes, I always refer to it as fishing gear. But now the airlines X-ray the checked bags and I got a personal invitation to accompany a customs officer to a back room when I stepped off the plane in Hong Kong. Haha The great thing though is that the guy was a fisherman and the hole experience actually turned out to be a "fish story" telling session before we agreed that they will keep my "fishing gear" in their customs office until my departure the next morning.


    The video is pretty cool. I've never been around pneumatic guns before and really had no idea of their potential.


    Well, I think I've read somewhere that spearguns are expressely prohibited in Hong Kong. And of course, when they see a long bag as the ones we carry when traveling, for sure will check it throughly. You were lucky he let you go.


    Years ago, pneumatics where the most popular spearguns in my hometown, Venezuela. Only bandguns we had access to where weak euro arbaletes with 6 - 6.5 mm shafts which were good for small reef fish but the first good sized snapper or barracuda will turn it into a pretzel.
    Wood spearguns were not an option since American spearguns were (and still are) very expensive and there where not many handcrafted guns as there are now. So a nice Mares Sten or Cobra Ataque (Brazilian pneumatic manufacturer) where the way to go.


    I owned a Sten 115 by that time. It was a sturdy powerfull speargun with 8 mm shaft able to take down large fish. It was noisy, heavy, but a lethal weapon.


    Then, in a trip to Italy, I bought a nice 110 carbon fiber Euro with 7 mm shaft and 20 mm short parallel bands. That was a bomb! I shot at least 50 wahoos with that gun...


    Then I got fancier and bought other kind of spearguns until my wrist got injured badly. Happily, there were rollerguns around wich you've tried and know how little recoil they have.


    When I moved to Panama, I did a research in youtube and saw lots of nice fish in clear water. WRONG! Nice fish yes, but shitty water 90% of time with 10-15 feet visibility when is "nice". So after buying (and selling) a 120 double band speargun, I decided to give a try again to a pneumatic and looked for the most advanced one with no "vacuum system" to be broken in the middle of a trip.
    That was the Cyrano EVO HF 100. Lots of power in a very short gun (as short as a 75. 118 cm overall with the shaft in), no recoil and dependable, mainteinance free.
    I've been using it every weekend without doing anything else than rinsing with fresh water after each trip.
    I just changed the slider by a stainless steel one since the original is plastic and after a couple month started to crack.

    Marco Melis

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

  • That's really a great history. And yes, spearguns are prohibited IN Hong Kong but permissible for connecting passengers to have. You have to be able to show you're flight booking to customs and they will "babysit" your junk for you. The crazy thing is that they only wanted the spearguns and shafts in the gun bag and set me loose into the airport terminal hand carrying three filet knives, two dive knives, a couple of stringers made from old spear shafts (so one end a sharp pencil tip)...oh well


    Thanks for the back story on your pneumatic gun. I wiould love to try one.


    Killing time in Denpasar, Bali and Hong Kong


    HUI KOA KAI O HAMAKUA
    MAHALO KE AKUA
    E MALAMA I KE KAI

    Edited 4 times, last by makoa ().

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