Anyone ever get to use one of the Kingfisher spearguns? They have some innovative features, and I have an opportunity to get a pair of them.
Just wondering how they look in person, how they operate and how the good execution is.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kingfisher-spearguns/161131650579172?id=161131650579172&sk=info
I have some really exciting variations on this plate in the works. This one was a compromise=1 PART, EASY TO CNC, AND EASY TO INSTALL. It will perform its job well, then the fun will begin.
Display Moresomeone there knows his way around the shop, very nice work.
after making all sorts of different guns i come back to the most basic things like balance, shape and simplicity. the band alignment thing gets people to do all sort of things, yours is very unique, but you give up power with any design that cuts length off the bands. think about it, a 110cm gun is more powerful than a 100cm, by cutting the bands in order to put them on a muzzle so they're aligned with the shaft you lose several inches of rubber that you would normally have if they were going through a regular band slot. sure with five bands you have some power to spare but.... imho, a better choice would have been a simple band elevator and a band slot.
the other observation i have is the amount of wood above the handle, a friends sea-sniper cracked in that area on the last trip i went on.
no nitpicking, just constructive criticism based on my little experience.
again, very nice work and it's great to see something new.
Steve, Thanks so much. That means a great deal coming from you.
Slot + Band Elevator:
You know, this is a subject I have been pondering for some time. And with a wood gun, it is really really silly to argue against a typical band slot. The slot is king, no doubt. I will use the slot in every single gun up to 4 bands. But 5-6 bands.... any gun I have seen in this range with a slot is just a big messy pile of rubber all fighting for the same space.
Power, has anyone made power measurements on a barrel with a band elevator compared to one with no elevator? Wild guess..... power is lost with an elevator introduced. Doesn't the elevator make friction on the bands, and reduce stretch? The way to make an elevator would be to have a rolling member on the elevator. But how wants to load up a rolling member in slat water with 5-6 bands? I don't.
"the other observation i have is the amount of wood above the handle, a friends sea-sniper cracked in that area on the last trip i went on." Well that is scary. Did it come apart or just crack? I've got a much larger cross section in that area than a Sea Sniper. I'll study that some more.
Thanks Steve!!!!!! :thumbsup2:
Don,
Given the time crunch, it wasn't a very through test. It would not be a great idea to be at full load in the surf line. But I did get 3 bands on and it fired level with "zero" recoil. I could have fired one handed no issue at 3 bands.I would not be surprised if the test pilot reports back favorably at full power.
Well done. It amazes me how poor the dive socks are from the big players.
Innovation and quality go a long way in my book. Good luck with those.
Awesome idea!!! You guys have really pushed the boundaries out
Any pics of it loaded
Not yet, but it looked sweet. If I had one change to make I would tuck the outer(5th) band in more between the two rows. The order in loading is specific, and took some figuring out.
Ken Hall striking a pose minutes before we had to ship it out. Always sad to give birth to a speargun and see it leave home. Remember, Ken is like 8 feet tall, and this gun still makes him look short.
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Ive been eyeing those photos you've been posting to IG wondering wtf kind of monster you were building. Looking forward to the answers being posted here.
Its been a mad dash to finish. There will be more questions than answers I am sure.
The shinny muzzle plate serves 2 main purposes, with some other benefits as well.
1. Aligns Bands in a favorable way
2. Makes tying in bands a bit easier than ferrel type.
The Muzzle Mock up in wood to test band position and measure
Lets play hide the lead. 1.25 pounds each side. 3" spacing down sides of barrel
Lets make wood curls with a spokeshave and lots of saw dust with a rotary sander
Test fit the Muzzle Plate
After a very late night of pool ballasting and rigging it's time for a quick sea trial. Well, at least a test fire in the surflne before work
We polished the pushrod retainer, bling.
Bye Bye love. Have fun in Panama.
This started in design phase a few months ago, but not much work happening till the last 2 weeks. The goal was a Bluewater gun capable of taking 200 lb tuna in Panama.
If you have ever see the guns I work on, you know it's always a team effort with Pugz and Ken Hall and Matt Hall. We try to split the work up and each contribute innovative ideas to the process.
This particular gun, I wanted to address the problem of band alignment, and also make it a breeze to tie in bands. The concept of a "muzzle plate" came into the discussion, and after a few concept iterations I decided pinning in some wishbone inserts would give me the geometry and ease of use I was after.
After speaking to a couple accomplished gun builders I was well aware how important proper ballast would be on a gun of this magnitude.
So far we have nearly 2.5 pounds of lead hidden in the barrel, with the muzzle plate making another 1/2 pound. And it still floats in the pool
I call BS on beginner status. Welcome Bro!
Display MoreThank you buddy, that means alot.
Than you will really like the next generation I'm building little by little.
I cast the grips from tooling clay I made a latex mold from. The barrel will be a Metal matrix composite tube made for a navy project that went south a few years ago.
Today I milled out some of the handle and pressed in my trigger pivot bush's, a lot more metal to remove.
Your the first to see this.
Cheers, Don
You got to work on a new speargun today????? gosh darn!!!! So Jealous. All i got to do all day was work!!!!!! Thank goodness to have paying work to keep me distracted from spearguns :thumbsup2::)
[FONT=Arial Black][size=14][COLOR=Blue]Don Paul's Top Ten. ''Why I Shoot a Hybrid''.
#4.Too cheap to buy long straight exotic hardwood.
HA HA H AHA HA.
It is a big deal these days to find long, straight, tight grained wood.
Luckily we have enough primo teak left for 20 more guns or so.
Im trying to get my mind around who would buy something like that. So far my best guess is inexperienced scuba divers looking to kill lion fish on vacation who have absolutely no idea what to use. Im probably giving the customers too much credit though.
I bet most never make it to the ocean. Probably bought up by frat boys to fire at pledges after the keg of beer is gone.
Fair enough Dan and sorry Dusty for my part in the derailing of a great thread, I believe you should only have a opinion if you have shot or used a bit of gear enough to actually have a valid personal opinion, as contrary to popular belief as that seems . I to would like to read more from owners of hybrids like Jim and Hank and less from those who dont .:@
Yes, I have never fired one. But they are very appealing to me. If money was no question, I'd have a couple for sure.
So Wong owners chime in..... What is it. It's got to be more than tracking and epoxy camo. What is it?
I was just told that Terry Maas recently had 4 Wong Hybrids built for him. That says a lot to me. It says that my skepticism of the hybrid design may just be all wrong. Terry could have ANY guns he wanted, and he uses Wong Hybrids.
Dan,
At least here in CA ,in some circles ,the Wong hybrids are so highly revered that many guys own several. They speak as though White Sea Bass cannot be shot with anything but a Wong Hybrid. Widely used, widely loved, and widely sought after in used sales.
I get an email every other month or so that is similar to this. " Hi, Can you build me a custom speargun? I want a Wong hybrid but I can't spend that much. Can you build one just like a Wong, but with a Neptonics Mechanism, a better handle, and I want 5 bands and I want it perfectly ballasted for recoil" No joke.
Obviously the Wong hybrids have something about them. The reputation is in very high regard, they are sexy, and they have over 59 world records to boot. In all seriousness, it probably has more to do with Daryl being a super nice guy, and providing excellent service and advice to his clients.
So what is it guys? If I shot a Wong would I never go back?
Dan,
I can think of a long list of Pros and cons.
But I have never fired one.
I want to hear from the passionate crowd of Wong owners, who absolutely adore their hybrids and why.
This topic swings back and forth with time. But one thing stays the same. Hybrid owners love their hybrids. Why? What really makes them this attractive to buy. What possible advantage can a hybrid have over an all wood gun? Does a 55" 3 band all wood gun really track that much worse than s 3 band hybrid?
Do Hybrids exist because we just want bigger more capable pipe guns?
I want to hear from the passionate hybrid crowd the real answers as to why they love them.
If you don't have a good hiding place to hide all the lead, don't fret. A wooden plug does not look that bad on the underside of the barrel. I make 3/4" dia lead plugs melted in a scrap wood. Bore a 3/4" dia blind holes to the proper depth in your gun, then cut matching wood plugs and epoxy the plugs in place and sand smooth.
