Posts by telekinetic walrus

  • Banks Board - New Shore diving Board

    Cool, good info. Thanks guys. I've started doing more beach diving, so I am considering a banksboard, for once I get sick of lugging a cooler around. Do you ever have issues with water getting in the hatch when open in rough seas? Also, has the third board design been released by Mr. Banks, yet?

  • Hobie Odyssey - Kayak Fun

    Reefchief - I know, I almost killed the CSS for filleting all the fish before I could snap a photo! We were both very hungry, though, so I can't really blame him. I was too busy cleaning gear. All I got was this beach pic that some random hottie took after we landed. She then proceeded to text it to me after we flirted for a bit and I now have her number. :laughing: I guess spear-fishermen turn women on. Who knew? I didn't know KB had that shelf. There were some great spots in between the shore and the 1st reef line; that's where the monster hog came from. I think they have adapted to being hunted in the reefs, thus moving in to shallower water where boats don't usually go (but, kayaks do!). What is "SWB"? Yes, boats are definitely the most frightening thing out there. As far as the wetsuit, I'll upload some pics of it at the bottom of this post, so you can see (it's inside out, drying, in the pics). I believe what gave me the rash is the rubber "gusset" around the neck that is supposed to keep water from flowing in and out. It has these rubber "gussets" (so called, by the manufacturer) on the neck, the wrists, and the ankles. You can see these gussets clearly in the pictures. I do know for a fact that it is nitrogen cell neoprene; whether or not that's open cell, or what, I'm not entirely sure. Let me know, if you can tell by looking at it. The rest of it is comfy, it's really just the neck area. But, I've ordered a turtleneck rash guard for next week. We'll see how that goes. It's a really nice suit, you can see in the pictures that they even put a large, thick loading pad on the chest for me. I purchased the nitrogen cell because it doesn't compress even in 100 ft. of water, and supposedly lasts for 20 years, or more. When I went to the store where they manufacture them, the lady showed me an air pressure chamber with all the different types of neoprene (yamamoto, etc.) and the nitrogen cell was the only one that never changed it's thickness, no matter how much pressure was in the chamber. She went all the way down to 100' of pressure and all the other ones were flat as paper, except the nitrogen cell. So, I assumed this means it has longevity. At the time, I didn't know the benefits of open-cell vs. not. In fact, I'll give her a call right now and ask exactly what it is, as silly as I'll sound.


    Makoa - Thanks! And I absolutely agree, with all that you said. Wise words. Also, that's a big daddy AJ. And the shark story, wow, you're a lucky man - I'm glad for you that you still have your shoulder. I'm going to buy a second dive knife after my shark encounter - one for the leg, one for the arm (that way if either gets bitten off, I'll still have the other appendage, with knife ready to save my life! :yay: ).


    Lunkerbuster - Thanks, I look forward to hearing your comments. Also, I still can't figure out the PM. We definitely need to dive sometime, though.


    Sames - Thank you.

  • Hobie Odyssey - Kayak Fun

    Long story short - the hunt was a complete success. 3 Hogfish, 1 Sheepshead, 3 Yellowtails, and 6 lobsters.


    Short story long - it all began, yesterday, at 5 AM. The sky was still dark and the busy sounds of Miami had been deadened for a few short hours, usually between 4 and 6 AM. I woke up and drove to pick up my Cuban Spearo Sensei, bringing him back to my warehouse to get the 14' kayak loaded onto the truck; I packed a few more things, drink some glorious colada (cuban coffee mixed in a specific fashion with sugar), and we were ocean bound by 5:45 AM. Realizing, only once we arrived on Key Biscayne, that the park we were intending to launch from didn't open until 8 AM, we began scouting for beach access. We quickly found a small side street leading to a hotel on the beach, where we parked the car and unloaded the kayak and all the gear. By 6:30 AM we were on the water; beautifully calm, all there was were the sounds of our paddles breaking the surface of the glass-like water.


    After about 30 minutes of smooth paddling, we started to see rock formations with fans and grass about 15-20 feet below. Preparation for water entry and the situating of the non-dive gear initiated. My Cuban Spearo Sensei (CSS) got into the water first, as I was strapping down gear to the deck and putting my wetsuit on the rest of the way, along with my gloves, hood, fins, mask and snorkel. I unstrapped my speargun from the side of the kayak and replaced it with my paddle, locking it in to the elastic band that is meant to hold it to the kayak. But, before I could get in the water, my sensei was already coming back to the kayak, hogfish inhand. It was a bigger hogfish than I had ever seen, and according to the CSS, bigger than any he'd seen in Miami for years. It actually had the long black, thick stripe down its snout, along with the very large, thin fin that stands up on their heads - not a juvenile. The CSS also nabbed a monster Sheepshead, while in the same area.


    From this first spot we continued outward, seeing little but grass and a few small fish along the way. Then we reached the sand doldrums - nothing, but sand and swimming for at least a mile, maybe two. Then we hit the second reef line. We did well here. We snatched up 6 lobster, two more hogs, albeit they were smaller than the first big guy. Also, we got 3 yellowtails and a Grey Triggerfish. In addition, I saw a bunch of giant star fish that were 3 times bigger than my hand, and a gorgeous four foot sea turtle chilling on the ocean floor. After a while, we decided to head back towards the initial dive spot to look for more monster hogs. By this time it was afternoon and the yacht waves began to give us a run for our money. The worst part wasn't necessarily the waves, but the combination of the waves, a northern wind and a south western current - go figure that one out, please. So, as the wind pushed us north, while the current spun our nose South West, we battled the yacht waves of Miami Dade; a steady starboard paddle kept us straight enough.


    We finally got back to where we estimated the first dive location had been (no GPS, yet) and we suited up and got ready to dive. Once, again the CSS was in the water first, but this time, the current and wind were much stronger. About 4 or 5 minutes later, when I was ready to get in the water, I looked around for the CSS. I saw his orange float about 200 yards away and I thought, "damn". The forces of nature had pushed my kayak, with a greater surface area, much further in its course that it did the sole human body of the CSS. "No, biggie," I thought to myself, "I'll just head that direction and do some spearing along the way until we meet up. That's when the boat came.


    It's typical in Miami for people to be self-absorbed assholes, and the intelligent gentleman driving his speedboat in the direction of my friend, the CSS, I'm sure was no exception. The CSS waved his speargun and orange dive float in the air, simultaneously, to alert the boater. A collision looked possible, so I turned my speargun around to make available the super-loud whistle I had zip-tied to it, for just such an occasion; I had hoped I'd never need it, but hadn't guessed that I would need it on my first trip out. I whistled and screamed, and whistled some more. But, the boater was, seemingly, only concerned with his own world. He never veered off his course, which from my perspective looked to be a disaster in wait. After, the boat had passed over what looked to be the exact spot the CSS was diving, I looked for my friend, or at least his float. Finally, I spotted his float.


    But, I couldn't see him. I swam as hard as I could, against the current, lugging a 200 lb. kayak into the wind. Every few seconds I would look up, while swimming, to see if I could spot the CSS's head, or snorkel, to no avail. I was already almost out of energy before this incident occurred, so by now I was breathing as if I had just finished a triathlon. Finally, after I was about 50 yards away from my friend's float, I saw his head looking back at me. Wow, what a scare. According to the CSS the boat had passed a mere 20 feet away from him - "welcome to Miami", I thought. I crawled back onto the kayak to rest, as I was about to sink to the bottom due to extreme exhaustion from swimming at the speed of "oh, shit, my friend just got run over."


    After about a 20 minute rest, I was ready to continue. We were back in the shallows where the first hog and sheepshead were landed. "Ok, let's do this," I thought in my head. I got everything ready and situated again, and took the dive. A few minutes in to this dive, I was visited by a 6 foot lurking Bull Shark, no more than 12-15 feet away from me. I "stood" my "ground" and pointed my spear directly at his face; he passed. "Nope, that's it! Bad juju seeing a shark like that after someone almosts gets hit by a boat," I thought to myself. "CSS, get back to the kayak, were calling it a day," I exclaimed in a detectably frantic tone.


    "What happend?" CSS asked.


    "Big f***ing Bull shark, buddy! And it looked hungry!" It wasn't that the shark necessarily scared me, so much, but in the extreme exhausted state I was in, (only minutes after a full-speed "life-saving" swim into the wind, waves, and current - not to mention after approximately 9 hours of non-stop paddling, swimming, and diving) - I would have simply been no match for a 6 foot Bull shark, had he decided to come back to confront me as a potential dinner-menu item. So, we bagan to head in, paddling on the left-hand side the whole time to account for the wind, waves, and current. It took another two hours to get in from where we were (approximately 3 miles out). But, as our landmarks became larger in the distance, our excitement (or hunger) to get home and cook our catch grew, as well .


    Finally, we landed on the beach. I had never been so happy to see Key Biscayne in my life, what an epic odyssey. Thinking that it was only about 2 PM, I pulled out my phone from the dry bag to discover that it was now 5 PM! Wow, 11 hours of a non-stop fish-killing workout - a thrill like no other. A storm was rolling in now, so we loaded the gear in the car and the kayak on the roof rack just in time to watch the first few raindrops fall on my windshield the second that I started the car. The whole way home I could not get over the feeling that my car had never driven so much like a kayak on the ocean. As I felt the ebb and flow of the ghost waves slowly pulling the wheels of my car side to side, I passed though the usual 5 o'clock Miami traffic at snail speed. I looked over at people in their cars, going about their daily lives, going home from work and such, realizing that almost all of them will never experience the world where I was for the last 11 hours, a world that is right in their backyards.


    How sad it is that there are those people who think that life is best-spent in a continual cycle of work/school, money, rent, bills, and maybe going out to clubs to "enjoy" the nightlife. Sure, maybe that lifestyle is just not for me, but I can't help but remark at the level of contentedness that being free in the vastness of nature, as opposed to locked in the cage of humanity, brings me. I knew, as I looked at the citizens of my great city on their daily rush-hour-drives, that if they only understood what was out there, if they only knew that level of contentedness, this would be a much different world. I then realized how lucky, not only I am, but also, the entire community of people who seek enjoyment in the great outdoors. A smile creased my face. I am truly happy. Truly content.


    In closing, I learned A LOT from my first kayak dive and I am very excited for next week when I get to do it again. Some things that I learned, in no specific order are the following: minnows will find you and follow you around, presumably for cover, but in the peripherals of your vision they can be little tricksters (I wondered if he was mocking me, knowing that I wouldn't and couldn't shoot him, not that I'd want to, anyway); if the current is strong and you're diving with a partner, make sure that you get in the water at the same time and stay close to each other; boaters are dumb; lobsters DO NOT want to leave their caves; controlling your breathing is the most important discipline for a long dive time - and it's exactly like a form of meditation if you do it correctly; wear a turtleneck rash guard under your wetsuit (wow, you should see my neck right now); make sure that you strap down the lid of your cooler with a bungee every time you close it, because it can and will tip over, spilling your fish back into the ocean, and you will have to retrieve them from the bottom; sharks are real and really big; sea turtles are also real, and really cool; the hardest part of kayak diving is the paddle back to shore after a long day of diving and paddling; do not forget sunscreen; wear a wide-brim hat; you don't really see what's on the sea floor from above, you have to get down there and look out across it to really see, and wow, does that change the perspective drastically; kayak spearfishing in the open ocean is a serious workout; fish come out of nowhere, be ready at all times; when kayak spearfishing, you must earn your catch, so much more than spearfishing from a power boat; kayak spearfishing is insanely extreme and it is one of the most rewarding, thrilling, and enjoyable things that I have ever experienced.

  • Kayak Spearing in The Keys

    I'm looking to take my kayak down to The Keys to do some spearfishing, but was wondering where I should go. Is there a best place? Are there several? Have you ever kayak spearfished in The Keys? If so, where do you like to go? I'm down for anywhere from Largo to West. Eventually, I'm going to convince my buddy to hitch his boat up to my truck and go for the Marquesas! I can't wait for that!!! In the mean time, I'd love to explore the more accesible keys. Thanks, in advance, for any advice you can give. :thumbsup2:

  • Hobie Odyssey - Kayak Fun

    Andrewk - What about sharks? Does having them in a bag in the water make sharks much more prone to coming around? I'm sure if it were a fully mesh bag, this would be a likely scenario, but maybe with a nylon bag or something like that it would help isolate the scent a bit more. Maybe not, though - animals do have crazy senses of smell that we can't even imagine, especially sharks, I'm sure. I was also thinking that the fish bag might be to much in the direct sunlight. That's why I especially like the bag in the water idea. Let me know if you can find any pictures of these bags. Thanks!

  • Hobie Odyssey - Kayak Fun

    Reefchief - "WISHBONE" That's the word I needed. Haha, now I know, thanks. That makes a lot of sense about the visible wear. As a piano and string player, the last thing I need are damaged hands, or fingers. So the "tuned flopper" is synonymous with "hawaiian flopper"? Can you give me any reason(s) as to why you prefer a pipe gun on the reef as opposed to a wooden speargun? I just love the look and feel of wooden spearguns, and basically wooden anything, even my eyeglass frames. Trees are cool. And those Koah spearguns are especially beautiful. I would be interested to hear some reviews from people who own Koahs.


    Makoa - Thanks for the congrats and well wishes! I am very excited to have found a new love, next to my music. I would love to try out as many spearguns as possible, to see the differences of each; however, right now I only have two spearfishing buddies that have a total of 3 guns between them. All three spearguns are off brand types (two air guns and one carbon band gun), of which I can't remember the names. I've killed fish with all three though. I don't like loading air guns, that's for certain. Bands are way less complicated, in my limited experience. But, on the other hand, they do get the job done, equally well. That's awesome what you were saying about using your line as a stringer for the boom boom quickness sickness. I'm guessing that I won't be able to do that with the Riffe, as you have to wrap that line around the top of the shaft so that it stays in place. The laser accurate Wong sounds nice, too. I actually met Dr. Wong at The Blue Wild expo last month - very cool, humble guy. It was an honor to learn how to tie bands from him! And his spearguns look absolutely killer (double entendre). Basically, I need to continue meeting local SoFlo spearos and try their spearguns out before committing to another speargun. I feel that's very good advice. I'm sure the Riffe will be a naughty beast for the time being. Either way, I'm getting up before the sun tomorrow and heading out off of Key Biscayne in the new yak, with the new gun, and all the new gear! It's going to be dope.:cool2:

  • Hobie Odyssey - Kayak Fun

    Reefchief, thanks for the advice. I had never heard of a tuned flopper before; research into this shall now commence! I just watched Dan's video of his tuned flopper; it looks and sounds like a good idea. Do you exclusively use the tuned flopper? The subject of the mid-handle vs. rear handle is interesting, as well. I chose the mid-handle on the grounds of trying to attain as much versatility as possible. However, I recently discovered Koah spearguns (based out of Jupiter, FL) and I think I may get one - they seem to be top notch. I actually met the two guys who own the company at The Blue Wild expo a few weeks back, I'm sure some of this forums' members were in attendance and may have seen their booth. Their spearguns are enclosed track, which supposedly, in combination with the metal sling bands, as opposed to rope sling bands, shoot straighter. Their reasoning behind the metal slings (just using the word sling because I don't know the proper term) is that they always line up straight on the notches, while the rope sling bands will always be shifted to one side or the other. That seems to make sense. Also, the Koah spearguns are very reasonably priced for beautiful custom made guns. We'll see what happens, maybe I'll sell the Riffe and get a 50'' rear handle Koah, if I decide the Riffe doesn't work. Or, maybe I'll just add a Koah to my arsenal...


    Lunkerbuster, thanks for the pool advice, that sounds like a very smart idea to test out the tether situation. I tried to hit you up on pm, but it said I "do not have permission to acces the page", maybe you can help me out with that. Thanks.


    Andrewk, definitely check out Wet Wear. That's interesting about the bag in the water. I had not even thought about dragging the fish around - probably keeps them cooler, too. Can you give me a product name or link to what it is you use, so I can check it out? Or, do you fashion your own bag?

  • Hobie Odyssey - Kayak Fun

    I am beyond excited to have purchased a new kayak, from which I will be free dive spearfishing. It is a Hobie Odyssey, 14' tandem yak, that I purchased from Nautical Ventures in Ft. Lauderdale (I talked them into a $100 off, no tax deal to get it out the door for $28 less than the before tax price, by telling them that a company in NY was going to ship it to me free without tax. Normally, they are $1,300 before tax, so I got it home for $1,272 - sweet. Would have been around $1,400, otherwise). I live in Miami and will, gratefully, be launching this bad boy either tomorrow or the next day, off of Key Biscayne (Bill Baggs State Park) with my Cuban spearo sensei aboard. I took the kayak out on a test run in Biscayne Bay with 1.5' swells and it handled beautifully. I feel that it is the perfect balance between width (stability) and length (tracking), amongst other attributes. I will update this thread with the results of my first kayak spearfishing endeavor in a few days.


    I have been accumulating all the "essentials" for the past few weeks, including, but not limited to: 100 ft. float line, West Marine clear dry bag; Plano dry box; 3 lb. Hobie anchor; safety kit with first aid, glow sticks, flares, and whistles; large dive flag zip-tied to an 8 ft. PVC pole that fits snugly into one of the built-in fishing rod holders on the back of the kayak; reflective tape for the paddles; paddle leashes; and even neoprene paddle grips for added comfort during those long trips that I know will happen, soon. Not to mention, I just recently acquired a Riffe Mid-Handle Hawaiian (50") with a double flopper shaft with a mid-shaft repositioning notch and a reel with 200 lb. mono, as well as a Riffe Terminator spearfishing knife, some Riffe free diver fins, and a custom WetWear wetsuit (manufactured in Hollywood, FL by local company, "WetWear").


    As you may have inferred, thus far, I have been on a warpath for the last few weeks. Now, it is the day before the first battle (fish battle - I'm going to win, undoubtedly). I know it may seem utterly ridiculous to some, the amount of money I have put into all of this, but one thing that I have learned from being a life-long musician, in terms of buying gear, is that 99% of the time, with proper research and due diligence - you get exactly what you pay for. I should add that all of my purchases were cold calculated decisions that were backed up with days upon days of various forms of research and that nothing I purchased was purchased without some sort of discount (either through my Cuban spearo sensei's dive shop connect, or through my ultra frugal sense of jewish heritage - much love to my jews). Also, the sale of my old Native Watercraft 12' fishing kayak supplemented, greatly, the purchase of my new Hobie Odyssey.


    With all that being said, I just wanted, for the sake of fun, to share with you all some pictures of my yak and speargun. Does anybody else use Hobie Kayaks? If so, which Hobie do you use? Another member on this forum posted about the Humminbird 385 kayak combo fish finder/GPS; I was checking that out and it looks pretty legit (better be for ~$500). I was thinking about getting some sort of mountable GPS/fish finder system at some point in the future. But, until then, I will simply be using my iPhone 5 as a GPS tool in a "Case Marine" waterproof case (check out these cases, if you haven't) with the Navionics app, along with some weather, tide, wind, and beach cam apps. The only thing, that I can think of, that I haven't fully ironed out is my fish storage. I was thinking about getting the Surf to Summit 24" bow-mountable kayak fish bag, but until I decide to go that route I was just going to bungee down one of my old clunky, junky coolers to see how they work, first. For large fish, I was planning on bringing a couple of large black contractor trash bags and some bungee, or rope, to close the bag(s) off and then slide into the hull of the yak via one of the three hatches.


    As a side note, I am working on a periscope design for quick viewing of underwater structures from the comfort of the kayak - it came to me in a dream. I will post pictures of the periscope soon; I am planning on executing my idea for the prototype tomorrow. By and large, I feel like I'm ready for this war and it's finally the eve before battle. However, if anybody has anything they would like to suggest, or if you would like to discuss any particulars, I welcome all feedback, critique, and general correspondence.


    Much Love, Even More Fish,


    Jake
    Telekinetic Walrus

  • Music, Spearfishing, and The Universe

    Salutations,


    My name is Jake, I am new to spearfishing, but I'm already a junkie. I have been reading this forum for weeks, as one of my friends recommended it to me. (I don't know his user name yet though :confused1:) Hey, Al, if you're reading this. I finally joined the forum, because I just bought my first speargun, so I figured it was finally the right moment. Patience.


    Anyways, about me: I am primarily a musician / performer playing in an up and coming experimental, electronic, funky, psychedelic, hip hop, jazz, severely bass-oriented band called Telekinetic Walrus. Our music makes you move. Telekinetic Walrus We are based out of Miami, FL, which is where I have done all of my spearfishing, so far. Though, I am originally from Atlanta, GA, after a brief early-life stint in Pensacola, FL. Anyways, as fate would have it, one of our band's biggest fans became a close friend and it just so happens that he is a life-long Cuban Spearo. This guy is insane at the sport, I mean absolutely crazy. Breath holding for 4 minutes, deep knowledge of the sport as deep as his diving capability, pin point accuracy in his shots, etc. We call him, "Super". One random day, Super calls me up, "Hey, Jake, you wanna go spearfishing tomorrow morning?" I'm open minded. I like new experiences. "Ya, bro. Actually, I do," I said. I had no clue what I was in for.


    Now, I have always been around the ocean, lakes, boats, and water sports of all kinds. But, after that first experience spearfishing, I knew that it would be something I'd want to do as long as my physical form graces this planet. Which brings me to a completely unrelated, yet entirely intertwined side-point: planets. And the Universe. I am an avid lover of all things "space-related". I think anyone who has an appreciation for mother nature, here on Earth, such as a spear-fisher would, has to be able to look up at the stars at night and marvel in appreciation and bewilderment. It's just so beautiful. There's so many possibilities. Infinite possibilities, in fact. I mean, going by the laws of probability, due to the seemingly infinite nature of the Universe and its infinite possibilities, there would literally have to be at least one other planet out there with intelligent life - at least! To go even further, the laws of infinite probability would have us infer that not only are there other planets with intelligent life, likely even one with lifeforms just like us, but they probably spearfish, too. Giant, bioluminescent, telepathic, plasma spewing alien fish. Yummy. Which brings us back to spearfishing.


    So, I've gone out spearfishing a handful of times, each time gaining exponentially increasing amounts of perceived skill. After every time I go out spearfishing, I come back and hit the World Wide Web; and I hit it hard. Sucking up as much knowledge, advice, and accolades as I can is how I can transfer my desire to get better into a tangible product that I can then, hopefully, eat at the end of the day. Again, "yummy". Now, notice that I have made no claims to be great, or even good. Heck, I won't even say that I'm decent. But, as of now, I have killed my first two fish. Hogfish. Though, this may seem, on the whole and rightfully so, very laughable to the many spearos which grace the digital pages of this ethereal meeting place in space (hooray, space!), it is nothing short of exciting for me. Excitement aside, I intend on approaching this sport and my relations with its participants that are so lucky to partake in such an awesome pass-time, with humility, an open-mind, and an unquenchable thirst for learning.


    That said, it is an honor to file ranks among each of you. I hope to learn much from this forum that I can take with me on my travels. And, likewise, I hope that maybe one day, I can share some unforeseen nugget of knowledge that may help someone else. I wish you all the merriest of spearing and fruitful, yet respectful, harvests. Thanks be to Mother Earth and Father Time, may they grace you with their hands and wisdom; may they be merciful on your soul.


    Music, Spearfishing, and The Universe,


    Jake


    Telekinetic Walrus


    P.S. - In case you were wondering: my new gun that I was referring to is a Riffe 50" Hawaiian Mid-Handle with horizontal mounted reel (200 lb test monofilament), three 9/16" x 24" bands, three-notch 5/16" shaft with repositioning notch and threaded, large 2-barb tip. I did a lot of research before I selected this gun. I felt it would be very versatile and last a long time. Additionally, I also got a custom-tailored Wet Wear wetsuit - 3mm, nitrogen cell, with hood, rubber gaskets around neck, wrists, and ankles. It has zippers on the forearms, legs, and a back zipper with an extra long cord that attached to a Velcro tab to hold it in place. The arm and leg zippers make it super easy to get in and out of, despite that fact that it is a form-fitting, custom suit. Inside of the zippers there are what the manufacturer calls, "rubber gussets", to prevent from leaking. And I must say, this is one heck of a wetsuit. The hood is a little uncomfortable for breathing up; I'm still getting used to it. But, other than that, I could wear this suit in 50 degree F water all day and be warmer than a fresh Cinnabon (also, yummy). Supposedly the nitrogen cell neoprene lasts for a very long time. The lady who made it said some peoples' last them upwards of twenty years or so, with very little degradation of the material. I believe it, too, because she showed me a pressure chamber with the nitrogen cell neoprene right night to 5 other leading neoprenes (yamamoto, etc.) and at 20 feet, they all start to compress, except the nitrogen cell. All the way down to 100 feet and the nitrogen cell neoprene remains unchanged, while the others are flat like nat booty. Then she releases the pressure and they all reflate to "normal", except the nitrogen cell, which never changes the whole time. So, I like that wetsuit. And I like my new speargun, too. Though I have not used my gun, yet. I anxiously await my next dive.