Posts by Don Paul

  • New Muzzle Design

    Quote from Dan

    What happens when you shoot a 6" shaft from a two band speargun out of the water? Does it go straight?


    Sorry Dan I misread your question I never shot the 6 inch bolt.I did shoot a 3/8 x 36 in a 70'' barrel with 4- 5/8s
    bands @ 300%. but I'll put that in a new post some day.
    Don

  • New Muzzle Design

    Quote from Dan

    What happens when you shoot a 6" shaft from a two band speargun out of the water? Does it go straight?


    Yes, I used a fixture to dry fire 67'' 5/16th' shaft inside a 1'x20' heavy wall PVC tube test bed, into a metal milk crate with telephone books. You can go to the last penetrated page # and and know how good that new French rubber is. I would test at different soak times, 1hr, 4hr and 6hr.
    Don't do this as it is very addictive and dangerous.;)
    Don

  • New Muzzle Design

    Hey Guys, that shape is spot on.:thumbsup2: Does one of you have a Fadal ?


    I'm not suggesting you ever load a gun out of H20 on land, a long shaft with 4-5 bands can go clear through a
    industrial building roof.


    When I tested bands on the guns:thumbsup I used a 6'' test shaft, it can still kill someone but it won't go into orbit.:D
    A h2o spray bottle is good to pre-wet the bands and slot.
    Cheers, Don

  • Lets get it on

    Thanks Dan for all the MMA DVDs:thumbsup2: , The wind here in Cali is blowing 40kts and I need somthing to take my mind off the last Shogun rua fight.
    Thanks Don

  • Loss of a Friend

    Quote from Dan

    If the gun was unfired then the reel question is a moot point. Just trying to understand.. Don, when you used this method did you just sink or chase the fish too?


    Mossback is the slang name for local Big and Smart Yellowtail at 40 plus pounds.They won't come within twenty feet if you even think the word chase.:D


    Our White Sea Bass are in the croaker family and can hear very well, just having your sinus squeal will produce
    a big Boom Boom as they leave you in the dust.
    When I used this method I would just sink without moving anything except my trigger finger, but what almost
    drown me was me thinking....just need to get a little closer as the fish drop away into deep water.


    I do charge fish sometimes on a straight down shot on tuna and wahoo only as a last option.


    Cheers, Don

  • Loss of a Friend

    Thanks for the condolences guys, I am 57 years old and I have dove hard and deep in blue water for 30 years.
    I have made mistakes along the way and I have lost my share of freediving buddys. I thank god I have never lost one on my boat. I only post this to share my personal experiences while spearfishing.


    I learned FRC from reading the Complete Goggler when I was a kid, and a copy of the old book had been read
    by Bill around the time he drown. Bill and myself weighted ourselves 3 to 5 lbs heavy when we dove shallow (20 to 25 feet). Bill was found lying in the sand with his unfired gun still in his hand. Our buddy spotted his float
    from the boat and went in to get him. Billy was a Catalina Island Sheriff, was very fit and was a deep diver.


    I and four friends set a metal matrix plaque on the reef, now known as Bill's High Spot.


    All the best, Don Paul

  • Loss of a Friend

    Loss of Long Beach Neptune President Bill Kroll in the mid 90's



    Years before I met Bill I dove with a guy from Scuba Pro. We had a secret spot off
    the back of San Clemente Island that held big 40# mossback yellows in super clear H20.
    The yellows would swim up to us twenty feet down. We would try to do a leg up drop on them
    and as we leveled off they angled away.


    My buddy Mark and I soon figured out what we thought at the time was a great
    trick, we would let the big fish swim in and I would exhale through my snorkel
    and sink flat to 15' and pull the trigger. We both landed some big fish,
    but one day I dropped too deep, sucked down with a fleeing Mossback.
    By the time I dropped my wt belt the blue sky faded to gray but I did not black out.
    Back on the boat I told Mark I was done with our new trick.


    Fast forward to the 90s, Bill Kroll and I were diving with a friend at Little Gibraltar
    on Catalina Island. I chose to swim the dirty water edge as Bill swam off my right 30'
    and in 25 feet of H2o. A school of White Sea Bass swam under Bill and I watched him
    drop flat on them without lifting a leg. He did not get a shot and resurfaced.
    I swam over to him and he replied ''Hey, how about a little space here''.
    Back on the boat I said to him '' I saw you drop on the fish without lifting a fin.
    ''What fish'' replied Bill with a wink.
    Back in Long Beach Bill and I are carrying the cooler up the ramp.
    ''Hey Bill you can't dive big fish with a empty lung, I used to do it and I almost F'n drown buddy''.


    A day later on Sunday, Bill called me and invited me to go on his boat to
    our spot on Monday. I declined because I had a business apt in San Diego
    and had just come back from the islands.


    Bill went back to the very spot in the reef where we saw the WSB with a fellow policeman
    friend and drown in 25' to 30' of water.
    I had dove a lot with him, he had a 2 min bottom time and we had both dove
    75' together. I believe my good friend dove on the WSB with a empty lung
    as to not spook them and an extra 3lbs in his wt belt.


    Bill Kroll was a Christian, a great family man, a great waterman and diver.
    I miss him a lot.


    Please, don't over wt. and empty lung dives can kill you. No fish is worth it!
    Dive safe.
    All the best, Don Paul

  • Mask breathing

    Dan, I had a very close friend die because he was using a trick he thought he was safe with.
    We all have personal limits, What might work for me may kill someone else. I will post my friend story later this
    week in a separate thread in Safety.
    Cheers, Don

  • Mask breathing

    I do it on long deep dives if I get tight and still have 30' to the sunshine. It always made me feel more comfortable moving the air in the mask a little. It's one of the reason I bought 4 Solie masks.
    Cheers, Don