Posts by Akira dkt

  • Cressi Comache Reloaded....

    Every diver should know or atleast heard of the cressi comanche speargun, used by world champions....blahblah.blah. A very simple yet effective euro pipe gun.



    about 5 years ago i received an old broken cressi comance speargun from a dive buddy for free. It was a 100cm pipe which i cut down to 82cm....or so. I cut off the screw in band holes, and shaped a very simple but effective single band muzzle. Over the years I have used this very gun, and have landed some nice fish with it. (uku, mu, omilu, moanakali, kumu, uhu, etc....)
    I really liked the feel of the gun, light, maneuverable, with very little recoil, even when powered with a tight 20mm band.



    I personally feel that my comfort with this gun was at least partially attributed to its handle, albeit not the most ergonomic, or cool looking, is probably the most comfortable handle ive ever used. (very good for instinctive shooting).


    Fast forward to this year, I ordered a MAKO etr barrel, in attempts to make a bluewater hybrid.........after design after design and brainstorming how I should put this gun together, I realized that it would be a whole lot more economical to just make an enclosed track, all wood speargun, or even a hybrid carbon speargun for my blue water needs.


    So I decide to make an etr railgun, just to see how this thing feels in the water,,,,,,but..... I come to find that MAKO does not sell a handle for their etr barrel (separately) and a RABITECH apex handle online costs almost 200 bucks:@


    So I figured today would be the day I put the comache handle to the test. The only problem is the mech, rocking sear, with a plastic trigger.... solid as it is for single or double band on a shorter gun, but an etr is gonna need some beef......


    First I took out the cassette and line release mechanism.
    Filled most voids and pin holes with epoxy putty.



    Then with some tape around the handle spigot to shim (Mako barrels dont fit anyithing ID or rail height sooooo irritating)
    Fit the handle to the barrel, measured the height the mech should be.
    then filled in the bottom of the cassette pocket with epoxy paste.
    After this I used a 1 x 1/2 inch block of abs and cut it to the size of the mech
    Wrapped it in cellophane, and put it in place, shimming it with nails.





    Next I poured, epoxy paste into the voids of the cassete hole creating a pocket for the trigger mech.


    After the paste hardened I pulled the block out effortlessly and peeled away as much wrap as i could.






    (It rained all day in Hilo and no work today so i went a little nuts)

  • Akira dkt Reports

    Hookinfish, 90% of the kahala Ive shot/caught were full of spaghetti, the meat is nice though, much nicer than large ulua.
    Ladvr, thanks, made it to shore safe and sound, I got a good look at the shark through the murk, big female, I believe she got a good look at us too, just interested in the fish. (still, big submarine with teeth is quite unnerving in murky water):)

  • Cressi Gara Modular fins and foot pockets review


    as far as the quality of rubber, It feels the same, hard black rubber on the edges with softer grey rubber in the center for fit. Tendonds need to be glued on.
    Gara mod tend to fit narrower feet better.


    Carbon fin IMO is rubbish. Friend broke both blades within a year of receiving the fins, (one broke, got replaced, other broke, got replaced) Ive looked at the blades and it seems like there are a bunch of voids (pin holes) between the strands of carbon fiber.

  • Akira dkt Reports

    Hookinfish, AJs in Hawai'i generally have the load of cestode worms, these are either maually removed or cooked out of the filet. Here we mostly smoke, and salt/dry the meat using a dry cure for 12-24 hours. After the fish is smoked for 6 or so hours we store and cook (bake, steam, fry) the meat.
    Kahala are also known to contain ciguatoxin, but unless the fish is over 20lbs they're generally safe to consume. If diving blue water or deep reef (where it isnt murky and sharky) we like to use the meat as chum, lots of oil and easy to cut up.


    Dan, Idk a platform/dive board would have kept the fish smell and blood out of the water, but for the conditions we were diving in the board would have been cumbersome to launch, as well as drag to and from shore. I believe that shark is a resident of the dive location. I gotten taxed 4 years ago, in the same exact location by a large 15+ft tiger which could have very well been the same shark.

  • Akira dkt Reports

    Figured id start a dive log, pretty cool seeing the progression of other members dives through the years.


    6/9/16
    Swell is hitting Hawaii island from all directions, not huge but its beginning to make the water turbid.
    Went on a short 3 hour dive today, my buddy Tom shot his first kahala (AJ) 15lbs. and I shot a 4-5lb mu. A lot of game swimming around, saw 3 nice sized ukus (green jobs) and some large (8-10lb) mu. Near the end of our dive Tom began to cramp in his calves, so we decided to swim in to shallower water (40ft-). I took a drop, saw nothing but skiddish fish on a ledge. Came up, Tom says "I think we got taxed"...understatement of the day. 18-20ft tiger took our fish, my flag, a sentimental Kui (stringer) and my brand new 3prong rubber.


    At least we got out safe thank God.



    Shark was probably following us since Tom shot the kahala, water was about 20ft of viz 10ft clear, we may just not have known it was there.

  • Fish breeding programs (Hubbs)

    Aquaculture can be very productive. If tanks are cleaned properly and brood stock is cycled properly, there should be little chance of disease outbreak or genetic defects.
    I like the idea of stocking wild fisheries with juveniles, but this is a means to an end, more like a kick-start to nature, rather than an ongoing program to replenish what is caught.


    Also I believe some species should be cultured and others not. In general i favor the culture of low trophic level fishes, shrimps, bivalves, etc... way more economical than culturing top predatory fishes whos feed consists of fish (usually wild caught). ( although here we have AJ culture that is rather productive due to soy based feed) but still...tilapia can eat algae that grows naturally in tanks.

  • Speardiver Roller Muzzle Review

    Quote from parker

    Why would it matter to the muzzle? My thought is - since Dan's roller kit allows the unloaded band to be loose/free above and below the barrel (instead of tied through the trigger guard) why not preload the top side first with bottom wishbone/bridle taught against the muzzle; then pull the bottom wishbone/bridle back to whichever position desired.


    With the loading bridle on bottom side of the gun, then there's less drag (just a teeny bit less) for the band to pull when the gun is fired. It's probably not enough to notice any difference in shaft speed, but I'm imagining it would make a neater look. I haven't rigged my kit yet. Just wondering.


    It probably wouldn't do any harm to the gun or muzzle to load it this way. a similar concept is the beuchat marlin revo rollers, where you can preload one band and load two shorter bands back to anchors on the ventral portion of the gun. These tend to take a pretty long time to load however.


    Your idea, preloading the shaft, then loading the bands to the anchors on the ventral side may take just as long. (without the benefit of two extra bands)


    In my experience, unless your roller muzzle is mounted on a mid handle or rear plus (or a gun with an extra long loading butt/pad) having the handle sticking into your chest/solarplexus is pretty uncomfortable when loading upside down.


    This is just my opinion bro, you should experiment with all kinds of configurations and tweaks to your own gear to find what is best for you.:)


    Ive been using rollers for a while now, in many different configurations, (bands looped to anchors, tied to the trigger guard, extra bands like marlin revo. etc) for me, simple is best.

  • Indigenous Tools

    lazers:D:D lol


    If you get into anthropology (archaeology) you see patterns in technology in cultures that had no contact at these times in human history. Aleut hunters also used atlatls to hunt from kayaks, these propelled darts with much more force than the human arm can muster. Half a world away, Australian Aborigines were using atlatls to hunt game and spear fish. (and store food) Paleo mesoamericans used atlatls to hunt as well, replaced by the longbow, recurve, crossbow...............and back to spearfishing. YupYup

  • FAD how it works!

    Nice Catches!!


    I agree. This is how we deploy our water quality buoys and wave buoys. Find your mark, drop the buoy FIRST, drive and let out the mooring line and chain, then when you've circled back to the mark, THEN drop the mooring weight. Very low possiblity of tangles, especially if the mooring line is packed neatly into a basket or in our case 3 x 45 gallon trash cans.

  • Indigenous Tools

    Saw this thread and thought about an old paper I wrote in one of my Archaeology classes. I learned that some of the first known "slip tips" were these bone and slate, toggling tips used to hunt seal and whale in the Aleutians. Amazing how these technologies are still employed in our gear today. Started getting into stone tools..eventually Me and a good friend and dive partner (now an archaeologist) began knapping our own obsidian points for bow hunting. LOL:laughing::laughing: good times

  • Cuttle bone shaped barrel

    Quote from ladvr

    A rattle can of orange paint can help prevent gun loss. Maybe some high vis tape if you don't want to commit to painting. Out here a gun floating horizontally in the kelp can be very hard to find. Especially when shore diving and trying to manage a stringer of fish at sunset. I use this gun for 3-5ft visibility. Mostly bottom crawling technique. My next WSB gun build will be high viz orange. No camo or dark colors for me.


    Lol. all i could think of was my old NERF guns and super soakers when I saw that Hali hammah of yours.


    That said, good point neon orange is best at surface, neon green at depth.:thumbsup2::thumbsup2:

  • Cuttle bone shaped barrel


    Hey Makoa,


    I hear what you're saying about the roller being more suited to short guns. I think this as well, with a few reservations.
    With a short roller you have better band stretch but the mass of your shaft doesnt change. I think a short roller with a heavy shaft is the ticket. (100cm with a 7.5mm+ shaft).....and maybe an extra wrap for those long shots ;)


    that being said.. I shot the majority of my mu with a 120 roller and only a few with a 100cm. roller :laughing::laughing:


    If i could only choose one gun for most reef diving situations, it'd be my 100cm roller hands down.

  • Cuttle bone shaped barrel

    Quote from makoa

    Anyone own and shoot an Aimrite Vengeance? Rick has added a new shape in addition to the King Venom and is coming out with the Rage (it's out but not marketed yet) which is different yet. All are cuttle bone shaped. I love the KV we have as it floats horizontally without the shaft and with a reel. I know several manufacturers and builders that have added this design and I don't know why all pipe gun builders don't. I remember standing in Rick's garage/shop in Na'alehu years ago when he showed me his new barrel design that would allow a pipe gun to float horizontal when loaded with a reel...it became the King Venom. My Super Venom roller has become my go to gun for all around hunting and I'm thinking a vengeance 110-115 would be a step up for the reason that it will float horizontal instead of handle down when fired. This is a personal preference and I'm wondering if it's really even "better" since a horizontally floating gun is not as easy to see when you're mostly face down in the water and can see a gun better when the gun is floating muzzle up and the handle/butt end extending way below the surface. This is mostly true in rougher seas.


    I'm interested to see what some of your opinions are. Speardiver to come out with a cuttle bone C3 barrel anytime in the future?


    Aloha


    Aloha Makoa,


    Ive looked over the vengance, rage and KV series. Yet to shoot a Rage, but IMO. these shapes are suited to more BW hunting.


    While KV are very dense with mass toward the muzzle to accommodate 3 bands and a thick shaft, the vengance are very light and generally only accommodate a double band setup. (still a very nice gun) but i feel that the shape doesnt do very much for the diver in a reef gun, that a regular rail barrel will do. the shape does add volume to the gun, but not much in the way of tracking or actual mass. the belly is also positioned near the handle and in terms of and floatation it functions more like a hybrid rear handle setup.


    I have yet to try out the rage, barrel looks nice, even wider than the KV. I believe it is a dedicated roller gun. This barrels belly and cuttle shape is positioned toward the center of the barrel, it looks much more hydrodynamic than the KV or the Vengance.


    As far as floatation of guns after a shot... I like my guns to float muzzle down. but with carbon guns with reels,, this is hard to achieve, especially when neutral buoyancy with shaft in is priority.


    My technique for making my speargun visible is using high viz, (neon green or yellow) reel line. you can see this stuff a mile away and at depth, really good for locating a gun adrift or a fish in a hole.


    Any who. hope this helps,


    Dive safe,


    Josh

  • Diver hospitalized after shark bite during spearfishing trip


    IG reports similar. shooting cobia off the backs of bulls is becoming all the rage. there are multiple vids of spearos doing this circulating social media sites. in almost every vid ive seen a diver nearly gets bitten, so i think it was just a matter of time.
    hopefully the diver is doing ok and recovering without complication.


    Something to say about the hazards of social media in the spearfishing community and society in general.

  • Rollergun advice?


    Gregaz,


    this is a (not so great) image of my 100cm roller setup.
    This uses 16mm rubber at around 50cm. pretensioned to the clevis pin back at the handle. when loaded it is stretched 4x its original length. Its reasonably easy to load, with lots of power and good range.


    Josh