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I will taper the entry into the muzzle a little more than what's shown just to add a margine of safety. I don't anticipate the shaft rolling enough to be a problem, but I've been wrong before. You think it will be a problem?

Quote from pargo

. . .but how do you shape it?

Chad is right about using both a mill and a lathe. A mill allows you to make things flat or perpendicular, while a lathe allows you to make things cylindrical or conical. Using each machine at different times allows you to make a combination shape (like a muzzle) that neither machine could make alone. My manual machines are not as fancy as the computer controlled ones, but they can do a lot.

I've been fortunate to spend a fair bit of time watching some really good machinists. The actual cutting of the part is pretty simple since Delrin cuts easily and cleanly. What the crusty old guys taught me, is that the art is to shape in the right order so that you always have something accurate to hold on to while making the next cut. That's always the challenge.

He does most of it with smoke and mirrors - the rest is done on either the mill or lathe. He be purdy good wid dem der fancy mochines.

This muzzle didn't turn out quite like I wanted for my new hybrid, so I used it to prototype a line anchor idea that I had. I wanted something that was secure, without requiring the typical two-screw mounting plate. I figured that if I could do without the mounting plate, then I would have more flexibility in designing the muzzle. I wouldn't need to leave a big flat surface, or necessarily enough thickness to hold the mounting screws.

So this is what I came up with. I first drilled two holes for the line anchor wire, on about a 60° angle, and all the way out the top. Then I started where the hole exited the top, and cut two small recesses along the top of the part that inserts into the barrel. I bent my stainless wire into a narrow "U" shape, and inserted it from the bottom until it projected about 1/2" out from the top. Then I folded that extra 1/2" over, and down into the recesses. Once the muzzle is inserted into the barrel, the walls of the barrel restrain the wire from straightenning, and keep everything locked securely in place.

It leaves a nice clean install from the outside, even if the bottom of the muzzle is curved. And it allows a little more flexibility if you want a line anchor that is longer or wider.

Just another option for the tinkerers out there.

I think this is a good a place as any to discuss it.

Yes, I plan to make some smaller versions of my new 68" tuna gun. I'm thinking about keeping the ratio of thick stock to thin barrel about the same (2/3 thick and 1/3 barrel). I really like the shape being wider than tall and angled at the top so that the bands don't pile up. I think keeping the distance between the handle and butt of the gun constant is important for keeping the "feel" of the guns the same.

Quote from griswold

With this in mind, I am thinking about making a series of guns for myself that are basically identical except for scale, starting with a small dirty water gun all the way to a large tuna gun - should be fun.

I like this idea a lot. I know you really liked your most recent large gun. Were you thinking of scaling that down, or doing something altogether different?

If my current hybrid works out, maybe I could use my extra CF tube for a shorter version as well? I think it would be interesting to discuss which aspects of the gun range would need to be held constant, and which are the best to vary with scale. Maybe that belongs in its own thread to avoid derailing this one.

Monster, If you forget about brands and look at the differences between the guns that you mentioned, it make sense why you prefer the #4. It is basically the same as the smaller gun that you are very comfortable shooting. You say it is point and shoot - that is true for you since you are "trained" to shoot that gun. For the next guy, who shoots railguns or mid handle guns, your beloved #4 might be a piece of crap that he can't hit a barn with. My point is that it's not the guns, it is us. If you want to give your Ono another try, I would suggest rigging it with an extra long shaft so that the overhang is like your Riffe (this can be a big part of how you aim), and use the same tip that you use on your #4. My guess is that by minimizing differences you can make the guns "shoot" more like each other. In fact what you are really doing is making it so that they "aim" more like each other.

With this in mind, I am thinking about making a series of guns for myself that are basically identical except for scale, starting with a small dirty water gun all the way to a large tuna gun - should be fun.

Something I've noticed is that most guys are pretty good with the smaller guns that they use all the time. Doesn't matter the brand or style with practice we learn how to shoot our guns well.

I've had a few guys come out and try to shoot bluewater using guns that generally spend a lot of time in the closet - it doesn't always go well for them.

Bluewater hunting is different in that we don't usually pull the trigger very many times in a day. It's funny when you think about it, we spend so much money, time, effort, etc. to get ourselves into the position to shoot a fish of a lifetime and we are taking a longer shot than normal while shooting a gun that we almost never swim with, much less shoot, that is totally different from the style of the gun that we shoot every day - logically it makes no sense, yet it is generally what most people do when the go bluewater hunting.

I know a couple of guys who hunt well using totally different style guns, but they do a lot of both types of hunting and they know their guns VERY well.

I think the "average" guy who doesn't shoot bluewater much would be much better served to keep the style of his gun the same when going from reef hunting to bluewater hunting. That and even if it means shooting chum with your bluewater cannon, DO IT, you must pull the trigger repeatedly to get a feel for how the gun shoots, what the trigger pull is like, how much recoil to expect, how to reload it quickly, how best to handle it in the water (the extra length and mass can affect your diving) - basically you should know the gun well enough that you don't have to think about it.

For me it's the ocean - I once went several years without spending significant time around the water, when I made it a part of my life again I felt like I was waking from a fog.

Knowing that I could see anything on a given day: great prey fish, giant mantas, whales, big sharks, small tropicals, etc.

Then there's the challenge of getting better at freediving. I keep finding myself getting a little better, saying a little longer, going a little deeper. Sometimes I get into a pattern of just diving well and it is as rewarding as any fish that I might shoot.

It can be so hard - learning to calm my breathing and slow my heart while hiding behind a rig leg to get out of the ripping current preparing to dive through 40' of murk so thick that I can't see a rig leg 3 feet away only to get into clear water with so little light that you must stay a while for your eyes to adjust so that you can see - getting rushed by bull sharks in that dark water only to have to swim up into the murk with them on my fin tips.

It can be so easy - Jumping in with a small reef gun to shoot tripletail in clear blue water only to have a 52 pound mahi swim right up to me.

Cooking fresh fish for my family and friends. I've had at least half a dozen parents tell me that their kids don't like fish, but they love it when I cook it. "Mom, can you make it like Mr. Chad did?" Of course it has much more to do with the quality and freshness of the fish than my skills.

Friendly competitions with good buddies. Thinking about having a you shoot it and cook it contest. The winner is the one with the best dish. Should be interesting seeing the targets change from the biggest to the most tasty.

Thinking about, making, rigging, tweeking my guns and gear. Successfully hunting with guns and gear that I've made adds greatly to the experience for me. It can be quite humbling too when I've worked on something for a LONG time only to use it and decide that I really don't like it.

Dropping through the murk to see 50 wahoo each over 50 pounds - seeing a triple digit yellow fin calmly eating the chum almost close enough for a shot.

Meeting great people. Our sport is VERY good at seperating the talkers from the do-ers. I love nothing more than seeing someone who is humble go out and improve with each trip and shoot personal best fish. Seeing the big egos get knocked down a notch or 2 ain't all bad either.

Drinking that end of the day beer, eating ceviche, watching the sun go down while preparing to spend the night offshore, knowing that we will spend 10 or 12 hours in the water the next day is pretty good too.

Quote from Dan

I also knew about the sharks swimming up the Mississippi but I was shocked to find that bulls have been found in Lake Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsine! http://wildlifemysteries.wordp…rangest-shark-story-ever/

Almost had me going. Glad he confessed at the end.

geraldo yo practico la pesca submarina desde que tenia 10 a~os deje la escuela para irme a pescar y en aquellos tiempos pescaba mucho de noche pero con e tiempo y los golpes aprendi que no se pesca de noche amenos que vallas en busca de langostas o langostines a mi me an mordido morenas y son feas las mordidas de esas hijas de p... me a disparado en una pierna sin querer pero paso solo me an mordido hasta pulpos acuerdate que tienes dos manos en una llevas la linterna y en la otra el arpon con que cojes el pes ademas no ves lo que tienes a tu alrededor siguiendo el olor a sangre tengo muchos amigos que siguen pescando de noche pero yo ya no mas ahora soy pescador comercial y te digo que el pes mas grande del mundo no vale la penael riesgo de dia es y nos pasan tantas cosas

Mariner I like the Aimrite too

Bienvenido aqui tendras la oportunidad de hacer amigos que comparten la pasion por a pesca submarina lo de que tu esposa no esta muy contenta con esto no te sientas solo por que no eres el unico aparte de las drogas y el alcohol esta es la tersera causa de divorcios en el mundo nada aqui otro pana y cualquier duda solo pregunta.

Some people mention too that it wasn’t easy to loaded because it doesn’t have a butt end, but when I used it I didn’t found any trouble with that, But anyway I got some extra time this week to figure out a way to make it easier, so I’m showing here a good idea on what to do to solve this issue. I bought online a butt end and adapted to the gun. It’s easy to do just make a hole in the back and another one for the pin(check the pics).

Going back to the Rob Allen , finally I got mine, and quickly I opened the trigger to see which one was the so mentioned problem regarding the plastic trigger, but SORPRISE! The most important piece; the one that makes the real function of holding the shaft is in METAL!! The housing of the trigger is in plastic, but it doesn’t matter the function is to hold the pieces together and it doesn’t make any type of pressure. Fore instance my personal opinion is that I don’t see any type of problem in regard to the trigger, it works for me!!

Don't ask me for the source (I don't remember) but I thought I read once that more meat could be produced by "farming" iguanas in an acre of tropical forest, than by clearcutting and raising cattle on the same land.

Not sure how you round them up, though . . .

Oh. Gotcha. I think I'll continue to pursue this for a little while and see where it takes me.

Ugh. That does look a little complicated. Thanks for the pic.

Thanks for the heads-up on the handle countours. I didn't know that. Once again, "If you think you have a simple solution, then you probably don't understand the problem."

The main downside to making a full sized handle is that it takes a much bigger (read "more expensive") chunk of Delrin. Limiting the grip area to a shorter stub means that I can get more frames from the same sized sheet.

But I REALLY like your idea of using the rubber grips! How difficult would it bee to replicate the little tang that the grips attach to? By that, I mean does it look like the machining would be simple, or is it elaborately shaped? Got any spare pieces around that I could play with?

I think that there are some provisions over here for some of the larger charter boats that routinely make overnight trips way offshore. If I'm not mistaken, they are allowed to keep a two day limit, but they have to meet certain criteria to prove that they are capable of making an overnight stay. Restrooms, a certain number of bunks, cooking facilities, etc.

That's dredging the deepest corners of my memory, though, so don't take it as gospel. It might be one of those "back in the day" things that doesn't fly anymore.