At last! My new Asso 135

[Geoff]

Just to let you know that I will be getting my Asso 135 in a day or so ,eventually tracked one down from SUBPROF.COM | Apnea , Scuba, Snorkeling, Swimming, Nautical online Shop.(Thanks Adrian).Good price, (140€) & fast delivery, (7.50€, 24 hrs,Spain to Spain).Happy to give a report on this gun in a week or so.People have said, "It,s too long" but I tell ya,I want the BIGGEST one around, it,s, "Judgment Day!".Might convert to a "Mamba" if I find I need more speed.Any one out there with this gun?,converted, or not,I,d be interested in your comments....Geoff.

[MARMIR]

Hi Geoff,
...there are a lot of things I would tell you and I'm afraid of the gun would let you down.......First you have to build a special device to load iit...secondly it's difficult to load it properly if you set a mamba kit......anyway I know people who use it for tunas in the red sea and it works Ok for that purpose....but for any other kind of fishing I would use my seatec tornado....pls let us know your feeling...

[Geoff]

Hi MARMIR,Just received the gun today.OK.I think the problem with loading it,is that it is, "Overcharged" at the factory.There was absolutely "No way" I could load it,using all my strength & body weight,(with the gun wedged against the wall) I could only get the shaft in about 150 mm,(6 inches).I did construct a "ratchet Type" of device,& this was the only way I could get the shaft to load.But I thought,"this can,t be right!",so I let all of the air out,& put 520 pumps into it,(this was the figure given to me by Seac Sub for a pressure of 20 Bar).It was easy to load then,so I put another 50 in,still very easy to load.I will be hunting with it soon,I,ll post my comments then.PS.I dont think the shaft that comes with it is anything, "special",just ordinary stainless steel. Thank,s for your responce,....Geoff.

[spaghetti]

wow, 135! As marmir said, loading that cannon will always take effort and concentration, but with a bit of experience and a loader with straps it will come natural after some time. I had a Mares Sten 130 many years ago and I remember it was tough to load...but I don't want to discourage you: I know many short italians (guys who are just 5'5" tall)who can load them with one single smooth, silky, apparently effortless manipulation.
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Btw: MARMIR. how's the recoil on your Seatec Tornado? I love Seatec guns (I have a couple of Gabbiano's so far) and would like to hear your impressions about the Tornado, eventually in a dedicated thread. Would you recommend it?

[Geoff]

HI Spaghetti,well ,what can I say,loading this gun is absolutely no problem at all,I don't need "straps",I just hold it at the very top of the barrel with my left hand,& give the shaft a smooth continuous pull,it click,s home "no problem".I should say I,m 6ft,& have a good reach.Oh, In my last "post" I forgot to mention that I kept checking the pump for "leak,s",there wer,nt any.I may give the gun another 50 pump,s but I don't want to run the risk of damaging it through excessive pressure.I reckon the gun was supplied with a pressure equivalent to about 800 pumps.Thank,s for the responce...Geoff

[Marwan]

my buddy took his mares sten 130 on trip we went to on dive for big fish, he couldnt load it, he kept trying until his shoulder hurt him its a good thing i didnt listen to him and did not bring my sten 100 on the trip

[alecrin]

i have an asso 135 or like 5 years now and i love it and i have also other guns but this one is my favorite.dont worry about loading it just start with not to much presure this gun is so long that it dos not need that much power.it is much easer to load it in the water than out of the water it is all (tecnica) i use a 9mm shaft which is very heavy with lots of punch.just one thing try to shoot with both hands just like you would with a pistol you will make better shots good luck and have fun with your new gun.

[Geoff]

Alecrin,Hi,glad to here some one is happy with there /this gun.What you said about not needing to much pressure because of it,s length, is exactly what I thought.Also,I,ll be shooting straight down onto the fish, (New Technique) so I might get a heavy shaft as well.Tell me, how many "pumps" did you give it?. Cheers,....Geoff.

[alecrin]

hi geoff,im glad i could help you. i dont know how many pumps i gave it i just try it and if it need some more just pump a bit more`.yhe only problem i have had was with the (tope)that plastic thing where the piston stops which broke but it is very easy to change and i changed it in its place with the spring from a regulator(scuba)which fits it perfectly and it makes less noise.i will try to post some pictures soon.

[MARMIR]

Hi Geoff,
...I did not say that it's hard to load it (it's not even easy) but it's difficult to load it with mamba kit fixed....to load the a gun with this kit it takes a smooth constant pull all the way through without interruption...and a long gun like that makes the task complicated....
anyway just lemme post a site where you'll see a picture of a device that can help you load the asso...just scroll down and you'll see the picture almost at the bottom left of the sceen.....

Spaghetti: recoil is strong and accuracy is not affected at all...I mostly use it with 2 bands and 6.5mm shaft.....I haven't tried many guns but I would never change it.....

[MARMIR]

...sorry the site: Articolo

[dave]

Are you sure you are looking at the right size gun for the pressure/ pumps figures? 520 pumps is about 20 bar in a 90cm airgun, but only about 12bar in a 130
By my reckoning, 20bar is about 1000 pumps in a 130 airgun.
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

[Geoff]

MARMIR,tried the site,but just got "This page cannot be displayed". But thank,s anyway.
And yes, I can see why a "Mamba" converted gun of this length, (135mm) would be quite difficult to load.
DAVE,well,the figure of 520 was given to me by Seac Sub.I e-mailed them because their manual for this gun,(on their web site) does not list a 135,even when I received the gun, the manual that came with it, also did,nt list it in the chart for, "No. of pumps required for a certain pressure".You may be right though,because although I have given it 550 pumps, it is quite easy to load.I did say (in another post) that I thought the gun had been "Over charged"at the factory,because there was absolutely "NO Way" I could load it,(even on half power).this may not have been the case,it may well have had the "correct" pressure to begin with.the only way I can resolve this,is to test it with a gauge.I don't have one of course, & I don't want to risk "Over charging" it,I will get back to Seac Sub by phone,(their not answering my e-mails). Anyone reading this, & can help, please advise.....Geoff. PS: The manual deos say that the 115 requires 470 pumps for a charge of 20 BAR.

[dave]

Dont worry, you will not be able to overcharge it with the handpump. Plenty of people run Cyranos at up to 40bar. I wouldn't worry about exact pressures, just use loading effort as a gauge; If you cant load it, the pressure is too high As you get used to the technique you will be able to increase the pressure
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

[alecrin]

geoff,just like dave seid dont worry just get in the water and have fun if you think it is not hard enogh just pomp it some more .