I just recently returned from 8 weeks of continuous daily spearfishing on the reef in front of my Home in Northern Luzon. This will be a report on three variable upgrades that dramatically improved my success on the reef.
Last year I experienced some technical issues with my spear gun and realized how vulnerable I was since I had no real backup gun should my primary gun fail. Since I am in the Philippines it behooved me to purchase a backup gun or I would go into withdrawal and OD without being able to fish.
So I began to research, explore, and divine what kind of additional gun I should purchase to insure uninterrupted fishing should some unforeseen circumstance necessitate the need for one. Naturally as one matures their own style nurtured by experience, trial, and error they begin to develop a specific belief system as to the perfect set up for their individual fishing circumstances.
I looked extensively at the various custom builders’ products, followed detailed gun building posts, and talked with several acknowledged experts in the field. I reached a point where I developed a prototype drawing of what I believed was a combination of the best elements incorporated in to a concept that would be custom designed for my style and location. I wanted to build my own gun. However the only thing I lacked to complete such a projects were ability, skill, equipment, talent, experience, and knowledge.
The forums were quite useful because as I sifted through the mounds of opinion and drama consist threads of rational theory and sane facts did in fact emerge.
I stumbled onto a gun design and a UTUBE video made by Ihab of Nile Divers. He was developing and continually revising the 115 Lazer-Tec spear gun. It has a graceful organic looking muzzle that has risers crafted into it that raise the bands to the level of the track right at the muzzle giving a full parallel pull throughout for the entire length of the barrel. It also has a full length enclose track that minimizes shaft whip coupled with a precisely tuned balance that stabilizes muzzle flip for a smooth consistent accurate shot.
In the video he put several shot threw the same hole in a target 4 meters away. I figured he got Steven Spielberg and a CGI team to help doctor that little short into what appeared to be an impressive fantasy film clip. Still it was captivating and I searched for practical reviews by spero’s who actually owned the gun and could give a meaningful review of its performance. The Internet was mute on the subject. I could unearth posts that danced around the edges of his work and contributions he had made in discussions with other builders but no real reviews. There was the usual drama and banter that accompanies any collections of posts. I refer to one specifically critiszing his pool testing. Citing that it was meaningless because it wasn’t real world conditions and that target shooting accuracy didn’t take into account current and moving prey.
How many times have you seen the overused phrase it’s the Indian not the bow. Well Folks common sense expressly implies that if a gun is accurate it will remain so in a typhoon or a bathtub. The Indian analogy is a true axiom but since I am the only Indian I have when I go hunting I want a bow that consistently shoots straight under any conditions. I want the luxury of knowing that when I miss it’s because I suck and not because the bow isn’t always accurate.
He makes triggers and has a website presence but I could not find any real substance as the quality of his work or it’s performance capabilities. Still his design appeared to be exactly the gun I would build myself if I could. So I emailed him and asked him where can I find data on how great his guns are? He made no pretense as to being a guru on gun building nor of having flooded the market with guns that could be commented on. While he didn’t claim to make the best I could see that he clearly wanted to make nothing less than the best.
Gun making is a side business for him and he just loves the sport and is trying to develop the best gun he can conceive. He is a perfectionist. I am not sure he will ever actually finish his continual quest to perfect the gun because he is always seeking way to improve the current version. It like an artist who can never finish a painting because it still needs one more finishing touch.
Several exchanges of emails later I asked him to make me a gun. He told me he has had a lot of interest in the gun and that there were dealers who had been waiting quite some time to get their hands on one to evaluate. I cared little for their lack of ownership and more for my own selfish desire to acquire one.
He finally consented to make me a gun in return for some meaningful critical feedback. He made it quite clear he was not interested in any sudo fawning praise but meaningful feedback on how it truly performed.
I assured him I was his guy and to that end I spent the last two months averaging over 6 hours a day spearfishing on the reef in front of my house with a Lazer-Tec 115 in hand. I logged over 137 documented hours in the China Sea using Ihab’s gun on my reef. So I feel qualified to make some clinically unbiased observations as to its fitness and performance for spearfishing on my reef.
Since I hold no world records and am not sponsored by any spearfishing enterprise my assessment will not carry the weight of some of the more prestigious spero’s who grace the forums. Still I am comfortable that my assessment and observations will provide valid insight about his product and I am by no means a novice.
I will qualify my remarks by stating that I do not have any vested interest in promoting his gun beyond that of any member of the spearfishing community seeking to share their experiences and expand the knowledge base so that all can become better informed. I will warn him and you now that regardless of his lack of interest in praise it will rain upon him before this report is done.
First the gun is shaped for the most part by a CNC machine accounting for it consistent form and profile. I had him do a graphite finish because it looked so cool and promised to provide additional durability.
A. The gun is balanced so that it slowly descends parallel to the bottom with the shaft loaded. It floats lightly to the surface once discharged.
B. The trigger pull is the smoothest I have used and requires less pressure to engage with no noticeable hitch.
C. Muzzle flip is almost completely neutralized and it fires one handed with minor recoil allowing for accurate shots every time
D. The gun tracks extremely well due to the buoyancy and balance incorporated into its design.
E. The band alignment due to the muzzle design achieves the maximum parallel pull for the length of the barrel at the level of the shaft.
F. Loading a full-length track takes slightly longer than a semi-enclosed or open track gun. (The trade off for accuracy out weighs that con)
G. The shaft when inserted engages with a crisp click. The gun also has a safety. I find a safety only good as a frustrating block when fishing for lack of turning it off. When I got my Wong gun I asked Daryl where’s the safety (My Riffe gun had one also) He replied, “Don’t pull the trigger”.
H. The big butt at the end of the gun has drawn some negative comments. I dive in tropical waters only (No loading pad). I use a plastic plate with a mouse pad duck taped to it to disperse the load on my chest while loading. I do not know how some of you load the guns with the little 2x2” plastic tabs on the end. I am 6’5”, weigh 235, and Ouch. So I like the loading rubber on the end of the big butt.
I. I used 200 pound mono line and a 60” Inch Hawaiian flopper US mech shaft. (Chronicles of Riddick “You Keep what you kill”) Whatever I aimed at I killed.
J. The gun is extremely accurate at 4 to 5 meters. Ihab said if I could find a more accurate gun he would give me one free. (No free gun for me)
K. The sideline release arm sticks out a little too far and is pointed. Potentially dangerous could cause a puncture wound. I would recommend shorting it and rounding it off more. It also misaligns occasionally with the trigger mech entry slot and has to be manipulated into place.
L. I really like the pull of the trigger mech and the smooth release. Time will tell how durable it is and if it can stand the constant use I subject it too.
M. One concern I have is the wear on the inside of the enclosed track. Some of the graphite is wearing away and the wood underneath is being exposed. I want to take steps to seal it properly to insure years of service. I do wash the gun thoroughly in fresh water after every use and store it in a cool shaded place.
N. I used the Prime line 5/8in - 1/32nd ID hole Latex bands. They are expensive but I felt I got a powerful smooth launch that was very satisfying. Did it contribute to the excellent accuracy I enjoyed? Can’t say but the meter says you get an extra 2 pounds of pull out of it and the tiny ID hole means less water to log inside the tube. I will continue to use it but it may be just psychological.
O. The handle grip is comfortable and can support the balanced gun one handed underwater for hours without undo fatigue.
P. The gun is a rear handle gun and it appears to me that the trigger mech could be set back closer to the butt of the gun using a push rod to get another 6 inches of track to launch the spear. However I stipulate that with all the experimenting that IHAB has done he may have achieved the perfect combination of length and balance that makes it so accurate and such an adjustment maybe counter productive. (Feedback is what I promised)