Add a shockline lap to increase range?

[kxs]

Hi all,

I have a fairly short speargun (JBL Magnum Custom), 29 inch muzzle to butt. It has a design range of about 10 ft.

I am considering extending the shock line from two laps to three, which would increase my range by about 4 ft. Any thoughts and comments as how that might work out? I believe the power from the two bungees should be sufficient to deliver the shaft still with a punch at the end of the extended range, but would love to know if somebody else has tried and how it worked out. I also wonder if the added lap may add to the entanglement risk of the shock line, although I feel like it's unlikely.

Thanks,

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I can't speak to that gun specifically, but I doubt that adding a wrap of shooting line will help. I think that very few guns can shoot more than two wraps of line, and only if they have a lot of bands and enough mass to remain stable and limit the recoil caused by the extra power. Guns like that tend to be massive wood things with four or five bands. I don't think your JBL qualifies.

 

[popgun pete]

An extra shooting line wrap will not create any problems and on a downward shot will increase your range by not pulling the spear up too soon. As Bill says most guns can use about two line wraps and that is a rule of thumb for guns with a slide ring line slide. Shafts with the shooting line secured to the shaft tail or a rear tab gain an extra half wrap or basically a spear length.

 

[kxs]

Thanks for your responses and advice. I’ll probably try it out and report back. If it does not work out, I’ll switch to a longer gun and leave this one for hole hunting or low vis days.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

This is a point of contention, but some people and some gun makers think that having extra shooting line makes it more likely that your line will tangle in the bands as that extra wrap gets pulled out more slowly. And it may be more likely to happen with some guns than with others, and I don't think anyone understands why. But anyway, on another forum last week Jon Huberman, the guy who make Ulusub guns, was warning about having more line than what you can reasonably expect to shoot. I have one of his guns that is about 61" long. With one wrap the distance from the muzzle to the end of the shaft when all the line is extended is about 18'. I don't like to take shots longer than that but then I don't want to end up a foot or two short with a shot so I use two wraps. But with two wraps that distance is 28 feet, which is way more than I need. Even if it doesn't tangle, its more line to deal with wrapped up in the kelp on the bottom if a big white sea bass takes it down there. I have a similar problem with an Abellan gun. Jon's suggestion for my Ulusub is a line anchor at about the mid point of the gun so that you can do a half wrap. He does that with his personal gun of the same model, and just last week I did it with mine. Of course it requires a wood gun to be able to attach the line anchor. But if your JBL is one of his wood models, it might be worth considering.

 

[kxs]

Yeah, I feel you. A couple of times I even saw the injured fish swimming away with a hit mark on its body. This feels wrong: fish got away, it won't live long so it's a waste, the fish dies a painful death, etc. If the range were even one foot longer, the barb would have pierced its body and it wouldn't get away.

Yes, this gun has a wooden body, so I can potentially add an anchor in the middle. I'll try the three wrap first and see how it goes, the power, tendencies to tangle, etc.

Of course, what's most effective is to improve my ability to get closer to the target without spooking it. As a rookie, there's probably a long way ahead of me...

 

[popgun pete]

I use three wraps, but not around kelp forests. Basically most guns shoot about 12 feet, but depending on the gun length and firepower the shaft may be travelling straight or on a flat parabolic plunge. With a reel you can adjust your line if the reel line and shooting line are the same stuff, but with a line anchor 20 feet is more than enough. Best to measure it on land and decide. One of my cannons has 20 feet on it and the gun jerks strongly when the shooting line pulls the spear up (when I miss, which ain't often).