Loading problems

[DiveHacker]

I have been having loading problems, mainly exacerbated by pre existing chest pain.

I saw in this video it looked like Dimos puts the gun in some type of notch and load very easy at the 0:57 seconds. Can anyone confirm this? If so I will buy this product. Or does he just jam it into his stomach? If yes I cannot do that unfortunately. I tried but cannot.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Most wet suits for spear fishermen have a loading pad in the sternum area. I don't think he had any special device other than that pad. If your suit doesn't have a pad, or if it's not thick enough, you might try a mouse pad under the suit.

 

[hteas]

It looked like normally loading to me too. If you are having problems, you may need to go with more bands that require less strength, or else change to a pneumatic gun.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Sorry to hear you are having trouble. If you have challenges associated with an injury or physical problem, then you may be required to adjust your band tension. We are big fans of the 14.5 mm small ID latex.

https://makospearguns.com/spearguns-bands-small-id-tubing/

This latex is thin enough that it is not too difficult to pull and if you cut your bands a little longer, it should work. Also, based on the gun size and length and other factors, you may need to rig your gun with 2 or 3 bands. Generally, 3 bands (even if not very tight) should provide most guns with a good bit of power. Of course this depends on the size of your gun.

This instructional video that we made quite some time ago, might also be useful - depending on how much experience you have in loading spearguns.


If you have very significant physical limitations, you might also experiment with using latex band material that is normally used on a pole spear. We offer two different sizes...

MAKO Pole Spear Power Band Material

Our high quality pole spear latex is Made in America is sold by the foot, and comes in red or black.

makospearguns.com

Lastly, if you want to have custom bands pre-made for you, we offer that service as well.

Custom Made Latex Bands

Our Latex Bands are made using Primline latex tubing which is the best and most expensive latex tubing in the world.

makospearguns.com

thanks
dano

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Great advice and video from Dano. I use his 14.5 mm small ID rubber cut very short to get a lot of power, but you can cut it longer if necessary to load. And as he and hteas said, if you gun has one very thick band, replacing it with two or more thinner bands can give you the same or more power but enable you to load it.

 

[Mr. X]

Longer, and/or thinner, rubbers as Bill suggests might help. When I spear a lot in a week, I sometimes get a bruised sternum. Then I use a homemade supplemental loading pad, made from a thick flip-flop sole strapped to my chest. Either under or over the wetsuit's loading pad. I think I normally wear it inside my wetsuit (?).

 

[Brochman]

Loading from the Hip is another option as can be seen in this video.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

But she isn't loading from the hip. She appears to load to a rest tab with the gun on the hip but she has to put the gun on her chest to complete loading. If you can complete loading from the hip, you are very very strong, or your bands are too long and you are sacrificing a lot of power. Anyway, I'm glad you brought it up, since I use loading tabs and find them very helpful. On my wood guns I just screw a line guide to the side about 12 or 14 inches from the shark fins on the shaft. If your gun is not wood, then you can have a rest tab welded to the top of the shaft. In one of these photos you can see both. The shooting line is attached to the rest tab. I like that since it keeps the shooting line away from the wishbones. In that case the thing screwed to the wood is redundant, but its there in case I have to use a shaft with no rest tab on it.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Here's a video showing use of a loading tab on the side of the gun. You would use the same technique for a mini rest tab on the shaft.

Set Up | Daryl Wong Spearguns

dwspearguns.com

 

[DiveHacker]

I solved this by cutting an old flip flop in half and just dropping it into my suit. It sorta moves around as I dive but not too bad at all. And I realized my problem isn’t the strength at all but the pressure the loading butt puts on my chest.

 

[Brochman]

I can remember Mr X using a similar method some years ago.

 

[DiveHacker]

I can remember Mr X using a similar method some years ago.

Yes, his comment solved my problem.

You wanna know the funny part is if I ever forget my cut sandal the places I go have old sandals washed up on the beach all over haha