Midwest Pea-shooter

[unirdna]

My new gun has finally arrived!!!

Before I start celebrating, I need to give mad thanks to Iya, Sven, Andrsn, and Fuzz for all the advice and recommendations. Without these guys, I wouldn't be where I am today .

My little gun is teak with an double coat of epoxy finish. It's basically a teak MT#0. I currently have it rigged with all riffe parts - 9/32 Hawaiian, 3 9/16 bands, two wraps of 270 lb coated cable, a bungie, and the muzzle reinforcement kit.

I've only fired it (in water) off the end of a pier so far, and I can't believe how much faster the spear flies (compared to my little jbl custom).

I'll post hunting photos soon , as well as a performance review.

Here's a photo. My cat, 'Samba', insisted that he be in it .


Ted

 

[Shadowkiller]

Does it come with a shoulder holster?

Nice one! What kind of range are you getting/looking for?

 

[unirdna]

Wouldn't be too tough. I have an extra, like the one on my rifle :t.

I'm looking for a solid, very fast 10-11 feet. The line is about 11 feet long. Judging by the tug, the shaft does have the speed. Accuracy has yet to be determined.

 

[Iyadiver]

Is that a Riffe #Bottom mid-handle or custom made ?

I never heard epoxy finish from Riffe......

Have fun,

IYA

 

[Iyadiver]

Uni,

I hope the photo detail is correct. I am seeing the shooting line anchor (where u tie the 5" bungie & pigtail swivel ) placed at the wrong angle. The U loop should be heading in front not backwards. Let me know.

IYA

 

[unirdna]

custom

Iya,

It's custom made. The stock is 32 inches, the bands and shaft are the same that come on the MT#0. I like the epoxy. As pretty as oil makes a gun, I'm a low-maintanence kind of guy. The epoxy needs no care unless the wood gets a gouge. Then you need to sand the area, acetone the surface of the wood (to dry out the oil), and reapply more epoxy.

I noticed that the maker pointed the anchor the wrong direction too :hmm. It should be easy enough to unscrew it and point it in the other direction, but for now I'm going to leave it alone. I presume that it usually faces the other direction to relieve pull stress from big fish during a run. But since the big fish where I live don't run (they just thrash mostly) when they get stuck, I don't think it will be that big of an issue. Besides, I think that the backward angle will help to keep the anchor from collecting weeds as I sneak along the bottom of the lake.

Any other thoughts?

 

[Iyadiver]

What time is it at ur part of the globe young man ?
Here is 2:16PM.

The angle of the anchor shooting line is needed to make sure the shooting line in many wraps will stay there, that's all. If u are using thin mono, I suppose it doesn't matter. If u use thick cable like me it will slip off..... he he he.

Nice baby gun my friend...
The trigger mech a Riffe ?

Epoxy is nice but keep it away from the sun.

 

[Jon]

Ted and I went out on Sunday to play and came back with dinner.

We also did some other diving and I have those photos posted under the freediving photography section.

Jon

 

[unirdna]

Originally posted by Iyadiver
Epoxy is nice but keep it away from the sun.

Thanks for the advice. I was unaware that the sun (heat/uv? ) could ruin epoxy. I'll keep it in the shade .

The trigger/handle is the Riffe MH kit. The forward position of the trigger will take some getting used to, as I have pretty stubby fingers . It's a bit different than the jbl. But I do love the smooth trigger squeeze of the riffe :inlove. It's like pulling the trigger on a my rifle. Much nicer than the stiff squeeze on the jbl.

Don't worry about my bedtime :naughty , I'm always a night owl .

 

[icarus pacific]

my stubby's prettier!

Excepting your pretty stubby fingers, that looks like a very fun, purpose-built gun... the best kind as it will actually get used. Very smooth.

The line anchor should face forward to act as a better, read that easier, way to loop the shooting line whilst in the water and wearing gloves/mitts. It won't catch any more muck than will the spearshaft, so whip out the screwdriver and do it right. Think of how the tabs are on a vacuum cleaner to loop the power cord and you get the idea.

Epoxy will usually have a UV inhibitor in it, but keeping it out of the blazes will be a better benefit to the bands than anyhting else.

Though eleven feet of line would appear on paper to be the range of the thing, figure an honest nine feet to ensure you actually tag the fish instead of just adding to the rotting crap working it's way to the beach. :naughty And nine feet in fresh water is alright by me.

The muzzle reinforcememnt is a smooth touch, one that every gun that uses a slot cut in the muzzle to access the band slot should have.

Majah props brah.


sven

 

[mishu1984]

kewl pic...... i c that we are shooting the mini fish with the mini gun....good work..keep it up

 

[unirdna]

findings / questions

Well, despite being frustrated by whitecaps, I tested out my new gun today. My target was 5-inch 'peanut' float (like the ones on the 'deep-end rope' in a swimming pool) tied to a 2 lb weight with 3 feet of string. I placed the target in 30+ feet of water, so that no wave action would make it move.

1. This gun has a much faster recoil than my JBL. The JBL felt as if it was 'pushing' my hand when fired, and the new MH feels like a 'punch' to the hand. This will take some getting use to.

2. Having been a hip-loader since I started hunting 4 years ago, I was reluctant to ever chest-load a gun.....I quickly became a fan :hmm. Well, actually, I used more of a stomach loading technique; placing the butt of the gun at the base of my rib cage. I was able to load the gun from my hip, but the last two inches were just too hard to squeeze out repeatedly :blackeye.

3. Most important point of the day: Squeeze the trigger slowly. Jerking the trigger caused me to aim high every time. After I realize my mistake I was hitting the peanut float consistently.

4. I practiced shooting with the gun in both hands, as well as outstretched in one hand to the right (as I am right handed). When the gun was centered (dual hand grip), I kept both eyes open, as I have always done with my JBL. Accuracy was good. But when I tried one-handing the gun to the right, I continually missed wide right. Could it be that binocular vision is only advantageous when the gun is shot from directly in front - since my line of sight was not 90 degrees to the gun (more like 60 degrees with my head turned)? When I started closing one eye (like shooting an open sight rifle), I started hitting the target again. Closing one eye will make it more difficult to shoot a swimming fish. Any thoughts?

Now I need to rest my muscles. That was a new record for band pulls in one day .

Ted

 

[icarus pacific]

Re: findings / questions

Originally posted by unirdna
placing the butt at the base of my hip, the last two inches were just too hard to squeeze out repeatedly :blackeye.

Jerking caused me to aim high every time.

I practiced shooting in both hands, as well as outstretched in one hand to the right (as I am right handed). Any thoughts?

Ted

uh, yeah Ted I have a couple of thoughts... :hmm

Riffe's and most guns of that construction, (midhandles) are beeter loaded from the stomach as it puts the pull of your arms over the wishbbone and lets you almost loop the band over the tab as you slide it back over the shaft. (uh oh...)

Your aiming with both eyes is the correct fashion especially when you consider the refractive qualities of the water compunded by the fact that you're in it!
The recoil is a function of the mass of the gun and the velocity of the shaft, both being more than your JBL. It seems faster because it is- going faster and the shaft probably weighs more as well. Shooting even a smallish gun as yours is still usually a two handed affair unless you're in a hole, or you nut up and get good at locking your arm and getting real familiar with the kick of the thing. You may even want to try adding a little bit of ballast to the thing to make it a smoother, one handed deal. (And I know that one's coming back to me... :head

As an example, on my latest hybrid pipe gun, the recoil literally threw me back in the water, not to mention 3 feet in the air when I tried it at the casa... :blackeye Three and a quarter ounces of lead later, the thing was a one handed dream to fire and the pics at Anderson's website show the results.

I can see throwing a load of carp into the dumpster with that thing. Lots of fun and doing the lake a world of good.


sven

 

[unirdna]

Re: Re: findings / questions

Originally posted by icarus pacific

the thing was a one handed dream to fire and the pics at Anderson's website show the results.

sven

Anderson has another website? :hmm

Hunting with my new gun proved to be a joy. First of all, I do not need 3 bands to hunt crappies . The poor fish looked more confused than stunned. Two bands is plenty for any/all shots less than 8 feet.

I also had no 'spinning chasers'. These are the fish I dent, but don't penetrate, and then wind up having to chase them into the weeds. Now when I stick a fish....I stick a fish. I just hope my stalking skills don't degrade as a result. I already find myself landing shots I would never have stuck with my old gun.

I turned the anchor loop around....no problems.

Iya, one last question. How often do you have to replace your cable shooting line. The coating on mine has already rubbed off in a few spots, and I'm wondering if 300 mono is not the better way to go for my little gun in the future.

Ted

 

[fuzz]

Unless you truly abuse your line, you could even go with 200# mono - I use it for smaller reef fish(up to 10 lbs.) in Hawaii & here in Nor Cal. I see no reason why it wouldn't work there fine... in fact I'm confused how you could beat up your cable so bad

The price for 200# is low & I end up just using the replaced sections for my weight-belt stringers

 

[Iyadiver]

When I hunt wrecks, I change the coated cable about every 10 or so fish landed because they really goes wild and damage the coating, the cable is fine however.

The key is to pull immediately after you shoot, don't let the fish run to rocks. If the spearhead penetrate well and ur fishes not too big, u can do just that. Don't pull and make cable loops in your hand, your cable will kink that way. Just pull in. In wrecks I pulled immediately after I fire and since the trevaly is almost always under 7kg, the Ice Pick slip tip holds so well, I have no fear of torn flesh and pulled as hard as I can......fast.

If I hunt those big bad Dog tooth tuna, it seems one big one heading for the rocks is all it takes to ruin the coated cable nylon coating, but its worth it. It's only the nylon coating damage.

As long as there is no stray strands or heavy kinking from the cable, keep using it. Just wear ur glove. When I used the JBL, I use 250#-400# naked ss cable, no problem.

I am happy to hear ur gun has good penetration...uuummpppphhh....aahhhhhh...aahhhh.

 

[fuzz]

Originally posted by Iyadiver
I am happy to hear ur gun has good penetration...uuummpppphhh....aahhhhhh...aahhhh.

:yack

 

[icarus pacific]

Hell, Anderson's been hunting crappy for years with two bands!!rofl And for your use and the temps, 300 lb mono should be fine, the slighty larger diameter being an aid with the mitts. And lastly, spinners are worth chasing!


sven

 

[Jon]

I ws waiting for Ted to post it, but I guess he's too busy right now.

His gun is really sweet for the hunting we do around here. It has the smoothness of wood, yet isn't 4 feet too long like mine is.:duh

The mid-handled design allows it to swing really nice. He even has a name for it.

 

[Jon]

We went out to this lake around here last Thursday and I watched Ted clean up.

The vis had dropped from 10' to less than 4' in a day. My gun was so long that I had to hold the trigger by my hip and try to shoot it with my thumb while I aimed the barrel with my other hand.

Ted's gun was the perfect size. He ended up with a nice stringer of "mini-fish" that he caught with his "mini-gun". Mishu1984 would have been proud.

Jon