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New Airgun By Eskwad (imerson)

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
I note that these French pneumatic guns are still available from Scubastore.

The 100 cm and 75 cm models are only separated in price by 8 dollars (AUD)!

The Eskwad guns are slightly bigger boned than their Italian counterparts as the grip and muzzle mouldings are large enough to envelop the 40 mm tank tube by having a socket mounting at their inner end. This is unlike the usual rear handle pneumatic gun where the grip handle and nose cone have an integral boss on their inner ends that presses inside the tank tube. The Eskwad guns replace the function of this boss by those separate bulkheads shown in white on the schematic diagram that simultaneously locate inside the tank tube and their respective end mouldings. The gun is still held together by the inlet valve body and muzzle acting as nuts on the threaded end inner barrel tube which creates a clamp holding everything in place against the tank pressure trying to blow the gun apart. One advantage of this different arrangement is the gun is less likely to banana at the ends because the tank tube is imprisoned between two surfaces, but that requires extra “O” rings to seal the bulkheads. The other advantage is that the power regulator bulkhead is set much further back in the Eskwad gun making for a smaller pre-chamber, whereas in Sten type guns it is positioned further forward of the grip handle boss. That smaller prechamber creates a weaker low power shot which would be handy in the rocks as half power, which is the usual low power level, can still crunch your spear tips if you hit a rock point blank.
Eskwad grip profile R.jpg

Eskwad grip front R.jpg

Eskwad grip rear R.jpg
 
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The Eskwad Air (single power) and Air Max (dual power regulator model) appear to have been designed for use with thick dive gloves as the trigger finger guard space is the largest on any pneumatic speargun that I have ever handled, and that includes the Predathor and the later (blue trim) Cyrano that replaced the (orange trim) Cyrano Evo. Whereas these latter guns stretched their finger guards to provide room for the side mounted line release that has to sit forwards of and above the trigger, the Eskwad still uses the side mounted line release pivoting in the lower trigger finger guard frame. This system was originally patented by Mares for their Sten, but the patent would have expired long ago. The decision to change from the centreline wrapping of the shooting line on the gun’s underside was to avoid the line release lever swinging in the same plane as the trigger and thus having the potential to operate it. Stringing the shooting line while pulling too hard on it could fire these guns, but this was always avoidable with the safety engaged which imprisons the trigger. The Eskwad like the original Cyrano blocks access to the trigger by employing a downward swinging lever or paddle that sits directly in front of the trigger, but whereas the Cyrano also locks the trigger the Eskwad does not, relying on a wide paddle that totally obscures any finger access to the trigger. These swinging safeties are ambidextrous, unlike the small switch operated safeties now used on some pneumatic guns.
Mares Sten side line release.jpg
 
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