old Mares Sten 140

[Don Paul]

Looking for Pete... I have a 1982 Mares Sten 140 rear handle that my friend Rene Rojas told me was built for the Italian Spearfishing Team. It was Rene's personal gun when he went to the World Meet representing the US. I also had a dive partner from Scuba Pro that had two of them he used for blue water. Scuba Pro was selling the smaller Mares line with their own label at the time.
Peter, any idea how many were produced , sorry I'll post some images next
week. I will also measure it to confirm it's true length. Thanks in advance.
Cheers, Don

 

[popgun pete]

Hi Don, I have no idea how many of those 140 cm Sten models were built. All that Mares (or their speargun building sub-contractor) have to do is grab a longer piece of alloy tubing for the inner barrel and another for the outer tank, otherwise everything stays the same. Of course you need a longer shaft to suit the longer gun. Longest Sten model used to be the Sten 130 back in the eighties, but I have also seen a 150 cm. You would need to have the arm span of a gorilla to cock one! My recollection is that Pipin had one made for him that also had a titanium barrel, but I have never seen any photos of that gun. Back in 2004 someone was selling "Pipin" models on eBay, there was a 150 cm on offer then using the Sten 2001 handle shape. They were expensive and well beyond my capacity to cock them, so were only of passing interest. Longest Sten that I have laid my hands on was the biggest of the "Competition Line" models (Sten 87 series) with the folding front handle strapped directly behind the muzzle. Those guns had the fluoro green-yellow silicone rubber over handle and similarly coloured writing on the barrel. The grip handle was fat enough it looked like it was designed to accommodate a double row automatic pistol magazine! I had a smaller version of that model and soon threw the green over handle away, it just held water in the grip when you wanted it to drain rather than empty saltwater out where it was not welcome, like inside my car!

 

[Don Paul]

Thanks Pete, We used to cock the 140 with a Knotted 1 meter line attached
to the loader. I have not hunted with any commercial guns and at this stage in my life I want to try something new. I am debating whether to put the old
mint Mares back into service for hunting White Sea Bass in the kelp or move
on to a New gun Pipin is releasing soon. If I use the Mares 140 I will leave it
stock with out the Mamba kit. Thanks for your input mate, maybe some of the Italian guys will remember the beast? In the 70's I wanted a Mares 140 Bazooka in the worst way, but the price with shipping was always out of reach.
Cheers, Don

 

[popgun pete]

Why not buy one of the Aquatech "Black Sea" guns? Very powerful, but you cock the gun from the rear end, that way you keep well away from the sharp end. Using extension loaders on a too-long-for-your-reach pneumatic speargun is very risky, one slip up and you or someone else is gone! That is why I bought a "Black Sea" gun, much safer to use and virtually no noise as it shoots.

I remember the "Bazooka", it was the largest of the "Titan" family of Mares pneumatic spearguns. I have a "Titan" which I bought secondhand and repaired, it is a heavy gun and thus a sinker. The "Bazooka" was too much gun for me and not something that I had a use for anyway. I know Ron has one, purchased near new, as many of them were once the original owners thought about cocking the gun and decided to use something less demanding.

 

[Don Paul]

Why not buy one of the Aquatech "Black Sea" guns? Very powerul, but you cock the gun from the rear end, that way you keep well away from the sharp end. Using extension loaders on a too-long-for-your-reach pneumatic speargun is very risky, one slip up and you or someone else is gone! That is why I bought a "Black Sea" gun, much safer to use and virtually no noise as it shoots.

My friend Mark was a short guy, I weigh 200 # and have arms like a ape. I used to cock it by putting the fold out rest between my legs and hand over hand the shaft in.
Pete can the Black Sea punch through a 50# fish @ 12 feet off the tip? PM me a cost on his unit. Thanks mate.
Don

 

[foxfish]

Pete, what is the balance like on the Aquatech guns?

 

[popgun pete]

The 35 mm OD guns are good in the water, not nose heavy because the rear section's mechanism offsets the weight at the front end (when ready to shoot) due to the stainless steel parts associated with the hydraulic locking chamber located directly above the rear grip handle. Hence the gun balances well for a rear handled gun while you are on the prowl for victims. The forward barrel tank is basically full of air, there is nothing really in the front end of the gun except the ring type inlet valve. Buoyancy there tends to offset weight in the nose even with the shaft in the gun, while the rear of the gun is always flooded, injected water moving forwards from the rear end of the gun as you charge it up for a shot (the annular bulkhead moves forwards in the pressure tank as water pumps in behind it). The gun is already pressurised to 100 Bar, so as you charge it by pumping water in the internal pressure goes up, but not by much due to the gun's low compression ratio (low by hydropneumatic speargun standards that is).

My gun dos not float after spear discharge, but I have developed a rear shroud to improve that, I just have to try it out, the problem is mainly the weight in the rear of the gun. The early 30 mm outer diameter guns have not enough water displacement to float, that is why I always hoped a fatter gun would be developed. Now it is here with the titanium model (that larger OD size tubing was available in titanium).

 

[GreekDiver]

My friend Mark was a short guy, I weigh 200 # and have arms like a ape. I used to cock it by putting the fold out rest between my legs and hand over hand the shaft in.
Pete can the Black Sea punch through a 50# fish @ 12 feet off the tip? PM me a cost on his unit. Thanks mate.
Don

Don,

115cm asso with tovarich kit with 7mm or 9/32 shaft will eat up any fish from 12ft(tip of gun)

 

[popgun pete]

Pete can the Black Sea punch through a 50# fish @ 12 feet off the tip? PM me a cost on his unit. Thanks mate.
Don

PM sent. The longer "Black Sea" spearguns can shoot and kill at twice that distance, but aiming errors are a factor beyond 5 or 6 metres with all spearguns. If you use full power then the spear can go clean through at closer ranges, but it depends on the type of fish and its body structure and where it is hit.

 

[foxfish]

But a completely penetrated spear is a good thing isn't it?
I only shoot relatively small fish but if my spear completely passes through the target & "Ts" it then it cant come off.
We can easily loose fish because the spears offers a partly penetrated fish the ideal lever to rapidly enlarge the entry hole & escape!
I love overpowered guns.....

 

[popgun pete]

Depends on what is on the other side of it!