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Pelengas Pneumovacuum speargun

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.
Checking out the page for that "Pelengas 140+" model it looks like an extension loader is part of the standard accessories supplied with the gun. In the photo the loader appears to be something like a stirrup in its arrangement, but you can clearly see the loading handle and the speartip holder connected together with two cords/straps of some sort.
 
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It only comes with the long gun, but can be bought separately if you ask them, though it is not listed. I did. Well, I asked, didn't buy yet as we ran out of time.
I think it is a bungee setup like I tried a few years back. Also, the loaders are "open" on the side. The idea being that you can slide the loaders off of the side of the spear and not have to wiggle it up over the tip. In theory, that's nice - but whether there is a loss in support for the spear during loading, I don't know.
 
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I have a "Pelengas 70+" offset handle model for examination which has just arrived in this country. First impressions are the gun is very light to hold and will no doubt float like a cork after the shot, which is very good! Trigger and line release lever are both metal which is also very good. Hydroformed alloy tank has "Pelengas" name on both sides which is very cleanly embossed with no sign of any crease or stretch marks and all lines and curves on the tank surface are evenly blended to provide a perfectly seamless finish. Currently miserable and freezing cold weather precludes any thoughts of trying the new gun out for some weeks, maybe months!
 
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Well 95 cm to maybe 100 cm is my upper limit for a muzzle loaded pneumatic, after that I break out my band guns if I need a longer missile with a bit more momentum. If the extension loader pops its connection cord, although that may be very unlikely, then where the shaft flies to next is entirely in the lap of the gods, albeit hopefully with the front end of the loader still stuck on the tip!
 
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The "Pelengas" owner's manual or "handbook for operating" is about 12 pages long and seems to be very comprehensive, however I will have to translate it to find out what it all says. Here is a page showing one of the nice schematics.

You can see the muzzle with the vacuum cuff (2) and the shock absorbing sleeves (4) x 2. The slider or line slide (17) indexes the spear in the muzzle nose cap (1).
 
If you go to this web-site you can download the instruction book: https://vk.com/pelengas_vk

The book is downloadable in three sections; pages 1 to 4, pages 5 to 8 and pages 9 to 12 under the "documents" tag.
 
Here is one part about maintenance translated:

CARE AND MAINTENANCE.
1. After each hunt, especially since the salt water, rinse immediately your gun and
Harpoon in a clean, fresh, running water, followed by drying in a dry, cool place, away from the
sunlight and heat sources.
2. Inspect after every snap harpoon hunting for cracks, bent, scuffs
working tench.
3. After each hunting remove the vacuum seal (2) previously unscrewing the front nut
black muzzle (1) mounted in front of the gun. Inspect the rubber vacuum
sleeve for tears and abrasions, as well as to remove sand and other items as appropriate,
trapped in the zone of the vacuum collar work. Assemble the unit in strict accordance with the attached
pattern.
4. When tightening the threaded portion of the muzzle nut prohibited use of any mechanical
amplifiers (pliers, vices, etc.) and foreign objects. The indicator is fully tightened nuts
is no gap between the muzzle and the nut holding the vacuum sleeve.
5. Check the integrity of the charging handle, replace it if necessary.
6. The air gun must be stored in an upright position, muzzle down to.

I used Abbyy Screenshot Reader and Google translate.
 
Yes, I used i2OCR to similarly turn the page images into text and translated the sentences with Bing to obtain a good result. A few bugs to iron out, but soon I will have translated everything. The book is very good, but then has the advantage of its more recent production and can draw on many sources. I lubricated the gun wiping all metal surfaces with an oily rag (thin SAE 10 fork oil) and rubbed a dab of white lithium based "Valvoline X-All" grease into the spear so that the surface gleamed with just a sheen on the metal, most of the grease being spread onto my fingers which I wiped clean with another rag. Then I put a drop of oil into the muzzle opening and then cocked the gun. All works well, but I have yet to check the synchronization of the line release with the spear release. Method used is described elsewhere, but requires a wooden block and full mastery of the gun using both hands while observing timing of drop of weighted line loop on the release arm with the cocked gun held down with its tip stuck in a pre-drilled hole in the wooden block. Spear has integral tip, but I anticipate buying another spear with a threaded tip and some spares once my preliminary assessment is completed. Quality is good, as is attention to detail. I have waited decades for a mid-handle pneumatic gun that is a "floater", now it is a reality at last.
 
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It is interesting to reflect on the pace of development in the Ukraine when you compare a gun from the year 2000, the Aquatech 500A, to a gun produced 16 years later, which is the "Pelengas". The Aquatech is the product of extensive machining of metal stock (rod and bar) with no moulded plastic parts as the hand grips are cast resin and the handle frame has been either cut or moulded as a simple plate (air bubbles in the edges indicate a simple casting procedure). The "Pelengas" has moulded parts (grip handle, nose and rear end caps), including metal forming of small parts (trigger, line release arm) and the hydroforming of the tank and as a consequence is the equal of anything from Italy. As for stuff via China, well that is where other variables intrude as sub-contractors think that they know best, when they don't!
 
Hi Pete - does this gun use a mares piston / pump thread?
I'm seriously thinking about the 100+ mid handle.
Have you used yours yet - any more thoughts on it?

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
 
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Too cold for any thoughts of diving yet, I am wearing a winter jacket as I type this up in my "computer room". I will check the pump connection, but as the "Pelengas" is supplied with a hand pump it should not matter if it is like the Mares version or not. In fact thinking as I type this up I am sure it is different as the pump seal connection to the "Pelengas" gun is located in the gun's rear bulkhead and not on the nose of the hand pump. The "Pelengas" spear tails are identical to Mares spear tails, but the piston and its mushroom tail look different in photos.

I would have purchased the mid-handle 100+ model myself, but the 70 cm version offered a gun size that I always had difficulty in loading, namely my Cressi-Sub SL70 which is too short for leg loading without me doubling over too much. Overall the "Pelengas" looks the equal of anything out of Italy, but wear and tear may tell a different story. The big grip handle feels great, even though it looks like it is sized for a much larger hand than mine is, as the grip has a slimmer core than outward appearances would otherwise suggest.
 
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Beautiful gun, congrats!

I do get your worry about two-part long loaders breaking during loading. But I think with just a bit of due diligence it is not an issue at all. E.g. instead of having one continuous loop of dyneema between the two parts, one could use two independently tied pieces of line. That way, even if one of them snaps, the other one will still hold the spear.
And as with wishbones, inspect the dyneema and change it when it shows too much wear.

I am a small guy at 1.70 (5.6 or something like that) and I can load my 90 without issue and my 120 without issue with an extended loader. I have said before, that I think loading the long gun feels safer as the speartip doesn't hover around your face when you are just about to latch it in.
 
Congratulations really belong to the Ukrainian Post Office who let the “Pelengas” gun through for a fast delivery, as previous experience had not been so straightforward when parcels seemed to fall off the radar for weeks, and even months. Spear tips once had to be removed before parcels were even accepted at their end for delivery, although my first "Aquatech" gun got through unscathed and all tied up with string crimped in strategic places with official looking stamped metal seals so that no one dared open it. Possibly some of the Cyrillic writing on it said “Anyone interfering with a package bearing the official seals of the Ukrainian Republic will be shot”! That gun came with everything, including some very sharp pencil tips, and it stayed sealed right up to me collecting it at my post office. I guess that I should have arrived there in a black armoured “Zil” limousine bearing diplomatic flags accompanied by a flanking motorcycle escort to pick the parcel up.

My Scubapro “Magnum 95” was purchased from the USA as they were never sold here, it was a gun that someone had bought, didn’t use it much and then sold it as all the plastic parts had zero chips or scuffs. When I pulled it down I could tell that it had never been opened up before as it had absolutely no oil in it, because all the early release guns relied solely on grease lubrication. I used it once my old “Sten” had started leaking again at the power regulator piston as it bore a cup type seal rather than an “O” ring, and thus required the whole brass piston to be replaced as the tiny cup type seals have been unavailable for decades. The “Magnum” has a near identical grip shape to the “Sten”, it is just a bit wider at the lower section of the grip, so it felt very similar to shoot and it took no time to get “my eye in” with it.

As for trusting cords that are not meant to break at the current loadings, I have seen them part as any knots failed for some unknown reason and/or some strands snapped when an undetected sharp edge in a hole had slowly sawn through them without arousing any previous concerns.
 
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I just grip the barrel with my left hand and load it. If it's a long enough gun I use my knees as leverage against my hand. I reckon I could load any length of pneumatic as ling as the barrel isn't too shiny/slippery to grip. Saves using extended loaders but maybe that method doesn't work for everyone?

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
 
When a few fish trying to wriggle free eventually slime up your gloves you lack the gripping power. I used to load the Cressi-Sub SL70 by compressing it between both hands, but with high pressure that becomes less possible and your hand circling the tank would not imprison it sufficiently to complete the loading stroke.
 
Works for me with the 110 one air at 26 bar - even after handling 6/8 fish. The one air has a matt finish that gives good grip. I'm not sure I could do it with the airbalete cammo but maybe a wrap of grip tape on it would make it possible.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
 
That is a good idea as the tanks on my old guns have a very smooth and slippery finish. I just finished photographing them for a thread on another forum this morning.
 
Hi Pete,
I am very curious as to the trigger (linkage) system. Any chance you are taking this apart and can share some pics? I have something similar in mind for a potentiel future build.
I am guessing, it is a sort of pull rod system with a two 90 degree elbows, one being the link from the trigger pin and the other being the sear itself? At least that would be the most simple way, I can imagine it. But I don't know where they would attach the first elbow from the trigger pin to the pull rod? Maybe in a bulkhead or somehow clamped to the barrel?
 

Note: photos taken by Adept6 (Roman) and shown on www.apox.ru

Also here is the "Pelengas" parts diagram, trigger operation is somewhat similar to that in the Nemrod "Silver" series which also used a pull rod system with the trigger transmission pin moving a paddle.
 
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