Tell me your idea about these guns...

[shaneshac]

Is this the top view pic you wanted Murat

 

[Murat]

Nice picture but i can't see the shape of the barell from this angle.
I will post the pic. that i saw in TOTEM site which makes me think of its extraordinary shape.

 

[Murat]

Did you noticed it has wider wing shaped extension at the back but it goes thiner toward the front. May this is custom made.:hmm

 

[shaneshac]

THat is the standard shape of the gun. It is wider from the back to about 3/4 of the way up and then narrows towards the front for the muzzle hole.

As a cross section it is an oval shape. Wide from side to side but marrow top to botton. Helps with side tracking and reduces lift on firing.

 

[Memo]

Shane could you also take a picture of the barrel rail showing how deep it is? and how the spear sits on it?

 

[shaneshac]

This is the back end of an Acqua which is the same shape as the Tahiti only a bit more streamlined.

The trigger mech is made of lazer cut 8mm AISi 306 stainless steel. It is hand polished for smooth release of shaft.

 

[shaneshac]

This is the trigger mech

 

[shaneshac]

This could be my next toy. The Totem Tuna. Not for the faint hearted.

 

[Memo]

:martial yeaah, I start loving this gun keep all the pictures coming mate!

 

[shaneshac]

Did I mention that after the gun is made with all the components you specify, it is assembled as such and then ballasted in a water tank. Every plank of wood has its own bouyancy and with the different requirements of each spearo, this individual ballasting needs to be done.

A touch of italian class.

 

[Memo]

How about it performance? Did you try it?

 

[shaneshac]

I tried the Pelagos yesterday. First thing I noticed was the ease at which you can aim. The open muzzle gives you a clear view of the target.

The stained colour becomes darker and with the dark shaft the gun blends in with the bottom. The amber 19mm bands where quite stretchy and easy to load to the second notch. I took a couple of pot shots at Grey Mullet and gotta get used to aimimg down the shaft and not the bands as I normally do. The first few shots went high but in the fourth shot I was on target.

The trigger mech has a 2kg resistance which is normal, but compared to the 0.5kilo of my Picasso it felt a bit hard at first. It was also a longer pull of the trigger before the shaft flew. I asked Fabrizio about this and he said that as the gun did not have a safety mechanism, he preferred it like that to be on the safe side.

I got used to this very quick though.

After I moved into the proper fishing area. Dived down to about 10 meters and lay on the sandy bottom. After about 40 seconds a nice Sea Bass came along. Took aim and "BOOM". The solid sound suprised me. As opposed to the usual metallic "Clack from normal spearguns. The bass was on the line dead. Right through the spine.

Side tracking is good and no pressure is required to keep the gun tip up when waiting for the fish to arrive. Took a few mopre shots at schools of Horse Mackarel and then the weather got a bit crap had to head back.

Man I love this gun.

Gotta test it in better conditions and still need to use the Tahiti as well.

 

[unirdna]

Originally posted by shaneshac
The open muzzle gives you a clear view of the target.

I completely agree, Shane. The difference between shooting my JBL and my Riffe are night and day. Open muzzle gives you a clean line of sight to your target. No blind spot makes tracking a lot easier.

Ted

 

[Memo]

nice, very nice! What about the rubber orientation? Is it hard to balance the two sides of rubber? (as its circular)

 

[shaneshac]

The rubbers are quite tightly held in the muzzle so loading them was as simple as any normal eurogun. No notice of any movement of the bands.

 

[Memo]

Thats very nice, you know loading bands with dyneema wishbones always creates disorientation especially in the circular bands.

 

[Murat]

Hey shaca,

How the camafulage satin become darker in water? Is it still dark when you exit from water or it become same after wood dryies?
May be thats why the pic. i post about camo satin has darker colours than yours:hmm

 

[shaneshac]

No, the decreased light at depth causes the coulour of the gun to appear different. It blends in with the surroundings better the deeper you go. THe wood does not actually get wet due to the polyurethane varnish and other stuff they put on the gun before mounting the parts.

Fabrizio said that, as the guns are dyed by hand, you could ask for a really deep stain that would look like the one in the picture.

 

[shaneshac]

USed my new Totem Tahiti 120 for the first time yesterday morning. First thing to note is that the gun is ballasted perfectly. YOu only need 2 fingers to hold it in the firing position. The 2 x 16mm are quite simple to load although the bands are tougher to pull back than I thought they would be.

Once eveything was loaded I went down to do my first Aspetto. Lay on the bottom and way in the distance a small sea bass was swimming uniterested in what I was doing. I thought "What the heck, I'm never gonna hit it so far away especially on my first shot (have to get used to the aim etc)" Trigger is hard and all of a subben KABOOM my arm shook. Heard the reel whirr and the fish was dead with a clean head shot. Must've been about 6 metres.

I could'nt believe it. Loaded it again (Probably would be easier to load with sharkfin tabs on the shaft but anyway) Went dow a couple of times and in the distance saw a school of small AJ. Same again "I'm never gonna hit them" KABOOM dead AJ

This gun is bordering on insane. Never again am I gonna doubt whether to shoot or not because the fish is out of range.

The Totem Reel rocks. No need to use double wrap as the reel is smooth enough to let the line go out without affecting accuracy.

Can't begin to imagine what the Totem Tuna is like with 3x16mm bands.

Going out again tommorow if weather gets better.

Wish me luck

 

[Memo]

Wish you the best of luck!! hope you will test your tahiti on a big mean delicious fish