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What Gun Do You Shoot?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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I am unfortunately not going to have the opportunity to do much of this cold water diving anymore in March :-(

The reason I am able to do it in Saskatchewan, Canada in March when there is normally 3 feet of ice covering all of the lakes is because this particular location stays open all-year round due to the fast moving current. It is just downstream from a Hydro Dam on the South Saskatchewan river...
Google Maps

The good news is that since I did this last March and now, I've become a father to a beautiful, healthy baby girl :). The bad news is that I have to be more responsible...At least, so says the Mrs. :-(. I have other burbot locations so I will just wait until the ice comes off the lakes and go at the beginning of May. Probably all for the best anyways, since a person can easily get caught up diving for those snakes, get too cold, and then have trouble making it back to shore in the current.
 
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The good news is that since I did this last March and now, I've become a father to a beautiful, healthy baby girl :). The bad news is that I have to be more responsible...At least, so says the Mrs. :-(. I have other burbot locations so I will just wait until the ice comes off the lakes and go at the beginning of May. Probably all for the best anyways, since a person can easily get caught up diving for those snakes, get too cold, and then have trouble making it back to shore in the current.

Congrets Mate. I admire your commitnent to family, stay as safe.
All the best, Don Paul
 
Congrets Mate. I admire your commitnent to family, stay as safe.
All the best, Don Paul

Spawn of Paraaronid! Good work sir. :friday

Thanks guys. I keep telling my daughter (even though she's only 5 1/2 months) and my wife that 'girls can spearfish too'...

This is where I wish Rob Allen made a 40cm :). Until then, I've got a JBL Explorer 20 tucked away that will be her first gun...
 
I am unfortunately not going to have the opportunity to do much of this cold water diving anymore in March :-(

The reason I am able to do it in Saskatchewan, Canada in March when there is normally 3 feet of ice covering all of the lakes is because this particular location stays open all-year round due to the fast moving current. It is just downstream from a Hydro Dam on the South Saskatchewan river...
Google Maps

The good news is that since I did this last March and now, I've become a father to a beautiful, healthy baby girl :). The bad news is that I have to be more responsible...At least, so says the Mrs. :-(. I have other burbot locations so I will just wait until the ice comes off the lakes and go at the beginning of May. Probably all for the best anyways, since a person can easily get caught up diving for those snakes, get too cold, and then have trouble making it back to shore in the current.

i'm in medicine hat. so to say the lest ill be making the trip out to see some of your snake spots this year .... come on warm spring
 
i'm in medicine hat. so to say the lest ill be making the trip out to see some of your snake spots this year .... come on warm spring

Let me know when you go, I will try to meet up with you - I can give you some good tips on the water current and getting into the eye of it where there is no current. I was there at the beginning of last May and only found 1 snake. Water clarity can be hit and miss.
 
I shoot a sea-bear thing. pump er up too much and the spear tends to banana on you, so I think i will just have to make my own hydropneumatic with interchangable barrels, it seems like a skinny barrel will move easier in the water for target tracking, so i will keep them small. its currently on the drawing board, and I am pricing materials out as well. do you guys think hard anodized aluminum would be sufficient for salt water use?
 
I think i will just have to make my own hydropneumatic with interchangable barrels. its currently on the drawing board, and I am pricing materials out as well. do you guys think hard anodized aluminum would be sufficient for salt water use?

Prime, this sounds so interesting.
We'd love you to start a thread in the "hunting equipment" section of Deeperblue and tell us ALL about this gun you're designing. :inlove

Of course your secrets will be your secrets, but many guys in the forum would cherish to see your project in development.

Anodized aluminum is a material very commonly used in spearguns.
 
I find those hydropneumatic guns very interesting. Quite fancy having a go at one myself.

Aluminium is very commonly used in airgun construction. Annodising is a process used to form a skin on the surface of aluminium. This skin provents the aluminium from reacting with its environment. Aluminium is also available in the form of different purities but mainly as different alloys. Marine grade aluminium is often refered to as type HE30.

If the aluminium was bought pre anodised then as soon as it was machined this would remove the protection. Annodising is normally a finishing process and is not easy to do "at home", involves acid and electric.

Various plastics are also commonly used in airgun construction. The properties of various types of plastics is a minefield and the commonest construction method, injection moulding, is again no DIY task.

These difficulties are one of the reasons that the hydo guns are firstly heavy and secondly not often mass produced. Also remember they work at pressures up to ten times that of ordinary pneumatics and so material choice is important to ensure safety.

Right, ignore all the above and make one. We want to see it :) .

Dave.
 
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Haha, I have posted elsewhere to this effect, but it was moreso recieved with scepticism and some people figured I was stealing someone elses idea. In fact I am using the idea from an Aquatech design. But I have no model or blueprints to steal this from, I am merely going to use the principal, and hopefully make it better. The anodizing is available in the city I live in, it isnt cheap, but i know how its done. I was just curious if it would be acceptable as a coating. if I was to incorporate 2 different flotation assistant things (one salt, other fresh) you think people would go for the idea of the modular idea? that way you could have a gigantic barrel should you want it, and if anything screws up, you can just buy the single part. not the whole thing.
Although, there would be one kicker to my idea... I think people would need to have a scuba certification, cause the precharged cylinders would be precharged to about 3000psi. so the only place that i know of capable of doing that would be a scuba refill station, or some kind of industrial supply place...
Would it be an ok idea to make the weapon a mid handle design with the butt of it able to fold up on itself like an assault rifle, but this folding butt would also be the pump??? that way you could have a rear handle gun,and a mid handle rifle...
 
well, it has been a long time since I posted, but My gun is entering testing stages now... I have built a smaller version of the pressure chamber, and it is away getting hard anodized. It should theoretically handle something like 17000 psi, but I will still do a full hydro-test on it...
 
Alas OMD is no longer with us - gone too soon. I'll do my best to contribute to one small part of Prime8's post:
... The anodizing is available in the city I live in, it isnt cheap, but i know how its done. I was just curious if it would be acceptable as a coating. ...
I don't see why not, I have long used some Clogg Wales anodized climbing carabiners for sea-cliff climbing. I've used them for 26 years for climbing & then on my spearfishing float, dangling in the saltwater -- they are still in great shape. (Normal un-anodized or perhaps less anodized 'krabs' tend to start showing signs of surface corrosion pretty quickly if they are exposed to saltwater - so it is generally recommended that they are flushed with freshwater after exposure to salt-water, carefully dried & then sprayed with WD40 or similar).

I believe Anodizing just uses electrolysis to thicken the natural, protective oxide layer that occurs on the surface of aluminium that is exposed to air. I would have thought the process itself is pretty cheap & simple, however running a business in a high-tax regime like Canada or the UK tends to make doing anything and everything expensive, and electricity is getting expensive with carbon-taxes, etc. :(.

There is fuller information on Wiki about about anodizing: [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anodizing]Anodizing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]


BTW if you remove the protective oxide layer, normally fairly inert aluminium burns fiercely, like magnesium. Which I believe is why aircraft fuselages burn so well, the high temperatures involved removes the oxide layer and allow the aluminium to burn like a flare.
 
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Quite right (according to the new RA website). My bad.

I see they claim of their carbon barrel:
Better warn Spaghetti, the honour of Italy is at stake!:D

No, not in play, I think that Italy is an example to follow
 
Agreed, Italy are prime innovators in spearfishing. And craftsmen and producers in many areas (spearguns, wetsuits, bikes, motorbikes, cars, dishwashers, tyres, fashion, leather goods, climbing/skiing equipment, musical instruments, art, architecture,...). So innovative and productive, it is hard to understand how they are now getting pulled into the Euro-crisis business -- too much government/government spending I suppose. Regrettably, it seems like almost all European governments have spent far too much for far too long :(.
...This is where I wish Rob Allen made a 40cm :). ...
I believe RA take custom orders, esp. for smaller sizes.
 
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4 WONG Spearguns from 50" GR to 60" SuperMag, 2 JBL Xtra Heavy Duty, and a bandito hole gun. Wongs are great!:friday
 
Happy to suggest a ACE speargun...tracks beautifully, kills like the hammer of Thor.
 

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