Why don't UK spearo's use pneumatic guns?

[speerolee]

My pump gun comes with a reducer, so I usualy use this to shoot the spear off before I exit the water, this is usualy done by stabbing it into sand and slowly lifting the gun as foxy says. The reducer is also handy when hunting for holed fish in caves etc...

I was at ringstead once and I just could not load the gun, I used very ounce of muscle to get the damn shaft loaded down the gun, but it just would not budge........soon realised that a small pebble was very firmly lodged into the gun barrel and I had rammed the thing right in there! So I blunted my brothers Comanche 110 tip by using it to chip away at the pebble for an hour.

 

[denian]

Foxfish what do you mean by free shaft set up? On a real?or no line at all ?

 

[Mr. X]

...I was at ringstead once and I just could not load the gun, I used very ounce of muscle to get the damn shaft loaded down the gun, but it just would not budge........soon realised that a small pebble was very firmly lodged into the gun barrel and I had rammed the thing right in there! ...

Had a similar problem with tiny pebbles in the trigger mech. of my RA bandgun a few years back. Similarly exhausting trying to load & then unload the darn thing. RA provided a new, improved trigger mech. in the end as the plastic had become "furry".

Was surprised to meet a spearo locally a year or two ago. Turns out I'd bought my first motorbike off him as a teenager, several decades earlier. He uses only a short pneumatic - that's all he uses/needs (spears Dorset). Dorset often has poor visibility, so a short gun usually works well - but pneumatics tend to be powerful too, so a useful combination for the conditions he speared in most.

 

[foxfish]

Foxfish what do you mean by free shaft set up? On a real?or no line at all ?

Sorry mate, it is a bit of an confusing description!
In fact what I mean is a system where the line is attached to the spear near the pointy end, just in front of the barbs.
This can be achieved by various inventive methods but i just drill a 1mm hole through the spear.
The benefit is the spear has no slider & can be pushed straight into the barrel & sealed by an "O" ring (or two) fitted in the muzzle without the filly bits often associated with dry barrel systems.
Tromic makes a beautiful free spear kit at a very reasonable price!!

I can add a pic later.....

 

[spearo nobby]

hi guys. great thread!!! i spear with spearolee and as matt said he swears by his gun. yes it can b noisy but inly seems to scare me rather than fish . i did once think about buying 1 but after havin a go on lees and couldnt even hit a barn door i decided band guns are for me. i would loved to been able to shoot it as lee is by far the most efficiant spearo at a night time with no fuss with gun. but out of fear of missin more fish than act hittin i stick to band gun. i do recomend any 1 startin out to get 1 for the same reasons that have been raised. with main 1 being a reducer. GOD SENT on holed up fish. hope this helps guys.

 

[foxfish]

Dont forget that a simple O ring can transform the air gun into somthing very quiet!

 

[foxfish]

Here is a free shaft & muzzle sealing kit...

 

[Highlander]

Gents, i am sorely tempted to get a pneumatic.........

Mares Spark, Cyrano.... isn't that the same as a Spark, Omer Airbalette..... pricey though; & retro fitting the dry barrel kit. There is some good info on DB especially by Don Paul, Foxfish,Tromic & a few others.

I have an Apnea 75 & a RA alu 90 Caranx(second hand & yet to be used by me) & the saying is, or have I just made it up, you can never have too many guns, or maybe that is from a war movie or something.......

Having said that, I am not sure what size would be a good addition to my arsenal, as I have probably got some good sizes for our environment(Dorset). Perhaps a shorter size for the poor viz that we occasionally get.....

Anyway, I am still pondering........

Scott

 

[grantl]

the saying is, or have I just made it up, you can never have too many guns, or maybe that is from a war movie or something.......

I think you'll find that was actually what i said to my wife last week, although will concede it did have much in common with a war movie at the time

I'm looking at going for a 115+ dry barrel pneumo which I think will be a nice addition to my 80 & 90 band guns, particularly for our West Coast where vis can be incredible and more reach would be good forPollack etc.

I do like the simplicity of a band gun but if pneumatics are reliable, which it sounds like they can be, then in theory anyway it would be an ideal option for me.

 

[north1]

As for reliability, I had a cressi SL55 for about 12 years and it never let me down. I now have a SL70 with a dry barrel [Tomba].
All I now need to do is drill the stainless shaft to make a freeshaft like Foxfish shows above.
I still use band guns and like both. In all honesty I haven't had any issues with band or pneumatic.
North

 

[denian]

I see foxfish you have 6 or 7 spear line loops back to the line release by the trigger is that common to that modle of gun or to pneumatic or is that your personal set up to max the reach of spear ?

 

[foxfish]

Well that is not my gun I just graped the pic from this sticky thread http://forums.deeperblue.com/pneumatic-spearguns/81902-vacuum-barrels-aka-dry-barrels.html
Anyway - yes you might need a few wraps on a high pressure dry barrel gun!!

 

[speerolee]

OK here's one for foxy....

I'm very Interested in this dry barrel o ring silent gun with the free shaft setup.
So with my Cressi SL 70 all I've modded is the shooting line to mono and a 5 meters as it will reach this distance.

Would you be so kind as to give me a more discriptive account on how to convert my gun. Also what do you mean by dry barrel? And does the o ring jus slot into the end etc??? Just that I do t want to scare nobby anymore during night dives.

Thanks lee

 

[DafyddRees]

I have become increasingly interested in a pneumatic after reading a number of threads....

What have you decided on Bro.....?

 

[foxfish]

Lee, you can read in detail all about the various methods of keeping the water out of the barrel here http://forums.deeperblue.com/pneumatic-spearguns/81791-tomba-all-one-barrel-sealing.html but the simple way forward is to send Tromic a pm with your requirements & he will quote you for the kit required.
The kit is a very well made alloy insert that replaces your present muzzle, you just depressurise the gun & swap over the muzzles!

 

[speerolee]

Thanks. PM sent.

 

[Broseidon]

I have become increasingly interested in a pneumatic after reading a number of threads....

What have you decided on Bro.....?

Ah mate, I'm still thinking... the guys at planetsub.it like to take at least 48 hours in between their one line, broken English emails

I'm beginning to feel painfully tempted by the Sporasub One Air - it comes with a free-shaft, as described by Foxy and it has the X-Power, dry-barrel kit fitted as standard...

...I bet an 80cm version would just peachy for North Wales fishing...

This is the spec from the Sporasub website:

One Air is an airgun with "cuttlefish" barrel made using a new production process. The inside of the barrel is specially ribbed to strengthen the shaft and eliminate deformation. This shape distributes the air volume to optimise the speargun under water, drastically improving manoeuvring in all directions.

The ONE AIR features an 11 mm barrel with a patented vacuum system, the STC X-Power.

This system prevents the barrel from filling up with water during loading, and when shooting the piston does not have to overcome the water resistance which is usually present in the barrel. This greatly increases performance to pre-load pressure levels. As the barrel is not flooded, the speargun also performs better under water as it is lighter in weight. For more information on the STC X-Power system, visit the website X-Power

The slide release mechanism has three movements and is fitted inside the barrel. This allows the speargun to be fitted with an arbalete-type handle which is bayonet-coupled to the barrel.

The hand remains very high on the handle, aligned with the shaft in the barrel and not below the barrel as on traditional airguns, aiding precise, instinctive pointing towards the prey.

The handle can easily be removed to offer access to the barrel loading valve. The barrel and mechanism are lubricated by a special grease with a small amount of oil.

Supplied as standard: 6.75 mm "nude" Tahitian stainless steel shaft, without a tail fin for fast shooting thanks to the reduced friction.

Possibility to assemble and remove the reel without removing the handle.

This shows the dry barrel kit and the free-shaft set-up nicely:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gakLvrGgqPM]Sporasub 2012 Fucile One Air - YouTube[/ame]

I'll tell you what mate, if you get one, I'll get one

 

[speerolee]

News just in!!!

NOBBY is now officially converted to a gas gun man!!

 

[Broseidon]

^^^^^^^^^^^

Say it ain't so!

I thought he was an RA man?!? What's he gone a got?

 

[DafyddRees]

Haha I was hoping you would get one so I could test it come May!

Regarding gun size, is an 80cm pneumo the same size as an 80cm band or are they measured by different criteria?

Is it possible to reduce the width of the spear? The pneumo spear is 6.75mm which is still pretty big.

I have been put off by a few YouTube videos of people loading pneumatics clearly indicating the spear points towards the upper torso/head at the end of the process. I am not clumsy by any means but having seen a lot of trauma recently, it kind of gives me the willies putting yourself in a situation where your neck is over a loaded gun.