SPEAR GUNS                                                 

by Dr. Samuel Miller

The genesis of American spear fishing can be linked via our pio­neers to the late 1920s and certainly early 1930s, several years prior to the times identified in the Complete Goggler. Therefore it can be stated unequivocally that spear fishing had its origins in the United Stales and not France. And so it was with many of the gins and accessories of spear fishing.

Florida resident Earl Pinder was probably one of the first in the United States to develop a “spear gun." Using rods from dis­carded umbrellas for the arrow, he took a short piece of bamboo to which he attached a sling, which made a sort of underwater bow and arrow called the “Hawaiian Sling." The arrow was passed through the tube and cradled in the inner-tube rubber which, when stretched, gave propulsion to the arrow.

His three sons, Don, Fred and Art, spent every waking moment exploring the jetties and reefs around Miami Beach. In 1948 19-year-old Art was thrust into international spear fishing prominence by landing a 90-pound sailfish with a Hawaiian Sling. A few years later the brothers were the fist and only spear fishermen to be featured on the cover of and in an article in Sports Illustrated magazine.

In Los Angeles, Charlie Sturgill was busy perfecting his weapon of choice, the pole spear. A pole spear is a pole that is a spear which was originally constructed of a fine-tine (frog gig) point attached to a piece of wood and powered by the thrust of the arm. Soon power was added in the form of elastic loops attached to the butt end. These loops were grasped by the hand and stretched up the pole until sufficient power was obtained to im­pale all but the largest fish. Never mass-produced, each spear was custom built to meet the diver's spear fishing needs. Today probably fewer than 100 have survived and are cherished by the serious spear fishermen not only as an ideal weapon, but a heir­loom to be passed to future generations.

So famous were Sturgill's pole spears that the Fathomers Spear fishing Club still host an annual Charlie Sturgill pole spear meet, open to any diver, with only two restrictions: no spear guns and no scuba. In 1995 it was won by Monica Gonta who speared a halibut, Sturgill's fish of choice - using a 20-year-old pole spear made by her grandfather, Charlie Sturgill. The meet has come full circle.

A young Billy Barada worked after school in his father's fire ex­tinguisher shop. His mind was not on repair but, rather, how to convert the then popular 1800 PSI C02 fire extinguisher into a speargun. The extinguisher had a handle, it had a trigger it had 1800 PSI of C02. All it needed was a few fittings, a length of tubing for the barrel and a piece of 5/16 rod and, presto, the C02 powered speargun was developed.

Divers throughout California, including myself, constructed spear guns from fire extinguisher. By the 1950s, several manu­facturers followed suit and produced a commercial variety of the C02-powered gun. The noise created by the escaping bubbles, the decrease in power with every shot and the need for special­ized refills soon saw~~-the demise of the C02-powered gun by the early 1960s.

Thirty miles south in the sleepy village of Goat Hill, now costa Mesa, lives a brilliant machine shop owner who was also a seri­ous spear fisherman, Herb Sampson. Sampson had used them all - the pole spears, the foreign imports, the Cressi spring guns, the arbaletes, but none had the range or penetration he needed. He put his talents to work and developed a radical new gun which was longer with a thicker tube powered by three kettle-cured slings propelled by a 5/16-inch or 3/8-inch arrow topped with a three wing detachable point, twin line release, a line pack (canis­ter) for extra line, and an anatomically formed handle that al­lowed activation of a silent safety with either hand. This gun, the Sampson World Record Speargun, was in production for more than 25 years and became the standard by which all tube guns would be measured.

It is said more world records were set with a "Sampson" than any gun ever made. Rows of pictures featuring smiling divers stand­ing nest to huge fish lined his office, attesting to this statement. I can personally attest that two black sea bass, one white Sea bass and the first tuna fish records were with the Sampson

In San Diego Bottom Scratchers Jack Prodonovich and Wally Potts were experimenting with underwater weaponry. They started with crude human-powered pole spears topped with a fine-tine point and rapidly progressed to longer spears and more efficient points.

It was Prodonovich who developed the "point impact" or "power head." These points were powered by .38 or .22 caliber water­proof shells. When the point came in contact with the fish, the cartridge fired, propelling the dart (point) into the through the fish, impaling it. Potts and Prodonovich were the first to devise spe­cial methods of carrying extra lengths of line culminating in a float. When a large fish was speared, it would fight the line and float.

In the late 1930s they perfected the famous "Bottom Scratcher Speargun" which was more than sex feet long powered by three or more sings propelling a Sfoot5/16 inch or 3/8 inch arrow riding on a rail. It was super accurate and very powerful, a true "25-foot gun." For a generation it was the secret weapon of the San Diego Spear fisherman. None were sold outside of San Diego, that is, until Paul Hoss convinced Prodonovich to see him a gun. As Potts said, "It's like selling guns to the Yankees."

Soon Hoss was producing the Los Angeles version of the "Bot­tom Scratcher." Dubbed the "Paul Hoss Bottom Scratcher" or "Hoss Gun" it was identical save for the Sturgill closed muzzle preferred at that time by "Yankee" Spear fishermen. I paid Hoss my entire weeks salary of $40 for my first wonderful hand-made shooter and the unbelievable sum of $20 for the second gun from a friend who needed the money.

Soon others started producing "Bottom Scratchers." Phil Wooten made a number of them. Howard Dennis made several of stainless steel. It is estimated only a 120 to 150 were made, but they are the most highly prized guns in spear fishing.

Prodonovich and Potts, affectionately known as the "Diving Bobsey Twins" have contributed more to the design and development of spear guns than any other people on earth. Since 1959 commer­cial versions of their guns have been manufactured by Swim master, Voit, and SCUBA PRO.

The world record holding champion spear fisherman, Jay Rifte is marketing an excellent line of wooden guns. Fred Biller brought German craftsmanship and ingenuity into the speargun in the AB Biller line. Joe Lamonica has made an outstanding tube gun for more than 30 years under the JBL banner.

Many years ago in Santa Barbara, California, Brian Bardley es­tablished a shop, The Bluewater Hunter, devoted solely to spear fishing. He carries a complete line of guns for the novice to the experienced bluewater hunter. If the produce is used for spear fishing he carries it. Most importantly they freely dispel advice. They talk spear fishing.

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THE PNEUMATIC SPEARGUN

Function, features, performance, and maintenance 

by Rudy Mola

Designed as a high powered, compact speargun it has repeatedly proven Itself in reliability and performance from the weekend sport hunter to the commercial fishermen to world title competition.

The pneumatic speargun has been around since the late 50's, but it's function still continues to be misunderstood by many today.

It consists of an air tight chamber which houses a barrel, a piston, a trigger mechanism and a shock absorbing device. A small quantity of oil is present to lubricate all internal components.

Some models feature a "Hi/ Lo" pressure selection switch for fast and slow shaft discharge speeds. 

Factory recommended operating pressure is usually at 22 BARs or about 325 psi.

Pressure is fully adjustable by the user to adapt the gun to any style of spear fishing or condition.

The function of the pneumatic speargun is to propel a steel shaft through the water quickly, accurately and quietly with the use of compressed air.

Because it is a sealed system and no air escapes, the speargun has unlimited use. This is accomplished by the use of an o-ring sealed piston which travels the length of the barrel. Air is pressurized in the reservoir through the filler valve by means of a hand pump. the number of pumps required to bring the gun up to pressure depends on the size of the gun, on the larger models it may require as many as 300 pumps. The "unloaded" gun has the piston pressing against the shock absorber in the muzzle (front) of the gun. Pneumatic speargun are shipped from the factory pressurized with about 300 psi of pressure. It is recommended that the beginner reduce the pressure until he/she becomes accustomed to the loading process. Once this has been mastered the pressure may be increased by using the hand pump. Be careful not to get the pump or filling port wet when pressurizing as water will enter the gun and begin corrosion.

Loading the gun should be done only underwater.  Start by inserting the butt end of the shaft into the muzzle of the gun.  Then, holding the spear tip with a loading device while holding the gun by the muzzle, begin to insert or cock the shaft into the barrel. Rotate the loading hand, cawing the shaft to rotate 180 degrees in a corkscrew fashion as it is inserted into the barrel, this minimizes the possibility of bending the shaft. Continue loading until the shaft "clicks" into the loaded position.   

Spear fishing calls for extreme caution, three cardinal rules to always obey are:

1. Never aim or point a speargun at any one.

2. Never fire the gun out of water,  due to the sudden impact of the piston on the shock absorber it is necessary for water to be in the barrel to soften the impact.  Firing a pneumatic speargun out of water is dangerous, will damage the gun, and will void any warranty.

3. Never load a bent shaft into the barrel as it will scratch the interior surface and the gun will leak out air.

Maximum accurate shooting range on most spear guns will be about 3 shaft-lengths away from the muzzle, beyond that,  most experienced spear fishermen will pass up the shot.  Naturally the longer the gun, the longer the shaft,  the greater the reach,  the higher the pressure (within limits), and the longer the piston run in the barrel, the further the shaft will travel.

Because most guns come from the factory with a “cold rolled” steel shaft,  it is recommended that you should always have a back-up shaft while spear fishing,  the best advice is to obtain a spring, or stainless shaft for primary use with your favorite spear tip  and use the one that comes with the gun as your back-up.  Other accessories are available such as line reels and floats.

Perhaps the most misunderstood device in the dive industry is the “Hi / Lo” power actuator on some pneumatic spear guns.  Think of it as a shut off valve to the main air reservoir,  it allows for the shaft to be fired using a minimum amount of air, thus firing at a slower speed.  This is helpful when you are very close to your target and will also avoid damaging the reef and your spear tip. Also useful in discharging the gun prior to leaving the water, it not only minimizes muzzle impact but if maintained in that setting it will allow for an easier loading of the gun the next time.

The “Hi / Lo” actuator may be used to facilitate the loading of a large gun with high pressure (300 to 380 psi).  By setting the pressure to low, as the gun is loaded,  air pressure building up behind the piston begins to equalize with the pressure in the main reservoir via the one way valve.  In this fashion if one is not strong enough to load the gun in one single movement, it may be loaded in a stair step fashion by transferring air to the main reservoir.  As you allow the shaft to return to unloaded position the air behind the piston is now less and makes it easier for the next attempt.   Bear in mind that as you approach the “cocked” position the pressure will build up to the same as the pressure in the reservoir regardless of activator setting.

Pressurizing the gun to over 26 BARs (ATMs), or about 380 psi, is not recommended.  It will not greatly increase the range, while it may shorten muzzle shock absorber life and makes it very difficult to load, increasing the chance of bending the shaft.

After use the gun should be rinsed in fresh water (a few minutes soak is advisable) and stored muzzle down to allow the oil inside to coat and clean the barrel.

When the gun is serviced it is imperative to use a separate bench and tools from those used in regulators to avoid oil contamination.  When checking for air leakage do not use the tank fill basin, as a thin layer of oil will slick the surface. When a tank is immersed the oil will coat the surface, this is particularly dangerous on the valve face as it will contaminate the air fill and if O2 is being used, you have a very dangerous, explosive situation.

 When servicing the gun, it should be pressurized for testing,  if an automatic pressurizing device is to be used, use a pressure regulator set to 300 psi.

DO NOT PRESSURIZE DIRECTLY FROM HIGH PRESSURE. After testing, while the gun is still pressurized, it is possible to add oil by using the manual pump.  Back the pump lever to a point prior to accessing the breather hole,  add oil to the pump (2 to 3 tablespoons),  screw the gun on to the pump and invert with the muzzle to the floor,  press the pump handle down and pump the oil into the gun.  This not only saves time but also cleans and lubricates the filler valve mechanism,  always follow with a couple of additional pumps to insure proper air entry.

IMPORTANT SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS:

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