DIY Speargun

[flying_spanner]

Ok, I know this topic has been done to death in the past but I'd like to ask some advice from those who have done this before.

I'm planning to make a nice new speargun for myself. It'll have a wood stock, about 100cm - 120cm in length, Double 16mm rubbers, probably enclosed track.

I dive almost totally in Kelp and rocky reefs, and have no aspirations to go out in the blue water as yet, but having a gun that could tackle a monster couldn't hurt.

I've been looking at purchasing one of the Riffe trigger kits.
http://www.extremefreedom.co.nz/inde...mart&Itemid=28
Riffe Handle.jpg
Riffe seems to have a good name with Blue Water hunters out there. But I've got a couple of questions before I plunge into buying one.

- do these triggers have a nice feel or are they quite coarse and harsh?
- Shark fin spear or notched type?
- Do I really need to spend this much money on a trigger mechanism? or are there cheaper ones on the market that are just as good?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Jared Wallace

[Pastor]

Is this going to be a mid handle gun?

The Riffe trigger is fine, I certainly wouldn't call it harsh by any means. I don't like their handle though. It is very restrictive on stock dimension, you have to make it fit the handle rather than just fitting the handle into/onto the stock. The Alexander/Aimrite designs are more versatile in that respect.

If you're going with an enclosed track then it has to be a shark fin tab to elevate them above the track

You don't need to spend massive amounts of money on triggers check these out. The plastic/nylon Pathos is very robust (but not best suited to a wood rear handle, they are designed to fit low profile carbon fibre guns), I've had 2 x 20mm bands on one for a few hours with no adverse affect. Trouble with Euro type triggers is that it isn't quite as easy to find the full shark fin shafts to fit them. What is easily available to you? Getting a cheap trigger might be false economy if you end up paying a Kings ransom to feed it with shafts.

Other triggers to look at are:

Aimrite, Hawaii
poseidonsub spearguns, custome spearguns madet to order.
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/stevea...ice_sheet.html
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Abellan

[Robbert]

Jared,

Check out the long list of custom Gun Builders I just put up on a website I did. Several of them sell their trigger sets but I doubt they are any cheaper than Riffe's - probably more$. Browsing all of these custom sites will give you serious gun envy but will also inspire you and provide resources for other small parts you might want. A Few of these guys sell do it your self gun kits but it sounds like you already have a good start. The website is www.SpearTrips.com then go to "Misc Info" and then to "Speargun Links". Don't skip Internet Custom Spearguns for parts. Actually I wouldn't skip any of the U.S. sites.

Good luck and have fun!

Robbert
Robbert@SpeaTrips.com