63" (160cm) Bluewater STUD gun

[kjflyfish]

Here is my latest:

63" Rimu stock - 100yr old wood from a house in Napier
Enclosed track
Neptonic Systems trigger mechanism
5/16" (8mm) shaft
Plamen Kolev slip-tip
Custom CNC handle and trigger slide (Matt888 on Spearboard)
Heinrich release system
Mean Green Powerbands

[Mongrel454]

Awesoem gun KJ

I tried a 1200 RA Tuna on my trip, it was powefull but lacked accurracy i think
Unless im just used to looking down a Farter and cant im properly with rubber guns?

[spearstudtx]

Beautiful gun. What size are the bands, what shaft (maker) are you using, have you shot it yet, and if so was it powerful enough @ range with that heavy shaft and only 3 bands? I am interested because I am looking at a similar setup for bluewater.

spearstudtx

[kjflyfish]

Hey Spearstudx,

I'm shooting Ray Odor pinned shafts with Plamen Kolev slip-tips. The bands are 9/16 (14mm) Mean Green, which have the equivalent pull of 16-18mm bands, depending on the make. I've recently ballasted the gun, which took a lot of lead, so I feel good about the gun's ability to absorb recoil and wouldn't hesitate to add a fourth 9/16 band. I'll decide after a test fire.

The inspiration behind this gun is my upcoming trip to Vanuatu. Super clear water, wary fish, and deep dives are the norm and towing around a 6-band log gets tiring during the course of a day, let alone 5. Lots of guys are successful on dogtooth tuna and wahoo with Euro guns, so having the extra range of a multi-band wood gun but the maneuverability of a slimmer gun is the compromise I was going for.

[tomnz]

not surprised you needed alot of lead kj, rimu's very buoyant. I made a 60" midhandle from rimu a few years ago, ended up with a ton of brass on it to get it balanced. Interestingly enough, a 3 laminate teak gun of slightly larger size required no ballast at all?!

[cjv]

Hi Kolt,

Nice gun. Nice tattoo. What is the dimension of the foot plate of Matt's handle?

Safe diving,

[kjflyfish]

Hi Chris, the width is 1/2" and I'm pretty sure it's 6" long. I'll have to check.

Tom, yeah it is very buoyant, which is good for adding ballast. I built a stocky gun from jarrah and it only needed a couple ounces near the handle to get a level sink with the shaft in. I think using the lighter woods can be a real asset if you seal them properly.

In other news, the gun got a serious workout recently - check back because you won't want to miss!

[foxfish]

Great gun, nice wood - pink handle!

[settingsteel]

WTG Kolt nice build! whats the distance band to pin and what length bands (including WB) did you use respectively?...Fill us in on the trip mate!

[kjflyfish]

If I remember correctly, it's 55" from first band to first pin, so that's probably 57-58 to the last pin - the trigger mech is only 1/2" from the butt. I used ~30" bands (did it all in cm using the 3.5:1 stretch formula). I also added a fourth band.

[kjflyfish]

Oh, and I think it worked pretty good....

[chrismar]

Top marks, Kolt! You're giving me tree-trunk envy, not to mention yellowfin and doggie envy

[settingsteel]

sweeet man!!!

[twentytwomonk]

That things's sick, Kolt. Way to go, brother!

[Mongrel454]

I thougth you siad it worked well???

You couldve shot those fish with a pole spear




J/K mate.........Awesome catch