Here are pictures. This was the first ever mid-handle pneumatic made in the USA. They were made between 1955 and 1960 and were very expensive. $125 was the cost in 1960, which is the same as maybe $2500 now. I remember my Father buying his, and the look on the face of my Mother when he paid money that he took one month to earn for the gun. We ate a lot of fish that year since there was no money to buy other food! But, almost 50 years later it still is as good as the day it was made, and I have used it many times. My Father hunted with it for 30 years himself. The one I show you was made in 1958, and as you see I take good care of it!

 

You can see that they are a fine and beautiful gun, and are very powerful. They made only about 200 of them total. I have two of them, and we use them for all of our shooting. The problems now are that the seals for the piston are no rubber O-rings, but are made from leather soaked in oil (!). So, they are getting harder to maintain and keep shooting well. It is a big gun, about 1.75 meters long total. Spear diameter is 9 mm.

 

I think a gun of the same size with hydropneumatic system would be much more powerful and easier to load. The size of this big pneumatic is good for us, but loading in the water is VERY difficult. I cannot do it. Some other guys can do it. I get back on the boat to load it. With hydropneumatic system I am sure I cold load it in the water.

 

Take a look at www.nobubblediving.com to see my personal web site and you can also put this story on your website if you like: www.freediver.net/freedivelist/stories/GenesisCove.htm.

Dave Sutton ( May 2004 )

Дед_СД. А ты говоришь - у меня ружье-раритет!!! Только что мне прислал американский знакомый фотки своего пневмата, доставшегося ему в наследство от своего отца. Представляешь себе ПНЕВМАТИЩЕ длиной где-то 1,75 метра со среднерасположенной рукояткой. Гарпун ДЕВЯТКА. Поршень уплотняется промасленной КОЖАНОЙ юбочкой!!! Куплено ружье в 1955 году и с ним охотился 30 лет отец, а теперь и сын охотится в полный рост!!! Американец помнит лицо своей матери, когда глава семьи купил этот пневмат за 125$ (сейчас эта сумма эквивалентна приблизительно 2500$). После этой покупки, до конца года, они ели только рыбу, так как не было денег на другие продукты. А ты говоришь раритет, раритет!!! З повагою

Сергей Кравченко

Airmatic speargun Airmatic speargun

Airmatic speargun

Airmatic speargun

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Dave Sutton

 

Here is the big fish (20 kilos), both with me alone and with my little girl (she already dives with me).

 

Dave Sutton

 

The fish was shot at a distance of 2.5 meters. The fish was swimming deeper in the water than I was. I shot behind the head from the top towards the bottom on the other side. You will see in the pictures where the spear went into the fish. There was a lot of hard muscle there, and also some bone. The spear went to the other side of the fish and the point was outside of the fish there(!!). This was a good shot, and the gun was perfect (Hydropneumatic speargun "Aqutech 750x9-C").

 

Dave Sutton

 

There is another photo also of 4 nice Striped Bass and also some Tautog (large wrasse, good to eat!) that we shot on another day. These were shot in Rhode Island, USA.

 

Dave Sutton

 

Photo is me, holding a "Tautog", which is a large salt water wrasse. These eat shells and crabs. This one is about 5 KG, and good to eat. Shot at distance of maybe 3 meters.

 

Dave Sutton

 

Photo is me holding a VERY small Striped Bass. I did not find quickly a photo of me with a larger one that I shot with spear. These are our real sport. We shoot them normally from size of 1 meter long and mass of about 10 KG to 2 meters long and mass of 25 KG. This photo is only so you can see that they are nice fish!

 

We went hunting again today. I shot two Tautog, about 4 KG each, for our dinner for this night. They are a large Wrasse, very good to eat. They were shot with your gun at range about 1.5 meters and the spear went all the way through the fish to the other side. They have VERY heavy skin and scales, and this was good work for the gun. Now they are on the stove with my wife!

 

Good day of fishing today. Ocean was good, no waves and visibility of perhaps 3-4 meters in places, less in other places. I shot one nice striped bass, about 10 KG. The fish was shot at distance 2.5 meters and the shaft was through the other side completely, and had gone through the backbone of the fish. So, the gun has good power!

 

Well, I can tell you this: Your gun is EXCELLENT. I shot it today, and it is great! It is *Excellent* equipment. I loaded it in the water, and it is perfect to use, aim, and shoot. We took three good fish today, size to 10 KG, in water with clarity only 2 meters, and it is the best size gun for this. No questions at all! Perfect!

 

How you aim from a gun at the large shooting distance (5-6 meters)? As well as at a small shooting distance (1.5-2 meters)? Small distance: I don't even think about it, I only point the gun and shoot. I am not looking down the barrel, but point by "reflex". No time to aim in this close distance, as it also means the water is dirty and we can only see the fish for a small time before we need to shoot. Long distances: I use my eye along the top of the gun to aim it like a rifle. I aim above the fish, depending on the distance. Also in front of the fish as it swims. This is not easy, like hitting a flying bird with a shotgun. Sometimes we hit the fish, sometimes not... ;-) With a good powerful gun and light shaft, it shoots fast and there is little drop of the shaft over the distance. Heavy shaft is slower velocity and drops more for any distance. But heavy shaft is good for putting shaft into fish at shorter distance, more power with the extra mass. The longest shot I made was about 6 meters, and I made it. But also, when we shoot this distance, we are shooting at large fish, not the small fish.

 

How you aim from a gun with the middle handle at shooting on a long distance? Or you use guns with the rear handle? Well: For *really* specialized clear water use, like for the Tuna, you would use a rear handle gun. Sight along the top of the gun, like using a pistol, only longer. Then important thing is to have a gun that is not sinking in the water, one that has neutral bouyancy. This way you can hold it by rear handle in the water. And you must practice, like with pistol, and be able to determine distance to the fish. This is the hardest part. Here, in my water, I use mid handle gun and shoot over the top, also like using a pistol. I hold it with two hands and hold it as far from my body as is possible. I like the mid handle because it allows me to "feel" where the gun is aiming without sighting it (shorter distances), and also I can swing it faster to follow the fish.

 

How a hydropneumatic speargun loudly shoots? Very quiet. It is quieter than my large Pneumatic, and for sure quieter than a rubber band gun like the Riffe. It is perfect!

 

That will work, and I looked at the picture before on your website. The idea of the rear-handle gun, a long gun, is that when you aim your hand towards the fish, if the gun is already 1.5 meters long, the spear is already that far towards the fish. Maybe with the fish 5 meters away, the spear only flies 3.5 meters. With mid handle or short gun, the spear has to fly longer to get to the fish. I will send you photos later of the Tapmatic SMG Gun. This uses a cartridge for a pistol, with no bullet (powder only) to fire the spear. It is *excellent* in design, and the spear is fast. Also it is simple to load, like a rifle, no strength needed. They were built in the 1970's. Very fine, but rare. Also not legal is some places. I have understood, that you shoot on a long distance from a rear handle gun. You do not shoot on a long distance from a mid handle gun!!! Almost correct! In clear water, I can shoot the mid handle gun to maybe 4-5 meters and it is "OK". But if I knew that the conditions were going to be good like that, I would prefer to use the rear handle gun. The trouble here is that I never know before I go into the water what it will be like, and the rear handle gun is not good in dirty water (1-2 meters visibility). I think with your guns in deep water (shooting not on the bottom of the ocean, but swimming in the middle of the water, as for Tuna), you will need to make a buoyancy tube to keep the gun neutral buoyancy, so it does not sink. Only this way can rear handle gun be aimed without difficulty. Make sure when you do this that you make it neutral in the salt water, if you make it correct for not-salt water, it will not be correct in the ocean.

 

Yes. Exactly. When we shoot the big fish, they can use the lever of the shaft to free the spear and they are lost, so we use the detaching tip for all of our work except for small fish. I send picture of the way that I have the 750 rigged now. Wednesday I try again with it for a big fish.

 

We shoot fish in open water, open ocean, of size to 30 KG, but big powerful fish. Striped Bass are these big fish. I send photo with this email of me with small one of this fish. They get lots larger, to sometimes 2 meters size. Sometimes the water is not clear, 1 meter or 2 meter distance. For this the small gun I got from you is VERY fine, I am sure. This is why I buy it from you. In other times we have water with good vision to maybe 10 meters. We shoot to maybe 5-7 meters at times. (I use a large pneumatic, but it is hard to load. As you say, with the pneumatic system the loading must be done at one moment. With your gun, it is better to load, and also I think quieter. We like the gun with the handle in the middle, or perhaps 33% distant from rear of gun. This makes it fast to swing to the fish. I think I have you make for me a gun with a large length, 1 meter long or more, with handle in the back at maybe 40 CM from the back part.

Dave Sutton ( September 2004 )

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Aqutech 750x9-C Aqutech 750x9-C Aqutech 750x9-C Aqutech 750x9-C Aqutech 750x9-C Aqutech 750x9-C Aqutech 750x9-C Aqutech 750x9-C Aqutech 750x9-C

 

I think, that the attachment of a special rope to a tip is equivalent to a detaching spear-point for the big fish (Has attached photos).

 

Here is how we use the gun. We use the detaching spear-point for the big fish, and you can see how it is set. Tape is used to protect the gun from the scratches, and for camouflage from the fish. The spear-rope is made from "Spectra", a special rope that is very strong and thin.

 

Dave Sutton ( May 2004 )

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