Well we had quite a few gun builders and hardcore spearo's visit my tiny booth at the Bluewild Expo...and they were all pretty impressed with the HalfBreed (the only gun I showed, actually the only gun I had just about finished)It seems this is the only enclosed track hybrid speargun made on the market...I've been doing a few searches and up to now that statement seems to be true- lots of hybrids, but none with a fully enclosed track, pretty stoked!!! Alot of questions popped up about this gun and I wanted to blog about it as it may very well be questions that others of you may have, plus its a nice opportunity to showcase the HalfBreed. The idea behind the HalfBreed is my persistance in shaving inches off a speargun, while making it incredibly accurate and lessening the spearguns recoil- not an easy task fo'su, but if it were such then everyone would be doing it,right?Speaking of which alot of great guns were at the Expo and from the looks "anorexic spearguns" seems to be catching on, I think alot of wood/composite gun makers are trying to get the manuevarability of a pipe gun with the benefits of wood-at least thats how it all started with me a few years ago, when prototyping various designs till finally creating the HalfBreed.
A Euro enclosed track Hybrid speargun is a great combination. A Euro speargun, due to its design recoils mostly straight back towards the spearo, the speargun's handle placement in the furthermost rear is the primary reason, this is a big attribute to why Euro spearguns are so accurate, and thus so popular with spearos worldwide. A "pipegun" style European speargun provides a minimum of drag, due to the narrow barrel, most are about 1-1.5" in diameter. Thus a narrow barrel makes for a more hydrodynamic speargun and so the final result is that the speargun tracks fast, this is essential as many fish targeted in Europe are smaller and faster than here in the States. So we can safely say that a European type speargun although it recoils, the recoil will not have a huge influence on accuracy; due to their streamline design will track fish faster and more efficiently than a square type gun like the Riffe Competitor Series and AB Biller spearguns to name a few.
The wood type spearguns have a few benefits as well which makes them also very popular with a lot of spearfisherman (and women)- For one wood is quiet, a wood speargun has very little if any metal clanking against the shaft (or reef), making it quieter than metal guns like the Mako spearguns, Jbl spearguns and Riffe metaltech spearguns. Wood is bouyant, more so than metal. Bouyancy is important in a gun(I will add that not all guns need to float- even though alot of spearos insist that a gun float with the shaft out- this is not always the case depending on what/where you are hunting. I'll talk about this more in another thread). Ok so why is bouyancy important? A speargun that floats will allow you to add ballast (fancy for weight)exactly in the area it needs it most not so much to "balance" the gun, more so to tame the spearguns recoil and shaft whip. I'm often surprised to see speargun builders novice and experienced alike put lead plugs along the entire speargun barrel's length "balancing" the gun throughout, ultimately making it negative...sinking completely horizontal, although it looks cool, its not the best way to ballast a speargun for optimal results e.g. best accuracy, most consistent accuracy, least recoil, and least shaft whip- these are the important factors when ballasting a speargun.
If a speargun is ballasted correctly shaft whip will be minimized. Shaft whip is the inertia caused when the speargun's bands,shaft, and muzzle react. Think of a rifle. When you shoot a rifle the recoil causes the front of the barrel to jump up, this is exactly what happens with a speargun...but the results are a bit different. When the speargun's shaft leaves the muzzle, the tailend of the shaft is lifted (due to the upward momentum of the muzzle)as it exits the muzzle, this inturn causes the shaft to move at an angle downward, resulting in a low shot- most guys who's spearguns are shooting low think they need to power up on the speargun bands, when in actuality they are more than likely overpowered! Of course, the shorter the barrel of your speargun, the more exaggerated the whip will be. Again using a firearm as our example, if we shoot a handgun you notice a more exxagerated whip of the handguns barrel compared to a rifle, this also applies to spearguns. We all want a short speargun (easier to maneuver) that shoots far (heavy bands or lots of bands or both)but having the best of both worlds is tricky, very tricky.
To help spearo's attain more power, in a shorter gun- the Enclosed track came to be. An enclosed track is a channel that runs from the muzzle to the trigger, in which the
shaft is "enclosed" in (think of a rifle barrel). Many wood guns have the facilty to incorporate this in their design so you'll see many custom wood guns in enclosed tracks (this is very different than a rail, often found in pipe (Euro) spearguns. A rail is just that, a long groove in which the shaft sits atop, the shaft is NOT enclosed, it just rests on the rail).
Basically the enclosed track will tame the tailend of the shaft as it exits the muzzle so you can power up the gun while keeping shaft whip to a minimal. Another surprising observation is that most gun builders will open up the front 2-4" of a guns barrel (muzzle area), although I will if asked to, this will actually defeat the purpose of the enclosed track, as those 2-4" are the most vital to prevent the tailend of the shaft from dipping.
If a speargun is ballasted correctly shaft whip will be minimized. Shaft whip is the inertia caused when the speargun's bands,shaft, and muzzle react. Think of a rifle. When you shoot a rifle the recoil causes the front of the barrel to jump up, this is exactly what happens with a speargun...but the results are a bit different. When the speargun's shaft leaves the muzzle, the tailend of the shaft is lifted (due to the upward momentum of the muzzle)as it exits the muzzle, this inturn causes the shaft to move at an angle downward, resulting in a low shot- most guys who's spearguns are shooting low think they need to power up on the speargun bands, when in actuality they are more than likely overpowered! Of course, the shorter the barrel of your speargun, the more exaggerated the whip will be. Again using a firearm as our example, if we shoot a handgun you notice a more exxagerated whip of the handguns barrel compared to a rifle, this also applies to spearguns. We all want a short speargun (easier to maneuver) that shoots far (heavy bands or lots of bands or both)but having the best of both worlds is tricky, very tricky.To help spearo's attain more power, in a shorter gun- the Enclosed track came to be. An enclosed track is a channel that runs from the muzzle to the trigger, in which the
shaft is "enclosed" in (think of a rifle barrel). Many wood guns have the facilty to incorporate this in their design so you'll see many custom wood guns in enclosed tracks (this is very different than a rail, often found in pipe (Euro) spearguns. A rail is just that, a long groove in which the shaft sits atop, the shaft is NOT enclosed, it just rests on the rail).Basically the enclosed track will tame the tailend of the shaft as it exits the muzzle so you can power up the gun while keeping shaft whip to a minimal. Another surprising observation is that most gun builders will open up the front 2-4" of a guns barrel (muzzle area), although I will if asked to, this will actually defeat the purpose of the enclosed track, as those 2-4" are the most vital to prevent the tailend of the shaft from dipping.
All these factors where important considerations when I set fourth designing the HalfBreed speargun-ease of maneuvarability, quick tracking, accurate, minimal recoil, quick loading, and quiet. Plus a few extra perks to make it the complete weapon for hunting the ocean. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I'll talk about the HalfBreed's Euro design coupled with wood and carbon fiber all inside an enclosed track.
Till next spearfishing report, tight bands, straight shafts, and smooooooooth triggers!
Tone
Counteracting the kick of a speargun is the key to accuracy, using longer spearguns. Holding tighter and less rubber are the things to consider. Though a compromise between power and control must be found. Mid mount handles are also a consideration.
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