Elastic band too hard!!!

snice · September 05, 2008, 11:00:24 CET

Hi people, i know i might sound a bit incompetent so bare with me! I just bought a new spear gun yesterday and I'm still new to this. I'm not quite sure if its just me or the gun itself but i found it impossible to cock it. The band barely stretches to the extent that while i was trying to force it down the shaft it snapped back and actually cut my hand. Is this normal? and if so what can i do to gain more elasticity from the band in order to start using it?

Seahunter · September 05, 2008, 11:50:02 CET

What lenght is your speargun?

snice · September 05, 2008, 11:55:57 CET

not sure if my measuring is the proper way. I took it from the tip of thegun itself (not the spear) to the back end of the hand. It measures 80cm

snice · September 05, 2008, 12:18:38 CET

i actually found the specs on the internet here:

EASY BLACK

SHAFT: ergal aluminium

RUBBER: ? 16 mm pro black with mini black ogive

ROD: ? 6,5 mm threaded with prong

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS: ultralight head

LENGTHS: 40 - 50 - 70

(have the 70 one)

snice · September 05, 2008, 12:19:29 CET

and the elastic band is 16 to 18 cm

Seahunter · September 05, 2008, 12:20:33 CET

It shall not be that difficult to load it. Look at this link below and try loading it using these steps.

http://www.spearfishing.co.za/loading_spearguns.jpg

Gazzetta · September 05, 2008, 12:42:58 CET

Ma nafx hux xi cucata jew hux tajba alikom li tinzlu apnea pero subaqua supplies ghandu qisu bicca plastci li tehel mac cinturin u tikkarga l harpun fuqa !!
Forsi tghin.

Chris

snice · September 05, 2008, 14:43:34 CET

i keep trying but its next to impossible. Is it possible that the rubber needs loosing or something in order to make it more flexible.

Granitu · September 05, 2008, 15:52:07 CET

snice, maybe you need to either revise or learn the proper technique of loading a gun...

you must sort of tahsada the rubber and then gently pushing it to your chest .... needs time to learn but having a pair of gloves can aid to lessen injuries.

most of the time i see people loading a new gun they fail because of fear of getting hurt, others of fear of being muscularly unable to load it but i believe that a 75 speargun anyone can load it, especially when they are normally rigged with 16mm bands. try pushing it up to the fist notch fist, then try to the second. also, it can be the casde that you need and extension at the back of the gun to aid loading

EmicMalta · September 05, 2008, 17:23:02 CET

Check your rubbers lenght. For a 75cm the rubbers should be 18cm long. Yours is 70cm so there should be 1-2cm less and cannot give you the proper lenght without having calculated the wishbone and type of rubbers.

You should load it too easy that size, and as someone suggested be sure that you wear a pair of gloves. They will help you much more then you think in loading a gun and even while you are spearfishing. Another thing is , are you wearing a suit or not when trying to load it?

Also take care about which wishbone you are using cos they can be really danger. If you can post a pic of the gun will help you with some more advice. Cos even the back of the gun, if it is sharp it will be much more difficult to load.

Also if this thing persist you need to buy a spear with 3 lugs where it will help you to load very very easy.

NB. Wellcome in this forum. Can you pls post yours Snice http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/index.php?topic=903.0

snice · September 06, 2008, 00:06:00 CET

thanks for all ur advice. after numerous attempts i finally managed to get a hold on how to load it. I also bought a pair of glove for the grip as previously i sustained a minor injury as the band slipped out of my had whilst i was stretching it. nothing too bad but just annoying

Simon G · September 08, 2008, 10:09:10 CET

i just bought the reb 17.5 mm bands from aquatica and tried them out on the 106 and 115 they are really powerfull and not hard to load at all you shoud try them

baghira · September 08, 2008, 10:44:32 CET

Hi snice

1st of all welcome on board.

You will here listen to different opinions of persons whom tried different setups, and spent long hours in the water before they got it right. You will find out that many do help, but at the end of the day, you may find out that my setup, does not suit your kind of fishing, so you should read all advices, and try some of them out.

By the way, never expect magics from the first time in water, and with that gun. If you catch a kilo fish, be happy with your catch.

I know the gun that you mentioned. It's an effesub. In my opinion I would have gone a step up and bought the black blast instead. (also having same length). I would recommend gloves first, (as others mentioned), change the wishbone immediately, (the one it has is not reliable at all), See if misterfish has a back handle support for it, so it won't hurt your chest.
You should have no problem with loading this gun.
P.S. When you measure a gun, just measure the shaft.

snice · September 08, 2008, 13:33:26 CET

thanks alot for ur advice

. Ill eventually upgrade my gear without a doubt however atm im abit financially constricted. In anycase for now ill practice with the small catch hehe i dont have the means to go out in open water in any case. For now ill change the wishbone as u said it does seem a bit flimsy wouldnt want it to snap or anything.

Anyway im open for any suggestions so feel free to advise. thanks

fabrizioviper · September 08, 2008, 16:32:54 CET

hello snice. dak l harpoon li ghandek huwa ideali biex tibda bih ma zmien ixtri wiehed akbar . is 70cm ideali ghal taht l gebel ghas sargi u griebel . ghal open water mur ghal xi 90cm jew ahjar 100cm. in 90cm huwa aktar allrounder . jien b 90 cm ghamilt 17 years nistad u ma kellix regrets ,dan s sajf xtrajt 100cm. la tkun drajtu fidejk harpoon ma tantx tkun trid tibdlu ghax bil mod sakemm terga tidra l gdid u jista jkun li anke titlef xi ftit hut ukoll. lbahar biz zmien biex titjib , limportanti li tmur regolari . caw u nispera li ma hadlekx rasek.