Dumb n00b no no's

[Crazy Fingers]

What are really stupid things that n00bs are prone to doing in regards to speargun safety.

For example... why can't I shoot my gun out of the water?

What happens if I don't hold my arm straight when I shoot the gun?

etc...

[westpalmspearo]

pointing spearguns at other people in the water

[bug_power]

swimming in front of someone's gun and not looking up while accending (I've bonked a rig leg or two)

[FishFighter]

Your dive partner descending to shoot a fish in front of you when you are the one down and he is the one up.(during one up one down diving)

[C4DC]

Loaded gun on the boat or failure to deband before pointing/handing the gun up to someone on the boat.

[Faust]

transitioning from hunting with a rifle to a spear gun, ive seen a few people try to " shoulder " a spear gun.

[FishFighter]

Not butting the gun but with free hand on a blue water gun and sighting down the barrel

[fishyak]

firing a spear between your buddy's legs as a joke to scare him (yeah, i set that guy straight pretty quick)

[GRIM REEFER]

forgetting to open the valve :eek:

[LakeHunter]

firing a spear between your buddy's legs as a joke to scare him

JESUS

[from the sea]

shootin your fin :rolleyes:

[Man-O-War]

pointing spearguns at other people in the water

This happends all the time

[Number1StunNer]

transitioning from hunting with a rifle to a spear gun, ive seen a few people try to " shoulder " a spear gun.


LMAO :lol:

[firefyterx]

Never have your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot.

[NY_Carp_Sticker]

Never connect a polespear with a line to your body and shoot a 30+# carp!!
(luckily I had a good sharp knife with me)

[diverik]

why can't I shoot my gun out of the water?
You can but it has a hell of a kick unless it's a pneumatic then it wrecks the seals.

What happens if I don't hold my arm straight when I shoot the gun?
For me two things will answer this question.
I'm sure some people are refering to the gun kicking back and hitting you in the face. The other is as you shoot more and more. The shot is more like from the hip with my arm bent. If I try to sight the fish up to much I seem to miss you need tyo get comfortable with your gun and how it shoots.

I was talking to a friend who is trying out some new guns, he went to a pool, set up some targets and tried to hit them. He said he couldn't hit anything sighting down the barrel only in the act of spearfishing is he accurate.

My.02 $
Rick

[StabbinBoy]

There's another 'shouldering the gun' that you're supposed to remember to do -remembering that if your gun is positive/bouyant without a shaft in it and you let it go, it floats to the surface. So you're supposed to stick your arm through the bands and suspend it from your shoulder after you shoot while you get your fish and shaft. I've let a gun float away before... :rolleyes:

Remember to always check the safety on your gun BEFORE a big grouper swims right in front of you. :slap:

Another noobie mistake is to use your bands until they break. Weak bands make ya miss - replace 'em often. Also remember to check your tip to make sure it is needle sharp after every dive. Blunt shafts don't work so well.

Don't shoot down into rocks with all your bands loaded or you'll dull your point or leave a shaft in the reef.

While waiting to get back up the ladder and into the cattleboat, don't assume that the 350lb chick ahead of you will make it all the way up the ladder without falling backwards. :eek:

Don't assume that the float ball is properly connected to the float line before you go down - double check it yourself.

[kaborkian]

Keep that speartip away from my T-top fabric!

At 10 fsw: where's my computer? (on the boat, noob)

Slip tip line secure, check. Oops...slide ring is wedged onto the first sharkfin tab. Time to get the hammer.

[LuvMyRedDog]

"Down to 500 psi, I've still got time to SHOOT ONE MORE FISH!"

No fish is worth your life.

[f94gator]

Remember to always check the safety on your gun BEFORE a big grouper swims right in front of you. :slap:


Better yet, just remove the damn thing altogether.

[Megabeast]

There's another 'shouldering the gun' that you're supposed to remember to do -remembering that if your gun is positive/bouyant without a shaft in it and you let it go, it floats to the surface. So you're supposed to stick your arm through the bands and suspend it from your shoulder after you shoot while you get your fish and shaft. I've let a gun float away before... :rolleyes:

How about: Do not dive said weapon until it has buoyancy characteristics befitting of your hunting style. I will not take a positively buoyant gun scuba shooting, you are ASKING FOR IT. I don't care what Spear One says about this subject, having to remember to shoulder your gun with the shaft(s) out at all times in a fog of narcosis with task loading all around you is another simple little thing that doesn't need to be there. Put some weight in the butt stock or in the handle but don't dive it until it's totally right.
Remember to always check the safety on your gun BEFORE a big grouper swims right in front of you. :slap:

What f94 said. Safetys lose fish, plain and simple. I have never heard a story about how the trigger safety helped someone nail that lifelong sought after fish. If you want the gun to be safe, don't have it banded, plain and simple.



:D

[BreathlessSight]

Better yet, just remove the damn thing altogether.

my gun doesnt have a safety.

Noob acts:
Catch and release spearfishing
poor kick cycles
clashing paddles while kayaking on a 2 person yak
splashing and kickin like crazy scurin the fish
not lockin the shaft in and then trying to load it

I dont know many cuz I havent been around em

[ichigolin]

There's another 'shouldering the gun' that you're supposed to remember to do -remembering that if your gun is positive/bouyant without a shaft in it and you let it go, it floats to the surface. So you're supposed to stick your arm through the bands and suspend it from your shoulder after you shoot while you get your fish and shaft. I've let a gun float away before... :rolleyes:


I learned this lesson twice in one weekend. I left the gun on the bottom at ~80-90fsw.... Alarm just went off for air supply. I just nailed a grouper, which was still very very much alive. I had no knife. AND as I was messing w/the grouper, I noticed a new dive buddy come into view. Mr. Greysuit was circling and getting closer. So I decided to leave the fish on the shaft and ascend due to air. Didn't notice till about 45fsw that I didn't have my gun when I was preparing to give the shark a poke in the nose with my non-existent speargun. Luckily I descended and found the gun. That shark continued to circle me all the way back down and all the way to the surface. He even put his dorsal topside of the water. I have never been so spooked by a shark before.

Second time.. Buddy and I surfaced. While waiting for boat, we noticed a gun floating about 100m away. I retrieved it. It belonged to another buddy who surfaced far far away from his gun yelling, 'have you seen my gun'. His floated up on him.

Lessons learned.. put arm through bands before messing w/the kill, don't dive w/out my knife, immediately put fish on stringer, immediately reload, and always keep an eye out for mr greysuit.

[kitespearo]

When getting ready to get into the water (specially scuba). Instead of rolling back into the water....roll forward. into the boat ....hahahaha

[mrbowdeadly]

Not getting on spearboard and asking questions till you are blue in the face :D



MBD

[Mighty KC]

I saw a triple tail under a wooden pallette, a guy on my boat wanted to shoot it, got in and missed the fish and hit the pallette with a three band speargun with a detachable head. I finally got in with a screwdriver and hammer and chisled for an hour before getting the tip out of the wood. The same guy shot a big AJ with a 30ft float line in 300ft of water, never saw any of it again

[normzone]

http://spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=47711

The above link...and I've made the mistake of not backing up a gun butt with my free hand...lucky to still have my front teeth.

[HawkDriver]

Wear gloves.

My first time out I did not wear any gloves. After missing my first shot (too far away), I was reloading and the band slipped from my fingers when moving from the first to second notch. The plastic hozel ripped the very soft skin on my index finger. 4 stiches. Pretty dumb.

[Nathan Florian]

"Down to 500 psi, I've still got time to SHOOT ONE MORE FISH!"

No fish is worth your life.



500 psi in 30 ft...its on. In 90', I you better be looking at your guage showing 500 psi from the safety of the boat. I have had the gun get away from me while chasing something and had the great experience of having a very large, agressive shark circling me as the low air bell was singing like a canary on my computer, full stringer, just flowing a river of green.. swam to the surface(noob boat operator) took forever to get the boat over as this shark who is nearly twice my size is circling. First shark encounter. I always look for them now and dont hesitate to donate some Ray Oder Steel to them. The gloves mistake I learned the hard way too. Shot a nice grouper and tryed pulling him out of a hole, finger ended up looking like shreaded weat, got the fish but finger was all messed up. Dont buy cheap ones either,

[Prater]

Dont get so excited about an invitation to spear that you leave very important equipment in the truck. Make sure your fins are secure before you roll off the boat, specially if its your first time rollong off backwards.

[calla969]

Be sure of your target before shooting it. I had a buddy shoot me in the head with a pole spear in low viz because he thought I was a fish! Scariest thing that's ever happened to me. I got lucky and it glanced off my skull, but it left a nice gash. If it would have knocked me unconcious, I would have sank and he probably would not have been able to find me in the low viz. Also, never dive without a knife.

[Man-O-War]

Be sure of your target before shooting it. I had a buddy shoot me in the head with a pole spear in low viz because he thought I was a fish! Scariest thing that's ever happened to me. I got lucky and it glanced off my skull, but it left a nice gash. If it would have knocked me unconcious, I would have sank and he probably would not have been able to find me in the low viz. Also, never dive without a knife.

:eek: Now, thats some dive buddy!

If he landed you that would be funny

[calla969]

Funny wasn't the word I was thinking of, but I did cause his slip-tip to release and when I was finally able to figure out which way was up and made it to the surface, he was already at the surface and in the process of reattaching his tip. He still didn't even know that it was me that he had shot.

[GulfCoastDiver]

my gun doesnt have a safety.

Noob acts:
Catch and release spearfishing
poor kick cycles
clashing paddles while kayaking on a 2 person yak
splashing and kickin like crazy scurin the fish
not lockin the shaft in and then trying to load it

I dont know many cuz I havent been around em
I'm a new spearer (not a new diver) and if I have the bands loaded then I have the safety on, for me and my buddy, I have a jbl and the safety is near the trigger and can work it with one hand.

[LauderdaleSpear]

For me the hardest adjustment is sizing fish underwater and dealing with the greysuit fears while beach diving.

Fish Sizing- I highly recommend going out with experienced fishermen/women who can "point" at legal fish until you catch on. Otherwise mark your gun!!! Not only is it against all conservation efforts to spear undersized fish, it is also immature and in my opinion stupid.

Grey Suit- I still have problems with this issue. I have upgraded to power head use (although I have yet to even slip it on) and I still get the jitters. I think that my lack of boat makes me more concerned with this particular issue because I have nowhere to go except to shore. Shark Shield is out of my budget for a few months, but I have been seriously considering getting a Kayak for this reason alone.


Finally- If anyone new is reading this post give this a thought: Start shallow and stay shallow. Forget the gun and keep a pole spear for a while. Don't ever worry about bagging a fish, take in the sights and keep an eye out for legal prizes. When the time comes: think, look, and after judging let that pole spear fly. After you get some decent breath holds and can wield your pole spear like a jedi- go for the gun. Anyway, I am not an expert and not close to experienced, but this is my 2 cents.

[bayboy]

shooting everything that moves

[Omerkid]

always have your safty on untill you descent and turn it back on when you accent.use the one diver up one diver down method in low viz.just use common sence and i think you will be okay

[narcosis]

1) Putting the cap back on a spent tank.

and 2) Forgetting to Re-Check tank Pressure Right before your dive.

I got out, pulled off the old tank, put on the new tank that my buddy had conveniently set next to my stuff. Checked the pressure and jumped back in the water to screw around in the interval. Like an idiot, i must have put the cap back on the spent tank. My buddy, who didn't see me swap tanks, put the empty, which he thought was full, in my bc while i was snorkling. Before my next dive he asked, di you check the pressure...I didn't. I said, yes, turned on the tank and hurried into the water. I realized when my air started to drag at 95ft that something ws wrong.

3) Going overboard near a cleat.

I've made this dumb mistake a couple of times. Once, I was stuck hanging upside down with my head in the water until my buddy cut my stringer leash free. Another time, my hang-tank got hung for about half a second, which was long enough to pull it away from my body so that it could then fall in on top of my face after I splashed.

4) Freediving Between Scuba Dives---this is dangerous and has been written about at some length on this board.