Early Pushrod Speargun
An interesting speargun is this early pushrod example. I do not know if it ever went into full scale production, but there is some nice tooling and an interesting concept for the sear in this gun. This example is in Jack's personal collection. It was given to him by Marty Pasos. Marty owned the gun and obtained it from the manufacturer Boyde Hall. I am sorry to say that I do not know if this gun evolved into another form or was used extensively.
Pushrod speargun by Boyde Hall mfg.
A pushrod speargun has a forward mounted handle which contains the trigger element. The movement of the trigger is transferred to the sear by means of a solid rod. The sear element, which holds the end of the spearshaft is a considerable distance from the trigger. This particular gun has a tubular 'stock' behind the sear. I held this gun up in firing position and the end of the stock protruded over my shoulder. Typically, the diver holds his hand on the stock when firing the gun to absorb recoil. The stock is never placed against the shoulder, as recoil can damage the shoulder joint. Notice the brass rod beneath the gunbody between the handle and sear
Pushrod speargun Boyde Hall Mfg.
The nosepiece of this pushrod gun is tubular form.
Pushrod speargun nose
A close-up view of the handle and sear, shows that there is an acrylic plate covering the active elements. I suppose this is for inspection purposes. There are double line releases on each side of the trigger mechanism. At the sear position, although difficult to see, the push rod rotates a wedge-shaped cam. The spearshaft is held by a 'floating' stainless steel cylinder. When the shaft is engaged the cylinder wedges into a notch in the spearshaft and is held by the wedge of the sear. When the trigger is pulled, the sear rotates and allows the cylinder to drop into a depression in the sear. The shaft is free to leave the speargun. I cannot attest to the functioning of this unique mechanism.
Composite image of pushrod mechanisms
Pushrod type spearguns were commonly used by the Addict dive club in San Diego. Jay Riffe and other manufacturers use the pushrod technology, although not the same mechanism, for gun design. The mounting of the mid-handle allows the long gun to be 'tracked' easier than a rear handle gun. The rubber bands are pulled almost all the way back to the sear.