Several years ago I embarked upon a project to find out if I could make a speargun that could accurately shoot, with penetrating power, at 30 feet.  Most manufacturers exaggerate how far their guns will shoot.  A lot of this is just pure advertising claims. If you buy a gun and the maker says it shoots 35 feet, the reality is that it probably shoots 20 feet accurately.  At 35 feet the shaft has dropped so far that you will miss the fish. (Unless you are shooting straight down).  Supergun was built as an experiment to test the practicality of a true giant speargun.

When you build your own speargun, you can make anything you want. In this case, I wanted to see how feasable it was to make a gun that would shoot a 3.5 lb. (7/16") arrow with 1000 lb.of rubber power. On land the gun weighs 25 lb. (11.3 kg). In the water it is just slightly negative. With the shaft out of the gun, it floats.  The goal was to get a 30 foot shot, with lots of penetrating power. This speargun was an experiment to find out what the practical limits of size and power are for a hand-held gun. Supergun was built with a stainless steel trusswork inside the foam and fiberglass gunbody to stiffen the stainless gun tube. I built this gun over a period of 3 years intermittently.

To cock the bands I developed a 3-part pully system which fits temporarily onto the handle of the gun. A hook would engage the metal wishbone. I could pull the rope back to draw the band back and fit the wishbone over the tab on the spearshaft.

Everything was tested before the gun went into the water.

The results of this experiment showed that this gun was not very practical, as it's length and mass make it difficult (but not impossible) to handle in the water. The shots are accurate as predicted. This gun has yet to take a large tuna or billfish. Maybe next year?

Although Supergun is not practical for daily use, it did succeed as an experimental speargun.  It did put food on the table several times.  Ultimately, that is what is really most important.

The length and weight of Supergun is such that it was practical to transport it upon the roof rack of my Volkswagen Beetle.

Although Supergun was perfectly balanced to swim with, a mid-body handle was helpful during the dive. Note the shooting line strung under the handles. This piece was made from molded composite material, very light and strong. It is removable for transport.

Main Index Page