How to choose a harpoon for spearfishing. Homemade underwater gun with increased power Homemade harpoon for underwater gun
Spearfishing, one of the most exciting elements of recreation and tourism, naturally implies a good catch as its climax. And since a fishing rod cannot be used underwater, its role can be perfectly performed by an underwater gun (crossbow), equipped with a high-quality and reliable harpoon. Without such equipment, underwater hunting is impossible - and modern technologies, in fact, have not significantly changed this ancient weapon of ocean, sea and partly river fishing.
The device of a gun (crossbow)
Design features of harpoons and their appearance in the 21st century have remained almost the same as they were 100, and 500, and 1000, and 5000 years ago. The harpoon structure still includes a long and strong rod, a sharpened tip with a hook of one shape or another that prevents the prey from getting rid of it, as well as a hole for the line, which allows you to pull the harpooned fish or animal towards you. The main difference between a professional modern harpoon and ancient tools is, first of all, the use of durable stainless steel with a high coefficient of rigidity, since flexible rods are not only unreliable and not accurate, but also dangerous. In addition, modern universal harpoons have acquired replaceable tips that screw onto threads, and in some versions, special fasteners, holes and/or grooves.
AMS “Gator Getter Point” harpoon for spearfishing
Types of harpoons
Due to such a variety of options, harpoons are usually divided into separate types according to the method of interaction with the trigger mechanism (related to the operating principle of the latter) and according to the types of tips.
By way of interaction
Without latches in the release mechanisms
The most ancient, structurally simplest and yet the most popular look harpoons - which does not require the inclusion of grooves and grooves in the design of the rod. It is used in guns with a rear trigger mechanism - pneumatic, spring and crossbow.
Equipped with groove and hole
This design is necessary if the release mechanism is located at the front.
Target pistonless pneumatic shotguns AMATIKA-47 – design
Equipped with a lock
Used in spearfishing guns with rear-mounted trigger mechanisms.
By type of tips
Harpoons in which the tips are integral with the rod
The advantage of such harpoons (in essence, the design is no different from those used by ancient hunters to catch fish) is precisely their simplicity and strength. In this case, the tip cannot become detached, deformed, or get lost; it will reliably hold the fish, and among its inconveniences one can highlight only a slight difficulty in removing prey and the impossibility of using the main rod with other types of tips.
Harpoon with solid tip “Tahiti”
Harpoons with removable (screw-on) tips
This type is the most versatile and convenient, first of all, due to the ability to select a small tip of any shape and type from their set, depending on the requirements of underwater hunting. Obvious disadvantages are associated with the reduced strength of the threaded connection, which, in the event of the slightest damage, immediately reduces shooting accuracy and threatens final failure.
Photo gallery of removable tips
Removable tip “Taimen” 
Removable “Paralyzer” tip for eels and small fish 
Harpoon for spearfishing “Titanium five-pointer”
Regardless of the types of harpoons, an important role is played by the shape of the tips and, especially, their sharpening - selected separately not only for different types of fish, but also for the fishing locations.
Which harpoon to choose?
Since the choice of harpoon will be decisively influenced by the expected type and size of the fish being caught, the hunter will need to carefully consider such parameters of the weapon as the diameter of the rod, its material and rate of fire. For not so much large fish The most popular options are diameters of 6 and 6.5 mm, which have the highest rate of fire. For medium-sized fish, it is recommended to take a 7-mm harpoon, and for even larger underwater game (for example, silver carp) - 8-10 or more millimeters in diameter, preferably made not of steel, but of a titanium alloy.
For clean, clear water, the gun itself can be chosen to be quite long, 1.5–2 meters, since visibility in such water will be good.
Equipment - binding methods
Since the main (and practically the only) element of harpoon equipment is the line, the method and especially the place of tying it is a fundamental point. There are not 2, but 3 such options (the usual front, in front of the sliding bushing and in the back, behind the bushing) - each with its own advantages and disadvantages. To decide how to tie the line, check out the table below.
Table “Advantages and disadvantages of methods for tying a line”
| Way | pros | Minuses |
| Front binding | is the easiest to manufacture and allows you to quickly and easily replace the line if it is damaged or abraded; promotes good (through) shooting and retention of prey. | a rapid drop in shooting accuracy with increasing distance; weakening of the strength of the harpoon (due to the presence of a front hole); difficulty in removing the arrow; high probability of tench being cut by a fish bone. |
| Binding from front to sleeve | reducing the influence of the line rope on the boom; the possibility of using a long line. | design complexity; need for fixation on the muzzle; high resistance; low (due to the bushing) probability of end-to-end damage to fish; lack of fixation of the harpoon in the body of the fish at the moment of impact. |
| Snap behind the sleeve | insignificant influence of the line rope on the boom; ease of manufacture; high accuracy. |
difficulty in replacing the line; weakening of the strength of the harpoon (due to the presence of a hole); the likelihood of a tench being cut by a fish bone; low (due to the bushing) probability of end-to-end damage to the fish. |
Features of care
At first glance, the simplicity of the harpoon does not seem to require any special care, but this is only partly true.
It is important to note that even on stainless steel, if it is frequently under water (especially salty), corrosion can occur. For this reason, regular lubrication is the basis for extending the life of the harpoon. It happens that even the strongest rod is subject to deformation - and in order to detect and then eliminate defects in the geometry of this kind, the harpoon requires periodic visual inspection. Further, the petals of harpoons may wear out, the point may become dull, the fastenings may become loose, the line rope may fray, cracks may appear in the body of the harpoon, and all such problems before (or after) hunting will need to be eliminated - with a hammer, sandpaper, clean dry rags and a good lubricants By the way, ordinary motor oil does an excellent job of the latter. You need to apply it to a piece of cloth and carefully wipe the metal, paying special attention to the threaded areas.
Different sources give different recommendations on the frequency of lubrication - but since this procedure is not so expensive, ideally it is better to carry it out not a couple of times a season, but after each hunt (and also at the end of the season). If serious defects are detected on any part of the harpoon, the failed element must be replaced.
Photo gallery: spearfishing trophies
Fantastic trophy – catfish 70 kg 
Not a bad trophy - perch 
The romance of spearfishing 
Video: spearfishing for silver carp (22 kg) from a boat
How to make a harpoon with your own hands
As you know, many experienced spearfishing masters prefer to make a harpoon (or at least tips) with their own hands rather than using a factory product. In addition, making a harpoon with your own hands is not so difficult, and if you have all the necessary parts and materials, such a weapon will have a number of advantages over the standardized version, since it will meet the needs of the hunter even in minor details.
All you need to create a simple model is a strong thick stick, strong steel wire, rope made of synthetic material, tools and a little patience.
The optimal diameter of the wire for the tips (of which you can make several - from three to five) will be 4–5 mm, and the length of the cut pieces will be from 20 to 30 cm. One end, 6-7 mm from the edge, of each piece will need to be bent under at a right angle, and flatten the second with a hammer. The flattened ends will need to be filed to form a more or less curved hook-hook. And the rear ones will then be inserted into a stick (with holes made in advance for this purpose) and securely rewound with several dozen turns of any strong synthetic rope. After this, the homemade harpoon can be considered completely ready for use.
Video: how to make a harpoon with your own hands
Video: homemade speargun in action
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Spear, spear, harpoon - names familiar from childhood. Every schoolchild knows that all these tools were once used for different types hunting, but few people know that the spear and the harpoon, although they are used for water hunting, have differences from each other. A spear is just a shaft with a sharp jagged tip, which was not thrown, but held in the hands, unlike a harpoon, the shaft of which was tied to a rope, which made it possible not only to track the animal, but also not to lose the hunting weapon in case of an unsuccessful throw.
The device of the harpoon and its history
Many centuries after their invention, harpoons have changed little in appearance: a long and strong shaft, a tip with notches of different shapes, a hole in the shaft for a special rope (line) in order to pull prey to the boat. Only the materials from which the harpoons are made have changed. The rod of a harpoon arrow is made of solid stainless steel, and the tips are made replaceable. The purpose of harpoons, as many centuries ago, remains the same - hunting fish or whales and seals.
Whale hunting with a harpoon is one of the most ancient types of hunting. Scenes depicting whale catching have been discovered on rock paintings that are over four thousand years old. Norway is considered the birthplace of whaling, and the first evidence in Europe of this type of hunting is found already in 1000 BC. From the 12th to the 17th centuries, this type of commercial hunting spread throughout the world from the Arctic to the shores. North America and Japan. Previously, when ships were sailing and were small, whalers hunted whales on lighter and more maneuverable boats, and their main weapon was a hand-held whaling harpoon. Later, in the 19th century, when the Norwegian Sven Foyn invented the harpoon cannon, whale hunters expanded their geography and moved to southern waters Pacific Ocean. The design of the whaling harpoon also underwent some changes: now it was a heavy (50 kg), two-meter spear, with spikes (or claws) on the tip, the petals of which, getting inside the animal’s body, opened and did not allow the whale to escape from the pursuit of hunters.
Today, not only professional whalers use harpoons. IN Lately Underwater hunting became popular among amateurs, for which even special types of guns that fired harpoon arrows were invented. The harpoon itself for underwater hunting can be divided into several types, which depend on the design features of guns or crossbows for harpoon shooting.
Types of harpoons by tips and loading methods
Modern harpoons for fishing are divided into several varieties:
- A harpoon for a crossbow, which in the design of its arrow does not have various fasteners (grooves, grooves, soldering, grooves). It is also used in shotguns with air or spring triggers;
- With groove: it is designed for shooting from underwater guns and pistols and is equipped with a trigger mechanism in the front part;
- In spearfishing weapons with a trigger mechanism located at the rear, products equipped with latches are used;
- With non-removable tips. They have high rigidity and strength of the rod and eliminate the risk of losing the tip, but are a little inconvenient when removing from fish bodies;
- Removable tips are less convenient, but you can change them. The type of tip depends on the type of underwater fishing. The removable harpoon tip is very sensitive to damage, and the accuracy of the sight depends on the strength of the thread. If the thread becomes loose due to damage, the harpoon will quickly fail.
The shapes of the tips and their sharpening play a big role when it comes to choosing a fishing tool.
Shapes of harpoon tips
Speaking about the collapsible tip, you need to know that this important element has several different shapes:
- Armor-piercing tip with a dowel inserted into it for fish with large and thick scales;
- Tip with one petal;
- Tip with two blades for strong and large fish;
- Three-pronged (or more) tip;
- X-shaped tip;
- T-shaped tip;
- Knurled tips; they are good for small fish.
According to the method of sharpening, the tips can be sharp-conical, double-conical, three- and tetrahedral, cross-shaped or crown-shaped.
How to choose the right harpoon?
For an experienced hunter who has been engaged in underwater fishing for several years, it will not be difficult to choose the right harpoon for any type of fish and fishing location. What does a beginner need to know when choosing a tool for underwater fishing?
- A harpoon with an arrow whose diameter does not exceed 6.5 mm is suitable for small-sized fish. Small fish are more difficult to hit, and a gun of this diameter has a high rate of fire;
- For medium-sized fish, arrows with a diameter of 7 mm or larger are usually chosen;
- For large fish species, the harpoon must be made of titanium and have a diameter of 8 millimeters or more.
The method of tying the line to the rod is of great importance in fishing. Not only the accuracy of hitting the prey depends on this, but also the distance at which you can safely hunt underwater.
How to care for a harpoon?
Regular lubrication will not hurt even stainless steel, because over time it can be destroyed, especially if you use a harpoon for hunting in salt water. The rod must be inspected for deformation, and the tips must be periodically sharpened. If the tips are removable, then their fastening may become loose and the threads may wear off. Tench is also susceptible to abrasion and aging, so periodic replacement of aged tench with a new one is necessary.
All harpoon maintenance is best done after each hunt. If defects such as worn blades or cracks on the harpoon are not corrected in time, then hunting, especially with an underwater crossbow, will not be enjoyable.
How to make a harpoon yourself
Beginners starting spearfishing ask experienced hunters: is it possible and how to make a harpoon yourself? The question arises because many experienced harpooners prefer a homemade harpoon to a factory one. The fact is that homemade weapons are often better than standard ones, since they are made to the individual requirements of the hunter. When creating such a harpoon, everything is taken into account, down to the smallest detail. Making a harpoon with your own hands will not be difficult if you have certain materials.
To make a homemade harpoon, you need a strong stick, thick synthetic thread or rope, wire from which you can make tips, as well as tools. To make the simplest homemade tips, you need pieces of wire 4-5 mm thick and 25-30 cm long. One edge of the wire is bent at an angle of 90 degrees, and the other is flattened with a hammer. The ends thus flattened are then filed into a hook shape. Holes are made in the stick and manufactured hook tips are inserted into them. Simple homemade model the harpoon is ready.
Harpoons, just like knives, spears and other hunting weapons, are the property not of one specific nation, but of all humanity. Today, in many civilized countries, modern models of harpoons are used both in professional activities (whaling) and among underwater fishing enthusiasts. However, some peoples of Africa and New Zealand, Indonesia, as well as the peoples of North America still hunt in the same way as their ancestors did many millennia ago - on boats and using an ordinary hand-held harpoon.
This design of a homemade speargun for spearfishing not very difficult, easy and with good combat power. Numerous experiments and refinements yielded the desired result.
The picture shows a cross-section of a spring speargun for spearfishing.
The harpoon is made of steel rod Ø 5 mm (“silver”). An M5 thread is cut at one of its ends and a hole for the line is drilled. After mechanical processing, the harpoon is hardened. The sleeve - the guide for the harpoon - is machined from stainless steel or duralumin.
The barrel of the underwater gun is a 12x1 mm tube. Material - brass or stainless steel. To allow free passage of water when firing or loading, holes Ø 4-5 mm are drilled over the entire surface of the barrel in increments of about 10 mm. The piston is machined from stainless steel or duralumin.
By the way, both the bushings and the piston can be made from sections of 10x2.5 mm tube, which will completely eliminate turning work in the manufacture of the gun.
The mainspring is wound from OBC wire Ø 1.6 mm. Initially, a wire is wound onto a Ø 6 mm rod, turn to turn, which is then stretched to obtain the required pitch of 4.5 mm. To ensure that there is no residual deformation when processing the spring, the wire must be released, that is, heated to approximately 300°C and cooled to room temperature. The end coils, having become red-hot, must be bent so that their plane is perpendicular to the axis of the spring.
The clip of a speargun is cut from sheet brass or stainless steel 1 mm thick. It is advisable to cut holes on its side surfaces by inserting a board of a suitable size after the workpiece is bent. This will avoid errors in the location of the holes on the right and left cheeks of the clip. During assembly, the clip is soldered to the barrel, focusing on the position of the slot.
The hook is designed for winding a harpoon line onto it. It is cut out of brass or stainless steel and soldered to the end of the barrel.
The insert is made of textolite, it is intended for fastening flat return springs. The liner is riveted to the holder, the springs are also riveted to the liner. It is advisable to use steel rivets; in extreme cases, you can use ordinary nails.
Fuse springs designed to fix the fuse in two stable positions. The material is steel strip 0.5 mm thick, grade 65G or U10A. It is best to attach the springs to the cage with screws or rivets.
The rod for winding the line is a piece of steel wire 2 mm thick. One of its ends is bent into a ring, with the help of which the rod is attached to the trigger.
In practice, air guns for spearfishing are of course popular. But to make such a gun you need a lot of things. One sports club has found a solution; it uses a spring gun of its own design. They make an underwater gun with their own hands, it’s not at all difficult, and most importantly, such a gun works flawlessly.
Before you start making an underwater gun, you need to purchase the necessary materials:
For a gun, buy wire with a diameter of at least two mm. grades OVS, 65G or PC for springs, up to 16 meters are required.
Duralumin pipe, internal diameter 12.5-13mm. , it is necessary for the trunk.
The handle requires two 10 mm plates. each (this can be oak, nylon or aluminum plates).
A rod for a harpoon, the diameter of which is up to 1 cm, it should be made of stainless steel.
How to make a speargun with your own hands step by step instructions
Let's start, it's the most difficult. It is made on a special lathe, then subjected to heat treatment and finally covered with an anti-corrosion coating. The length of the spring is measured based on the size of the barrel. It should be 20-30 cm longer than the length of the barrel, since after the first use of the gun the spring will decrease by 5-10 cm.
On both sides of the barrel, cut a thread, cut a slit 15-17 cm long for the sear. It is this length that regulates the force of the gun and its firing when moving the handle along the barrel. Then we make a hole in the trunk to get rid of water.
We grind the muzzle together with the plug from duralumin. In the last one we make a hole into which we insert the harpoon. The barrel is ready, after which they begin to make the trigger mechanism and handle.
The handle is made from two separate plates. They are drilled to the original diameter of the finished trunk, and then the contours are cut out. Next, a slit up to 4 mm deep is made with a file in each plate for the trigger mechanism.
The next operation is to make holes for the sear axis, spring and fuse. The halves in the handle are connected to the barrel and pressed with screws. A ring is placed on the front of the handle to prevent slipping along the barrel. The mechanic makes the trigger, the sear, the spring and the fuse, in a word, the trigger mechanism. He tempers the sear. This completes the assembly of the speargun handle.
The penultimate thing they do is a harpoon (see drawings of a harpoon for a speargun). The diameter in our case is 6 mm. For this purpose, previously purchased stainless steel was used. There is a sliding sleeve along the harpoon, and a line is attached to it. The bushing is made in such a way that it is cushioned by a fluoroplastic ring and rests against a special shank. The latter is designed to secure the harpoon. The tip is made simple - a flag with a wire to hold the fish. They sharpen it for several edges. The trick is that the sharp edges quickly cut through fish scales.
And lastly, they make an easy release. It is cut from solid steel. The cut plate is attached to the plug on the barrel using two screws. When winding, the line is placed under the plate, and in the very center of the barrel it is attached to the fly. When fired, the line easily comes out of the plate and unwinds.
The do-it-yourself underwater gun is ready, it needs to be tested in practice. Insert a harpoon into the barrel and compress the spring until it is fixed to the sear. This is facilitated by a clicking sound, which indicates that the speargun is ready and loaded. They press the trigger and shooting begins. This gun is loaded only in water and unloaded too.
The underwater gun has sufficient destructive power, weighs about 3 kilograms and hits the target at a distance of up to 3 meters. When it is infected, it is quite noisy, just like when shooting. This is a drawback, but it is the only one. To reduce noise, the spring and the barrel are rubbed with glycerin.
Let's continue the topic homemade weapons. This time we will present to your attention a review of a video on making a powerful underwater gun.
So, we will need:
- wooden block;
- a piece of polypropylene pipe;
- martens bandage;
- three medium nails;
- a thread;
- glue gun;
- screw;
- vice;
- sandpaper;
- hacksaw for metal;
- file;
- electrical tape.
Martens bandage can be purchased at any pharmacy. It is also popularly called a medical tourniquet, but this name is incorrect. Let's get started.
First you need to make the harpoon itself. To do this, take the nut and put it in a vice. According to the author of the idea, it is advisable to take a larger nut, since the harpoon will be thicker and stronger, but you should not overdo it so that the harpoon does not turn out too thick.
When the nut is clamped in a vice, insert the block into the drill.
We begin to rotate the block through the nut at medium speed, giving it a round shape.
In the same way, we process the resulting base for the harpoon using sandpaper.
Then we take three nails and saw off the heads of each one using a hacksaw.
Now we take a file and sharpen the part of the nails from which the heads were sawed off. Then, using the same file, we sharpen the sharp parts of the nails so that they are sharper.
Next, take electrical tape and wrap it around the outermost part of the harpoon.
We attach one of the nails to the base of the harpoon with thread. It should be noted here that the author of the homemade product recommends using fishing thread, since it is stronger than ordinary threads.
After we have wound one nail with thread, we insert a piece of wood between the nail and the base so that the nail is at a slight angle.
We fix the nail with a small amount of glue from a glue gun so that it is secure. Similarly, we attach the remaining two nails to the structure.
To better secure the structure, you can wrap more electrical tape over the nails. The harpoon is ready. Let's start manufacturing the main part to launch it.
Take a martens bandage and cut off a small piece.
The resulting piece must be attached to the polypropylene pipe on both sides. To do this, pour glue from a glue gun onto one side of the pipe and attach a piece of martens bandage. We do the same on the other side.
We firmly clamp and wrap one layer of electrical tape.
Then we wind the thread and add another layer of electrical tape on top. Thus, the installation for launching the harpoon is almost ready.