Speargun Target Practice, or neutrally buoyant fruit?

bdshort · Jul 26, 2008

As I mentioned in another thread, I am the proud owner of a new AB Biller speargun. Still haven't taken it in the water, but I'm thinking I'll take her out this afternoon after I wake up (working graves is a DRAG!!)...

Anyway, I don't necessarily want to kill random fish the first time out just for target practice, but then I remembered a thread awhile back that said lemons were almost neutrally buoyant. I was thinking if a grapefruit were similarly buoyant, it would make an ideal target for my speargun! Is this a totally stupid, dangerous idea, or does it have some merit?

Brian

Dive Turkey · Jul 26, 2008

I would say if it works then its a great idea. Do you think they would still be neutral after you stuck one? I think this is a great experiment. Please let us know how this works out. If it works you will be seeing me leave the house with a bunch of grapefruit too.

Mike

cmburch · Jul 26, 2008

Grapefruit and oranges float. I fish them out of the swimming pool every year. I practiced on Rockfish. They are good eating. There are many that stay still and just raise their dorsal fin spines. I just started close 1-2 feet - 1 band. I aim at the head/backbone just behind gills - not the meat. Then take longer shots as I get better.

Johnoly · Jul 26, 2008

bdshort:
....lemons were almost neutrally buoyant.

Depends on the age and size, but generally lemons float and LIMES sink in fresh water.

bdshort · Jul 26, 2008

Hmmm, maybe I'll try limes then. Or just shoot rockfish as I do like them!

BNow0707 · Jul 27, 2008

The shop where i bought my gun used a piece of styrofoam board. It wasn't the normal styrofoam like is used for packaging but it can be bought at craft stores and such. They weight the board down by tying spare weights to an attached rope but a brick or rock would work just as well. The target seemed to close its self back up after being shot repeated times. This way no fish go to waste, you get plenty of practice, and you can practice without buying fruit over and over.

DANM · Jul 27, 2008

best way i found was to find fish you want and practice with them, fruit, foam, and rock fish don't move, but most game fish do, which is why you want to pracyice on them, hog fish are easy until you shoot and miss, they still usually don't go far. just try and take big ones so there are more for the future

dumpsterDiver · Jul 27, 2008

Shooting random fish for target practice is not an activity that would be popular with a conservation minded spearfisherman.

A simple and very safe and practical target is a 1 liter soda bottle filled with water. Throw it out of the water a few feet away and when it lands on the surface and it sinks and tumbles downward you will have an active moving target that is nearly neutrally bouyant.

You can also shoot into a small dead shell or debris over open sand bottom to practice. Shooting into sand will not harm the spear, gun or fisherman. You really need to know how the gun shoots before trying to kill fish with it.

Everything I shoot gets eaten with the exception of plastic bottles and sand.

EEZerik · Jul 28, 2008

what you can also do is get a pegboard and put two weights on the bottom . the pegboard should float and when you hit the target the target will sink. Put a black hole on the pegboard.

Something like this:

YouTube - Spearfishing Pool testing

Sorry for the poor video quality...was done at 11 at night!

bdshort · Jul 28, 2008

Thanks for the suggestions.
Now if I could actually get the bands stretched back underwater, I could actually shoot it!

Speargun Target Practice, or neutrally buoyant fruit?

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