Photo: Aleksander Nordahl, ettpust.com
When the harpoon has the right solutions and can be said to be precise, it is up to you as an underwater hunter to hit where you aim. It is not as simple as it sounds. Correct technique can quickly be the difference between a fatal shot and an injured fish. Here you have to familiarize yourself with your harpoon by shooting at flashes before hunting for fish.
SHOOTING TECHNIQUE
Before we go into the shooting technique itself, it is important to understand what happens at the moment of the shot itself. When you press the trigger on the harpoon and the shot goes off, the elastics will pull the arrow forward with great force. The arrow will accelerate until the elastics release the arrow. As long as this power transfer takes place, the harpoon will be pushed backwards into your hand. This is known as recoil and has a great impact on how precise and long the shot you get.
SUBTRACTED
The trigger itself is an important part of shooting accurately. Have you ever experienced that you are going to harpoon a fish, but have forgotten to remove the safety and just as you think the shot is going to go off, you jerk your arm? Then you should concentrate on letting only your index finger press the trigger without other parts of your body helping at the moment of the shot. If you move when you shoot, you are afraid of gunshots, and that will affect the shot.
FOUR SHOOTING TECHNIQUES
1. RELAXED SHOT
This is a shooting technique that is suitable for short shots . You relax your whole arm and have a crack in the elbow joint when you aim. When the shot goes off, the recoil will push the harpoon and hand straight back as you are relaxed. When the harpoon is pushed straight back, the arrow will be pushed straight forward and the shot will be precise.
Advantages: Simple and precise
Disadvantages: You lose power and range by not dampening the recoil.
2. SUPPORTED STRAIGHT SHOT
This shooting technique produces precise and long shots. Your arm is perfectly straight. You can draw a straight line between your own arm and the harpoon through your wrist. You tighten the muscles in your arm. As the shot goes, the recoil will not push the harpoon backwards or push the hand to the side and more power is transferred to the arrow. The arrow has a straight arrow path from the harpoon and hits precisely.
Advantages: Long precise shots
Disadvantages: Requires focus on shooting technique
3. SUPPORTED ANGLED HAND - STEER AWAY!
This is the shooting technique you should not use, but which many of us have used in ignorance. You can see it as a combination of the two techniques we have already presented. You hold the harpoon in front of you with a bend in the elbow joint while simultaneously tightening the muscles in your arm and hand to dampen the recoil. As the shot goes, the harpoon will push back and your hand will give way. If you hold the harpoon with your right hand, the harpoon handle will turn to the left and lead to an imprecise shot. If you have a soft arrow, the arrow will be in an arc to the left, have a throw and hit to the left of where you are aiming. If you have a stiff arrow that does not bend, you will hit to the right of where you are aiming.
Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Throwing darts and/or imprecise shots.
4. DOUBLE HAND
Here you hold the harpoon with two straight hands while simultaneously tightening the muscles in your arm and hand. The harpoon gets good support from both hands, and the recoil will not be able to throw the harpoon to the side. The shot is precise and long.
Advantages: Long precise shots
Disadvantages: You rarely have the opportunity to use both hands in a hunting situation. Requires focus on shooting technique.
SIGHTING TECHNIQUE
SHORT SHOT
When aiming at short range, you leave the arrowhead at the point on the fish that you want to hit. The rear sight is held higher, but so that you can still see the entire arrow.
LONG SHOT
At a longer distance, where you still consider that the arrow has enough impact, you will experience that the arrow has a significant drop in the arrow path on the way to the target. Instead of aiming over the fish, it may be better to keep the arrowhead where it will hit, but to lower the rear sight even further.
How much you let the rear sight fall depends of course on how powerful the harpoon is and how it otherwise behaves. You should always test this on an underwater flash, before you take your new harpoon out hunting. We do not test harpoons against live fish, this can lead to ugly damage shooting.
CHARGING TECHNOLOGY
When loading the harpoon, technique is important. We have seen many examples where big strong guys struggle to load a simple harpoon, while tall thin guys easily load even the most powerful models. Always check whether the harpoon is secured or not before charging the harpoon.
When you need to charge the harpoon, place the rear end of the harpoon in the diaphragm or on the chest. The further up the chest you get the harpoon, the easier it is to charge the harpoon. When you have placed the back end of the harpoon on your chest, grab the elastic with both hands. Now you will load the harpoon using three muscle groups in one quick movement. Your arms pull the elastics backwards, at the same time you push your shoulders backwards and stretch your back backwards.
On extra-long harpoons, you must first grasp the elastic, and then push the handle up into the belly. Then you pull the knit back to the first dart notch/fin. You then lift the harpoon handle up onto your chest, and pull the knit at the back to the last arrow notch/fin.
Photo: Aleksander Nordahl, ettpust.com
Safety rules for harpoon
• Treat the harpoon with respect.
• Hold the harpoon in a safe direction whether it is loaded or not.
• The harpoon must be secured near other divers.
• Never put down or put down a loaded harpoon.
• The harpoon must be cocked and uncocked in the sea.
• Remember that the harpoon has great impact and can be deadly at short range.
• String harpoons for UV hunting are not regulated by the Weapons Act. Pneumatic harpoons, on the other hand, fall under the Weapons Act, and therefore have an age limit of 18 with requirements for proper storage. There is thus no age limit for use, acquisition, registration obligation, requirement for a permit to acquire or possess a string harpoon, nor requirement for proper storage. It will be the same as for a bow and arrow, in other words.
• Persons under the age of 16 should only use harpoons under the supervision of adults and after proper training and assessment by a guardian.