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To ballast any speargun, it must first be rigged as it will be used. If you plan to use a reel, it must be attached. If you plan to attach side stocks and/or muzzle stablizers, they must be mounted first as well. Note some spearguns have an insufficient amount of wood to allow much ballasting. For these guns, you must add wood side stocks which add buoyancy. The gun can then be ballasted and balanced once the side stocks are attached.

There are three options for ballasting: neutral, slightly negative, and maximum.

Neutral ballasting is where the gun will hang suspended in the ocean water when you let it go. This is the minimal amount of balasting required for comfortable diving, but it has the minimal effect towards reducing recoil of the three ballasting options. It is also the most dificult to achieve because there is no margin for error.

Standard ballasting is for the speargun to be slightly negative while fully rigged with the shaft in. We add just enough weight for the entire speargun to sink slightly when loaded.

For maximal ballasting, remove the shaft from gun and set it aside. Add small increments of weight (of known volume) until gun just starts to sink in water. Remove just enough weight for gun to float. The gun should float with shaft out to allow easier recovery if you lose hold of your gun while fighting a fish.

After determining the amount of weight to add, use this weight to balance your speargun.