# 5/6/2012 dive video



## buckeye83

*5/6/2012*

I would like to start off by saying thanks to the "Down Under" dive boat out of Gulf Shores for helping us out in our time of need today. However I do have a bone to pick with a diver that was on that vessel. As you will see in the video, he was way out of line. While on my safety stop, one of the divers decided that he needed to help me unload my speargun for the safety of the other divers that were also on their safety stop. I had just come up the line and my gun was loaded and the safety was on, I stayed well below the other divers for this reason. he still felt the need to swim down to me and fire my gun. Needless to say I was not a happy camper..


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## MillerTime

Nice video.
The other diver really didn't need to go down and shoot your gun but why not just unload it?


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## flappininthebreeze

Way too much drama. First, asking you to wait to hunt, then discharging a gun pointed in a safe direction. Dude! Keep your hands off my gun. You manage your group, let me manage mine. Good shooting, by the way. Sorry you didn't get a few more of those.


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## coolbluestreak

Ok I can see both sides of the story: I'm sure you were a liability for them being that it looked like you were on their an anchor rope and those guys the one that shot your gun and the one with the side mounts looked like they knew what they were doing. On the other hand, it's my gun, it's in a safe direction, don't touch it.


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## Plattinum

Thats rediculous. I know not dive a location that boat is on.


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## doradohunter

That was Byran that took your gun and unloaded it for you, I wasnt there and didnt get your side of the story but from what he said it didnt sound to smart to have your gun loaded while at your safety stop with numerous people. SAFETYS FAIL. Bryan is a good friend and I trust his judgement as he does this for a living everyday and holds the highest dive cert you can get. You can always call Downunder and speak with him personally if you needed some clarification. He was looking out for his customers.


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## buckeye83

I understand what he was trying to do and that he is responsible for the safety of his divers. however, at no point were any of them nor himself in danger from my gun. as you can see in the video, I keep a SAFE distance from them, my gun is ALWAYS pointed toward the bottom and I was the last one up the line . You are correct in your statement that SAFETYs fail, but not pointing a gun at someone does not. I could understand his actions if I was swimming all around them and putting them in harms way, in that case his actions would have been justified. I feel he acted inappropriately and was out of line.


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## WhackUmStackUm

Yeah, some folks get real nervous around spearguns. They may have good reason, as there are a few total knuckleheads out there spearing fish.

These days I unload my gun as soon as I decide begin my assent. It keeps me from being tempted to shoot another fish when I am low on air. It also means that I do not have a loaded gun around other divers on the assent line.

In order to put others at ease, you might consider developing a similar habit.


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## coolbluestreak

WhackUmStackUm said:


> These days I unload my gun as soon as I decide begin my assent. It keeps me from being tempted to shoot another fish when I am low on air. It also means that I do not have a loaded gun around other divers on the assent line.
> 
> you might consider developing similar habit.


Thats good advice, I need to do the same.:thumbsup:


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## Miss Tradewinds

I completely agree with doradohunter. Bryan is by far one of the most knowledgeable people out there when it comes to the seas of the Gulf underwater and above. He treats his students as if they were his own family out of harms way and lessons to be made.


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## Plattinum

buckeye83 said:


> I understand what he was trying to do and that he is responsible for the safety of his divers. however, at no point were any of them nor himself in danger from my gun. as you can see in the video, I keep a SAFE distance from them, my gun is ALWAYS pointed toward the bottom and I was the last one up the line . You are correct in your statement that SAFETYs fail, but not pointing a gun at someone does not. I could understand his actions if I was swimming all around them and putting them in harms way, in that case his actions would have been justified. I feel he acted inappropriately and was out of line.


I have NO problem with being courteous to other divers, and I have NO doubt that bryan is very knowledgeable and has the highest of certification; but I have watched the video and as buckeye states, at NO time was he wreckless with his gun and puting other divers in danger. I think Bryans knowledge and certification made him act like the Master of all divers in this case. It is even demonstrated early on in the video when he is getting in Buckeye's face telling him when and when not to shoot. In my opinion, that was not necessary.


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## buckeye83

Plattinum said:


> I have NO problem with being courteous to other divers, and I have NO doubt that bryan is very knowledgeable and has the highest of certification; but I have watched the video and as buckeye states, at NO time was he wreckless with his gun and puting other divers in danger. I think Bryans knowledge and certification made him act like the Master of all divers in this case. It is even demonstrated early on in the video when he is getting in Buckeye's face telling him when and when not to shoot. In my opinion, that was not necessary.[/Q
> 
> Plattinum said it right. Another thing that bothers me about this situation is how he waited til the very end of their stop. as you can see in the video, right after he fires my gun, all of them leave the stop.


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## coolbluestreak

Ok, lets back up.... it looked like you were on *his* anchor line(private property), therefore he can make that call. right or wrong, next time don't dive with 15 other ppl if you are trying to shoot fish. Brian didn't endanger anyone(you included) by doing what he did. 
I'd just let it go and learn from the situation.


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## Billybob+

So I have a question or two. If Buckeye had not so easily yielded his gun and a mishaps had occurred who would be responsible? Had Buckeyes shock cord failed and his shaft sailed into the briney deep who would've been responsible for replacing the lost shaft and supplying a gun for Buckeye's remaining dives? I yield to Wackum's far superior training, but I've always been told you never discharge a gun to "unoad" it. Is that incorrect? could it have caused muzzle damage shooting it down with nothing to impact and absorb the kenetic energy? Is it wise taking a loaded gun, speargun or otherwise from someone you don't know?


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## buckeye83

wackum gave good advice..

@coolbluestreak, was I in the wrong for spearing around other divers? I feel I was more than respectful of the other divers on the PUBLIC wreck.. I didn't even load my gun til "Brian" came up to me and was motioning for me to shoot fish. at this time I felt enough of the other divers had cleared the wreck and was safe to start shooting. regardless of who's anchor line we were on, he acted inappropriately by taking a loaded gun off of my person and firing it.


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## coolbluestreak

No, there is nothing wrong with you being there, I guess I'm just saying that if something would have gone wrong that the dive shop, dive master, whoever could have gotten their pants sued off so I dot blame him for disarming your gun. 

As far as the gun damage from the dry fire, I think that if that was the case that there would be a lot of messed up guns around, because I know sooner or later we all mis our targeted fish. 

Would I be offended if this scenario were to happen to me? yes, but I don't think that's a good reason to get on here and start blasting a guy that you said in your first post helped you out.


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## buckeye83

I do believe I thanked the "Down Under" for helping us out! At the time of this post I had no idea he was associated with the vessel. I thought he was a diver on a dive trip. I do not believe I am "blasting" the guy, just giving my opinion. Just wish he would handled the situation differently. I never bad mouthed him or the boat.. I only said he acted inappropriate.


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## coolbluestreak

Ha ha, this is why I don't like texting, I feel like I may be offending you and I would hate to do that so I'll just end this with: I look forward to meeting you someday and I hope we can make a few dives together this summer. 
Regards,


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## buckeye83

You haven't offended me at all!! I respect everyones view on the matter. Look forward to diving this summer as well.


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## spear em

i have a freshly speared fish hanging off my side and a nice friendly shark swimming around, had mr grey suit decided to visit you guys on your safety stop, what then?


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## bmoore

It was more dangerous to get the guys gun from him and discharge it on the anchor line than just let it be. Would have been more courteous to motion to him just to unload it. Food for thought for next time.....


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## buckeye83

I honestly thought he wanted me to fire my gun.. If he would have made a motion for me to unload it, I would have gladly done so. I was not going to fire it though like he was signaling me to do. It was just a communication error I guess.


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## doradohunter

I do believe it was a communication error, Bryan had stated that he had tried to motion for you to unload it. That is when he made that decision to do it. He is professional in everyway. I can give you his number if you would like to speak to him personally. He will explain why he did what he did. We are all adults here and I think y'all two can handle this in the proper fashion.


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## buckeye83

I have no ill feelings towards him whatsoever. At the end of the day everyone made it home safely. That's all that really matters.


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## aquatic argobull

I don't want to add fuel to this dying fire, but I would be pretty angry if a nice big cobia swam by after he did that...


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## msander4x4

you can pull my speargun from my cold dead hands when im layin on the bottom haha:gun_bandana:


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## buckeye83

believe me, I was very mad when it happened.. over it now


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## SaltAddict

Billybob raises some interesting points. 

Adding to that: we live boat (don't anchor). You can lift bag your catch, no anchor line to follow up, and no one triggers your gun. 

Just a gentle warning: DON'T EVER PULL THE TRIGGER ON MY GUN unless I loan it to you.


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## Plattinum

Viewing the video in its entirety, I think this was more of an ostentatious thing on Brian’s part, than it was about safety. Just one mans opinion. With that being said, I am not suggesting this one episode defines the man’s character. Obviously it does not, based on the posts from those that know him.

What I personally take away from this post has to do with the courtesy side of things. Regardless of what went down and why, I am reminded that some divers are not comfortable around spear-fishermen. My own personal plan for the future, if I join another dive boat on a dive site, will be to find out if they have any spear-gunners in the water. If not, I will wait until the divers on the other boat are on their surface interval before I roll off with my gun. Diving is too much fun for me to cause someone else’s dive to be stressful. 

Let's ALL go enjoy some diving!


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## jan1974

in about 3:35 of video seems like he is loading his speargun pointing at some diver in front of him(i think that's Bryan) so Im not really surprised that Bryan didn't feel its safe to have him around with loaded gun


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## below me

i can see how you'd feel put off by that.


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## Fishindaddy

I echo what Jan1974 stated. It looked like you were loading the gun and it was pointing all over the place, particularly in the line of one of the divers. Up till that point the diver didn't seem to mind as he was point at fish to shoot. I would not have touched anybody's gun unless it was pointed at me or my buddies. That being said, it appeared that all of the divers from the other boat were at their safety stop; however, your loaded gun was pointed straight down while you were looking up. Dive charter boats take people with all kinds of skill levels. Gotta watch out for the newbies that are looking at the fish and not what they are floating up to (your speargun). They were obviously not there to spearfish and you were coming-up on their line along with a shark that spooked them (at least in their minds). Even if you did see a good fish to shoot, why make someone you doon't dive with uncomfortable in an atmosphere that they may not be able to get out of (i.e. perhaps a deco stop as I saw one guy with sidemounted doubles). That being said, I would be mad at first too at the guy who shot my gun, but it seems as though you have been reflecting on the incident and have a game plan for the future. Just remember, nobody is perfect, or else we wouldn't need tanks to dive. Live and learn.


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## El Kabong

I can see both sides of the argument, but I find it prudent to always err on the side of safety. If I felt safety was an issue, I would try to get you to unload the gun, then ask for the gun, and unload it myself if you complied. Things would have to be really dangerous for me to discharge someone's gun.

I'll say though: 

Why would you want to spearfish on a site that's already occupied? If there are hunters there, they've likely killed, or spooked any decent fish already. Non-spearo's, especially on a charter, are paying customers with wildly different certification and experience levels. It doesn't do skittish divers any good to see sharks coming in, or a bleeding AJ kicking a diver's butt up one side of the wreck, and down the other. 

You're diving for lunch, and a little fun, but the charter operators and divemasters are diving to pay their light bills and mortgages.

I know it's a "public reef", but there are literally hundreds, if not a thousand plus spots to dive in our part of the Gulf. That one location will still be there next time.


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## buckeye83

just to clarify the question on why I was spearfishing an occupied wreck.. Our plan was to fish the wreck then dive the wreck. we had been fishing for an hour or so and decided to anchor and get in a dive or two. in the process of anchoring our vessel, our bottom machine/gps quit working. while troubleshooting and trying to repair the problem, we had drifted a 100yds or so from the wreck and thats when the other boat moved in and anchored on the spot. we radioed and asked if we could tie off to their anchor and get a dive in. The captain said he had no problem with that, so thats what we did. after we got situated, their divers hit the water. I waited a good 20 min. before entering the water as to give them time to dive before I went down there hunting. The ONLY reason I dove this site was because of our equipment malfunction.


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## buckeye83

@ fishindaddy, I get what you're saying about divers coming up the line and a loaded gun pointed downward towards them. However, in this situation I was the last diver up the line. If there were other divers still on bottom, my gun would've already been unloaded..


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## Fishindaddy

The boat issue makes things a little clearer about why you were on their line. I must also say that seeing people discuss an issue in an adult manner on here is pretty refreshing (that's one of the reasons I haven't been around the PFF that much). On a side note, I wonder if the diver that shot your gun would've gotten mad if you dumped his weight belt at the same time. :no: Good luck on your next trip...BTW, I and couple of my friends would be happy to be a spearfishing buddy if your looking.


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## Billybob+

I'm curious if that's the way he'd have unloaded his own gun?
I know most folks I dive with don't discharge their gun simply for the purpose of unloading it. I know that if you use a single wrap of Shock cord and discharge a gun downward in open water it will cause damage to your gun or cost you a new shaft


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## Fishindaddy

Billybob+ said:


> I'm curious if that's the way he'd have unloaded his own gun?
> I know most folks I dive with don't discharge their gun simply for the purpose of unloading it. I know that if you use a single wrap of Shock cord and discharge a gun downward in open water it will cause damage to your gun or cost you a new shaft




Good point, and who would pay for it?


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## buckeye83

I think the deployment of his weigts might have escalated the situation into a physical altercation. however, it would have been pretty humorous.

@fishindaddy, pm me your info. always looking to dive with new people.


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## Cajun Spearit

Plattinum said:


> Viewing the video in its entirety, I think this was more of an ostentatious thing on Brian’s part, than it was about safety. Just one mans opinion. With that being said, I am not suggesting this one episode defines the man’s character. Obviously it does not, based on the posts from those that know him.
> 
> What I personally take away from this post has to do with the courtesy side of things. Regardless of what went down and why, I am reminded that some divers are not comfortable around spear-fishermen. My own personal plan for the future, if I join another dive boat on a dive site, will be to find out if they have any spear-gunners in the water. If not, I will wait until the divers on the other boat are on their surface interval before I roll off with my gun. Diving is too much fun for me to cause someone else’s dive to be stressful.
> 
> Let's ALL go enjoy some diving!


I agree with Plattinum...that cat was just showing off for his clients. I can hear it now. "Did you see how I heroically swooped in and protected you guys?” “Just want you to know how lucky you are to have me as your dive master…Aquaman asked me to be his side-kick you know…but your safety is more important to me…did I say I work for tips?”

This was meant to be funny...if this offends you...lighten up!!! 

Keep on doing what your doing buckeye83...eventhough the Tigers murdered you in 07, don't let these things keep you down!!! Geaux Tigers!!!

I'd go diving with you anytime...


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## buckeye83

Cajun Spearit said:


> Keep on doing what your doing buckeye83...eventhough the Tigers murdered you in 07, don't let these things keep you down!!! Geaux Tigers!!!
> 
> I'd go diving with you anytime...


I'd love to dive with you! However, I'm not sure I could dive with someone that is a tigers fan.. Makes me question your judgement! HAHA


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## Cajun Spearit

buckeye83 said:


> I'd love to dive with you! However, I'm not sure I could dive with someone that is a tigers fan.. Makes me question your judgement! HAHA


That's funny...my dive buddies always say that...but I'm the one they look to in keeping them safe!!!!


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## swander

Cajun Spearit said:


> That's funny...my dive buddies always say that...but I'm the one they look to in keeping them safe!!!!


Lets see!!! You came up my anchor last week end and there was what I consider a grave situation!! No, your gun was already secure!! I just felt like that lobster in your bag posed a real threat to the divers that were on my boat so I tried to take it away from you!! You quickly swam over to your boat and kept him for yourself!!! I see how you Tiger Fans Roll!! 


*"ROLL TIDE"​*


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## MillerTime

Cajun Spearit said:


> That's funny...my dive buddies always say that...but I'm the one they look to in keeping them safe!!!!


You are keeping us safe because you usually don't have any fish blood on you to attract the sharks :whistling:


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## Goldigger

Buckeye, Everything you do there is always a guy who is know it all, I spend a lot of time at the firing ranges around the area, and like you there is always a guy or a guy and his wife who say things that are out of line and none of there [email protected]#@m business. But its not the way they like it, forget it. You handled that it better than I would .


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## Cajun Spearit

Oh I see...now everyone is piling on. That's OK...Bama will get their yearly loss in November again...Geaux Tigers!!!

Brandon, love the "Welcome to Miller Time" neon!!! Do you even like Miller beers?

Swander...I thought you were a Nebraska guy? You guys owe us for Bo Polini...it took him a few years at LSU to learn how to win!!!

Let's do it again fellas!!! When is the next trip?

I'm upset that no one commented on my Aquaman take...come on guys!!! That was feakin hilarious!!!


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## Fish-n-Fur

hmmm...hangin' on the "safety" line...to (next) get out of the water at the end of a dive...to get into a boat. seems like pulling off the rubbers would be very logical and "safe" at this point, for all. many more dive days ahead for all, by keeping it safe first.

just an observation...and if i did something *forgetful (*code word for dumbass) like that, i'd edit the vid before posting, and take it away as a LESSON LEARNED. 

but, frankly, glad you shared it, as hundreds can now share this lesson. thanks bud!


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## SaltAddict

Fishnfur- I always leave my gun loaded until I can see the bottom of the boat. You never know when you might see a cobia or mahi just hanging out. When it happens, and you aren't loaded, you will never forgive yourself.


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## MillerTime

I don't regularly drink Miller but it is my go to choice for playing pong (especially out a crab island).


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## buckeye83

Fish-n-Fur said:


> just an observation...and if i did something *forgetful (*code word for dumbass) like that, i'd edit the vid before posting, and take it away as a LESSON LEARNED


I would like you to elaborate on what I did that was "forgetful" and would give you reason to call me a [email protected]%


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## Goldigger

*As I said THOSE KIND OF PEOPLE*

Buckeye, I told you about these kind of people they think they know it all there was know danger whatsoever in that situation, the guy that fired your gun was out of line and owes you and apology You can bet I will never refer that boat to anyone and I get a lot of calls on that, In hindsight it was his anchor rope so next time just pass him up, as one poster saidout of my clod dead hands, and the other guy that called you a dumba??. Looks like he is the one that is.


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## Fishindaddy

The overall point here is that you don't shoot another person's gun. While the divemaster shooting your gun may be good at what he does, this incident showed poor judgement on his part. The situation could have escalated very easily had a different person been holding the gun. 

buckeye83...It takes balls to post a video and ask everyone to analyze it to see if you did anything wrong. 

saltaddict...I do the same thing as well and (in defense of buckeye) would have most likely done that in this case too. But looking at the video and hind site always being 20/20, some of the divers were already spooked about the shark. If you shot a fish close to the top while in front of the others, some less comfortable people (newbie divers) may be tempted to slightly panic thinking a shark is going to come their way.


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## reelrelief

Did you post the video? If I missed it, my bad......


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## Frog

Where is the video?


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## buckeye83

Sorry guys. Had to remove the video


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