What is this a gun?

[ivanprice]

i just picked up this contraption at a garage sale a week ago and the lady said it was something that her husband owned for scuba diving. I found a instruction manual in the holster and it says it is a "underwater defensive weapon" It has no company name on it. it is a green aluminum two piece connected by a short piece of braided wire at a point were it clips together to make about a 2 foot stick. it has a spring in it and a place were the cartridge goes in. the directions don't say what kind of cartridge it fits either. if anyone knows who makes these or any info on it please let me know. thanks

 

[H2Andy]

sounds like a bang stick

let me see if i can find some picks

does it look like this:

 

[ivanprice]

no, it is the same diameter all the way to the tip. it has a ribbed handle area and the rest is smooth.

 

[ivanprice]

it looks in the diagram like it holds a regular bullet, like a .38 cartridge or something

 

[driftwood]

If it is a bang stick, and it sounds like one, be sure to use blanks if (god forbid) you ever try it. Using a normal round could have some very bad consequences for you.

 

[H2Andy]

it could be an anti-shark bang stick

it's too short for hunting, so i am guessing it's meant as a last-ditch defense against a shark attack

 

[ivanprice]

thats what im thinking too. thanks im surprised that there is no manufacture name on it though. anyone know of any companies that carry these?

 

[driftwood]

it looks in the diagram like it holds a regular bullet, like a .38 cartridge or something

It could very well be either a 38 Special or a 357 Magnum. 410 was another popular round used. The way a bang stick works is that you jab your target, the round detonates and sends a plug of water into your target.

Nice museum piece and not anything you ever want to travel with. If you are really evil, a bang stick makes a great anti personnel mine that we used to call a "denutter".

 

[driftwood]

it could be an anti-shark bang stick

it's too short for hunting, so i am guessing it's meant as a last-ditch defense against a shark attack

That is exactly what it was marketed for. Problem is that once you used it, you just chummed the water for other sharks.

 

[ivanprice]

"denutter" lol. thats would really suck! yes it looks like maybe a 38 or simular in the picture. but its no old scool looking though. it looks brand new and likr something that might be some kind of newer model , not really a museum kinda thing.