Okay, before I get started on this, I know what a person seeing this must be thinking. "Why would someone put this much work into a speargun? It’s just going to get thrashed the first time it comes within 100 feet of a panga, if not during airline travel!" Or - "The fish don’t give a rip what it looks like!" Or – "Who would buy something that costs that much to make (the finish costs were covered by Sea Sniper)?"

The obvious and immediate answer would be, "Why WOULDN'T you build a gun like this when the current and two-time National Champion e-mails you and says he has to have a Sea Sniper gun with a dragon painted on it; with the condition that he is added to the team Sea Sniper roster.

Although that presented a great opportunity, it still wasn’t the real reason. NO! The real reason was because it was fun! It was fun to get carried away. It was fun to take it to an extreme. It was fun to push the limits of a functional design, way past the limits of necessity. The 15 layers of primer, Lexus pearl white, silver flake, and clear auto-coating. The hours of wet sanding between coats just to get the finish perfect. The 12 hours Jeff Croci spent hand painting the dragon. All just for fun.

Close-up of tattoo artist, Jeff Croci's, custom artwork.