THE CHALLENGE:
Build an 8 x 9/16" band tuna gun for a 5'2" man with bad wrists. 
When I first heard  this, I knew it was truly a special project with many considerations and challenges. Would the gun need to massed differently? Would it need a different handle, and if so how about a modified handle position and butt pad?

THE SOLUTION:
First, the most important issue was dealing with the amount of recoil an 8 band gun would produce. The obvious first step was to make the mass larger. The second lamination was increased by 1/4" and the side cut by 1/8" (1/16" per side). The butt laminant was also made considerably larger. Both of these changes made the overall size of the gun bigger, and in turn created the need for an additional 2.75 pounds of ballast in order keep the gun from floating with the shaft in. This, along with maximizing the length of the main water ballast tube, brought the gun closer to the heavier weight needed to combat the extra recoil. The next issue was Yasutani-san's small frame (mainly his hands) and bad wrists.

At his suggestion, the butt of the gun was shaped with an inward curve top to bottom along with the usual outward curve side to side. This allowed the gun to be braced with a forearm rather than the palm of a hand. The handle was custom made at 85% of standard size, to allow a comfortable grip for a smaller hand, and the distance from the butt was shortened as much as possible with consideration to compromising maneuverability. Side routes were created with a 1" round core box bit close to the belly of the gun to create a grip intended for the left hand while holding the handle upside down with the right, the position of a perfect hunting mode. Mori built a custom 72" 3/8" shaft with a high rest tab designed to assist with a shorter wing span.

Jeff Croci added yet another piece of beautiful of art in the form of a large skull with neck bones blending into the bottom ballast tube of the gun to complete the look.  Several layers of hand rubbed epoxy were added to protect it.

 
  With all of this done, Yasutani-san requested that I personally test the gun in an actual salt water environment. After several attempts to find the right conditions (you can't take a 35' shot in 3.5' of visibility), I was able to see what an 8 band gun could do! Wow! It had power to spare. I couldn't imagine if it had 8 5/8" bands. After some further testing, it was determined that the gun only needed 7-9/16" or 6-5/8" bands to perform well, with the possibility of a extra band for that once in a life time blue fin tuna trip.