Hawaii Skin Diver The Breath of Freedivers

we went diving at south point the other day and a big tiger, i mean big an 18 to 20 foot giant cane right at me an my buddy from the bottom. we were in about 300 to 400 ft of water and hunting ono and mahi by broken road. We swam out to the bouy and were chummimg the area when my buddy looked down and saw something coming up from the bottom. coudlnt tell what it was at first then we notice it was a tiger with its mouth wide open. brah its head must have been about 4 to 5 ft wide and a mouth full of teeth. we bothswam towards the bouy to get away from it but it just kept charging us. we were about 200 yards from shore and we swam out so we tried to swim back but the tiger kept cutting us off. we had a palu bag on my riffe inflatable and the tiger sawn up to it and just ate it along with my float. it dove down and my gun( riffe island) got yanked out of my hand the bungie tag line got tangled around its tail and disappeared. my gun floated up after a few minutes and now i was shaft less . I swam next to my buddy and we started to swim back like our life depended on it( which it did) when the tiger came back my buddy cut the line from his 5/16 spearshaft with an alexander slip and tip and plugged the tiger right on top of its head which only must have pissed it off cause it sure didnt kill it and it just kept swimming and making passes at us.here we were with two guns no shafts and a big tiger I heard a boats motor and looked up to see a boat coming our way so i started yelling and waving my gun they came up beside us and pulled us out. we were telling them what had happen when the shark swam right next to the boat, there boat was 18 ft long and then tiger was a few feet longer then there boat.they took us up to the shore line to dropped us off so we had to swim about 50 yards to shore, we jumped out and swam like crazy for the rocks and scramble up like two aama crabs dam i was breathing so hard that i almost past out on the rocks. I dont think that we will be diving here for awhile or anywhere us for that matter.Thanks to the guys on the boat, john, greg and sheldon for getting us the hell out of there and the next time if i do go there i am bring a bazooka south side diver P.S. wasnt there another story about a tiger grabing an ulua out there, i will back check the old post mahalo

Main thing you guys came out alive.

Southsidediver,
So how long did it take you to wash the doodoo out of your wetsuit . Sounds like you needed a powerhead, do you carry one? My friend is coming from Honolulu this Friday, I think I'll ask him to grab a few for me. I have friends who had an experience just like yours, and now he carries a 357 and 12 gauge powerhead when he dives. Sorry about the loss of your float and shaft, at least you got back to shore in one piece.

I know of 3 guys diving on Oahu who carry .357 powerheads and they each hit this big tiger that was chasing them, but the thing didn't die and kept following them from deep water all the way into shallow chest deep water. They all said that they had hit the shark in it's head so I'm wondering if the headshot is just not a good kill spot for a shark or do you just need a higher caliber round to kill something that big.
Well the main thing is that you guys came back unharmed.

I have read that the most vulnerable spot on a shark is the gill area. There are stories of turtles, while trying to be eaten, nipping/biting the gill area and causing the shark such extreme pain that it swam off. I know that's where I would be aiming.

I have a few powerheads (.357 and .30 carbine), but unfortunately, I primarily use my reef gun which has a 1/4" shaft so they don't sit on the shaft at all. Haven't had any Tiger run-ins yet, so I haven't gone out my way to find a fix. This post makes me want to head into the garage and figure something out, though.

I usually carry a .357 powerhead with me and some of my friends carry .357 or .44 powerheads. I've seen smaller sharks in the 8'-10' range that didn't die even after being hit in the top of the head or side near the eye but I have seen them nosedive when hit just behind the gills or just above and near the side fin. Why, I'm not sure but maybe it hit near the heart or guts? I've seen one hit in the gills go nuts and charge at us before disappearing in a cloud of green/brown. I don't think my powerhead would stop something as big as what you encountered.
Good thing the boat came by and helped you guys out. Be careful and better luck on your next dive.

Wow got the spooks just reading your story. Main thing you guys got out alive. I'm just starting out and I'm now thinking about buying a powerhead also.

I never had to try this yet so I cant say if it will really work

Try powerhead the shark right before the tail and take it off
fish cant swim without a tail and hopefully a shark can't either.

all i know is if im close enough to a aggressive tiger im not going to shoot it in the tail, i'd bust him right in the gills with my 357 hydro-shock ! hope it never comes to that though....just remember guys were in there back yard and they're the big dogs. we take so much from the ocean but never really give anything back, paybacks bound to happen sooner or later just pray it isnt one of us or anyone for that matter...can i get an amen? dive safe

everybody's talking about using powerheads...i just hope that i don't end up in a situation where i need to use one.

i don't have experience with powerheads, but generally speaking i heard you want penetration when killing big game. the hunters on this board would know if this is true. to get better penetration, use heavier bullets. for .357 mag, try using at least 158 grain bullets. .44 mag or shotgun slugs should work better.

Actually the rapid expansion of the gases is what will cause the most damage to the shark not the bullet its self.
The concussion to fire a 12 gauge powerhead underwater would be quite violent for a diver, probably a 44 mag would be more than enough!
And don't ever fire any powerhead in a hole or cave, the concussion will knock you out!

Aloha, dive safe......mililani

From my experiences, it is not the head you want to aim for, it is the gills or gutts. Don't try to aim for the brain because it is very small and surrounded by thick bone. What injures the shark is the gas charge coming from the round not the bullet head. The gas charge disrupts the internal organs and disorients the shark. I know guys who killed sharks without a powerhead and just shot the tiger in the gills causing it to bleed profusely and dying. Glad nobody got hurt.

Power heads can be used on 1/4" shafts, just try and use a surgical rubber insert to take up the play so it will stay on the shaft. When shooting a powerhead make sure your speargun is on the lowest power setting like only one rubber or first notch on Euros so your shaft doesn't get stuck in the shark and you lose your only protection left to defend yourself. All you need is for the tip of your shaft to hit the primer of the powerhead for it to fire. Hope this helps. Just be careful and dive safe.

i don't disagree with what the other guys said, but i don't think that a heavier bullet would decrease the amount of gases released by the cartridge. so the damage caused by the gases should be the same. add to that more penetration and you should have more tissue damage.

I know alot o the East Coast (FL) shooters carry the smaller .223 and .3006 rounds because they say more powder, more gas. I have heard many problems with 12guage rounds leaking. I would want to put my faith in something I knew would work, or at least had no doubts it SHOULD work.