A Few Words about Myself
The concept of TopGun spearguns started in Hawaii in 1975 where John was influenced by Hymie Smith A local Hawaiian from Maui. Hymie adopted John as his howlie son for a diving partner. John started making his guns with the Hawaiian design that included a rifle type stock for easy cocking and flotation. As time went on John perfected the design to include an enclosed track and one of the world’s most powerful triggers designed by Bill Kito from California. The trigger is a three piece mechanism that can hold an incredible 1700 pounds of pull. This trigger was developed to hunt Bluefin Tuna.
About The Artist
John Iwaniec
John Iwaniec was born in Miami Florida in 1951. At the age of 4 the family moved to Ponape and Kusai in the Caroline Islands of Micronesia, where his father Ed worked as a horticulturist. Both parents were avid shell collectors and would take John freediving with them at the age of 5. The Iwaniec family lived on the islands of Ponape and Kusai for 8 years and returned to Miami in 1963.
After a tough time adjusting, John left home at the age of 15 and moved to Key Largo, Florida by himself where he worked in a grocery store and caught tropical fish on the weekends. John graduated from Coral Shores high school in 1969 and worked in construction and spearfishing to make ends meet.
In 1971 he joined the Navy during the Vietnam War and spent 30 years un Underwater Mine Warfare. LCDR Iwaniec retired in 2021 after 52 years in Navy, Marine Corps, and Government service.
At the age of 15 John was stationed in Hawaii and met one of the top influences in his life of spearfishing. Hymie Smith was a native Hawaiian who grew up on the island of Maui and was 55 when he met John. Hymie agreed to teach John the finer aspects of spearfishing. Hymie was an amazing spearfisherman in his own right and was impressed with John’s 5-minute bottom time.
Hymie taught John how to make his own triggers, and to build wooden spearguns that included a rear stock for easy loading. John became proficient enough enough in spearfishing to win the Picasso Open in Hawaii in 2001, and later placed 3rd in the 2004 US National Spearfishing Championship in Hawaii (missing second place by one point). Rifle International sponsored John’s team for the event.
Unique Designs
Hand-Crafted Spearguns
There is a reason Polynesian and Micronesia spearguns all have stocks which are placed on the side of your crotch so you have much longer reach and painless loading. TG Spearguns are the easiest guns to cock with the loading tabs far enough away from the rear of the gun to easily load. Almost all wooden guns are made of Teak which holds up well in the water but are heavy and aesthetically dreary looking. TG’s are made with exotic woods from around the world due to the proprietary design coatings that allow the guns to be impervious to the affects of water. Each gun has an equivalent of 180 coats of varnish. Additionally there are only two screws on the entire gun located on the line release and spring.
The guns are made without a lot of hardware so something doesn’t fall off when spearfishing in remote locations around the world. TG’s are all unique and no two guns are alike. There is no CAD machine used and every gun is completely hand made. They are also works of Art made not only with exotic woods but also inlaid with Abalone shell from around the world. It has taken nearly 60 years to perfect the guns and to make them float with the shaft in using combination’s of different woods. The Guns can also accommodate both a 9/32 or 5/16 shafts.
