Omer XXV Speargun + Other Fast tracking guns?

[Marwan]

Originally Posted by miles

Marwan, i chest load all of my guns. The bands are really soft, as i dislike short, impossible to load bands!! When i started out, i also needed to shoot my mid-handle 63" and 67" guns with both hands, but now am able to shoot my 67" with 4x16mm's with one hand. Just make sure your elbow is locked and try not to put your face very close to the gun's butt!! Our mid-handled tuna guns have very little recoil. Even my wife has shot my 67" gun with-out even mentioning recoil!! Putting 5x16mm's bands on it, THEN you start getting some recoil!!

i couldnt load the midhandle to my chest, nothing to do with bands, i tried the same technique i do with rear handle, push the handle with my right hand while i pull the bad with my left and move the butt to my chest, but couldnt do it, maybe my arm is short, but eveytime i try to move the butt of the gun to my chest, i cant do it, its still too long and would bump my shoulder...

[Pastor]

Originally Posted by miles

Hiya

Pretty simple explanations really!! First off, Riffe and Wong's are RIDICULOUSLY expensive here!! To put it into perspective, a single Wong Hybrid would cost the same price as 8 Rabitech or Rob Allan guns!!

It's the same here I'm afraid, shipping and tax kill the trade in these guns. If your in the states though you could always bring one back with you and avoid that.

[Marwan]

I think even without shipping and tax its about 5 times as the rabitech apex carbon..but then again you pay for handcrafted/customizations etc..and wood a bit more i guess..

[GreekDiver]

just buy pneumatic. Problem solved!!

[Marwan]

hey Harry !
hows the recovery coming along man..any diving lately

[GreekDiver]

not yet. I will start doing stuff in the pool next week.

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by miles

Hiya

Mr.X, your biggest challenge is going to be switching from a rear handle to a mid-handle. Both guns shoot very differently and it will be difficult to get accustomed to switching between the two. If your primary gun is rear handled, best to get your secondary, dirty water gun to be rear handled too.

Another factor influencing your purchase is the brand you currently use. Sometimes various manufacturer's gun will shoot differently to one another. Thats why you often hear of spearo's using a railgun for the first time and complaining that the gun is in-accurate!! If possible, try and stick to the same brand of gun you currently have. This way, you are always comfortable with the grip, safety(if you use it!!) and the way it shoots.

Mid-handles are AWESOME!! I can't understand why so very few euro spearo's use them!! Understandably, for cave/crevice hunting a small rear handle works well, but for any other type of spearing, a mid-handle is superb!!

Regards
miles

I'm not considering a mid-handle. You and Pastor make a good case for them but they few and far between here - and my modest catches don't justify importing a custom Wong or Tommy Botha. In poor viz/confined gulleys, having great range is not really a benefit, although I guess it helps when the water clears, as it often does.

I would love to stick with Rob Allen and that has always been my intention - figured I'd probably end up with 90, 80 & 70 - and something bigger for a special trip sometime. However, I've been trying to get a 70cm RA for longer than I care to remember. Rob & Jeremy in SA are superb and so helpful. But dealing with the european distribution is like wading through treacle at the moment. So considered Rabitech, Spearo Dave carries them now, but the smallest gun he currently lists is 80cm. You don't have a spare 70cm Pelaj do you Miles?

The Europeans don't make 70's, so I'm now looking at European 75's (/80/82). They do offer some advantages too, the models I am currently looking at (Cressi Comanche, Omer XXV & Dessault) are all particularly light & slim, and considerably cheaper (though probably not as tough), especially if you shop around. Rails, bulk rubber, tri-cut points, mini-sharkfins and/or Dyneema wishbones are options on some - the european makers are increasingly copying the SA design traits & adding their own twists. I reckon SA companies made several good key design decisions early - perhaps because good viz. & big fish forced them to.

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Pastor

It's the same here I'm afraid, shipping and tax kill the trade in these guns. If your in the states though you could always bring one back with you and avoid that.

You're right about shipping & tax. Our govt. constantly push aid for Africa while at the same time levying punitive taxes on the goods they produce. The customs guys have a book of weird and arbitrary taxes for hand carried goods brought into the country...did you know they levy a different tax for electric guitars than for acoustic guitars (on top of VAT)!

[Pastor]

Hey check out the new gun building extravaganza and push for a mid handled euro, it will change your view for life

[Pav]

I was using 75 and 90 Commanche.
The 90 Omer Gold replaced the 90 commanche.

I use the 90 nearly all the time. Really high quality. Great advice from Spagetti and Oldmandave.

as the diameter is smaller it seems worthwhile paying for carbon in this case. (for other reasons than the look !!)

[spaghetti]

I think the slim XXV Gold gives it's best in the 90cm size.
In facts I think the 90 is a very paculiar size of gun. It's a gun for agguato, for short shots ranging from 3 meters, three meters and a half, but still it's quite a long weapon, with a length that makes it not so easy to handle in narrow spaces and/or in short visibility. It's got to be slim, it must be light and very manouverable.
On the contrary, for longer guns, from 100+, I prefer guns with a bigger mass to endure the recoil of a more powerful shot. But also as a shorter one I'm loving my Gabbiano 77: it's significantly bulkier and a bit harder to swing than the XXV 82 I had, but for such a short gun this is no serious issue. I mean, a 75/82 gun is so short and compact that it will be acceptably easy to swing even if it has some "mass" to make it sturdier and a bit more accurate.
To resume, for what it's worth, my personal preferences go to the Omer XXV Gold for size 90 and to Seatec Gabbiano 77 for the 75/77/82 category.
These could sound like some weird statements, but I'm sure you understand and, eventually, some will agree.

[strangelove]

Originally Posted by spaghetti

I think the slim XXV Gold gives it's best in the 90cm size.
In facts I think the 90 is a very paculiar size of gun. It's a gun for agguato, for short shots ranging from 3 meters, three meters and a half, but still it's quite a long weapon, with a length that makes it not so easy to handle in narrow spaces and/or in short visibility. It's got to be slim, it must be light and very manouverable.
On the contrary, for longer guns, from 100+, I prefer guns with a bigger mass to endure the recoil of a more powerful shot. But also as a shorter one I'm loving my Gabbiano 77: it's significantly bulkier and a bit harder to swing than the XXV 82 I had, but for such a short gun this is no serious issue. I mean, a 75/82 gun is so short and compact that it will be acceptably easy to swing even if it has some "mass" to make it sturdier and a bit more accurate.
To resume, for what it's worth, my personal preferences go to the Omer XXV Gold for size 90 and to Seatec Gabbiano 77 for the 75/77/82 category.
These could sound like some weird statements, but I'm sure you understand and, eventually, some will agree.

I definitly agree you , I wish omer sold those guns here (US).

Spaghetti 400 ! You are a great source of knowledge and information !

Thanks for sharing

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Old Man Dave

Mr X, just to clear up the length thing on my Omer Gold XXV 90. It uses a shorter spear than a "standard" 90cm gun. This makes the OmerGold XXV 90 only 5cm longer than a "standard" 75cm gun.

That's very interesting. I like the idea of a shorter spear -- perhaps that is only possible on the railed XXV Gold & not on the plain carbon tube of the regular XXV? You don't think they sent the wrong spear, perhaps to save on shipping? Pav, have your noticed your 90cm XXV being shorter overall than your Comanche 90?

So, we'd expect the 82cm version to be 3cm shorter overall than a regular 75! That would be good. Also, the 75cm might be as much as 10cm shorter overall that a regular 75...the same length as a "standard" 65cm gun. While that would help compactness (which will be a factor if fishing gulleys/caves or strapping the gun to a float), any reduction in tracking drag would likely be fairly small, I would think, as the tube produces the majority of the drag rather than the thin spear, especially as euro-barbs lay flat (but perhaps I am wrong, the longer length of the spear will give it a proportionally larger turning moment). If the above is correct, I think either size would work well (given the thin 25mm tube diameter): the 82 acting like a 75 with the range of an 82 (-3cm); the 75 would likely give the 70cm performance I was looking but with the range of a 75 (-10cm) - those are attractive combinations.
Regular XXV
Gold XXV with double rubbers

No technical info. on the spears on Omer's XXV datasheet. (Curious to see if both regular & Gold models use short spears with 2 notches for double bands).

[UK Spearo]

for what it's worth, and I have dived Dorset for many years now, I use a 75 in the summer unless the viz is exceptional, in which case I use my 90. In the winter I never use any more than a 60. All Beauchat guns with 6.5mm Cressi spears and 20mm rubbers. I do have a 115 Beauchat but only use that in the Med or Azores..... all my guns only use a single rubber. My mate shot a 60lb Amber Jack in the Azores with a singe 18mm rubber (C4 carbon gun) and landed it without any problems, so that shows you don't really need double rubbers.

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by UK Spearo

for what it's worth, and I have dived Dorset for many years now, I use a 75 in he summer unless the viz is exceptional, in which case I use my 90. In the winder I never use any more than a 60. All Beauchat guns with 6.5mm Cressi spears and 20mm rubbers. I do have a 115 Beauchat but only use that in the Med or Azores..... all my guns only use a single rubber. My mate shot a 60lb Amber Jack in the Azores with a singe 18mm rubber (C4 carbon gun) and landed it without any problems, so that shows you don't really need a double rubbers.

Thanks Clive. Those are useful insights. I don't dive as deep as you but the water quality/vis. I encounter will be similar. I am looking for a "Dorset gun" - although Devon features in my plans for this year too - so very appropriate. I don't expect to use a second band but it's nice to have options. 60lb!