Omer XXV Speargun + Other Fast tracking guns?

[Pav]

In a thread "Carbon Spearguns" that I started at the end of last year Spagetti suggested the Omer XXV as a gun that will track quicker due to its diameter. Is this still the only option for smaller diameter guns?

Is the Omer XXV and the Omer XXV GOLD the same gun (minus the reel?). Are they both carbon as standard?

Also is the rail on the gun the full length of the gun?

My 2 x Commanche guns I have ordered from Portugal and Spain saving approx £40 on UK prices. Any ideas where I can get a good deal on the Omer Guns / or does anyone have a 2nd hand / ex demo? XXV to sell? Would like a90cm gun.

Thanks all! (Baby Maya is fit and well. Had her first swimming lesson last week!)

Pav.

[Marwan]

try subprof.com, their prices re quite good... not sure youll fina a lot of difference in trackig between the xxv and the comanche though, unless the laterials are different (carbon Versus aluminum) , especially for sizes in the 75 to 90 range,,but thats just my opinion

[Pav]

thanks Marwin, I'll check the prices at subprof.

This was the original thread where the Omer XXV was suggested and a debate re. tracking speed due to material / dia size / shape.

http://forums.deeperblue.net/hunting...rbon+spearguns

[mundial]

hi pav
i use this gun ( OMER XXV GOLD 90 ) for almost a year
it is one of the best guns i have been using
this low profile easy to shut & aim gun is a very good deal
for who is going for fast aiming
this link show only the fish i took by the XXV gold 90
www.amator-balikcilik.com and www.medfish.com

resent one

[Old Man Dave]

Pav, I'm about to order an Omer XXV gold 90cm for all the reasons mentioned.

The XXV is carbon but has no rail the XXV gold is carbon and has a moulded in full length rail.

Best price is Scuberland Fr. They're £102 without reel £106 with reel for a XXV gold 90 delivered Guernsey and as it goes via the UK should be same postage for you but you'd have to add VAT for the UK (another £18). You have to be a member to get that price but it's free to join. Fantastic price.

Subprof price for 90 with reel is £120 without VAT and not including delivery (from Spain). Probably work out at least £30 more than Scubaland.

Spaghetti likes the 82cm but says the 90's okay . He advises against the 100.

Dave

[Pav]

Thanks Dave, thats really useful. I reckon its the GOLD then .

Am I correct that you would lose about 30cm in distance if using the 82cm v 90cm? Viz is not great around here, although we do have our crystal clear days and wonder if the 82cm would be a better option and so replace the 75cm and 90cm with 1 "allrounder".

[Old Man Dave]

I'm no expert on this, that's spaghettis job . However for me I have 2 other 90's and i thought i'd keep it simple re band and spear lengths etc. Also the 90 is a good size for our viz. I think you might like the 82 for although you might have a smidgen less range you'll have more manouverability. You could PM spaghetti for better advice.

As far as an all rounder goes I think the XXV gold may be a little fragile. I want it for general bass hunting in the shallow weed. Need accuracy manouverability and medium punch. Don't think it will suit flattying, reefing or even deeper clearer water. I think the classic Omer T20 or the new omer cayman HF might be a better all rounder.

Talking of which, for years I only owned 2 guns, a general 90 band gun and a short air gun for reefing. Now I own a few guns i always have the wrong one. Quick example. Last year I had my little 75 Beuchat as I was reefing and flattying when a big (8lb+) bass swims past. Hit it in the shoulder from 6 foot and the spear never penetrated. Any of my other guns would have skewered it 'cept they were all at home in the garage .

Dave

[mundial]

90 cm move great also
choose the 90 it will serve you well

[spaghetti]

Here's the quote of my personal message to a forum member who asked me for feedback about the XXV Gold. Since there are many guys interested, I'm sure he doesn't mind if we share these impressions in public.
--------
In my life I've owned 26 different types of spearguns, and shot with more than 50 types if I consider the ones I borrowed from friends.
I came to the conclusion that the XXV Gold is the best I've ever had for inshore-reef bass and mullet hunting. What makes it special is the size of the barrrel: just 25mm of diameter, instead of the 28mm of the other guns (Beuchat, Picasso, Comanche, Excalibur: they're all 28). The main advantage of such a thin gun is that unmatchable smooth tracking, quick aiming, instinctive shooting on small close targets suddenly appearing from the foamy and murky inshore waters.
The acessories are good as well: good trigger mech, a metal line release, very rigid and nice looking carbon fiber barrel, excellent rubber bands, the different configurations (open/closed muzzle, twin bands/circular bands).
My favourite option is open muzzle and screw in bands. With open muzzle tha shaft is kept in place by a loop of line, so it cant' move from the straight position during tracking. The screw in bands just because I'm more customary with them.
Of course, this gun has its downsides too. Which are briefly: recoil (but only on long length: no problem from 75 to 90), buoyancy/floatability, limited power, wishbone.
-Recoil: this issue is only related to longer guns. Buy a 90 if you want it or shorter, but DON'T buy a 100. This is a gun for agguato, for quick instinctive shots, not for long powerful shots. Its mass is too tiny to endure the recoil of a heavy punch. On short shots to a bass apperaing form murky you donpt have such issue, and that's the kind o task in which this gun is the best of them all. The "Gold" also has a full length rail, which helps accuracy despite the low mass.
-Buoyancy-floatability. Two problems: one of the downisdes of the very tiny barrell is that the gun doesn't float much. Don't get me wrong: it has a perfect negative buoyance shaft on and a perfect positive shaft off. But being so tiny, its mass is not enough push it up while hunting: it's your wrist who must do all the job. So that, surprisingly, I've had more wrist pain from this lightweight gun that from very heavy ones. A trcik I adopted to solve in part this problem: since I use it with twin screw-in bands, I use the muzzle hole made for the circular band to put in a cork (a cork cap from a bottle of wine). This way it's slightly better. But still if you hunt in waves, the lightweight gun will suffer more than a heavier gun.
-Power. The single band is very good for the bass task, but you CAN'T use double power. Choose whetether using the twin screw-in bands OR the circular. You can't use both because the tiny barrell, tho made in good quality carbon fiber, is not designed for such a heavy load. The trigger may as well feel more rocky and loose some of its stunning smoothness.
Wishbone- When you shoot it tends to shave the rail protruding above the barrel. So you have to fit your own knotted dyneema wishbone.
-------------
To resume. I think your question is just: should I buy a XXV Gold 90cm or not? I bought it (even if mine was an 82cm) and I say: it's perfect for bass and mullet in short visibility. A 90cm is the one to pick, or even shorter 75cm or 82cm perform very well (while I wouldn't buy a XXV gold 100cm). The 90 of course has a longer range, the shorter ones are more compact and stealthy for lo viz and rocky bottoms. But if I was tyo buy another, I'd pick a 90 as it's a peculiarily light and handy speargun.

[spaghetti]

One more note for Pav's question: other fast tracking guns? The ones with ellyptical barrel (wide and flat shape) have a nice left/right tracking, but the up/down tracking suffers more drag due to the flat barrell shape.

[Pav]

Thanks. I'll be ordering mine this week but undecided between the 82cm and 90cm. Is there really a noticable difference in tracking or distance of shot between an 82 and 90cm gun?

[spaghetti]

I chose the 82 mainly because I've always had more "feeling" with short guns. I bargain the significantly shorter shooting range for more manouverability and, how can I say, "low profile" (a big "stick" scares the fish more than a small stick). But again, mostly it's personal preference, it's a matter of "feeling".
And when the water is relatively clear (never too clear in my waters) and I feel determined to do my best, I too carry a 90or a 100 as my main weapon. Moreover it's statistically sure that the 90cm is the favourite size of mediterranean spearos....
EDIT...And of the english too! From what I've heard here on Deeper Blue, the 90 is the favourite guns for England and there must be a reason.

[mundial]

about the gun length
i can say in israel most guns that are common are 90cm & up
only beginers uses a 75 or less then 90,the differance isnt so big
but if you choose a 82 cm you will be missing
90-82=8 , but 8cm in 5 times = 40+ cm , how is that ?
1 time the length of the barrle
3 times the mono line
1 time the shaft but the shaft is more
so
almost 50CM make a differance!
the gun is really easy to move in the 90 cm so i suggest
go for the 90cm
best regards
eyal

[Marwan]

i remember reading somwehere, that the last european championships, italian champion renzo mazzari, or was it stefano bellani , spago? came victorious using 2 guns a 60cm and a 75 cm comanche.... i had a cressi comanche 60, which i upgraded to 75, despite all the bigger 90's and 100's and 120 i own this smaller guns remain the gun with which i caught most fish, 'so depending on your hunting grounds and target fish, you dont need a big gun to score but do go applying that to everything else

[spaghetti]

It was the 2004 World Champ, won by Stefano Bellani using a Comanche 75 and mainly a 60. But he made his day hunting mostly in kelp, hole and crevices, where a 60cm with 5 pronger is the way to go: that's a specialized gun. And still, terrain and targets matter: for bass and mullet on mixed terrain a 75<---->100 is the gun to pick IMHO.