85 cm gun advice needed

[spaghetti]

Dobs, yes indeed I should try the RA before giving opinions. My apologies to you all. RA's are just not available in my country, and appear quite expensive on foreign on-line shops. So if anybody has a used RA railgun 80cm to trade or exchange with some of mine, PM me.
But for your first point (longer guns), I still think that there are so many situations in which we mediterraneans use 75-90 spearguns for agguato on the weed or rocky bottoms with steep "hills", no matter how bad or good the visibility.
For me an 85 does make sense, and the best purchase in this category would be a....................Dobs 85 handmade woody!

 

[Dobs]

Grazie amico!
I would give you some more rep. for this, but it seems I already gave you too much in the past... "You must spread som Reputation around before giving it to old Spago again" This is what I see at least 3 times a day
A little off topic... Did I tell you I just got back from my first Med Sea trip? I got some bass and dentex and they were all killed with my 106cm handmade wooden gun... A 30kg leerfish too

 

[spaghetti]

In facts I have much reputation just because I'm clever in licking ass, he he he!
But since this is a spearfishing forum, I think that the biggest reputation should go to those who catch a 30kg leerfish with their own hands built guns! You can be proud of it, my biggest congratulations!
(as I told you, I'm clever in licking ass )

PS- 30kg is twice the biggest I've ever caught. Did you make any picture of the monster?

 

[foxfish]

Dobs, show us the pics or at least tell the story, a 30kg fish is definitely worth points!

 

[Dobs]

I wouldn't want to hijack the thread so just a couple of pictures of the catch and the gun.
The story is not that spectacular anyway. There were six fish (20-30kg) swimming at around -10m. I was doing an aspetto at -15. Pushed myself from the bottom when I saw them and shot the biggest one in a long shot. The fight was only about 5 minutes. That’s about it. I was very lucky!

 

[vjanda]

'tis a wopper !

 

[foxfish]

Excellent mate, you make light of what must of been a very exciting moment!
Did you eat the critter?

 

[foxfish]

Vjanda, sorry to deviate from your initial question, that's db for you! Any how to help ansaw your question - buy a mamba & never look back! Dave sells mamba 90s - the power will blow you & your fish away.

 

[Marwan]

the force is definitley strong with this one

 

[vjanda]

Thanks for advice, I know the thread is sidetracked big time

However I'm still sticking to the rubber band guns as my choice.

Last summer I hunted with a friend who used a compressed air gun. Every time he shot if sounded like a 357 magnum going off underwater. Plus I like the simplicity of rubber guns.


So now the 90cm short list is :
----------------------------

- Beuchat Mundial Carbon Elite
- Omer XXV - Excalibur 3000 or the new Carbon Cayman (kinda reluctant as it's new)
- Giman Labrax representing the woodies

Any other suggestions are welcome (bear in mind I won't consider guns without a loading butt)

 

[Marwan]

the omer XXV and excalibur 3000 in my opinion are great guns, but i dont like the circular bands (my personal prefernce), what i like about the Buchat is that its all the "good" euro qualities in one economincal parcel... the 90 is a good allround size.. if i was in your shoes, i would probably be mor inclined to go with a 100... but thats just me, im short

 

[Mr. X]

Dobs, that is an amazing fish. Wouldn't that make a spectacular BBQ for a party - grilled whole.

Cheese? NO!!! Mr. X, you kill me: italian cheese is my pride. ...But please, don't kill my pride: NOT cheese!

A good, mature, real west country cheddar (as opposed to that strange orange plastic sold by American fast food chains) is truly one of the finest things. For traditionalists, a fine Stilton with Port & for modernist Wensleydale with Cranberries - spectacular. Those balls of Mozzerella in liquid are pretty good, and a good parmesan on spag-bol. is hard to beat but Cheddar "Cheese Gromit!"

Spearguns: the only one I really love is the Mares Medisten airgun. The others are just fishing gear. .

Wow, I'm really surprised that you prefer an airgun, given the fine selection of band guns in the list. Which size Medisten do you use? I see Foxfish recommends the 90cm mamba ... which I think he said previously is about the same length as a 70cm band gun (the power & range of a 90cm with the length of a 70cm -- ideal for the UK).

Shooting a bass from 7 meters? By the time the shaft gets there, the bass will probably gone somewhere else...I think.

Yes, even with my regular 90cm gun, shooting a Bass at range can be a difficult proposition -- if they have seen you, they will be long gone before the spear arrives (they'll often wait for you to flinch, or squeeze the trigger, before taking off).


Wood does sound pretty good -- if you can find/make the right one for the right price. A little special. I don't see any problem with the continuous bands ("bulk rubber") - perhaps I am missing something - although my RA has a special muzzle that holds them much like a screw in band. The Omers with wooden barrels seem like a good compromise too (OMD made his own wooden barrel, with rail). I dare say they all work.

I love my carbon fishing rod (cheap too) but not sure if it makes sense for shorter spearguns (or mountain bikes) - I'd be afraid of bashing the sides in. Although I am looking at reducing the amount of gear I carry :hmm. I think Miles or RA said that some of the early RA carbon guns had to have weight added for some reason. The C4's look amazing.

 

[foxfish]

Let get this right-a mamba kitted air gun is quiet, offers at least the power of a double banded gun of the same length (at least) has no recoil & generally out preforms anything out there- fact!! If you haven't tyred it don't knock it!!! My mamba 90 has changed my whole concept of underwater hunting, all of a sudden I am shooting fish at ranges I would never believed possible with a band gun! My asso 120 just amazes me every time I fire the beast, although loading the asso also amazes me, quite intimidating to handle a loaded gun with so much power. Bring it on baby! Join the dark side & dont compare a mamba with a conventional air gun.

 

[Fondueset]

I've been reading up on the pneumos. I'm trying to figure out how big they are for the range. Is a larger or smaller diameter piston better in terms of velocity? What, roughly, is the effective range at various sizes - with and w/out mamba kit.

 

[strangelove]

It has being 15 years since I've used pneumos but the last time I've used them I noticed a big decrease in power the deeper you go. Is that still true ? Also my experience with them is they are o lot of fun to fish with, but they also did break a lot, the main reason I've made the switch to band guns.

Vjanda
I have a couple small wooden gun's (around 90cm) but I am not a that enthusiastic about wooden guns smaller than 100 cm (euro size), at this point my pick would be the new omer Cayman or may be a excalibur gold.

For wood guns I really like the teak-sea Pal, they have a 90 cm model or 85 cm. Something else to look at

 

[Marwan]

It has being 15 years since I've used pneumos but the last time I've used them I noticed a big decrease in power the deeper you go. Is that still true ? Also my experience with them is they are o lot of fun to fish with, but they also did break a lot, the main reason I've made the switch to band guns.

i had the same experience but man did that change with the new mamba system....

 

[vjanda]

I came across subprof dot com last night.
Very pleasantly suprised by their prices (something like 20-30% off uk ones) and delivery seems ok at £15. They've got the excalibur carbon on sale for at £95. Very tempting indeed.

Any of you folks dealt with them?

 

[Marwan]

thats a good gun vjanda, i have it in 100cm length, i installed a stick on rail on it, it the gun i use 90% of the time.... if i was to do it all over again though i would have got the Beuchat..the rear butt is wider and softer plus all the other advantages i stated earlier

 

[foxfish]

I've been reading up on the pneumos. I'm trying to figure out how big they are for the range. Is a larger or smaller diameter piston better in terms of velocity? What, roughly, is the effective range at various sizes - with and w/out mamba kit.

There is more info on Medfish about these matters than you can shake a stick at! I have read a fare bit myself but I dont really think it matter's that much as there seems no agreeable conclusions as to what size piston is best. Smaller pistons 9mm I think operate on less pressure but require more loading effort, 11mm pistons I think requires less effort to compress but require higher pressures for the same power. So at the end of the day who cares? A 900mm air gun is in fact 900mm total length where as a 900 band gun reflects the barrel length. A mamba 90 is a very compact & easy to maneuver gun however the balance is front heavy & most owners add some sort of buoyancy to counter this.
As for range this depends on your chosen operating pressure, I use 25 atm in my 90 (max safe pressure) the spear will tug the line tight at 4mts. What is more to the point is the way the spear flies so flat & straight! The lack of recoil enables you to see the spear travel its path, amazing!
My asso 115 is pressurised to 22atm although I am aiming to increase this to 26atm when I have mastered loading the animal!! I started using the asso at 17atm & have gradually increased the power, at 22atm you need 6mts of 150lb mono line & a shock absorber if you dont want to loose your spear.
I have customised my 90 with a removable sleeve, with the sleeve fitted the gun is not so manoeuvrable but for open water long range shots it is a sniper riffle! To be honest the asso would be more suited to waters other than Guernseys, somewhere that offers clear open long range shots or big fish but I just love firing it. "Yeehaa"
PS the pic loading the asso was taken for demo purposes for another thread & in fact was not actually loaded.

 

[Fondueset]

Thanks, I hunted with a pneumatic when I was a kid (nemrod Torpedero) It was extremely powerful but did not have a great deal of range. The trigger mech was also rather scarey! I gather both your guns are mambaized?