Big gun, small fish?

[ClearShot]

Hi there, another total noob question....

A bigger gun gives longer range and allows you to target bigger fish, right....
But is it ok to shoot smaller fish with your big weapon?
Is that not sporting, or overkill? (literally!)
Or are there other reasons why it is bad/good/right/wrong.....

I ask this as I am just buying a 120 for Indonesia.
I'm not expecting to nail a Mahi Mahi (my dream catch) the first time out, so is it ok to shoot something smallish for supper?
Like something 1 - 2 kilos, one of the plentiful school fish, not cute reef fishies of course.

What happens if you hit a fish that small with a 7mm spear thrown by two 16's?
I haven't been able to find any info on that, please help before I break an unwritten rule or do something not cool!

I will only ever shoot to eat, but I definitely would like to eat!
Thanks for any help, this place is awesome!
Really great info here, and i'm reading up as much as I can. Maybe i'll find an answer buried in some thread somewhere.

Cheers!

 

[podge]

It’s not all down to the size of your tool mate, but it’s how you use it, but enough of that before I get myself in trouble.roflroflrofl
If you’ve got a 120 and 7mm spear and you shoot a “soft target” it’s going to cut it in half and do a lot of flesh damage. We have a fish over here called a Red Mullet and if you shoot one in the body with a mere 60cm gun it can tear the fish to the point of it almost being a waste of time trying to make a meal from it.
It’s fine to take a fish with a large speargun but try to target the tougher skinned fish, or even better got for the head shot at least that way you’ll leave the fillets fairly undamaged.
At the end of the day mate you’re fishing for food, which is the way it should be.

 

[ClearShot]

Thanks! I'm stoked to know I can use this gun for most stuff.
I'm looking for a fish identification book so I can make sure I know what i'm shooting, and target the best eating fish.
Any books on Indopacific tropical fish that anyone can recommend?
A small pocket guide would be great for light travelling.
I guess I could research on the net and learn 'em all before I go eh!
If I get anywhere near a Mahi Mahi or Wahoo i'll be frothing....
Saw many Barracuda last time I was in Sumbawa, so hopefully i'll nail one of those.

 

[Mr. X]

I feel less conspicuous carrying my small, super-slim, carbon Omer XXV 75 than I did with my heavy duty RA 90cm railgun, which would sometimes draw questions about targetting "a shark" or "something big". Although, when you get fish, folk are often surprised at the size of the fish (even quite modest size ones - e.g. anything much bigger than a mackerel) that swim around the sea shores, from time to time.

 

[acevedo joseph]

The 120 is perfect , just tone it down when your targeting small fish
= use a single band with 6mm shaft

My go to gun is a C4 119 and I shoot fish 2lbs - 240lbs

Maybe when shooting smaller fish you can shoot them from farther away??
Works for me ....

Good luck ...Joe
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[ClearShot]

Great idea!
Now I am totally sold on the double 16mm bands.
I have been trying to decide between a Freedivers Bluewater, or the Evo rail gun that has one 20mm band.
Maybe some day i'll own multiple guns, but for now a little bit of flexabilty sounds perfect.
Right, time to pull out the credit card....
Thanks for all your advice guys, really cool

 

[stingaree]

Great idea!
Now I am totally sold on the double 16mm bands...

just my 2 cents if I may; from my experience you don't need twin 16's rubbers for 120 cm gun, esp. if you're after small < med. sized fish (up to 10Kg) I got used to my 130 woodie so much, that I use it even for winter small (1Kg) reef species (bream, trevaly, blackfish) here in Sydney without any probs (it doesn't rip the fish apart), however it takes some practice and I use only a single 16 rubber for that. It is def. easier to start with a shorter gun, 110cm is the bestest IMO, very maneuverable, yet solid enough to take 15 Kg yellowtail if it comes to it. Anyway, back to rubbers, a single 16 mm, 65 - 70cm long rubber band is all that one needs for a 120cm gun, with a 6.5 -7mm shaft, protruding 30-40cm over the gun's front. You put more rubbers and it will loose "the nice feel" during shooting without getting any benefits. Also, if you overpower the gun, then it will loose its accuracy a lot. I only use twin rubbers on guns 130+ cm, for the fish 15+ Kg. I'm not the super expert however, just something I learnt along the way.

 

[ClearShot]

I totally agree, from what i've been reading throughout, that seems to be true.
But the Freedivers Bluewater comes standard with two 16's, and people seem to think it is a nice gun. The correct power for that gun, nice and accurate, it's a rail gun.
Maybe i'll use it with only one 16 most of the time, dunno, we'll see.....
But i'll give it a good testing and see what works

 

[stingaree]

very reasonably priced guns with a good rep., can't go wrong I'd say. See how you go with the stand. double wrap mono (open water only). One thing though; not a single gun I own, I ended up keeping rigged up the way they sell them, people are just hard to please I guess:girlie.

 

[giddyuptiger]

Hey Clearshot, not sure if you got your gun but i asked a similar question a couple of weeks ago. got some great feedback. be sure to go to the beginning of the thread (pg 1)

http://forums.deeperblue.com/spearg...16mm-rubbers-1-x-20mm-open-closed-muzzle.html

 

[Coral Sniper]

If you are heading up to indonesia you may want to take a spare shaft with you. You should pick up a 6.5mm or 6mm shaft that you could simply swap out when you go hunting for those smaller table fish. One of your 16mm rubbers should work with that setup.

I agree with Stingaree, as I am a solid believer in single rubber euro & rail guns, I have always had trouble with twins. But I am sure they must work for other people.