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Is my gun too big?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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norcalhunter

New Member
Jun 19, 2017
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Hello everybody, I'd like to start off with I am very new to spearfishing. I have been freediving for a few years but I finally caught a lucky break and got some money to spend. A friend of mine has decided he doesn't want to spearfish anymore. He had a basically new riffe euro 110 ( he only used it 3 or 4 times) but he said he'd sell it to me $450. After doing some research and seeing how expensive those guns are I bought it. However, I will be doing a lot of spearfishing in Monterey and a fair amount in southern california but I am wondering if this gun is too much for Monterey. I have seen in other threads that a 90-100cm gun is good and I know my setup isn't ideal but can I get by with it?
 
I don't have any experience diving NorCal, but from what I've read I get the impression that most divers use something smaller than 110. The visibility is generally poor so that a smaller gun is all that is needed, and the fish are either small or just sitting on a rock waiting to be speared (ling cod).

In SoCal a longer gun would be better, but you can certainly take large fish if the visibility is poor and/or you get close enough. My avatar shows a 30 pound white sea bass I took a couple of weeks ago, and that gun in the photo is an Abellan 110. And under kelp paddies floating offshore, yellowtail can be almost suicidal for the first diver in the water, and can easily be taken with a 110.

If you want to maximize your chances of landing big fish, you might want to consider using a threaded shaft with a slip tip. Mori's slip tips are considered the standard, and Sea Sniper, located in Santa Cruz, has a very nice new tip that I used on that fish in the avatar.

If your shooting line is attached the muzzle of the gun, then you are going to have to install a reel or use a breakaway float line for large fish. Each choice has its advantages and disadvantages but they keep you from having your gun taken away from you. For instance, that little 30 pound fish in my avatar went straight to the 50 foot bottom in spite of my best efforts trying to stop it. I would have lost the gun if the shooting line had been attached to it. Forgive me if you already know all that, but since you didn't mention a reel or float line I thought I should bring it up.

I'll be glad to try to answer any questions you have about SoCal.
 
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I don't have any experience diving NorCal, but from what I've read I get the impression that most divers use something smaller than 110. The visibility is generally poor so that a smaller gun is all that is needed, and the fish are either small or just sitting on a rock waiting to be speared (ling cod).

In SoCal a longer gun would be better, but you can certainly take large fish if the visibility is poor and/or you get close enough. My avatar shows a 30 pound white sea bass I took a couple of weeks ago, and that gun in the photo is an Abellan 110. And under kelp paddies floating offshore, yellowtail can be almost suicidal for the first diver in the water, and can easily be taken with a 110.

If you want to maximize your chances of landing big fish, you might want to consider using a threaded shaft with a slip tip. Mori's slip tips are considered the standard, and Sea Sniper, located in Santa Cruz, has a very nice new tip that I used on that fish in the avatar.

If your shooting line is attached the muzzle of the gun, then you are going to have to install a reel or use a breakaway float line for large fish. Each choice has its advantages and disadvantages but they keep you from having your gun taken away from you. For instance, that little 30 pound fish in my avatar went straight to the 50 foot bottom in spite of my best efforts trying to stop it. I would have lost the gun if the shooting line had been attached to it. Forgive me if you already know all that, but since you didn't mention a reel or float line I thought I should bring it up.

I'll be glad to try to answer any questions you have about SoCal.

Thank you so much for clearing this up and for the advice about the slip tip. I have family in socal and I hope to go when I see them again. I will probably have more questions soon and I appreciate you offering to answer more questions.
 
The 110 is probably larger than optimum for your area, but I would suggest giving it a few days and see what you think. The Riffe Euro is an excellent gun and has enough power for anything you are likely to encounter.

If you feel it is too long and slow to swing for your visibility, please take a look at our 90 cm Predator Pro - You can get a new one, shipped for About $175.
 
The 110 is probably larger than optimum for your area, but I would suggest giving it a few days and see what you think. The Riffe Euro is an excellent gun and has enough power for anything you are likely to encounter.

If you feel it is too long and slow to swing for your visibility, please take a look at our 90 cm Predator Pro - You can get a new one, shipped for About $175.

Dano (Mako owner) is obviously trying to sell you something but in this case it might be with considering. I don't have any experience with his guns but $175 is not a big risk. I lost a weight belt, pinch weights, and a float last week and it cost me $250 to replace it.

I bet his gun would work well for you.
 
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Dano (Mako owner) is obviously trying to sell you something but in this case it might be with considering. I don't have any experience with his guns but $175 is not a big risk. I lost a weight belt, pinch weights, and a float last week and it cost me $250 to replace it.

I bet his gun would work well for you.

Thank you both for the advice. Today I went with some buddies to try it out and while it wasn't perfect I feel I will be able to get by. I shot my first fish ( a ling and some rockfish). It was really cool and I'm hooked now. Sorry to hear you lost your gear Bill. I will probably buy the Mako in the future once I get some more money saved up. I was going to get the enclosed track speargun from them if I hadn't gotten that deal on the riffe. In case you were wondering Bill, they have a good reputation and it's hard to find a bad review about them.
 
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