Longer range

[ocean_hunter]

I'm a bit stuck..

I'm currently diving with a 63" Jbl and am happy with the power but i really bought the gun in hopes for some range.

I dive mostly in about 30-50 ft. So it's not like i need some big powerhouse of a gun.

But i do need one with some range on it for faster moving cuberra, yellotail, mackeral etc..

whats the gun to go with ?

All insight would be greatly appreciated.

-- James

 

[mishu1984]

depends what range you want and size of fish. its important to always match your gear with your quarry.
say that you want something like 5-7 meters of effective range on some 20kg of fish. i would think that a 120-130cm south african railgun, such as a rob allen, freedivers, rabitech, with 2x 16mm rubbers,7mm spear, and double wrap of 400lb mono should do the trick, specially is viz is clear. coupled with a nice bungee and a decent float and floatline you could get some very decent fish.

or you might want to look into a wong hybrid. but generaly the SA railguns track much better and are beyond stealthy. sometimes i dont even hear my partner's gun fire from 15ft away.

Buy Spearfishing Equipment - Home
Rob Allen spearguns, railguns and other spearfishing and freediving accessories.
Pelaj.com

good luck. many shops in the miami area carry these in stock, so availabilty, particularly for the rob allen's and rabitech's shouldnt be a problem.

 

[ocean_hunter]

ahh, just have to accept that this sport doesn't come cheap.

thanks for the info though.

Now i just have to pick which one :head

 

[mishu1984]

hahaha yeah. this sport is anything but cheap. but trust me, prices in the states are better than in the middle east

 

[ocean_hunter]

i bet man, thanks for your insight though.

new to the spearo world so wanted to make sure that my moneys going towards a gun that'l pay me back.

let me know when your down in the keys ! :friday

-- James

 

[foxfish]

You could look into a mamba airgun, something like a mamba kitted Asso 115 will offer you more power than a twin band gun of the same length & is a lovely gun to fire.

 

[mishu1984]

generally, most rubber powered guns are easier to maintain, and should something need repairing 90% of the time you can do it yourself with nothing more than a pair of screwdrivers and pliers.
an airpowered gun might need sending back to the dealer should the need for a repair arise.

in my opinion, SA railguns are the way to go these days

 

[ocean_hunter]

1200 Rob allen ?

 

[mishu1984]

yes! 1200 rob allen in carbon fiber barrel with a 7mm shaft and 20mm band should do the trick.

carbon fiber is lighter, more stealthy, and has minimal barrel flex.

but at the end of the day, dont take my word for it. try to find some1 that has one and that will let you use it. see if you like the way it shoot, or maybe if your local spearo dealer will let you test it out in their pool. i used to live in miami, and very few houses didnt have a pool.

 

[ocean_hunter]

haha, she's still on ebay !

180 $

Not a bad price eh ?

 

[mishu1984]

what condition is she in?
take into account:
-shipping cost
-new rubbers if needed
-condition and use

but it sounds like a good deal

 

[foxfish]

generally, most rubber powered guns are easier to maintain, and should something need repairing 90% of the time you can do it yourself with nothing more than a pair of screwdrivers and pliers.
an airpowered gun might need sending back to the dealer should the need for a repair arise.

in my opinion, SA railguns are the way to go these days

Hmm do you speak from experience? I use all types of guns & feel it a little unfair to dismiss an airgun because you feel it will require high maintenance. I have air guns that are twenty years old & still going strong, even a mamba only requires a few external "O" rings once a year.
The question was about more range & there is no doubt that a mamba airgun is very powerful, recoilless & very easy to maneuver.
I also use twin band guns but they are very different to fire compared to a super smooth air gun.

 

[mishu1984]

Hmm do you speak from experience? I use all types of guns & feel it a little unfair to dismiss an airgun because you feel it will require high maintenance. I have air guns that are twenty years old & still going strong, even a mamba only requires a few external "O" rings once a year.
The question was about more range & there is no doubt that a mamba airgun is very powerful, recoilless & very easy to maneuver.
I also use twin band guns but they are very different to fire compared to a super smooth air gun.

Foxfish, ive had a few airguns, from 40cm to 90cm. mares, cressi and omer.
i have found them to be less user friendly in terms of maintenance and repair.
ive had to send a few of them back to the dealer and wait weeks for parts to arrive.

however, you do have a point, they are powerfull for their size. i guess at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference

 

[ocean_hunter]

I think i'd like to stick with a band gun due to my comfort with them.

I've heard that airguns pack the most power per the inch but i think i would want to find a friend with one and give it a try before buying one.

Back to the 1200 though, the details say that the gun has seen the water only a handful of times because of the owners newer 1300.

For the price though i'm not too worried about possibly having to go out a buy some parts for it.

Thankyou both though for your input and help with my situation ^_^

-- James

 

[ocean_hunter]

p.s. shippings 25$ for 2-3 day.

plus its in lauderdale.

only about 300 miles away

 

[foxfish]

I think that he majority prefer band guns & there is nothing wrong with that, something like an Omer Cayman fitted with two 16 or 18mm bands would be my choice for your conditions.
I really like my twin band 1000 fitted with twin 16mm bands because it is easy to load with plenty power but when you start moving into 1200 size guns they can be a bitch to load & kick like a mule.
If you ever get the chance to fire a mamba airgun dont urn it down, these guns are not like conventional airguns & have so much power for there size, you will like the fish be blown away!!
Rob Allen has a goon reputation as do Rabitech, rabitech triggers are amongst the best.

 

[ocean_hunter]

We'll see man.

I'm down in key west.

So its mostly billers, jbls, and riffes.

Does this "mamba" brand have a site i could check out ?

 

[ocean_hunter]

How about the aluminum omer cayman ?

Not the hf or any of that, but just the original.

-- thanks, james.

 

[foxfish]

The db search button will help you find virtually anything related to spearfishing, give it a go. Unfortunately mambas are not available directly in America but have a look here http://forums.deeperblue.com/pnumatic-spearguns/77151-sources-mamba-kit.html

 

[GreekDiver]

Pneumatics are SO cheap to fix if they break. I have yet to replace anything internally on my pneumatics. All i do is replace the oil in the gun 2 times a year if i use that gun a lot. It takes a matter of 5 minutes to release the air, open the muzzle, drain the liquid, and put the air back into the gun. The oil cost me $8 for a quart. I only put about 40 ml of oil each time which costs less than 50 cents. The external orings on the mambas do need replacing probably 2 to 4 times a year depending on how much you spear. I took the original external metric orings and sent them to an oring wholesaler online. They shipped me like 250 orings for $25.00. To service a pneumatic two times a year with heavy usage, would probably cost you around $1.

The oil prevents any kind of corrosion or rust(which isn't ever a problem) but mainly preserves the orings.