New gun ideas and help needed

[Philip32]

Hi All

Looking for some help.

I am getting into Spearfishing in the north west parts of Western Australia.

I have been advised on getting a 90cm phenumatic gun for the reefs mainly for coral trout and blue bone.

I have purchased a Seac Asso 90.

I was interested in a band gun but I have been given an old sea hornet 120cm gun so I thought the smaller phenumatic would be easier.

I am really considering the dry barrel kit and I have spoken to Tomba guys but I am unsure about the shaft size and if it’s all worth the investment.

I am looking to get the best range and penetration I can get from this gun.
So I can nail the trout and blue bone.

All help is appreciated I don’t want to invest in this gun if I need a more powerful or a different gun later on.

Areas I am looking to use it is off the beach into reefs or off a boat at reefs I have been told most fish are speared within 5mtrs distance and in clear water.

Thanks in advance

 

[Mr. X]

Welcome Philip, I moved your thread to the Speargun area of the forum. I would have place it in the pneumatic spearguns sub-section, where members suchas PopgunPete and Foxfish would likely help but you mention bandguns are under consideration too.

To get in contact with the locals where you intend to fish, Ipost to the Australia region area of the forum: https://forums.deeperblue.com/forums/australia-new-zealand-the-pacific-islands.97/

Personally, I'm not into pneumatics (but they do provide an undeniably good power to size ratio). I would go for one of the more robust/hefty euroguns (e.g. Omersub, Beuchat Marlin) or a railgun (e.g. Rob Allen/Mako/Rabitech/Hammerhead/Orcas/...). I'm guessing conditions there will be pretty nice - perhaps comparable to South Africa?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Australia

In which case, I'd be tempted to get a railgun 110/120cm railgun. Or perhaps 2, same model but different lengths, so they can share spares (e.g. 90-110cm single 16mm or 20mm band as a reef gun and maybe 120-150cm with 2 or 3 14mm or 16mm bands for big, bluewater pelajic fish).

If the larger speargun/fish scenario applies, you might also want to consider some of the fancier big wood spearguns by custom makers, such as forum members SettingSteel (USA) and Hawaiian Daryl Wong (USA). Or some of the Italian/Greek/South African makers (there are probably a few, perhaps part time/hobby makers in Australia/NZ, as there are in the UK).

 

[Philip32]

Thanks mr x
Sorry new and not that great with forums.
The phenumatic vs band gun is interesting.
I am trying to find the most powerful gun in the most compact size possible.
Have you heard or used a manny sub gun

 

[foxfish]

I have a Asso 115 with a Tomba 7mm free spear set up. Pumped to 22 bar, it is the longest range gun I own.

 

[seatrophy]

The phenumatic vs band gun is interesting.
I am trying to find the most powerful gun in the most compact size possible.

that sounds like holywar begin ) ... i do belive every gun have they purpose ... short, long,big, middle, pneumatic and rubber band ) i guess you dont have to invest money for tomba kit ... at least before you clearly understant what kinda hunting and what kinda fish you prefered target.... maybe those 50 santimeters of much logner shooting distance which gave u tomba kit is nothing to you purpose ,) im my opinion is better to have 2 differ class gun with differ purpose for shiort and long range shootnig , than single one gun but just little much powerfull

 

[Mr. X]

...I am trying to find the most powerful gun in the most compact size possible...

Foxfish, what do you reckon?Something like a90cm pneumatic with dry barrel kit? (note: 90cm pneumatics are significantly shorter than 90cm band guns).

Philip, in general, I reckon the need for power is overestimated by beginners and the need for other things, such as size, weight, handling, convenience, accuracy, ease and speed of loading, robustness, simplicity, service, access to spares, quietness, ease of maintaining/customization, etc. are underestimated.

 

[foxfish]

Yes a 90 dry barrel is about as short as you can go without the gun loosing balance and sinking.
It is better to get close than try to increase power.

 

[Philip32]

Hi guys

Thank you.

I was out on the weekend and missed 2 fish the visibility was horrible.
I could not see very far maybe 3mtrs max.
Probably less
I am hunting thick bodied fish and moving the gun through the water is difficult.
I don’t want a longer gun.

 

[Philip32]

Hi guys

Thank you.

I was out on the weekend and missed 2 fish the visibility was horrible.
I could not see very far maybe 3mtrs max.
Probably less
I am hunting thick bodied fish and moving the gun through the water is difficult.
I don’t want a longer gun.

Especially through shallow reefs

 

[Mr. X]

3m vis. is pretty normal for UK waters. Stay positive, bear in mind that it makes it harder for fish to see you, as well as vice versa. 70-75cm bandguns - and sometimes even shorter (50cm pneumatics, 60cm/68cm bandguns) - are quite popular because of the poor viz we often encounter.

Re. moving the gun through the water, part of the reason I moved to Omer XXVs is the significantly reduced drag/inertia, which was causing shoulder pain. The barrels are only 25mm diameter and mine don't have a rail, the barrel is carbon fibre (low mass), the spear is slim and the flopper/barb lays flush on the spear. The whole thing is slimmer and lighter than normal. I lightened them further by simplifying the arrangement of the rubber, removing the metal muzzle "wishbone" and the metal articulated French-style wishbone. It is not the perfect set-up for everyone by any means but it suits my current needs quite well.