Hi Blade Runner,
I take advantage of a high and dry Saturday morning from diving, I'm actually headed to the mountains instead this afternoon for a change, to gladly reply to your inquiry and tell you about a couple new developments Omer is making on the topic of guns.
As far as online e-commerce dealers who sell our products at discounts online are concerned we have Pirate Scuba's spearfishinggear.com out of Ocean City Md. 800 539 9597 and on the West Coast Blue Water Hunter 800 452 6696
www.blueh20.com as well as Hana Pa' Hawaii in Hawaii 800 274 0482. They're all equally knowledgeable operations as they share the same passion and excitement for the sport as their customers.
The Alluminum speargun is a brainchild product of a 3 time Italian spearfishing champion whose technical knowledge of spearguns has made the gun well suited for a similar frame of minded diver whereas it's less suited for other types of divers. In particular it seems to be very well liked in Hawaii and the North East where agile and precise spearguns with a very sensitive trigger mech. seem to possess an edge in local spearfishing conditions, competitions, and stalking quick and shy game. On the other hand I think its careful characteristics are not as well suited for novices and rugged rough and tough divers who are tough on their equipment and punish their equipment on a regular basis. The Excalibur on the other hand is a more economical version of the Alluminum's principle more adept as an introductory model simple style aluminum european band gun that fits a more general use and budget. It's not to say it can handle smaller fish only by any means as just two days ago two fairly novice 2nd season divers in my dive club shot a 50lb and a 78lb amberjack with 75cm Excaliburs with 6.5mm shafts with one pair of 16mm rubbers…One stoned one of the mules and the other ended up with a nice big fish and a pretzeled Tahitian 6.5mm.
Omer therefore has always had two styles of speargun lines for this general dual category "genra" of hunters, one the Excalibur/Alluminum line and the other the new T-20 and MB line of the past. The former is a lighter weapon with a more sensitive trigger mechanism and low profile design while the later MB and new T-20 is a beefier and more rugged speargun with fewer curves in the locking mechanism sear to withstand a higher band load and a more square and robust handle design. It also has an index finger positioned safety as well as a slightly larger more comfortable loading butt. The construction of the handle and muzzle is 66% fiberglass and compared to the former MB handle has a line release integrated in the side of the handle independent of the trigger mech. It's available in a standard aluminum barrel version(T-20) as well as a carbon fiber version (Millenium)depending on the preference of the hunter. Under heavy load with more than the stock factory load (ex. two pairs of 18mm bands) the trigger mechanism shows no sign of change in the sensitivity of the pull. This is important in that it won't cause the hunter to exert more pressure than necessary on the trigger consequently causing the gun to jerk and change the aim on these lighter carefully more balanced spearguns…Both gun lines have specific integrated mounts in the handle for the Alluminum 50 and 30 reels.
I hate to sound like an infomercial but this seems like an open minded forum so what the heck, if you are interested in the new guns I should let you know that they are a bit hard to come by as our only supplies went immediately to stores like Hana Pa Hawaii and Maui Sporting Goods in Hawaii in 100cm+ sizes only and we're already out. They'll be more readily available soon I hope.
Hope I haven't drowned you with too much information but I appreciate your excitement and interest and am always pleased to share any information or feedback I can, wishing you happy hunting and clear waters, ciao,
Mark Labccetta
OMER USA
