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Omer XXV Speargun + Other Fast tracking guns?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Thanks for posting that John, we've been looking for a 100cm XXV review. Do you use it in the UK?
 
Interesting. Surprised you bothered putting a longer spear on -- for +5cm? I was also surprised when ickledevil said he used a 110cm (T20?) in Dorset for clear water. But when it's clear (not often this year), you sometimes do need a good range - although I found I missed too many close fish when using the RA90. I imagine the XXV would be more agile than most 90-110s. How does the Cayman compare to the XXV?

Good point about the hinged muzzle. I found it terribly annoying at first but just got used to it now - even with a double wrap of spear-line.
 
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Hi, I didnt change the spear in my Omer excalibur.Was merely pointing out that you would expect two omer 100cm guns to be same length including the spear & they are not.The Excalibur carbon has a longer spear in it & this can make a big difference to how the gun sits in a relaxed hand.
The cayman is a good gun with a thicker barrel but i cant understand why omer bring these guns out with articulated wishbones as they ruin the carbon rail.I found using the cayman with 2x 18mm rubbers in the med a few weeks ago gave it too much recoil & I am changing these to 16 or 16.5's.

:tJon
 
Reactions: Mr. X
See what you mean, I mis-read your original post w.r.t. the Excalibur. The SA spearguns normally use 2x16mm when using double rubber and seem pretty powerful even with single 16mm or single 20mm RA/USA rubbers. MarkL of Omer USA posted recently that 2x14mm is a popular set up in Hawaii. We made some power comparison estimates for different rubber set-ups a while back, based on cross-section area. Calculated like that, 2x14mm has similar power to 1x20mm, but 2x16mm has significantly more power than 1x20mm.
 
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For the first time this year I started using two bands on my hybrid 1000, 2 x 16 replacing 1 x 20. I would say the twin 16s are much easier to load & certainly more powerful but the trade off is - more recoil, more tangles, longer loading time & less manouvrability.
However there is a certain feel good "Dirty Harry" type factor!
 
Yes it's a tricky one getting the power without affecting the accuracy too much.This is where I think wooden guns are good, in the fact that their mass means the recoil is less.I am looking to put a 3rd rubber on my omer master america 115 , but am yet to speak with anyone who has done this.The barrel & trigger mechanism can take it , but I think it will need a plate screwing across the slit under the hole where the circular rubber goes, otherwise another rubber just rolls out of this hole(as you have 2 circular rubbers in one hole.I also intend to varnish the teak, even though it doesnt need it, in order to protect it from dings & scratches.I e mailed Mark Labocetta to ask him if he knew anyone who had done this & if there were any problems he was aware of.i havent received a reply as yet but will post it if it's informative.I dont expect any problems , but thought perhaps someone had thought of something I hadnt before i start with the DIY.As far as using a 110 goes in the Uk, I use this & bigger in may june when hitting the black bream shoals as the big ones at the back are buggers to get close to.

Jon
 
Re: Omer XXV 90cm

I just ordered an Omer XXV 90 (regular, not gold - so no rail, no reel, no extra rubber loop). Just stumbled across an old public reply from Spaghetti, he managed to get his Omer XXV Gold for the same price in euros as my humble regular XXV inc. shipping. The pound ain't worth much currently (1970's flashback: economy in the crapper, pound sinking fast, unemployment hurtling up, reduced working hours, falling living standards, talk of electrical black outs) but the mighty $ is back (sort of), so not too bad.

I don't want a rail on this one, I already have a 90 with rail. This is intended to be something with similar range but lighter, low profile & more agile. Will likely use it as it comes at first but with a vague notion that I will eventually move to bulk rubber & dyneema wishbone (eliminating the mass of the metal muzzle yoke & wishbone). I like the look of the Cayman's rear trigger mech. (& the super strong Rabitech Apex 2 handle) but having discovered the joys of a 25mm barrel and low mass, I have no intention of giving it up.

[BTW Anybody know where there image posts on smoothing spear grooves is? I think they used Dremel tool or needle files & autosol.]
 
Mr.X I bought it used, that's why it was so cheap. My XXV Gold 90 had been used only three times by the guy I got it from: he didn't like it (bugger!) and put it for sale on an italian forum. I came by and took it.
A new XXV Gold, complete with reel and everything, is being sold for 130 euro in shops here in Italy. However it's become quite rare to find (and I can't understand why: it's on the new 2009 catalogue so it can't be discontinued yet...)
 
My regular XXV was 130 euro but 30 euro of that is shipping from Italy (it's not available here). Although I notice that some Italian suppliers have managed to find less expensive means of shipping; out of curiosity, I took a quick look at Match 30 reels, shipping from Italy varied from 32 euro to 10 euro (the cheapest shipper also had the cheapest price on the reel).

I should have asked you to keep an eye out for one. I'll let you know if I ever need to an XXV Gold 100, or 110 Cayman.
 
Do you know that in the many years I have been shooting spearguns I have never had a metal wishbone break but I have had two spears break at the weakest point = the grove.
I am just waiting for the fin to pull of my spear next
 
Thanks Ulysses - spot on as usual! Ron's site might be what I was thinking of. I couldn't access the other link -- I'll need to set up an account.
foxfish said:
Do you know that in the many years I have been shooting spearguns I have never had a metal wishbone break but I have had two spears break at the weakest point = the grove.
I am just waiting for the fin to pull of my spear next
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Ah, I wondered why you were so keen on shark-fins/mini-sharkfins recently! How did you manage to break them? Lots of powerful rubbers & light guage spears/corrosion/...? I have to keep my 6.6mm galvanized (I think) RA spear oiled these days. The 6.3mm stainless steel Omer seems pretty maintenance free, even haven't needed to sharpen it yet - that might be a challenge if drilling s/steel is anything to go by! (Broke or wore out 5 or 6 drill bits drilling spoons for flounder last year, inc. 2 cobalt bits ).
 
I can clearly remember one occasion, it was definitely my fault but I doubt it would of happened with a shark-fined spear - I found a plaice buried in the sand & speared it using my gun as a hand spear however the fish managed to get off, I guess the barb did not open.
So I watched the wounded fish as I was surfacing & saw it settle a few yards away, not wanting to take any chances I dived down & this time I shot it, the spear just snapped clean in half at the first notch.
Another occasion the spear simply broke at the back notch as soon as I attached the wishbone whilst loading!
I must say that most likely the spears would of been well used, they would of been s/s 6.5mm & been matched to a single rubber.
I still used the broken spears to this day as stingers
 
Reactions: Mr. X
Does anyone have any thoughts on the Mares Phantom Carbon? I have been looking at Omer, Picasso, Beuchat. I have Mares Pneumatics and was thinking about the carbon phantom because it is in my price range.
 
if you want i can get the drillbits for you if you need to drill stainless steel,you'll just have to find a bottle of cooling flux,pm me if you're still interested,
thanks john
 
cmburch said:
Does anyone have any thoughts on the Mares Phantom Carbon? I have been looking at Omer, Picasso, Beuchat. I have Mares Pneumatics and was thinking about the carbon phantom because it is in my price range.
Click to expand...

I am ! it looks good, nice line release, the muzzle looks really lean, the reel is also nice, but there is very little feed back about this gun so far.
 
Mares Phantom
One of my clubmates has one of these Phantoms, but I havent' had time to talk much with him so far. All I know comes from what I read on italian forums: the users' impressions are overall positive. Very good in tracking, intuitive to aim and easy to handle. The reel too is a good piece of kit.
The downsides: The rubber bands are said to be feeble (this is a common comment I've read: all the guys say it shoots weak with its standard bands) so you have to cut them or buy shorter/stronger bands; the metal wishbone is tender (a couple guys had the brackets bent or broken).
The gun itself is said to bend a little, but they say it does not affect accuracy. Mares product manager says the gun is made bending on purpose, so to absorb recoil. He explained the technical reason but it's too...technical for me to report here.
Overall, these Mares bandguns are said to be good value for the price if you need a lightweight, simple manouverable gun, with the "plus" of an innovative and appealing design.
 
Reactions: strangelove
Thanks !

I am not sure if I like the bending effect, so would be just the oposite of the HF and RA one of their qualities is how stiff the barrel is, after shooting the HF, I kind of believe that.
The band issue would be easy to fix.
Does both phanton models band (Fiber Glass and Carbon ) ?
 
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