Riffe Competitor vs. JBL Magnum?

[Hypersquid1]

hi everyone,
as some of you know i am looking to buy a beginners gun... i narrowed it down to Riffe competitor and JBL Magnum .38. i realize that the competitor is a little more expensive than JBL but is the Riffe a better deal? i dont want to buy a gun that i will outgrow in about 2 seasons and then buy a better gun like the Riffe MT. ok feedback would be great so keep the answers coming! thanks,

Hypersquid1

 

[Amphibious]

Where are you from and what are you hunting? the Riffe is the "nicer" of the pair, but having been the owner of a JBL NW Special (tweaked .38) for almost 10yrs it;s one gun I will NEVER part with. has put more fish on the table then all of my other guns combined and is BOMBPROOF. you can beat it up all day and it'll keep on slaying the swimmers.

 

[Hypersquid1]

hi,
sorry i didnt include that... i am from Rhode Island and i will be hunting off the beach/rocks no more than 150 feet offshore. mostly i will be hunting for stripers, bluefish, blackfish (tautog), some big scup and flounder. thanks for the advice!

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I think you narrowed the search too soon, but I'll resist the temptation to widen the argument and just say that the Riffe is the best choice of the two by far.

 

[So.Cal. Fisher]

The Riffe is a much better gun, but more expensive. I have two guns for different conditions. I use a heavily modified JBL woody for hunting reefs where I have to climb out over the rocks with waves pounding me to pieces. And I use a much better quality, high power gun for WSB and I tend to take better care of that one. I've had times where I didn't plan my exit very well and had to literally throw my gun up onto the rocks to get out safely. :blackeye

 

[kumuhunta]

I would rather go with the Riffe. Ive had my Riffe comp 3 for about 4 years now and love it. I also have an Omer excaliber 75 that Ive had for about 6 years now. I love both and both are good for certain situations. You should try to look at some euroguns also. Euroguns are great guns for about half the price of a Riffe and are a little more manueverable in the water. It all depends on what your going to use the gun for. People tend to look at the wood guns (Riffe and Wong for Pelagics or fish you may need a longer shot on. the Euro tends to be looked at more for accuracy and aspetto type of diving. Euro also tends to be used more for deep diving. I guess its because its thinner and easier to swim with (less drag).
Its all up to you.

 

[calicojack]

I used a small pneumatic gun for many years. Here in N. Cal it worked fine to take a cabazone or small rockfish while out abalone diving. I've even taken lingcod to 15# with that gun.

When I started diving in S. Cal, I just didn't have the range I needed and that's when I bought a JBL. Within weeks I was looking for a better gun. I really didn't like the JBL.

I have Riffe guns now, but if I were in a position to dive more often, I think that I would be looking for a Wong.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I have Riffe guns now, but if I were in a position to dive more often, I think that I would be looking for a Wong.

Well, I was trying not to widen the discussion beyond the title of the thread, but since you said it first, I'd also recommend looking at a Wong.

But I'll freely admit to a bias, as I have 5 of them.

 

[strangelove]

Bill

Is correct, riffe and jbl are great guns but you should look beyond that.

There are several very good brands like wong, yokooji, stephen kai and teak-sea. Beware of the sizes and 100 euro gun is equivalent to 50 inche wodden gun.

 

[seaman]

I have used JBLs since they were Voits and back. They do land fishes but they are to heavy to track game with , I had owned several and the sawed off is the best of the bunch, the Magnum is way too heavy, and you just can´t overpower them cause they have a kick. And the Accuracy is also in the light side of an average gun. I have tried with euros too, like the ol´and good Cavalero from France. but you will get tired of aiming that to the little ones, as it is not safe to hunt anything bigger than 20 lbs with it. The riffe is way better than a Jbl, so if you are ready to invest, go for a Riffe.