Tired of using rubber spearguns?

[NorthWesternAdriatic]

I need a recommendation for a good/medium pneumatic speargun. Until now, I’ve been using a Laser Open Pro 100 cm with two reactive 16mm bands (64 and 62cm). The shaft is 140cm, 6.5mm with sharkfins. Up until about a year ago, I weighed 110 kg and I’m 183 cm tall. Even then, loading the bands was a problem for me; it took a lot of energy, and it would take me about 10 minutes in the water to get everything back in place, at best. So, it slowly turned from enjoyment into frustration.
Now I’m down to 80 kg – that’s 30 kg less – and I simply don’t have the strength anymore to load bands for 3-4 hours in the sea, nor do I want to, it just tires me out too much. I also had a reel for a while, which made things even harder, but I wisely removed it. I don’t need it.
I hunt right along the shore, no real depth (1-2-3 meters MAX), dragging and beaching along rocks. Fish up to 500-600 grams. I’m targeting gilthead bream, sea bass, and sheephead. Mullet, salpa, picarel, wrasse, and similar species don’t really interest me. Occasionally a cuttlefish, and that’s it.
Loading a 100 cm speargun is literally killing me; last time, I pinched a nerve from so much constant loading, and ended up with bruises on my chest and side... In my opinion, I need a pneumatic speargun, not a pole spear, with a harpoon tip. Something slimmer. From what I see online, they sell 7-8mm shafts, but I think that’s too thick. For me, something maneuverable, fast, short, quick, deadly, and easy to load in a short time without too much effort would be optimal.
Is there even a pneumatic speargun that can shoot a shaft accurately at about 3 meters distance? I think a 6 to 6.25mm shaft would be just right, and the gun should be up to about 80 cm max. I’m interested in your opinions, suggestions, and ideas before I (again) buy the wrong thing. Thanks, any serious and well-intentioned advice is welcome. I really know nothing about pneumatics, zero, never had one in my hand or used one.

 

[musubi]

I need a recommendation for a good/medium pneumatic speargun. Until now, I’ve been using a Laser Open Pro 100 cm with two reactive 16mm bands (64 and 62cm). The shaft is 140cm, 6.5mm with sharkfins. Up until about a year ago, I weighed 110 kg and I’m 183 cm tall. Even then, loading the bands was a problem for me; it took a lot of energy, and it would take me about 10 minutes in the water to get everything back in place, at best. So, it slowly turned from enjoyment into frustration.
Now I’m down to 80 kg – that’s 30 kg less – and I simply don’t have the strength anymore to load bands for 3-4 hours in the sea, nor do I want to, it just tires me out too much. I also had a reel for a while, which made things even harder, but I wisely removed it. I don’t need it.
I hunt right along the shore, no real depth (1-2-3 meters MAX), dragging and beaching along rocks. Fish up to 500-600 grams. I’m targeting gilthead bream, sea bass, and sheephead. Mullet, salpa, picarel, wrasse, and similar species don’t really interest me. Occasionally a cuttlefish, and that’s it.
Loading a 100 cm speargun is literally killing me; last time, I pinched a nerve from so much constant loading, and ended up with bruises on my chest and side... In my opinion, I need a pneumatic speargun, not a pole spear, with a harpoon tip. Something slimmer. From what I see online, they sell 7-8mm shafts, but I think that’s too thick. For me, something maneuverable, fast, short, quick, deadly, and easy to load in a short time without too much effort would be optimal.
Is there even a pneumatic speargun that can shoot a shaft accurately at about 3 meters distance? I think a 6 to 6.25mm shaft would be just right, and the gun should be up to about 80 cm max. I’m interested in your opinions, suggestions, and ideas before I (again) buy the wrong thing. Thanks, any serious and well-intentioned advice is welcome. I really know nothing about pneumatics, zero, never had one in my hand or used one.

@popgun pete will likely chime in here on pneumatics.
I don't have experience with them, but my friend uses a Salvimar pneumatic. It's about a 90 cm and he's been very accurate with it.

16 mm bands can be quite tough, especially if they're short and need to be stretched far for its size. You can try sizing down to 14 mm bands. It's what I typically use for a gun that size with 6 to 7 mm dia shafts. Two 16 mm bands for 6.5 mm shaft seem quite overpowered in my mind.

I use roller style guns, but I wouldn't necessarily advocate for it for your situation of spearing.

 

[rollerGR]

Seconding what musubi said, 2x14 at ~3 stretch is easy to load against the wetsuit's chest pad. You can also try invert rollers where loading the main rubber takes half the energy (since the kg load is also halved), and the second rubber can be 1x14,5mm one. With a 6,5mm shaft it will work fine.

Roller spearguns aren't easy to load, I hunt with them extensively and it's one of the things that annoys me about them. Another factor is the gun itself: 100cm is uncomfortable for loading, perhaps even 95cm is outside the comfortable zone. You could get an 80-90cm gun or just change the barrel to a shorter one, Pathos sells individual barrels. By the way, do you load using the rest sharkfin (the one close to the muzzle)? Loading the bands in one go can be tricky.

Note that pneumatic guns also need strength to load and might be a bit less comfortable in how they load compared to sling guns.

 

[NorthWesternAdriatic]

Dear pals, thank you for kind answers!

Yes, I use "to rest" shark fin.

Never the less, I decided to sell my speargun, my shoulders are killing me, my back is in pain, and because those crazy rubbers, even my teeth are hurting.

I'd like to buy (and TRY something new in my life), this one: https://divestore.hr/en/predathor-vuoto?variant=306075V (shortest version - 75 cm, and I don't need reel)

What are your thoughts?

 

[rollerGR]

Looks pretty good, it has a vacuum muzzle system so it'll shoot well even though I don't have a lot of experience with pneumatic guns. If the 7mm isn't on-tip maybe get a longer 6,75mm but I don't really see any issue with either. Only the way you aim will change a bit.

 

[NorthWesternAdriatic]

Will it have the same power/strength as my Pathos 100cm? Can I expect spear to travel for 2-3meters far? Why pneumtic guns have so thick spears?

 

[rollerGR]

Will it have the same power/strength as my Pathos 100cm? Can I expect spear to travel for 2-3meters far? Why pneumtic guns have so thick spears?

I know pneumatics tend to be more powerful than conventional rubber spearguns but I have no idea if it will be actually more powerful. I think 2m is guaranteed with a 75cm pneumatic, maybe more, but I don't use pneumatics myself so don't take my word for granted.

Thick spears have to do with the manufacturer setup. Most guns are set up wrong (weak bands or unnecessarily heavy shaft), but heavy shafts are common in weaker setups in places where fish are plenty, big, and slow to react. So even if it travels more slowly it still has enough penetration and the fish won't move too fast, hence it's effective. It wouldn't work here in the Med though.

 

[vrokhlenko]

I need a recommendation for a good/medium pneumatic speargun. Until now, I’ve been using a Laser Open Pro 100 cm with two reactive 16mm bands (64 and 62cm). The shaft is 140cm, 6.5mm with sharkfins. Up until about a year ago, I weighed 110 kg and I’m 183 cm tall. Even then, loading the bands was a problem for me; it took a lot of energy, and it would take me about 10 minutes in the water to get everything back in place, at best. So, it slowly turned from enjoyment into frustration.
Now I’m down to 80 kg – that’s 30 kg less – and I simply don’t have the strength anymore to load bands for 3-4 hours in the sea, nor do I want to, it just tires me out too much. I also had a reel for a while, which made things even harder, but I wisely removed it. I don’t need it.
I hunt right along the shore, no real depth (1-2-3 meters MAX), dragging and beaching along rocks. Fish up to 500-600 grams. I’m targeting gilthead bream, sea bass, and sheephead. Mullet, salpa, picarel, wrasse, and similar species don’t really interest me. Occasionally a cuttlefish, and that’s it.
Loading a 100 cm speargun is literally killing me; last time, I pinched a nerve from so much constant loading, and ended up with bruises on my chest and side... In my opinion, I need a pneumatic speargun, not a pole spear, with a harpoon tip. Something slimmer. From what I see online, they sell 7-8mm shafts, but I think that’s too thick. For me, something maneuverable, fast, short, quick, deadly, and easy to load in a short time without too much effort would be optimal.
Is there even a pneumatic speargun that can shoot a shaft accurately at about 3 meters distance? I think a 6 to 6.25mm shaft would be just right, and the gun should be up to about 80 cm max. I’m interested in your opinions, suggestions, and ideas before I (again) buy the wrong thing. Thanks, any serious and well-intentioned advice is welcome. I really know nothing about pneumatics, zero, never had one in my hand or used one.

I shoot exclusively pneumatic. An 85cm Mares Cyrano can easily shoot accurately at 3meters with a 7mm shaft. However thee many pitfalls when using air guns. A few things:
1) Stock slide rings are garbage. They are plastic. You need to buy or make a metal one
2) Stock shooting line is too thick
3) Mares pump is garbage. Other manufacturers have a better design
4) Accidental discharge when loading can leave you without a finger
5) You can not bend your shaft permanently. Showing crooked steel shaft into ALUMINUM inner barrel of an air gun will destroy the barrel.
6) You must understand inner workings of your gun and have access to the spare o-rings.
7) You must never allow sand to enter the inner barrel
8) You load your gun with one arm only. Might not be easy if the gun is pumped above 20 ATM

There are many others. I customize many parts of my spearfishing equipment and have a metalworking lathe. For example, I make my own sliders, made a pump, fixed the trigger mechanism and modified o-rings purchased from China. The reason I use air is very simple - my 90 cm Mares Cyrano fits in my travel bag along with three shafts. I also target smaller fish - usually under 10 kilos. Plus maintaining my gun gives me something to do.
This website has a wealth of info on innerworkings of air guns and accessories. Spearfishing ain't easy