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What to look for in a gun?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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M

MattyJ

New Member
Nov 19, 2012
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Hi,

I've been spearing for a little while now, have a 90cm gun and decide it is time to up grade as I want to start targeting bigger fish like kingfish, hapuku, and mahi mahi etc. I want to spend around $500-600, maybe a little more if need be.
I know you guys probably get questions like this all the time, but was wondering what things I need to look for in a gun capable of taking the sort of fish I stated earlier? Two bands? length? rail or not? different shafts, muzzels, carbon fiber?.....there was soo much on offer haha.
If anyone has any hints, brands, gun suggestions or guns and brands I should avoid I would love to hear from you.
Cheers.
 
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Heya mate, common brands that are used to target big fish include Rob Allen, Riffe, Beauchat, Omer an Cressi. Gun choice depends on the conditions you dive as wel as the fish you are targeting. Are you boat diving or shore diving?? Is it open water or reef hunting you do?? Are the target fish wary and skittish or do they come in close to investigate?? And how long do your dive sessions last??

Sorry for all the questions but they are all relevant to your gun choice. If you can answer the questions then we can give you ideas as to suitable guns.
 
You are very unlikely to come across Hapuku or Mahi mahi in mainland NZ.

A Rob Allen 120 is pretty much the go-to standard gun for your end of the country. Give Matt a call at Wild Blue, and he'll sort you out.
 
Cheers Scoobaru
I do both boat and shore diving but do not usually spear deeper than 20-25m. Would like to try blue water but majority off dives Will be on reefs. The. Vis is somewhere from 5-15m. Target fish usually come in for a little look but on the days where the vis is closer to 15 they stay further away.
Dive sessions, meaning how long Im under for? can stay down for about 1 1/2 minutes. Maybe a tad longer.
 
Whoops, my edit didn't work. Carbon is nice, but not necessary. 7mm shaft, single 20mm rubber. Done.

EDIT most RA's seem to use the closed muzzle now, but you can get an open one put on if that's your preference. Again, call Matt and he'll let you know what the story is.
 
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chalkeye said:
You are very unlikely to come across Hapuku or Mahi mahi in mainland NZ.

A Rob Allen 120 is pretty much the go-to standard gun for your end of the country. Give Matt a call at Wild Blue, and he'll sort you out.
Click to expand...

Sweet thanks chalkeye. Yea was going to do a mission up to the cape over summer forthe mahi
And hapuku gna mish down south dear the catlands, herd there is potential down there.
Reckon the 120 with what sized rubber? and do you think one or two is better?
Thanks
 
Single 20mm, it'll kill pretty much everything.

Your best bet for Hapuku is the Chathams - Matt has done several trips so talk to him about it.
 
I would agree with chalkeye about the size of the gun. I meant how long you are in the water for eg 6hours. Sorry if I confused you. The reason I asked this as if you do long swims and stay holding your gun for hours on end you will benefit from a carbon gun or a well balanced wood gun as these will be less strain on your wrists and more manoevarable underwater. I personally prefer railguns (all mine are rob Allen) but I prefer using a 7mm spear with 2x 16mm rubbers on my biggest gun (90cm). Whether you choose a single band or double band is purely personal preference. But for the longer range shots I would definitely recommend a railgun as they help maintain accuracy at maximum range.
 
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