Which Soeargun do I choose for a First Time Spero

[randymora62]

I want a mahogany barrel or a Mako. Please ase educate me on the differences.

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[Mr. X]

Would you like us to choose for you? What are your requirements/spearfishing conditions?

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

The most important decision is to make sure you have the right size gun for the type of diving you plan on doing. Then you can look at features and budget and preferences and other factors. Here's a little info specifically about MAKO - since you asked..

http://www.makospearguns.com/why-buy-a-mako-speargun-a/290.htm


Thanks
Dano

 

[randymora62]

Well I want help on which gun to choose.I go shore spearfishing around 10 meters, also I do Spearfishing in blue water in Baja California.My primary Spearfishing is done in So Cal.Visibility from 5 - 15 ft depends on conditions

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[MAKO Spearguns]

Well I want help on which gun to choose.I go shore spearfishing around 10 meters, also I do Spearfishing in blue water in Baja California.My primary Spearfishing is done in So Cal.Visibility from 5 - 15 ft depends on conditions

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I'm happy to answer your questions and you can always call during the day and talk to me or one of our staff -all of us are happy to take time to answer any questions you might have.

One gun will not do everything. We recommend you pick a gun which is best suited for the conditions you will most often encounter. For So Cal a 90 cm gun is very popular, it is a little long for 5 ft vis, but should still be workable and is probably the best choice.

For Blue water a 110 cm would be the absolute minimum, but a 120 or 130 would be more common.

My advice would be to purchase a 90 cm MAKO Predator Pro 3, with the very popular open muzzle option, a single wrap of line and the basic Hawaiin flopper and two 16 mm bands. We offer several options with riging, but since we don't make the bands, build the gun or do the rigging until the day you order the gun, we can offer a variety of "custom" choices without incurring any additional cost (so we don't charge more for providing these options).

http://www.makospearguns.com/Predator-Pro-3rd-Generation-Speargun-p/mpp3gr.htm

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I hesitate to recommend guns for newbies, partly because its been about 65 years since I was one, and partly because its hard to know your budget, your level of commitment, and whether you will stick with it or go on to some other hobby. But since I dive in SoCal, I'll throw some suggestions at you.

First, you said "mahogany or a mako." That leads me to believe that you don't know that most wood guns are made from teak. But whichever, I prefer wood guns to metal tube guns. They never leak and fill with water and sink, you can drill holes in them and attach reels, etc. wherever you wish. However, they are more expensive.

Then there is the mid handle vs. rear handle issue. Mid handle guns are very popular in California due to the sometimes-poor visibility and the kelp. For a given length they are easier to swing.

For about 20 years I've been using Wong guns and I presently own four of them ranging from 50 to 60 inches.

http://www.wongspearguns.com

I agree with mako1 that you probably need two guns to cover local kelp diving in poor vis up to blue water in Baja. One possibility for the smaller gun might be the 50" GR hybrid. Its very easy to swing in poor vis, but guys on my boat have taken white sea bass of 68 and 65 pounds with that model.

For blue water I would suggest the GR Plus in either 57.5" or 60" length. I hesitate to use 60" guns in poor vis, but many of my friends do quite well with them in very nasty water. Daryl Wong comes up from Hawaii to dive with me almost every year, and he shot a big white sea bass in very poor vis with that 60" GR Plus.

The first photo is a 65 pound fish taken with the 50" GR. The second is a 50+ taken by Daryl with a 60" gun in very poor vis. The third is a 62 pounder I took with a 60" gun, although the vis was excellent. And the fourth shows a couple of yellowtail taken by Daryl and I with 60" guns at Catalina. We got many more that day.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

But since you mentioned mahogany, lets look at that, along with rear handled guns. After using mid handled teak guns for many years, I thought I should try a rear handled gun before I died. I heard good things about Abbelan guns, which are made of mahogany in Spain. I bought the Denton 110 model. I had trouble adjusting to aiming a rear handled gun, but I think I've finally adjusted. I had amazing accuracy and power out to 20 feet from the tip in a pool, and now I've managed to shoot some fish with it. The fish shown are yellowtail that I've taken in the last two weeks with the gun.

All my suggestions are more expensive than the Mako guns. In general I think you get what you pay for in spearguns, but again it depends on your budget and level of commitment.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

So I gather that my reply wasn't what you wanted to hear? My feelings aren't hurt when someone doesn't take my advice, but when I go to all that trouble I like to be rewarded with an acknowledgment. It took a while to write that and gather the photos. Something like "Thanks, but those are too expensive" or any old thing to show you read it.

In this case I actually got a private message suggesting that I answer your since I'm in SoCal. I replied that I generally don't like to get into the threads asking for suggestions for first guns since the poster will just be bewildered and overwhelmed by information that he doesn't have the background to process, but I hated to see that the only response you got was from someone who had something to sell you.

Now I'm going to go cry myself to sleep and think twice before I reply to similar requests in the future.

 

[Pinniped72]

Out of interest Bill, I like the way you secure your knife in the sheath, I'm gonna copy that if you don't mind don't stop answering people, you teach new tricks when your not even trying

 

[phonewentwest]

I appreciate your response!

I'm a SoCal diver looking to upgrade from my RA 130. I'm trying to decide between the Denton 110 vs 120. I'm leaning toward the 110 as I expect it to better suit most of my dives in kelp (w occasional offshore). My shorter RA 90 I plan to keep and continue to enjoy on the reef.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've read a number of your posts. Props to you for helping others. [emoji106][emoji106][emoji41]


We'd all live one big holiday

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Pinniped, I'm glad you like the knife placement. I put it there because I can get to it instantly and return it to the sheath instantly. The bungee is very important to me too. It holds the knife in the sheath and I run my hand through the loop as I remove the knife. That way if I drop it its dangling from my wrist. Also, if I'm trying to cut a fish out of the kelp and come to the time when I want to use both hands, I don't have to take the time putting the knife back in the sheath. I can just drop it and let it dangle.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Phonewentwest, I'm not sure what to tell you on the Denton. I've only had a few shots with the 110 and I haven't see the 120. But if most of your diving is in the kelp (assuming it comes back) maybe the 110 is the way to go. It seems to defy what I thought I knew about guns, but those two 14.5mm small ID bands really seem to push that 5/8" shaft fast. A friend got me into his association pool and had the target 20 feet from the tip. My five shots were all around the bull in a pattern I could cover with my palm, and he said it was getting great penetration compared to other guns. I could hardly believe it.

I'm still getting used to some different things about it. For instance, I use breakaway float line, and the float line attaches in front of the rear handle. So when I carry it on its back down near my thigh, I'm still trying to learn how to rotate it forward and upright without getting the line between my hand and the handle. With mid handle guns, the attachment is behind the handle, so its not a problem. Of course this isn't an issue if you use a reel. And if you have been using a RA, then you are used to using rear handled guns. I started with a rear handle Champion Arbalete in the early 1950s, but its been a long time since I've used anything but mid handles.

 

[phonewentwest]

Great feedback [emoji108]
What a classic pic! That's great!

I've always found it difficult to part with an old surfboard, dreaming one day some kid would appreciate my old equipment. I'm hesitant to part with any spearguns for the same reason.

Any chance you still have that gun in your quiver?


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[randymora62]

Bill, the information you have me provided me, was priceless I have it saved on my desk top as notes to self, I will consider many options when buying my gun, I know you took slot of time and effort putting the amazing shots up even providing me links to wongspear guns, I will pick up one of those as soon as I start to get heavy into the hobby.But for know I will be starting out basic. My budget is 500$ for a starter gun. Once I purchase her I will send you some pics.

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[randymora62]

Bill I actually read and took your thoughts and suggestions as mentor ship in purchasing my First Spear gun. Once again thank you, I will posts some pics up when I come across my first Gun

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[Bill McIntyre]

Great feedback [emoji108]
What a classic pic! That's great!

I've always found it difficult to part with an old surfboard, dreaming one day some kid would appreciate my old equipment. I'm hesitant to part with any spearguns for the same reason.

Any chance you still have that gun in your quiver?


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I'm afraid that I didn't have the foresight to save things when I was a teenager. The oldest gun I have is a 1960 Swimmaster Spearfisherman that I bought at the Pearl Harbor Navy exchange. The line was later purchased by Voit, and then later still by JBL. Actually I think there was at least one other company in the chain, but I forget now. Anyway, its in very bad shape but I'll post a couple of photos.

Another old gun that might be of interest is the Cressi Cernia. You compressed a spring as you rammed the shaft into the barrel. I think that photo was taken a year or two after the one I showed earlier. My girlfriend is holding my Champion Arbalete and I'm hold the Cressi on the right side of the photo.

It was a real bear to cock in the water. The shaft was very soft steel and you risked bending it as you tried to shove it into the barrel, so we usually cocked it in the boat. That lead to a minor disaster one time in a rental wood skiff like the one shown in that earlier photo. We had the tip of the shaft down in the corner where the stern met the side of skiff. We were carefully pushing the gun down while making sure the shaft was aligned when he heard a loud "sproing" sound. Both of us thought that the bolt that captured the spring at the back of the barrel must have come out, so we looked up expecting to see the spring flying through the air. We didn't see the spring, but when we looked back down, we saw the water coming through the hole in the bottom of the boat. I guess the plywood wasn't very thick, and we had fired right through it. As I recall, a piece of lumber drifted by and we carved a plug from it and pounded it into the hole. Sometimes I'm surprised that I survived my teenage years.

 

[phonewentwest]

If/when you write your book I'll be first in line [emoji108]





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"We'd all live one big holiday." - Jim James

 

[Etienne Spiteri]

incredible to read your posts Bill...its a privilege to read advice from someone as experienced as yourself!