Spearguns

[Christiansailin]

Looking for recommendations on purchasing a Speargun.

Price?
Brand?
Critical aspects of a good gun?
Laws/Regulations?

Never owned one but liked Tom Neales' perspective on using one.

Thanks,
Bryan

[Dulcesuenos]

Laws/Regs depend on where you are going to be.
For just spearing casualy you dont need a monster tuna gun. Get a 42-48" or a 90-100CM Lots of easy to use cheap guns out there, Mako spearguns has the best customer service and great products and pricing. Just for beginner dont get the open muzzle, go closed.
Spearfishing specialties also makes a nice gun as does Ab biller.
May get more responses posting on Spearfishing forumns etc but I have been shooting over 20 years now and found what works best for entry level but keeps on working for advanced too.

[colemj]

I do a lot of speargun fishing. The best advice I can give is to spend the money to get a good gun. It doesn't have to be a high end one, but a cheap gun will make you hate the sport, you will wound a lot of fish without bringing them home and you will spend a lot of time working on the gun. Expect to spend $250-300 for a decent gun and extra spear.

As for brands, AB Biller, Riffe, Sportasub make good guns, although there are many others too. Stay away from the low end JBL's and Buechats and any gun that looks cheaply made (they are obvious and numerous). I have an AB Biller and find it to be the best price/performance. Riffes cost more and are worth it.

You won't be happy with a short gun. I find 48" to be a good all-round reef gun and for open water around reefs. If you plan to fish open water predominately for pelagic and larger fish, get a larger gun.

A good gun will have a good, smooth trigger mechanism (Riffes are the best), stainless spring steel shafts and long barbs. Get a shaft or spear tip with a 3" barb. I prefer shafts without separate tips for higher performance, but exchangeable tips do give you a few options.

As for laws and regulations, they differ widely from complete bans to specific seasons to completely open depending where you are. You will just need to do some research on that. One thing I can't stress enough is NEVER break the law or go against regulations. Everyone takes these laws very seriously - you would have a better chance escaping harsh fines and jail if you had a firearm outside the law instead of a speargun.

Good luck, spearfishing is a lot of fun and provides excellent dinners!

www.svreach.com/fish-2/

Mark

BTW, what does Tom Neale say about spearguns?

[Christiansailin]

Good advice. Thanks.
T. Neales perspective (as I recall) is spearfishing allows you to choose your meal and remove a great deal of guesswork.
Im not throwing my rod and reels away anytime soon but do want to try somethimg different.

[bobconnie]

Ive been useing a Hawian Sling for over 40 yrs (not the same one of courseLOL) And seeing as how Im old and only free dive anymore, I find I get enough fish to keep us happy when we are not sailing and useing fishing equipment!! of course Im not trying to kill huge tuna LOL but it works just fine for shallow water killing ! Just my 2 cents

[chuckr]

guess it depends on where you are going to cruise -- when we were in the western carib we used a spear gun and by the way agree with colemj - get a good one - in the eastern carib we are not allowed to use them and when checking in to a few countries we had to declare them - we found that interesting -

just our opinion
chuck patty and svsoulmates
trinidad for hurricane season

[neilpride]

I have a 60 and a 90 dragon from the Omer Brand , i use the 60 for reef fish , like groupers or some Snapers , and the 90 for serious business, the 90 with almost 20 ft of line in a reel, and in a few ocasions i take both the 60 and the 90, the 60 just in case i need a second shoot .

Regulations, check the island you visit and the actual regulations, French islands normally allow spearfishing, others is forbiden without a fishing license , never ever use a speargun in a natural park or a reserve.
Good catch!!!

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by chuckr

...when checking in to a few countries we had to declare them...

Yep. They are as strictly regulated as handguns in some countries--particularly the pneumatic type. Pole spears, much less so. Still, wherever you go, you need to be sure that you understand the laws BEFORE you get there!

[mdvick]

Originally Posted by colemj

I do a lot of speargun fishing. The best advice I can give is to spend the money to get a good gun. It doesn't have to be a high end one, but a cheap gun will make you hate the sport, you will wound a lot of fish without bringing them home and you will spend a lot of time working on the gun. Expect to spend $250-300 for a decent gun and extra spear.

As for brands, AB Biller, Riffe, Sportasub make good guns, although there are many others too. Stay away from the low end JBL's and Buechats and any gun that looks cheaply made (they are obvious and numerous). I have an AB Biller and find it to be the best price/performance. Riffes cost more and are worth it.

You won't be happy with a short gun. I find 48" to be a good all-round reef gun and for open water around reefs. If you plan to fish open water predominately for pelagic and larger fish, get a larger gun.

A good gun will have a good, smooth trigger mechanism (Riffes are the best), stainless spring steel shafts and long barbs. Get a shaft or spear tip with a 3" barb. I prefer shafts without separate tips for higher performance, but exchangeable tips do give you a few options.

As for laws and regulations, they differ widely from complete bans to specific seasons to completely open depending where you are. You will just need to do some research on that. One thing I can't stress enough is NEVER break the law or go against regulations. Everyone takes these laws very seriously - you would have a better chance escaping harsh fines and jail if you had a firearm outside the law instead of a speargun.

Good luck, spearfishing is a lot of fun and provides excellent dinners!

www.svreach.com/fish-2/

Mark

BTW, what does Tom Neale say about spearguns?

1++ I agree with Mark completely. However, as posted above, the hawaiian sling is not regulated in most parts of the world and they do a GREAT job of getting dinner on the table!

[Christiansailin]

Thanks for all of the feedback. Think I'll start with the Hawian Sling until I can afford the $200-$300 guns. Got on Utube last night and found several good videos for both the Sling and Gun. My target is 10-15 pounders so the sling should suffice.
Thanks again and Happy 4th wherever you are.

[offgridcanuck]

+1 Mako, Dan is a great guy to deal with and warranties everything. Join the spearboard forum and start reading, lots of good info there. Grab the mako repair pack and you can build almost anything. They sell a very inexpensive pronged spear good for everything small and more fun in my opinion and their guns work off some plans done up by tinman and some other mucky mucks on the forums.

You'll want to build your own one day as well. Good luck with your hunting!