Hunting "classes"???

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fjpatrum

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I'm a newb and my brother is even more newb (not finished OW yet) but we're headed to the Keys this spring. Both of us are very comfortable in the water and have a lot of experience with other water sports. We're also both quite comfortable in "emergency" situations. I say this to somewhat discourage the "you're going to die" posts though I recognize we'll still get some of those, deservedly, as newbs. I'm not really interested in people's opinions about whether we're "ready" for hunting since only we can really make that call. We are both pretty good at self assessment and won't do anything "stupid" that we're not prepared to deal with at this point.

Now, all that said, I have a slight interest and my brother has heavy interest in hunting so I was thinking maybe getting one of our charters with a hunting boat that can give a sort of "class" about the basics of different types of guns, spears, etc. I'm not looking for much, just an introduction to hunting underwater on SCUBA.

Anyone know of good hunting boats in or around south Florida and the Keys that offers such "intro" type trips? I'm planning to post a similar request in the local area sub groups but thought the hunting forum would also be an appropriate place for this type of request.
 
I can't give you specific information on what you're asking but I can tell you that you'll find more spearos from Florida, who are pretty helpful, on the following spearfishing sites:
1. Spearfishingplanet.com
2. Speardiver.com
3. deeperblue.com

As far as different types of guns, there are band and pneumatics. Band guns are by far the most popular.

Your gun choice would be based on visibility, and type of fish you're gunning for. Short guns are good in low vis conditions as you wouldn't even see the tip of a 55 inch gun in vis less then 8 feet or so.

As you progress to larger fish (grouper, snapper, amber jack etc) you may choose to free shaft while on scuba. No line to get tangled in.

There's a lifetime of learning in spearfishing. Scuba and free dive spearfishing offer different challenges.
Have fun. It's addicting.
 
If you're driving down it might be worth a detour over to the west coast of Fl. I took one of his classes and go a lot out of it

Florida Skin Diver
 
X2 on Chad. He posted a lot of good info on here.
 
You might try Lionfish hunting first, it is a little easier as long as you are careful and a lot less expensive.
you can get into it for under $100.00. It is also a good thing to do for the reef system
 
See eric at key dives in Islamorada, He does a padi spearfishing Class.
 
Link to Captain Ralph.

I like heading out with him for several reasons:

1) Boat may be slow, but he puts a max of 6 divers - so its never crowded and the boat is Large and comfortable
2) Compressor on board
3) Very accomodating - which means basically - the boat is your while you are there
4) NOT your typical 2 dives and done. He will work with you and basically let you pick what/where to go based on his local knowledge and recommendations - we did 4-5 dives per day
5) A lot of spearfisherman and lobster hunters go with him. You should see the HUGE collection of guns that the locals leave on his boat.
6) Great Instructor as well.
Key West Diving, Spearfishing, and Vandenberg Charters aboard the Y Knot - Sports/Recreation/Activities - Key West, FL | Facebook
 

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