JBL Woody Magnum

[SknDvr12]

I read that the JBL is not that good of a gun on some forums but other say it is an ok gun, so i was wondering what you people thought. i plan to buy it soon so if there is reason not to please tell me so i dont make a mistake.

 

[Johnoly]

I wouldnt' say that's accurate. Post up answers to these questions we can help pick the best value priced gun for just starting spearfishing.
1. What shore/location is your primary hunting spot?
2. What the typical viz there?
3. Are you hunting wrecks or reefs or what percentage if both?
4. How many dives do you have?
5. When you have dove there, what fish you want to shoot.
6. In case I'm way off base, tell us what reg, bc, 'puter, & tank do you have (yes, equipment makes a difference!)

There is a huge amount of talent on this board to help you and get you an informed answer if you help us, help you. Many of us own several guns to dive different structures. You wouldn't take a 22 pistol to a quail hunt and it is no different with spearguns. Post up some answers.

 

[SknDvr12]

1. Hawaii
2. on good days great glass, ok days are ok, but never really bad, it's hawaii.
3. reef
4. i go as often as i can, soon to be scuba cert. so look forward to that.
5. i use a 3-prong right now, so Menpachi (i think it is called a soldier fish i dono) and i try for veke (goat fish). i wanna go after Uhu adn other fish but right now i need the speargun to handle the bigger size, speed and distance.
6. I free dive, no scuba yet.

thanks.

 

[bamagreg]

I own 2 JBL woodies, different sizes, and they are solid guns for what I do. My shots are typically within 10 feet of the spear tip, fish are less than 40 pounds and visibility ranges from 10 to 80 feet. Often the better the visibility the longer shot I have to take because the fish don't get as close. The JBLs are also economically priced and spare parts are easily available. Once you get experienced and your shots become longer you may consider a Riffe or Wong, but these guns are considerable higher than the JBL.

 

[Wayward Son]

JBL's are basically workhorse guns. The XHD triggers are tougher & will hold up to being powered up better than the regular ones do.

 

[Johnoly]

1. Hawaii
2. on good days great glass, ok days are ok, but never really bad, it's hawaii.
3. reef
4. i go as often as i can, soon to be scuba cert. so look forward to that.
5. i use a 3-prong right now, so Menpachi (i think it is called a soldier fish i dono) and i try for veke (goat fish). i wanna go after Uhu adn other fish but right now i need the speargun to handle the bigger size, speed and distance.
6. I free dive, no scuba yet.

thanks.

I'm going to guess that you are going to want to continue to do some free diving, so you'll want as much flexibility in a gun as you can. Also since you are primarily reef hunting in HI, you need a gun with some distance capabilities. The JBL magnum is going to limit your reel choices and also severely limit your ability to add a side free shaft holder and also a light holder. Both of which you will eventually want when you go to scuba. The metal Magnum doesn't like to have holes drilled into it.

I understand that you want to keep the cost low, but I would look at a wood gun. Like Wayward said, it would be perfect for you to move up to a 52" Riffe or Daryl Wong, but the $400+ cost might be a little steep. The next best alternative would be to move over to the Biller 54 Mahogany & can be found in the $200 range new online, less for used on Ebay.

With the Biller, you can add a reel for freediving and also a spare shaft holder for freeshafting while on scuba. This will give you a very flexible gun for your area of shooting and will produce a very good quality, long shot to bring fish into the boat.