My first speargun? Help deciding...

[23six]

what about those Mako railguns? They have a spiffy website, but what are they really like? Worth it? Anyone used one?

I use several Mako railguns (100, 120, 140 & 150). They are a great gun and incredible value. That being said, you can shoot fish with any speargun on the market today. You just have to put the time in to practice your craft. More diving & spearing gets better results than spending more money.

 

[MarineMammal]

Thanks 23six, just want something that will last me a while at an affordable price. I'm trying to decide between a mako 80 cm, a JBL woody 38 special and a mares sten 70 (pneumatic).

So far I like the ease of maintenance of the band guns, but like the power to length ratio and reload ease of the pneumatic gun. I hear pneumatic guns lose power with depth though which has me a bit worried.

I don't need much accuracy (low vis close range) but will need some good stopping power. My max depth will be around 60'-70' for now....

 

[dumpsterDiver]

If you put two bands on the Mako 80, you should have more power than you need for low visibility hunting.

 

[Apecks]

Thanks 23six, just want something that will last me a while at an affordable price. I'm trying to decide between a mako 80 cm, a JBL woody 38 special and a mares sten 70 (pneumatic).

So far I like the ease of maintenance of the band guns, but like the power to length ratio and reload ease of the pneumatic gun. I hear pneumatic guns lose power with depth though which has me a bit worried.

I don't need much accuracy (low vis close range) but will need some good stopping power. My max depth will be around 60'-70' for now....

I have tried both band & pneumatic guns - and now I would not have a pneumatic given to me. I had a cressi sl100, piece of junk (always bending shafts reloading, low quality parts, equalised at depth etc). I gave away in the end to my local dive centre.

Save yourself some time & money - get a good quality rail band gun

 

[spoolin01]

I use a 28" pneumatic for lings and rockfish, it's the perfect gun for that. They're quicker to reload, usually more powerful than a comparable length band gun, and with most you have two power levels to choose from. In principle you can tune the power of a pneumatic for a wider range of distances. That length gun is handy around the rocks and holes, and power is plenty for lings and rockfish, where you're usually point-blank anyway. I don't have it fully pumped, use the low power setting for most shots and am still banging the tips. I bought it used, have used it for 5 years or so, zero maintenance, it's never even required repumping. Mine is a Seac Sub but they all look like they're built to the same design, maybe even the same factory. I didn't like the thinner shafts on the Mares Cyranos. I rarely shoot below 60' but any loss of power has never been noticeable. It might be with a shorter gun I suppose. My friends use the 38 special type guns, which are fine for rockfish but wholly underpowered for anything free-swimming and 8+ ft away, as is the pneumatic. You need a much longer gun for power and distance, but the length is a detriment for hunting in the rocks, so you have to choose to some degree. If you're going to buy a band gun with WSB, calicos, or sheephead in mind, I wouldn't get anything less than 100cm, it just won't be enough gun.

By the way, it's not legal to shoot stripers in CA.

 

[23six]

I used to doubt the effectiveness of pneumatics until a friend of mine, Harry (Greekdiver on Spearboard) showed me just how effective one can be. You definitely don't have to worry about losing power at depth, especially not at 60-70 feet. However, ease of reloading may be a myth. It's true you only have to pump the bladder about once a year. But each time you reload the shaft you are pushing against that pressure. Think of it like loading a band gun with the shaft pushing against the bands.

All that said, I still use band guns (Mako railguns) because I like them, they're easy, affordable and effective...which sounds like what you need. I typically rig my guns with twin 16mm bands and it's more than what you will need. If I plan on shooting a fish at close range inside a hole I will remove one band from the shaft - helps prevent losing, bending, breaking shafts.

 

[23six]

For an example of the effectiveness of pneumatics, go to my DVD site and click on the Disc 1 Trailer (QuickTime Format video clip). About 3/4 of the way into it you will see a long rage shot with a pneumatic at around 60' depth.

 

[DIVERHERB]

I have used both and never had a problem with power out of either. I will say that as far as ease of loading the band guns are alot easier to load and they seem to last longer.

 

[Hetland]

I've shot a 48" Biller in the Gulf of Mexico for a year, and I like it very much. Good power, balance, near-neutral buoyancy, easy to find stuff for (shafts, tips, bands, etc.)

HOWEVER, I just tried out a 37" Pelaj Typhoon railgun ($250) and was really, really pleased with the results. It's quiet, shoots like a laser, and has as much, or more power with one band than my Biller has with two. It also only has two shaft-lengths of line (many guns come with too much line) which keeps your shaft in it's effective range while reducing reload and entanglement hassles. I'm going to pick one up as soon as my wife lets me

 

[toddinbr]

being new to spearfishing,so take my advice with a grain of salt. I was very impressed with Mako Spearguns Customer service. I ended up getting the Predator pro 120cm. Dano spent alot of time not selling me but making sure I got what I needed. He also has a 4 month payment plan no interest.

After shooting my gun my spearfishing friends all want one.