New to spearfishing. Need advice.

[Hetland]

I would still say 90cm is too short but thats a general statement for gulf spearing. Range is a function of shaft length as it penetration. You will want a bigger gun than that 32" on day 1. Dive shops on the Gulf shouldnt even have guns that sized IMHO.

I've shot a 90, and have one of my favorite kills with a 90 (a huge mangrove that just moving out of range, and into a hull when I popped him). If I'm measuring correctly, I shoot a 110 now, and it's usually more than enough. I routinely have the shaft go through-and-through if I'm shooting fresh bands BUT, I'm hunting in Pensacola mostly, and our water's a bit murkier than what you have in your neighborhood. I also hunt with a single wrap, which limits my range, but keeps me from taking those super-long shots I shouldn't be taking anyway (and I can re-wrap faster)

I do 100% agree that dive shops overmarket undersized guns, but I'll admit I've thought of getting a tiny gun for lionfish

 

[bww143]

There is no comparison between the range and power of a 32" Biller and a 90 cm railgun.... you know...

Could you please explain what you mean by this. I am getting first gun and I am trying to decide between 32,36 biller or a 60-90 mako. Thank you,

 

[REEF DIVE SHOP]

The REEF dive shop in Orange Has a bad A boat built just for spear fishing .

 

[bbarnett51]

First of all I freely admit I don't know what the hell I'm talking about when it comes to ocean sprearing. However I have been spearfishing in lakes for 20 years. I am going out with Niuhi charters this week and borrowed a gun from my LDS.

Anyway, I routinely shoot large catfish with a 32" gun. I'm know using a wooden 32" Biller. I would not recommend it especially for freediving but I can't help but think it would do an ok on most snappers and similar sized fish. If it will take out a 35lb flathead I would think it would do the same on similar sized ocean fish. Again not the optimal choice but if it's all you got its still an effective choice maybe.

Am I completely wrong?

 

[Hetland]

It's possible to kill a whitetail deer with a .22, but do you really want to try it? This is the same thing. A 32" gun, may, technically be able to take fish in the Gulf of Mexico, but it's not an effective tool for doing so, and, I fear you will face much frustration in proving this to yourself... or in proving me wrong

A 32" Biller gives you what, a 6.5ft maximum shooting distance? Meaning that you want to shoot at 4ft or less? That means the tip of your spear needs to be 4ft from the skull of a red snapper. I can get the smaller ones to within 2 inches of my spearpoint, but I've been doing this a few years and the ones that do it probably wouldn't measure out to be a legal fish.

A 16" red snapper is harder than you think. I've seen people one-band those fish at close range with guns bigger than yours, and barely be able to put them on the stringer.

The gun I shoot uses a single wrap, and my "effective range" is 18.25 feet. I still like to shoot my fish at near point-blank range. When I do, the spear can go completely through a 20 pound snapper's skull. That same set-up, and a 15ft shot on a very heavy snapper's skull, will bounce the shaft off the fish, and drop it in my lap. This has literally happened to me. By the time the shaft reaches 15feet, it has enough power to penetrate a smaller, or softer fish, but hitting the head of a large snapper, cobia, amberjack, it simply won't kill them.

Get a 48" Biller, or, a little longer if you like. They're great guns. You can get them serviced almost anywhere, and they hold a good resale value if you ever want to move on to something different.

 

[bbarnett51]

I'm didn't even bring mine. I borrowed a larger, don't know what size, from my LDS. I have always liked Biller guns but the guys from Mako were very helpful to me. If I plan on doing more of this I might give them a try.

Either way I'm just hoping this weather clears up. I'm in Destin right now and it's pouring

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Could you please explain what you mean by this. I am getting first gun and I am trying to decide between 32,36 biller or a 60-90 mako. Thank you,

The difference is that you can NOT just convert metric to inches and compare these guns with respect to power range etc. A railgun (like a mako) is measure by the length of the barrel only. This is about the same as the length that the band stretches, (i.e., the muzzle length is roughly the distance of the notches from the back of the gun (within an inch or so anyway).

Other guns (like a Biller) are measured by their total length. The total length is considerably longer than the band stretch. These types of guns have a long loading butt that extends off the back of the gun.. it allows easy hip loading, but it makes the gun considerably longer without adding to the power of the gun. There is nothing wrong with saying a gun that is 4 feet long total, is a 48" gun, but some other companies use different convention to size their guns.. You might want to compare the shaft length, this might give you another metric, since it is tough to find the band stretch distance of some guns...


To summarize, a 100 cm mako will have much, much more power and range than a 36" biller gun (if equipped with similar diameter bands)..