Speargun specifics

[Central Fla]

Hello all,

I am just now putting together everything I need to spearfish. My best guess (after reading as much as possible) is that a middle length gun will serve me best as a fisrt gun. My question is, what does the advertised distance mean, farthest point reached, farthest point reached with enough power to be effective ? If a gun advertises 18 ft, what happens at 18 feet?

I am leaning toward a JBL sawed off woody, however the shaft diameter is listed as .31 inches 7.87 mm, It appears the magnum series has this diameter. Is this a common diameter in the speargun world? Might make a difference trying to replace/borrow a shaft on a trip.

Thanks

Central Fla.

 

[FredT]

You've already missed the fish and the shaft is snubbed by the cable. Best to shoot at no more than 2x the length of your shaft from the gun tip. Longer guns = better penetration and longer range. short guns = much shorter range and limited penetration within that range, but more effective on reef and wreck structure since the gun is more maneuverable in tight quarters, and probably inside kelp. I just haven't hunted kelp to be sure.

Large diameter shaft has more penetration at range, but is slower getting there. small diameter gets there faster, but doesn't penetrate as well. For "small" fish under about 10 pounds and short guns the skinny shaft is a good thing. 5/16 is the "skinny" JBL shaft, 3/8 is the heavy duty one. It's also really hard to bend a 3/8 shaft, but I've had fish in the +50# range put significant bends in one. I have several 5/16 shaft pretzels from rig hunting when shooting fish in the 25# range.

It's all about trade-offs and local conditions. The one thing that is constant in this game is that whatever works best for where YOU dive every weekend, won't be ideal 50 miles down the coast or two lakes over!

FT

 

[pescador775]

Central, after many years of spearing, I, too, have no clue as to what the advertised ranges pertain to. It may be that different mfgrs define the range differently. A 5/16 shaft is still the best for most uses and are widely available in the US. There is much for you to learn about guns and accessories, gun tuning, arrow selection and rigging. The selection of arrow can mean a difference in range simply by the nature of the spear head. A blank shaft with simply a sharpened point and hinged barb has a longer range that one with a bulky screw on head. This is because a slender point is streamlined and penetrates farther. However, some of the bulky, screw on heads sold by JBL are detachable which can increase effective range simply based on holding ability to the game. A slender, high tech dyneema shooting line will increase absolute range due to less drag. This is more so if a bulky slide ring is not used. More so if no line is used. Heavier bands will increase absolute range but may affect accuracy if the gun is over powered. However, to answer your question, assume a gun is medium size with a 54 inch stock. The gun has three, 9/16 rubber bands and two wraps of line tied at the butt of the shaft and strung on a standard release. This gun, a Biller let's say, will kill small fish at a range of 18-20 feet measured form the outstretched fist. It will penetrate large fish at 12 feet.

 

[Johnoly]

I am leaning toward a JBL sawed off woody, however the shaft diameter is listed as .31 inches 7.87 mm, It appears the magnum series has this diameter. Is this a common diameter in the speargun world? Might make a difference trying to replace/borrow a shaft on a trip.
Central Fla.

I also am from Central Florida (Orlando), so I might be able to lend a hand. If you are a boat diving from the east coast, you should stick to a gun that is no shorter than 48" and I'd suggest no longer that 54" since you are just starting out. A longer gun will be harder to swing in the some of the currents we have over here.

JBL Woody and Magnun are both good guns, but personally I don't like their line release or triggers. For a beginner gun, I prefer the Biller 48. I would recommend that you stay away from the "tube" guns as they are harder to upgrade with lights, spare shaft holders etc, as you increase in experience. But the real key to shooting fish is not your gun, the length, the size or manufacture. It's stalking technique to get you closer to the fish and shot placement. You could fire an underwater laser guided bazooka, and I'll still out shoot you with stalking and accuracy. My personal gun is a Spearfishing Specialties commerical 52 that I free shaft with. It's not a gun for everyone, but it works great for me for my diving in Jupiter Florida.

If you are looking for people to help you out on tips and tricks on Spearfishing, I'd recommend Jupiter Dive Center who caters to spearfishing on our coast. There are plenty of other great boats on both coasts that you can do a search for, and I've sure put up my share of dive reports on Jupiter if you search.

I'm always happy to help out a new spearo who wants to get into the sport. And there is a trememdous amount of talent on this board must more experienced than myself that will glady help out. Also, I've dove with FredT and seen him put some monster fish in the boat, so it's good advise to listen to him!!

 

[deepdestroyer]

I also spearfish quite freequently on the east coast of florida. My home port is port canaveral, I dive here all year long. I think Johnoly is right on with the suggestion of the 48 biller, also a good choice is the 48 rino sport by spearfishing specialties. These guns come with more commonly used 5/16in shafts which most dive shops carry. I would not use these guns to freeshaft here because of ripping currents, and low visibility, you would lose many shafts trying this method, especially as a newbie. Hope this helps.

 

[Chad Carney]

OK, I'll put in my 2 cents, from the FL west coast. (Actually I shoot close to everywhere in FL.)

Ditto what the guys have all said... don't go shorter than a 48" and stick to 5/16" diameter spears. So if you like JBL, move up to the Magnum or Woody Magnum. Biller and SS are good too. I like wood guns personally and I've had all of these brands. They all have mid priced models that can get you started well.

They also have their premium models, and if you want a great gun from the get-go it usually pays to buy quality from the start.

Now I shoot Daryl Wong 50" & 55" custom reef guns. Top notch all the way.

Half the fun in spearfishing is the learning! After 34 yeras, I am still!

Chad

 

[deepdestroyer]

I deff agree with ya on that one Chad, Daryl makes some of the best guns anywhere, not to mention his customer service is second to none!

 

[Central Fla]

Awesome, thanks to every one of you, maybe I will be lucky enough to dive with you folks. Will take a while though, new gear ( just started diving again) needs to get wet, weights trimmed etc. and then a couple of boynton trips to get fimiliar.

Seems like "quiet trigger release" is advertised on some guns, is this a big deal? Also, I haven't as of yet bought a gear bag, I was going to use an old sea bag from the navy but it's looking like that might not work well. when you folks pack up, what do you use and where do you put the gun on the bag, and where do you stow it on the boat? Sorry about the newbie questions but boat etiquette is best learned before you get there.


Thanks
Donny

 

[Chad Carney]

Donny,

Armor makes some of the best bags in the business and they seriously support spearfishing. http://www.armorbags.com/ Check out #66 in specialty bags and #87 in new products.

If you have yet to move to long fins, you might want to wait a bit on the bag. Once you try long fins you'll need another bag if you go too short.

BTW Akona makes a couple long mesh bags that are real reasonable. http://www.akona.com/ AKB734 or AKB704 are good supplemental bags.

If you are interested in seeing any Wong guns, I have seven of them from 50" to 57.5"

Chad

 

[pescador775]

I don't "bag" my gun unless transporting by air. I have custom made cases for that. However, since exposure to sunlight damages rubber bands I occasionally use the Riffe slip on cover which fits over the muzzle and bands.

The subject of noise" is controversial, primarily due to the Riffe selling points, a propaganda campaign which raised the notion that noise will spook fish making it easier to sell the idea of a wood gun. This stream of opinion has put it in the minds of some divers that their gun noise will allow fish to dodge the spear. That is utter nonsense. Truth is that fish hear noise all the time, everything from boat whine to shrimp clicks and dolphin squeals. They are not particularly bothered by any of this unless you include the short pulse sonar that dolphins employ to drive bait. Fish are not spooked by mechanical sounds because these sounds do not represent a threat as defined by their genetic programming. Fish are spooked by bubbles and splashes. This is an atavistic response to the threat of birds which is genetically programmed in the fish's brains when the big fish were still tiny fry. Fish do not respond to mechanical sounds from a speargun. However, the sight of an arrow flashing through the water will spook other fish, those that are present parallel to the line of flight. This is due to the resemblence to predator action. The fish which is targeted cannot see the arrow in flight, nor could a targeted fish respond quickly enough to dodge an arrow even should it want to.