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Old 08-04-2016, 10:28 AM   #1
Watergator
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Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

Anyone have any experience with this gun or maybe the mako guys could chime in on it. I've been checking the website for the ETR to be back in stock and just saw this one listed and haven't seen it before. I have been flipping between the Iconic and ETR pages and I can't really tell a difference so I'm wondering what it is. It looks like a good gun and priced a bit lower than the ETR so that would give me a bit more to spend on a reel. Thanks guys.


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Old 08-04-2016, 01:55 PM   #2
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

After posting this I decided to just call Mako and ask about it. The answer I got is that the Iconic is replacing the Oceanic ETR and the main differences are a more ergonomic handle and a glass infused nylon line release vs the stainless. I'm pretty much sold on it so I'll try to post a review once I pull the trigger and get it wet.


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Old 08-05-2016, 03:35 PM   #3
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

Can't wait for your review looking into a new gun and the ionic is definitely priced right for me
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Old 08-06-2016, 12:05 AM   #4
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

A lot of guns in the same price range with reverse mechanism handles. More gun for the lenght. JMO
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Old 08-06-2016, 04:04 AM   #5
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

The Mako rail gun would do much better if they would change the handle design and add a reverse trigger. As it is, the handle is too low in the CG of the gun and that causes poor reaction to recoil once the gun is powered up. Lack of reverse trigger also reduces band stretch for the same footprint. An ET on a speargun will not fix the inherent design issues, although it might stabilize a shaft a little. It is like a catch 22 ... you put an ET to stabilize shaft ... ET causes more friction which requires a bigger band load to compensate ... that causes more recoil etc...

The gun can be used effectively if you don't push the power ... for scuba spearos power is usually not necessary as you shoot from very close range.
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Old 08-06-2016, 02:58 PM   #6
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

This is interesting. I'm actually getting this gun for freediving and this is the first that I have heard that you have to compensate for the enclosed track with bigger/shorter bands. Is that really a noticeable factor? The enclosed track guns I have shot have all had a tiny bit of wiggle room for the shaft so I would have expected any additional friction to be negligible


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Old 08-13-2016, 03:31 PM   #7
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

I just purchased the 110 Mako Iconic and here are my thoughts...

I have it set up with two 16 mm bands with a single wrap of line.
With a single wrap of line the distance from handle to tip of shaft is just over 20 feet. Shooting with the arm extended your max effective range with one wrap is 22 feet from your mask depending on how long your arms are.

I first set it up in my pool with markers at 15 and 20 feet. With one band loaded at both 15 and 20 feet the gun is dead on. with two bands loaded it shoots 4-5 inches high (this is referenced to my aiming point, each person aims differently when there are no true front and rear sights). With one band at 20 feet the spear has plenty of power. The shaft reliably penetrates my 4 inch thick high density construction foam target and reaches the end of the line.

With 2 bands there is noticeably more recoil and enough power to really penetrate. So far i really only need the one band unless I am shooting at something really tough. I plan on getting a spare shaft set up with two wraps. Their site lists that this will give me up to 28 feet of range. I imagine somewhere within the 20-28 foot range the spear will begin to drop. I will run more tests in the pool when i get the spare shaft and longer wrap. This will allow me to be able to better evaluate the max range of the gun.

Overall I am fairly impressed with the gun that it shoots so efficiently with one band. I am interested to see how it shoots with two wraps or with a free shaft set up.
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Old 08-13-2016, 03:38 PM   #8
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

Awesome. That's great to hear that it shoots so well. I ordered mine this week but probably won't get a chance to use it until October because of work. I will probably do the same as you and have one shaft rigged with a single (use for scuba and faster reload time) and a double wrap for freediving when I'm more likely to use the extra range.


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Old 08-13-2016, 04:03 PM   #9
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

After all the positive feedback I've gotten I went ahead and ordered one @ 110cm. I should have it next week and I'll get it water the following week. I'll post a hands on review when the time comes

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Old 08-13-2016, 07:15 PM   #10
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

Looks like the 110 is popular because that's what I got too.


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Old 08-21-2016, 03:25 PM   #11
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

Just a quick reminder. When i posted about distance on my ETR 110. My measurements were from my mask to target. Many others who test guns give distance as the measurement from spear tip to target. There is a big difference so I just wanted to avoid any confusion. Still happy with my 110 ETR for the price and still waiting to get the spare shaft and further test the limits of this gun. I stoned a nice gag with it this weekend so it is getting real world as well as pool testing.
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Old 08-21-2016, 07:12 PM   #12
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

Nice! I can't remember the last time I even saw a gag around here!
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Old 09-06-2016, 03:31 PM   #13
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

Time for a follow up on the 110 ETR. As discussed in my post above there is a big difference in the way people measure so to keep things more clear I will refer to distances of spear tip to target. My first test was limited by having a single wrap of line. With a single wrap of line your max distance from spear tip is aprox 14.5-15 ft. Like I mentioned before the gun performs well at this distance but as others have mentioned, each foot becomes progressively more difficult when you get out there.

With the double wrap on my spare shaft I was prepared to see how the gun performed at farther ranges. At 16 and even 17 feet from spear tip the gun continued to perform adequately but somewhere between 18 and 19 feet it maxed out. At 19 feet the gun was consistently shooting high and right with poor penetration. My 3 inches of construction foam is not a stringent test, but I find it adequate for The fish I target. At 19 foot the spear did not reliably penetrate enough to engage the flopper all the way. I would define the max range of this gun as 17-18 feet for the fish I target with the way I have it set up.

In summary adding the double wrap gives me another 2-3 feet of effective range. The only thing to consider is whether or not the extra 2-3 feet is needed and if the benefit from that extra distance outweighs the increased tangles and slower loading that come along with 2 wraps.
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Old 09-06-2016, 04:06 PM   #14
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

Was this double wrap test still with one band or two?


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Old 09-06-2016, 05:09 PM   #15
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Re: Mako Iconic Enclosed Track

Quote:
Originally Posted by SEA_ARCHER View Post
Time for a follow up on the 110 ETR. As discussed in my post above there is a big difference in the way people measure so to keep things more clear I will refer to distances of spear tip to target. My first test was limited by having a single wrap of line. With a single wrap of line your max distance from spear tip is aprox 14.5-15 ft. Like I mentioned before the gun performs well at this distance but as others have mentioned, each foot becomes progressively more difficult when you get out there.

With the double wrap on my spare shaft I was prepared to see how the gun performed at farther ranges. At 16 and even 17 feet from spear tip the gun continued to perform adequately but somewhere between 18 and 19 feet it maxed out. At 19 feet the gun was consistently shooting high and right with poor penetration. My 3 inches of construction foam is not a stringent test, but I find it adequate for The fish I target. At 19 foot the spear did not reliably penetrate enough to engage the flopper all the way. I would define the max range of this gun as 17-18 feet for the fish I target with the way I have it set up.

In summary adding the double wrap gives me another 2-3 feet of effective range. The only thing to consider is whether or not the extra 2-3 feet is needed and if the benefit from that extra distance outweighs the increased tangles and slower loading that come along with 2 wraps.

I've not done pool testing of this gun like you have, but your results are consistent with what I would expect: after you go past the length of a single wrap, the power is going to fall off pretty quickly on that 2-band gun.

So you end up with a LOT more line and a marginal increase in useful range.

For freediving in Blue Water (which I often use a 120 or 130 cm gun) then a double wrap does give you a useful increase in range. The added line (of the second wrap) is only a moderate pain to handle when you floating on the surface and reloading. If you are freediving and shooting snapper or groupers etc. a double wrap of line has a bigger potential for tangling on the bottom.

So for me, when hunting cobia and AJ, I may want a double wrap for freediving.

For scuba diving, which is quite frequently hunting bottom fish around structure, the extra range provided by the second wrap is not worth the trouble. It gets tangled on the bottom too easily and it takes too long to reload. You just need to get a little closer to the fish and make the shot within a single wrap of line distance.
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