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All About Guns What's your weapon of choice, and why? Discuss the beloved speargun here!

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Old 07-08-2012, 04:09 PM   #1
Gator.Lynch
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Question A great gun for a beginner?

So I am a inexperienced terrible spearfisherman/freediver who would like a nice powerful gun without breaking the bank. I will mostly be in 10 - 20 ft with poor visibility but would like something I can also use when I am in keys fishing in 30 - 40 with great visibility. I just want something extremely versatile that I can use in a multitude of situations and conditions. I'm going to set my max price at $175. I would gladly take a used gun but I do not intend to make my purchase for a couple months.
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Old 07-08-2012, 08:30 PM   #2
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

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Originally Posted by Gator.Lynch View Post
So I am a inexperienced terrible spearfisherman/freediver who would like a nice powerful gun without breaking the bank. I will mostly be in 10 - 20 ft with poor visibility but would like something I can also use when I am in keys fishing in 30 - 40 with great visibility. I just want something extremely versatile that I can use in a multitude of situations and conditions. I'm going to set my max price at $175. I would gladly take a used gun but I do not intend to make my purchase for a couple months.
Hah. Let me know when you find one of those, I'll be buying one too.
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Old 07-08-2012, 09:01 PM   #3
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

You will need two guns, a long one and a short one, look on eBay and you may find some secondhand bargains, but that budget is not likely to buy one gun which is in good order and complete.
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Old 07-08-2012, 09:06 PM   #4
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

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Originally Posted by popgun pete View Post
You will need two guns, a long one and a short one, look on eBay and you may find some secondhand bargains, but that budget is not likely to buy one gun which is in good order and complete.
I ended up getting a small gun from a friend, cressi apache 45cm. I'm guessing it should suffice for the greenwater in fort myers.
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Old 07-08-2012, 09:22 PM   #5
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

I don't know exactly where you are diving in FTMyers but I have dove many spots there. You will ant to get a more powerful gun than a 45cm just to get good penetration on the bigger fish like gags and the odd cobia
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Old 07-08-2012, 09:33 PM   #6
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

One solution would be to buy a band gun that is easily disassembled by removing handle and muzzle. You could then swap a longer barrel and a longer spear plus the longer bands to suit. A timber gun would be best such as a "Biller" as it is a simple gun to work on, or the equivalent "Sea Hornet". These guns often appear for sale in used condition. Why I say a timber gun is you could make the barrel yourself with some woodworking skills by copying the original unit, either buying a long gun and making a shorter wooden barrel for it or vice-versa. A tube gun would mean finding the right size tube, but that is an option if you can source it, however timber will be easier, especially when making a short barrel for what was a long gun. If you use nuts and bolts rather than self-tapping screws the gun will take being disassembled without loosening the fasteners' grip in the timber when transforming it to the different length.
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Old 07-08-2012, 09:42 PM   #7
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

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Originally Posted by popgun pete View Post
One solution would be to buy a band gun that is easily disassembled by removing handle and muzzle. You could then swap a longer barrel and a longer spear plus the longer bands to suit. A timber gun would be best such as a "Biller" as it is a simple gun to work on, or the equivalent "Sea Hornet". These guns often appear for sale in used condition. Why I say a timber gun is you could make the barrel yourself with some woodworking skills by copying the original unit, either buying a long gun and making a shorter wooden barrel for it or vice-versa. A tube gun would mean finding the right size tube, but that is an option if you can source it, however timber will be easier, especially when making a short barrel for what was a long gun. If you use nuts and bolts rather than self-tapping screws the gun will take being disassembled without loosening the fasteners' grip in the timber when transforming it to the different length.
How difficult is it to replace the barrel on a tube gun? How to I know what size bands I will need? Is 1 or 2 bands better? sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to get the wrong thing.
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Old 07-08-2012, 10:16 PM   #8
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

I might be able to help you out. I have an old gun that I built just sitting around. I have scavenged the trigger and handle from it to use on other guns. Its the first gun I ever built, and isn't pretty, but it killed a lot of fish for me. If you wanted to put a new aimrite trigger and handle on it, it would be a great beginner gun. I think its 52 inches, all teak, rear handle. I'd let it go for a song if your interested. Can post pics tomorrow.
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Old 07-08-2012, 10:56 PM   #9
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

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I might be able to help you out. I have an old gun that I built just sitting around. I have scavenged the trigger and handle from it to use on other guns. Its the first gun I ever built, and isn't pretty, but it killed a lot of fish for me. If you wanted to put a new aimrite trigger and handle on it, it would be a great beginner gun. I think its 52 inches, all teak, rear handle. I'd let it go for a song if your interested. Can post pics tomorrow.
That would be great, post the pics and a price then I'll let you know if I can do it. Thanks for trying to help me out
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Old 07-09-2012, 12:34 AM   #10
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gator.Lynch View Post
So I am a inexperienced terrible spearfisherman/freediver who would like a nice powerful gun without breaking the bank. I will mostly be in 10 - 20 ft with poor visibility but would like something I can also use when I am in keys fishing in 30 - 40 with great visibility. I just want something extremely versatile that I can use in a multitude of situations and conditions. I'm going to set my max price at $175. I would gladly take a used gun but I do not intend to make my purchase for a couple months.

You might also consider a MAKO Predator Pro gun... 100 cm may be a good size for both of those conditions. It is around $20 more than your wish list, but for the cllear water of the Keys, you need a somewhat longer gun. We do offer shorter, less expensive guns but that may not be best for your needs.

Check out the MAKO Facebook Page, two people recently posted some very nice catches with 100 cm MAKO guns.

http://www.makospearguns.com/Product...oductCode=MPPR
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Old 07-09-2012, 08:19 AM   #11
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

Buy the gun best suited to what you dive most often. If you can only afford one, then get one that is ideal for the conditions that you will most commonly find yourself in. If you end up going slightly longer it will limit your ability to hunt at home when conditions aren't as favorable. I highly recommend you get a gun that is perfect for the conditions you will find yourself in most as this will increase your enjoyment, get you out in the water more, and increase your success rate, which will all in turn motivate you to become a better diver and maybe one day when you have saved enough you can get a second gun that will be perfect for the conditions that you find yourself in less commonly.
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Old 07-10-2012, 05:34 AM   #12
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

Check-out the brand new Evolution2 by HammerHead Spearguns.

The Evolution 2 is the only next generation speargun to cost about $200, and comes complete with open muzzle, side safety, pinned shafts, and dual power band set-up.

We call the HammerHead E2 a "next Gen" speargun as it's clean refined ergonomic lines really help yuo track and shoot fish much easier than older model spearguns like the mako's the rage of a few years ago. That's right the HammerHead E2's are so much more comfortable and much more accurate than anything made in the 00’s.

As a HammerHead you can be assured the E2 Speargun follows the company tradition of incredible accuracy as only the Evolution was named the “MOST” accurate by BOTH Hawaiian Skin Diver Magazine and Spearing Magazine in independent test.

So take a look at the next generation of spearguns starting with the E2.


http://hammerheadspearguns.com/ameri...evolution2.php
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Old 07-10-2012, 06:25 PM   #13
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

A few people asked for pics of the speargun I mentioned erlier in the thread. Like I said, it was my first gun build and it aint pretty, but it did kill a lot of fish before I built a new one with its parts.

The OP is first in line if he wants it.
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Old 08-02-2012, 10:49 AM   #14
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Re: A great gun for a beginner?

You might check out the 32in ab biller.from dolpinscuba.com
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