# SPEAR GUN???



## mg_cook

LOOKING TO BUY A SPEAR GUN. I NEED SOME INPUT ON BRANDS AND IS THERE A WEB SITE TO LOOK AT THEM? 

THANKS FOR THE HELP


----------



## Telum Pisces

> *mg_cook (9/20/2009)*LOOKING TO BUY A SPEAR GUN. I NEED SOME INPUT ON BRANDS AND IS THERE A WEB SITE TO LOOK AT THEM?
> 
> THANKS FOR THE HELP


A good all around gun for our area is a AB Biller or Sea Hornet 48" gun with 3 bands on it. Great guns that do nothurt the wallet too bad. But if you do not want upgradeitis soon after your purchase, get the largest gun that you can comfortably load.


----------



## Evensplit

AB Biller Mahoganyguns are the best Value - Price vs Quality vs Performance. For top performance, go with a Riffe competitor series.


----------



## Capt CodeBobbie

> *Evensplit (9/21/2009)*AB Biller Mahoganyguns are the best Value - Price vs Quality vs Performance. For top performance, go with a Riffe competitor series.


I agree, you should also check out Ocean Rhino and Sea Hornet as well. Spearfishing Magazine did a comparison between the death stick (good hand-made guns) and Ocean Rhino... The Ocean Rhino prevailed, however by the sound of thearticle it seemed like there could be some bias there. 

My advise is to see if anyone around you (ie. buddys)with different spearguns would let you try their guns. I prefer my gun to sink (some like theirs to float), I like open track guns (some like semi-enclosed, fully enclosed, or hybrids). I don't like rail guns (metal tubes - JBL) or Euro rail guns (heavy single band, metal tubes w/ rear handles - Pelaj) some people love them... If you really get into spearfishingyour always gonna want a little bigger after awhile. It's like a sickness... Keep that in mind too... Try some different onesout you'lldevelop your own preferences. Oh and if you really want to get a goodcustomgun look atone of Daryl Wong's guns or Jordan Hamilton's guns. Just google their names.These are my absolute favorite guns.You talk to themdirectly and they build the gun to you... It's pricey but worth every penny... Good Luck!!!Remember they all shoot fish wether they are 100 bucks or a 1000bucks...


----------



## Brandy

If you decide to go with A Riffe I may part with my Hawaian. Been thinking about getting A deathstick. The Hawaian is A 50" gun I beleive. Its midhandle also.


----------



## Evensplit

Unfortunately, Ocean Rhino and Sea Hornet are no longerworking together.

Spearfishing specialties, creator of the Ocean Rhino has created their own new design which is an incredible gun, but it's pricey - in the same ballpark as a Riffe. 

Sea Hornet is now being sold by Tusa, and much to our disappointment, is not much more than an overpriced Biller.


----------



## Telum Pisces

> *Evensplit (9/21/2009)*Unfortunately, Ocean Rhino and Sea Hornet are no longerworking together.
> 
> Spearfishing specialties, creator of the Ocean Rhino has created their own new design which is an incredible gun, but it's pricey - in the same ballpark as a Riffe.
> 
> Sea Hornet is now being sold by Tusa, and much to our disappointment, is not much more than an overpriced Biller.


That's too bad. I have an old Sea Hornet Commercial single stock gun that is great.


----------



## Clay-Doh

I would check out that Spearfishing Specialties gun...It has all the goodies already done to it, for less than the price of a "stock" Riffe. I have a Riffe, and love it, but I have made changes to it to make it how I want.



Whatever you do, I recommend a wood gun instead of metal, and as big as you can comfortably load as has been said.


----------



## GROUPER321

well I can tell you, ive shot riffr,ab biller, sea hornet,jbl,beauchet,I own a sea hornet 48,36 ab biller custom rigged w\42 inch shaft,a beauchet small aluminum black snapper gun, a 64 gulf magnum hated it,too loud. All great advice from them,but its the bands that count. They are so pivital when dealing in accuracy and speed. No less than a 36 to a 48 inch gun with 5\8 bands on the 48 inch gun the steel cable bands work best for me,easy to load and wont break underwatet. JBL well I wouldnt waste my time with a new one metal or wood. The wood ones swell up, you can see that at the Dive center in gulf breeze, their in the rental gear. Riffe beautiful gun, not the silent hunter as they claim to be,pain in the ass to load and you have to pull the shaft all the way through the fish(too long of wasted time)and there line tangles up alot, but sexy looking gun dosent always kill fish. The guys i hunt with we all use Ab Biller, and Seahornet, thats what i would stick my bands too,good luck with the search.


----------



## Evensplit

> *GROUPER321 (10/3/2009)*...Riffe beautiful gun, not the silent hunter as they claim to be,pain in the ass to load and you have to pull the shaft all the way through the fish(too long of wasted time...


We order RIFFE guns with the 6mm threaded shaft and without a tip - and then we put a Biller or SFS tip on them so it's easier to get the fish off - same process as with the biller. The biller or SFS tips get better penetration than the RIFFE tips as well.


----------



## GROUPER321

yeah i guess that will work, thats alot better


----------



## Clay-Doh

The stock Riffe tips are designed for freedivers..one shot and back to the surface..not at all multiple fish killing and stringer friendly. Like Jim said though, you can put any tip on them. I am hands down all for the Spearfishing specialties tip. 1" wider wingspan than a biller or any other tip. Lots less fish lost from pull offs.

Heres a pic of how I rigged my gun...










And then I switched from the already upgraded 5/8" bands to samoe massive 3/4" bands, and 2 have more power than three 9/16", and equal to three 5/8" bands. Heres a pic of em. Two fill the whole band space.










If you get a Riffe, sit on your couch and practice restringing it, and it will take a couple dives to get good underwater with it. However, once you become familiar with it, you will do it withyour eyes closed.

As far as any gun being "silent"..tyhats a marketing BS. No matter how silenmt the trigger mechanism is, the low frequency shock waves sent out from the bands releasing as they go thru the water are greater than the higher frequency "click" of a trigger mechanism. And fish do not spook from noise. Your bubbles are noisy, stabbin a fish is noisy, and the pressure waves sent out by your fins and everything else in the water lets fish know where you are. You can't sneak up on fish. And I have been with a commercial spearfisherman using a powerhead. The fish satter about 10 feet in everydirection for about .01 seconds from the fright, and then begin swimming normally again.

If you go with Riffe, I suggest the rearhnadle series instead of the mid handles for 2 reasons. One, it keeps the but of the gun farther away from your face when firing, which is important if firing a big gun with recoil. Mine kicks about like a 20 gauge. Also, the safety on a rearhandle is a thumb safety by the gripthat doesn'trequire 2 hands to operate, whereas the mid handle has a pull pin type safety, that requires an extra hand.

Thats my thoughts anyways. I got my Riffe at MBT, and ordered it just the way I wanted it. I got the next size shorter shaft too, cuz I don't like a foot of overhang on my shaft, just harder to manuver.


----------



## Capt CodeBobbie

I use the large Riffe tip on my guns. I never have fish pull offof them... I make my own shot cords and put a 400lb snap-swivel about 12" off the shaft, so onceI shoot the fishI unsnap the swivel and pull the spear andlinethrough... It'seasier and when a big AJ orCobia does loops they don'ttwist my shot cord... Youjust have to be cautious not to drop your shaft, but it is much more organized and faster...Especiallywith the big blue water guns...


----------



## Clay-Doh

I like that idea Code. The swivel 12" or so from the shaft. Ecpecially for when the shaft goes all tghe way thru. Pullin all that line thru is a pain. Might have to give that a try



I still like the Spearfishin specialties tips better though. Im holdin one now next to the stock riffe tip, and they are the same exact wingspan, just thinner profile, and a spinning tip.


----------

