Spear gun

Wanting to get into spear fishing but don't know much about the guns. Length, brand, how many bands, ect. I have a pole spear which is fun but I want to pull a trigger. I will probably get beat hard so it must be durable and oh ya.....not cost a fortune. Thanks in advance for any info.

Anthony

First off, I am no pro. Ive only used 3 guns.

1. Fist time out, Jims crappy little pneumatic 
2. I bought a 32" AB Biller, I know most are not a fan, but its been problem free, and for a starter gun has been great, for me I just felt it was a tad long. Also there is like a hole you stick your fingers into at the grip, with bigger gloves its a tight fit. Don't like that.
3. My newest gun, a Riffe 27" pictured below. Jim has had this gun for a while, and I have always loved it, got mine and LOVE it! No complaints, perfect size for me. Jim has beat the crap out of his and it works like it is new still.

I am sure Rick or Fuzz while chime in with the Rob Allen guns, any of advice of theirs is good. But for me, I love this thing, don't know why but I like wood, this gun has a great feel in your hand. Think its a Riffe Padauk #00   27" (69 cm), I had the shorty double flopper put on, I had issues with the single, but I believe most prefer the single flopper.

Again, I am no pro. Just giving you my point of view

Test drive some of the Fuzz arsenal!

I do recommend a calm day, pool or getting very comfortable in the water before adding a gun to the mix.

I've donated a few guns to Neptune, not following my advice above.

You're welcome to borrow my pneumatic 70cm.

Use the search function "speargun" or "spear  gun", you'll find a lot of opinios and good information. You can start with a polespear to get a feel for it for cheap, then if you think is your thing you buy a gun.
Riffe's are great but for Norcal a 70-80 cm euro or 60-70 pneumatic would be a more sensible choice. Heck, for the price of a Riffe you can get yourself two euros, a 75 hole gun and a 90 or 100cm euro gun for the great viz days. Good luck with your search.

Anthony,
I have the same two guns as Brent, and you can borrow either whenever you want.

I have a floatline for each so no worries about losing them.

 

Sincerely,
Jim

I use a JBL Elite woody 44 in overall length. I love it for the open water great vis days it has a great reach but with the length it can be a problem when I am looking for fish in the rocks. My next gun will probably be shorter but I will be keeping this one for a long time. It is a great gun for a beginner because of the range (I scare to many fish when I get close to them) and I was lucky enough to find it on clearance online when they were changing out the newer models some JBLs are not cheap  . I like having two bands on my gun as I dont think I would ever really use the third if i had one. I also recomend you getting a rock point for the shaft as it is inevitable that you with miss a fish and hit a big old rock this being norcal    Think about what type of fishing you will probably be doing and what style you like.  Good luck on your search!

Wes

Thanks again for all your help and offers. You guys rock!

Anthony

Use the search function "speargun" or "spear  gun", you'll find a lot of opinios and good information. You can start with a polespear to get a feel for it for cheap, then if you think is your thing you buy a gun.
Riffe's are great but for Norcal a 70-80 cm euro or 60-70 pneumatic would be a more sensible choice. Heck, for the price of a Riffe you can get yourself two euros, a 75 hole gun and a 90 or 100cm euro gun for the great viz days. Good luck with your search.

I have a pole spear and last year got lucky enough to get two cabs in one day. I couldn't believe how much more fun it was taking fish that way. Don't get me wrong I still love hook and line from a yak. But there's nothing like spotting, then sneaking and shooting.

Anthony

Use the search function "speargun" or "spear  gun", you'll find a lot of opinios and good information. You can start with a polespear to get a feel for it for cheap, then if you think is your thing you buy a gun.
Riffe's are great but for Norcal a 70-80 cm euro or 60-70 pneumatic would be a more sensible choice. Heck, for the price of a Riffe you can get yourself two euros, a 75 hole gun and a 90 or 100cm euro gun for the great viz days. Good luck with your search.

I have a pole spear and last year got lucky enough to get two cabs in one day. I couldn't believe how much more fun it was taking fish that way. Don't get me wrong I still love hook and line from a yak. But there's nothing like spotting, then sneaking and shooting.

Anthony

The polespear is a great way to get into it.  Teaches you to get closer too... So when you switch to a speargun, it'll be a piece of cake! 

As abman mentioned, you're always free to test drive a couple of my spearguns to figure out what you like. 

The polespear is a great way to get into it.  Teaches you to get closer too... So when you switch to a speargun, it'll be a piece of cake! 

Great advise from THE MAN  As much as I'd like to get a gun, I'll stick to my 3 prong until I can shoot a legal ling in between the eyes