24 Special AB Biller

Any users out there? Any thoughts? Saw one at Wallins for $160.00...was nice and short and had no problems loading the bands (yes, my band-stretch-loading skills are weak )

My primary targets for now are perch and rockfish (mostly blues and blacks)...I'm still working my way to the bigger lings and halibut and I'm definitely  NOT going out into the deeper open blue water for anything bigger like WSB or whatever else swims out there. Let's just say that I like diving in shallow protected kelpy areas

You should consider a polespear if you are only after perch and rockies. I have guns and a pole spear. Polespears reload instantly, are cheaper and if you get a breakdown you can fit it anywhere including an already crowded yak.

Got a pole spear already but wanted a gun just in case I need the extra reach when the fish are too deep for me to shoot from a pole spear..

Talked to Fuzz about it already and he gave me the thumbs down on the Biller. May end up getting a Riffe 1 ...unfortunately, it's pretty expensive. Hoping to get in touch with my friend (owner of wallins) and see if I can get a "huk-it-up" deal

Hey Mooch,

No need to be in such a hurry to get a gun.  The length of gun for the diving in Norcal is not going to give you much more range than a good polespear used properly.  If you're finding that you're not getting close enough to shoot and land fish with a polespear, then I advise you to work on your diving or dive a more remote spo.  Rock fish, lings, and perch are not the most wary or evasive species of fish. 

Nate

I love my Riffe 75cm euro model but it's not that often that I get to use it. Usually because of low visibility. The guys I'm diving with would be getting fish with their polespears so finally decided I should have one too. Got to use it the first time Saturday. Friday we dove south of fort ross for abalone and the vis was awful, didn't take my gun off my boogie board. So Saturday I brought the pole spear and we dove the south side of the cove at Ft. Ross where the launch is. Quickly got the 2 abs I was allowed since we only ate 2 of mine in camp. Was seeing rockfish. With the visibility around 8 feet I was able to just cruise the kelp and come onto small schools and zap the nearest one. Soon I had five blacks some pretty good size ones. I love using the Riffe when there's great visibility, I think if the visibility was any better the fish would have seen me coming! I did shoot a few times and didn't have the range to hit them. Was an awesome day.

-Sean

Got a pole spear already but wanted a gun just in case I need the extra reach when the fish are too deep for me to shoot from a pole spear..

Talked to Fuzz about it already and he gave me the thumbs down on the Biller. May end up getting a Riffe 1 ...unfortunately, it's pretty expensive. Hoping to get in touch with my friend (owner of wallins) and see if I can get a "huk-it-up" deal

Biller's are not bad guns.  Fairly dependable, just an old bulky design with oversized shaft/tip/slide ring.  Good for halibut & lings, but not as much for smaller fish.  They are much more suited for diving up here (dumb & slow fish) vs. somewhere like Hawaii (smart & quick fish).  If it was a really good deal on a used one, I'd say go for it... but since you're paying retail, there are many other guns that are better bang for buck.   

  They are much more suited for diving up here (dumb & slow fish) vs. somewhere like Hawaii (smart & quick fish). 

Damn even California fish are stupid.  Whats with our schools?   (I know, bad, bad pun)

Seriously though, what gun would you recommend for rockfish, ling maybe halibut in Norcal/central coast?

I have 2 Makos and love them. They have the best price around for a railgun and are extremely accurate. Check out Mako spearguns site.

Any users out there? Any thoughts? Saw one at Wallins for $160.00...was nice and short and had no problems loading the bands (yes, my band-stretch-loading skills are weak )

My primary targets for now are perch and rockfish (mostly blues and blacks)...I'm still working my way to the bigger lings and halibut and I'm definitely  NOT going out into the deeper open blue water for anything bigger like WSB or whatever else swims out there. Let's just say that I like diving in shallow protected kelpy areas

WAIT A MINUTE!!!! Wasnt that you!!! Mooch that said to me at the playboy mansion that spearguns are for __ssys?????

I have 2 Makos and love them. They have the best price around for a railgun and are extremely accurate. Check out Mako spearguns site.

i've just checked out the Mako site and their spearguns look awesome.
a couple of questions:
what size would you recommend for norcal coast?
which type of muzzle do you prefer, closed or open?

Damn even California fish are stupid.  Whats with our schools?   (I know, bad, bad pun)

Nice one 

WAIT A MINUTE!!!! Wasnt that you!!! Mooch that said to me at the playboy mansion that spearguns are for __ssys?????

They are......and thats why he needs one 

I have a 90 for good vis and a pole spear for bad. I think a 75 would be best for NorCal. I just bought a 130 and am going to SoCal in July for WSB Y/T. I think we have days up here when the 90 will work but it's too long for many of the days. My 90 will hit a very small water bottle 10-12 feet away.

Damn even California fish are stupid.  Whats with our schools?   (I know, bad, bad pun)

Nice one 

WAIT A MINUTE!!!! Wasnt that you!!! Mooch that said to me at the playboy mansion that spearguns are for __ssys?????

They are......and thats why he needs one 

 

I have a 24 special that I have been using for 20-25 years now and have had no problems at all with it.  I free dive to get perch and rockies and scuba down to 100ft for lings and have always come home with a smile and full stringers. I also dive with a 6ft pole spear and I have dove in the past with a Mares snubnose pneumatic and I still go back to the AB Biller gun if I want to have fish for dinner.

I believe that gun has a slide, which means it's usually used with a 2x or 3x wrap.  If you go with a euro-gun you can use a 1x wrap and 1x band, which makes re-loading MUCH simpler.  I'm very happy with my 75cm Omer excalibur and it was cheaper than $160.