stoggie
Guest
Hey as I am new to this and looking to get into spearfishing what are the pro's and con's of pneumatic or bands?? Are there any clubs in the New Jersey or Maryland areas that hunt ?? Thanks Stoggie
Pneumatic vs. band
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Welcome to the board Stoggie!
Generally band guns are more popular than pneumatics, but you do live in an area where the limited visibility would help equal the difference.
Typically band guns tend to dominate places with clear water and big fish.
Simplicity and low maintenance also favor the band gun.
Especially if you plan to travel, I'd look at a suitably sized band gun for your area.
There are a wide variety of models and price ranges.
Chad
Generally band guns are more popular than pneumatics, but you do live in an area where the limited visibility would help equal the difference.
Typically band guns tend to dominate places with clear water and big fish.
Simplicity and low maintenance also favor the band gun.
Especially if you plan to travel, I'd look at a suitably sized band gun for your area.
There are a wide variety of models and price ranges.
Chad
Scuba Brad
Guest
Stoggie, We carry both and they are equally popular. I really think its a personal preference. If you look at "land hunters" they all have different guns to get the same job done. I've tried both and would say as long as you can get close enough to your prey..........go with the band gun. I can tell you the airlines don't like the pneumatic guns. You really have to explain to them why you need a gun backed in your dive bag.
Happy Diving
Happy Diving
Band guns are very simple to use and repair, though they tend to take longer to load and tend to pull either up or down depending on the make/model (euro guns tend to shot straighter)
pneumatic guns tend to shot straighter quicker to load, but take more muscle to load. Also if a pneumatic breaks, it is broken, going back to a shop or usually the factor.
pneumatic guns tend to shot straighter quicker to load, but take more muscle to load. Also if a pneumatic breaks, it is broken, going back to a shop or usually the factor.
Mandy3206
Contributor
No pneumatic that I've tested has enough power in my opinion.
Band guns, when the band is old, you just shorten it an inch or 2, and extend the band life.
Band guns, are a lot easier to maintain and often can be repaired by the owner.
I know people that sweared on their pneumatics when they bought them, but after a season strugling with the gun, they allways switched to band guns.
There's a reason why you don't see any pneumatics in spearfishing contests.
Band guns, when the band is old, you just shorten it an inch or 2, and extend the band life.
Band guns, are a lot easier to maintain and often can be repaired by the owner.
I know people that sweared on their pneumatics when they bought them, but after a season strugling with the gun, they allways switched to band guns.
There's a reason why you don't see any pneumatics in spearfishing contests.
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Pnumatic guns win hands down in shallow water (15ft or less) they track faster then a band gun of equal length, they are more powerful then a band gun of equal length, and generally have better terminal impact caractoristics from the thicker shafts used.
but! remember you are using AIR to power your shaft. so the deeper you go the less power you have. @ 33' your at 1/2 power.
Band guns thus rule the spearfishing world, for these reasons, and all those listed above.
but! remember you are using AIR to power your shaft. so the deeper you go the less power you have. @ 33' your at 1/2 power.
Band guns thus rule the spearfishing world, for these reasons, and all those listed above.
Bands are the ONLY way to go. In over 20 years of being in and runnng spear Fishing Tournaments with thousands of the VERY best spearfisherman NO ONE ever had anything other then Bands. I can give you a hundred reason why you never would use anything else but some of them are...
Spear shafts. The shafts for bands guns you can get anywhere and much cheaper. The shaft are far superior. Most of them are a spring Stainless steel. It took 5 years to come up with just the right heating temp. to make spring Stainless Steel. My favorite make are B & B's made in a machine shop in St. Petersburg.
I never go off shore with out least 5 spare shaft plus the two I carry on my gun.
YOU NEVER want to go down with just one shaft if you are any good. We shot mostly Grouper. You always stay at least 20-30 feet above them if vis will let you. YOU are not a threat to them up high. When you shoot the largest grouper you NEVER go down and get him if you can avoid it. YOU shot up a little and swim off. Load you second shaft and after you wait a minute or two you then drift back down with your gun amied at the fish looking at your shot fish. You then stone him. Then you drop down by just letting the air out of your lungs and settle down as quiet as you can with no swimming or any loud noises. IF you are quiet the other big fish might not spook to bad. Sometimes you can sit very, very still and they will come back and look at you. YOU have to be very still and breath very slow and shallow.
We all have commercial lic because we get or limit in the first five minutes. It is not uncommon to get 6-10 nice grouper in one dive and most of time I will get at least 15 dives in a day. WE do a lot of our shoting in 70-90 feet and most of us will get at least 3 dives out of a 80 in that depth. I normally dive 5 tanks a day. I do my last dive at sunset and if we are lucky will make dock by 10:00 P.M.
Wood is better then metal. Metal will spoke grouper. AJ's like noise and so do Cobia. I have 5 differnent guns for different types of shooting. ONLY use a line if you are shooting AJ's or other free swimming fish. NEVER use a line for bottom fish. The only time I will do that if I am diving deep, say 150 to 200 hundred when I know I only have time to shot one large grouper. Most of us have customs guns so we can switch from line to free shaft in 2-3 seconds depending on what fish we see.
Spearfishing is a blast. I have shot tens of thousands of pounds of fish and still got excited.
Today I do less spearfishing and shoot more video and digital pictures.
Good luck!!
Spear shafts. The shafts for bands guns you can get anywhere and much cheaper. The shaft are far superior. Most of them are a spring Stainless steel. It took 5 years to come up with just the right heating temp. to make spring Stainless Steel. My favorite make are B & B's made in a machine shop in St. Petersburg.
I never go off shore with out least 5 spare shaft plus the two I carry on my gun.
YOU NEVER want to go down with just one shaft if you are any good. We shot mostly Grouper. You always stay at least 20-30 feet above them if vis will let you. YOU are not a threat to them up high. When you shoot the largest grouper you NEVER go down and get him if you can avoid it. YOU shot up a little and swim off. Load you second shaft and after you wait a minute or two you then drift back down with your gun amied at the fish looking at your shot fish. You then stone him. Then you drop down by just letting the air out of your lungs and settle down as quiet as you can with no swimming or any loud noises. IF you are quiet the other big fish might not spook to bad. Sometimes you can sit very, very still and they will come back and look at you. YOU have to be very still and breath very slow and shallow.
We all have commercial lic because we get or limit in the first five minutes. It is not uncommon to get 6-10 nice grouper in one dive and most of time I will get at least 15 dives in a day. WE do a lot of our shoting in 70-90 feet and most of us will get at least 3 dives out of a 80 in that depth. I normally dive 5 tanks a day. I do my last dive at sunset and if we are lucky will make dock by 10:00 P.M.
Wood is better then metal. Metal will spoke grouper. AJ's like noise and so do Cobia. I have 5 differnent guns for different types of shooting. ONLY use a line if you are shooting AJ's or other free swimming fish. NEVER use a line for bottom fish. The only time I will do that if I am diving deep, say 150 to 200 hundred when I know I only have time to shot one large grouper. Most of us have customs guns so we can switch from line to free shaft in 2-3 seconds depending on what fish we see.
Spearfishing is a blast. I have shot tens of thousands of pounds of fish and still got excited.
Today I do less spearfishing and shoot more video and digital pictures.
Good luck!!
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InstructorMike:
wow, guess I suck! after 12yrs of spearfishing on 3 continents I have NEVER submerged with more then one shaft.
never use a line for bottom fish? wow, all the grouper I shot with a line gun must have been confused. they all made it back to the boat!
huh, almost all my grouper were taken with meatl tubed guns. well it that's to noisy I won't even get into your use of scuba....
yup. guess I just suck!
fire_diver
Contributor
<gets bag of popcorn out of microwave, props up feet...>
This might be interesting.
This might be interesting.
Having owned both pneumatic and band guns, I prefer the band. One point that needs to be driven home is proper handling of both types. Both can be safe if certain precautions are followed. That said, IMO pneumatics require more attention to safety issues. If memory serves me correctly, the accident I mention in this old post involved a pneumatic. CLICK HERE.
---Bob
---Bob
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