FL_Chad:
I am looking at buying a speargun within the next couple months. A buddy at work has had a JBL magnum for about 10 years and likes the gun. I read a bunch of stuff on a spearfishing forum where the overwhelming majority said they are not all that good of a gun. I also saw the AB Biller guns. They are not a whole lot more in cost. I am looking to spend around 200 bucks, if need be.
So, any experience with these 2 guns or any others in this price range? What about wood versus aluminum? What is the life of a wood gun in saltwater? Any opinions on this would be appreciated....
Oh boy, you are openning to a big @$$ can of worms here
. Hope you are ready for this.
Ok, asking about buying guns is like asking about buying BCDs or buying cars. Everyone have their own opinions about it, their own tastes. It also depends on what your particular spearfishing experience, local condition, habit.... blah,blah,blah...
That said, you asked for opinions, here is mine
.
Wood is much better than aluminum, when shoot underwater, wood will absorb/not reflect the sound of the bands go off. Much more better at balancing underwater also. And it also looks much cooler.
ABBiller and JBL guns are ok guns, if this is your first gun and you want to go the inexpensive route and get the JBL/ABBiller, that's cool. But experiences shown that very shortly, you will out grown JBL/ABBiller and move up to the premium guns.
I got mine a midhandle hybrid from Daryl Wong guns
http://www.wongspearguns.com/hybrid.htm.
It is a wooden gun, and it is semi enclosed so you have a much more accurate shots.
Daryl Wong guns are in the premium class so you will pay a little more but believe me it is worth every pennies.
Give him a call and he will talk with you personally. Ask you a tons of questions about your habit, where you going to shoot, the water, the conditions....
And he will make your gun by hand, balance it personally. Everything is custom made.
Oh, and everything is LIFETIME warranty. No questions asked.
I went and shot mine and the shaft line broke at the crimp place, so I lost the shaft and tips. Called up Daryl and he rushed me a whole new shaft and line and all. No charge to me and the whole shaft and line and tip are over $150!!!!.
He is a class act guy, based out of Hawaii and his partner Rick is also an awesome guy.
No, I don't work for him
, just that he treated everyone that buy his gun as his first and only customer. Awesome customer service... Even invited me to Hawaii to shoot fish with him... but that's another story.
Anyhow, there are much more gun discussion at spearboard.com if you care to search. And search for Daryl Wong guns on there too. All you will see are very positives comments about his guns/operation.
Now young man, go out and buy a gun and spear some fishes
. Enjoy.