What are you opinions on Pneumatic guns?
- Thread starter Florabama
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arkansasrednek spearo
Guest
Here in fresh water in my opinon they are the only way to go. I have a buddy who has about 10bandguns of all sizes and shapes and goes after 60+ pound catfish. He bought a cyrano and has never used a bandgun since. I have two jbl and tried a pneumatic. I will never use a bandgun again. The distance on the 800 or 850 whichever it is is over 15ft. And it is at 25 bar and on the low power setting it shot clear through a 4ft gar and to the end of its line. Also theyre light and float after you shoot which i like cause that leaves 2 hands to get the fish off and dispatch. Im pretty impressed with it. My uncle shot a small bass with it from bout 15ft no prob. So if you aint shootin much past 20ft i would suggest it. Down here youre lucky if youre able to see 15ft. I think on 30bar you could blast through a huge catfishes gills. But I dont know what theyre like in bluewater.Florabama:
dilligaf368
Guest
I think the Pneumatics are the ONLY way to go! I have many, many types and sizes of Guns and Lances and the Pheumatics are the Best!
I only hunt little fish though, Lingcod from 6lbs to 45lbs. bunches of other little fish to 6lbs. NO PROBLEM with the pneumatics, I've only the one Pneumatic that is only about 3' long but the 45lb Lingcods are on my dinner plate everytime. B
I only hunt little fish though, Lingcod from 6lbs to 45lbs. bunches of other little fish to 6lbs. NO PROBLEM with the pneumatics, I've only the one Pneumatic that is only about 3' long but the 45lb Lingcods are on my dinner plate everytime. B
arkansasrednek spearo
Guest
You can pick up a sporasub stealth off ebay right now pretty regularly for 140$ 153$ after shipping.dilligaf368:
Pnematic guns are adjustable for power in that you can control how much you pump them up before the dive. When you load them you force the shaft back into the gun using a handle over the end of the spear tip. This compresses the gas sealed in the gun which is what provides the power for the shot. So how much you pump up the gun and the power of the shot is limited by your ability to actually load the spear and this depends on muscle and technique. The need to load the gun in one action and the physical limits of how far you can reach and hold the gun at the same time limit the power of the gun and the lenght of the shaft. And at the same time, the shorter shaft further limits the power stroke of the gun and further limits the power of the gum. That is essentially why you never see a blue water pneumatic gun.
A band gun will tend to lose power the longer it is cocked as the bands relax slightly, while a pneumatic will lose power with depth as the pressure differential inside versus outside the gun decreases. So if you are spearing at say 100-130 ft, a pneumatic will be at a further disadvantage.
I am very luke warm on pneumatic guns even in fresh water. They are more suspectible to problems with sand and silt that can cause problems in the barrel and with the seals. They also lack power compared to a similarly priced and sized band gun as the band gun can be loaded in 2 or 3 stages which divides the physical load required for each stage accordingly. I also do not like the way most of them point, but that is a personal thing.
So at best a pneumatic is a short range proposition that will have a slower muzzle velocity and, on average, a shorter and lighter shaft. A longer, heavier shaft imparts more momentum and offers better penetration and I think that is valuable even in short range fresh water environments.
It can take a lot to punch through a 40 pound Buffalo Carp, and if the spear goes all the way through and exits the other side, the carp will not bend it into a pretzel as can happen if the carp is somewhere along the middle of the shaft and you miss the vitals.
A pneumatic is a lot faster to load, but that only matters if you miss.
A band gun will tend to lose power the longer it is cocked as the bands relax slightly, while a pneumatic will lose power with depth as the pressure differential inside versus outside the gun decreases. So if you are spearing at say 100-130 ft, a pneumatic will be at a further disadvantage.
I am very luke warm on pneumatic guns even in fresh water. They are more suspectible to problems with sand and silt that can cause problems in the barrel and with the seals. They also lack power compared to a similarly priced and sized band gun as the band gun can be loaded in 2 or 3 stages which divides the physical load required for each stage accordingly. I also do not like the way most of them point, but that is a personal thing.
So at best a pneumatic is a short range proposition that will have a slower muzzle velocity and, on average, a shorter and lighter shaft. A longer, heavier shaft imparts more momentum and offers better penetration and I think that is valuable even in short range fresh water environments.
It can take a lot to punch through a 40 pound Buffalo Carp, and if the spear goes all the way through and exits the other side, the carp will not bend it into a pretzel as can happen if the carp is somewhere along the middle of the shaft and you miss the vitals.
A pneumatic is a lot faster to load, but that only matters if you miss.
arkansasrednek spearo
Guest
How can you say a pneumatic gun lacks the power of a band? If it will blow all the way through a 4ft gar and reach the end of its line still on low power setting at 25bar? I went up to it to finish it with my jbl band gun that has a size smaller bands on it to shoot it in the head. I shot it from about three feet and it barely stuck him. Theyre also quieter than bands. If you cant stretch then put the butt of the gun on the bottom or top of your foot to load. I beleive it would easily shoot through a 70lb carp on 25bar and high power setting. Especially if my little 45lb draw recurve will.DA Aquamaster:
If a pneumatic gun works for you, all the power to you. I know a few divers that like them as well. I am personally not a big fan because they do not seem like they would stand up to wear and abuse as well as a simple band gun.
But, it's just ignorant to make the claim that pnuematic guns are categorically more powerful than band guns. I don't doubt that your pnuematic gun is more powerful than your little JBL gun powered by a pair of short 1/2" diameter econo-bands. But, your JBL gun is about as low as you can get on the totem pole of band guns. That's like saying handguns are more powerful than rifles because a SW .44 Magnum is more powerful than a .22 rifle.
It's common to power larger Riffe guns to the point that they need wing kits to manage the recoil. A large bluewater band gun can easily be powered to the point that they will knock out your front teeth if not fired with locked elbows (no exageration, it happens more often than you think).
But, it's just ignorant to make the claim that pnuematic guns are categorically more powerful than band guns. I don't doubt that your pnuematic gun is more powerful than your little JBL gun powered by a pair of short 1/2" diameter econo-bands. But, your JBL gun is about as low as you can get on the totem pole of band guns. That's like saying handguns are more powerful than rifles because a SW .44 Magnum is more powerful than a .22 rifle.
It's common to power larger Riffe guns to the point that they need wing kits to manage the recoil. A large bluewater band gun can easily be powered to the point that they will knock out your front teeth if not fired with locked elbows (no exageration, it happens more often than you think).
Interesting discussion. I have to agree that simpler is better underwater (especially in salt water) and that makes me a little leary of pneumatics, but its been my perception that they were more powerful. It is true that the big fish hunters don't use them, and that makes me wonder. Thanks for the good discussion.
arkansasrednek spearo
Guest
Deep bluewater and bigfish yes bandgun it. But shallow dives or freshwater pneumatics are my personal choice. They are rather quiet. And We dont normally dive past 50ft here cuz that aint where the fish normally are. But if it was deep it would prolly be like my jbl.Florabama:
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