Euro vs American Style Guns
- Thread starter BoltSnap
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Hank49
Contributor
This thread on Spearboard covers it pretty well.
eruo guns? - Spearboard.com - The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Boating Social Media Forum I
Euros have the pistol grip right near the butt of the gun. They're long and thin. And accurate.Thinner shaft. They don't track as well, meaning following a moving fish, as a hybrid or midhandle.
Try Riffe's site: Euro Series | Riffe International
You can see the difference between their non Euros and Euros.
eruo guns? - Spearboard.com - The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Boating Social Media Forum I
Euros have the pistol grip right near the butt of the gun. They're long and thin. And accurate.Thinner shaft. They don't track as well, meaning following a moving fish, as a hybrid or midhandle.
Try Riffe's site: Euro Series | Riffe International
You can see the difference between their non Euros and Euros.
Hank49
Contributor
The closest thing I've shot to a Euro is my Riffe Baja Plus. Yes, it's a nice gun. Blue water set up. Breakaway.
But my go to gun is a Wong GR 55 hybrid, rear handle plus. Although the gun is only 55 inch compared to 65 on the Baja Plus, it has the same band stretch, which is power. It tracks a bit better too and we shoot snappers mid water that are on the move a lot. But Riffes are really good guns too. Ask 10 different spearos about guns.....it's like "what's the best regulator".
The four guns on the bottom of the rack are that model. Honestly, one of the reasons I'm loyal to Wongs, aside from they are really nice guns, is Daryl Wong. He's got great customer service and will take you out and teach you how he gets those giant uluas and other Hawaiian fish. It's like getting to play a round of golf with a PGA touring pro. Then hang out at his house, bbq and talk story about spearing all over the world.
And no, I'm not a gun maniac. I have two stepsons, a son and a step daughter who I outfit. haha
![DSC04357_zps68d0cf26.jpg](http://[URL="http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/Hank_Bauman/media/DSC04357_zps68d0cf26.jpg.html"][IMG]http://i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o675/Hank_Bauman/DSC04357_zps68d0cf26.jpg)
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But my go to gun is a Wong GR 55 hybrid, rear handle plus. Although the gun is only 55 inch compared to 65 on the Baja Plus, it has the same band stretch, which is power. It tracks a bit better too and we shoot snappers mid water that are on the move a lot. But Riffes are really good guns too. Ask 10 different spearos about guns.....it's like "what's the best regulator".
The four guns on the bottom of the rack are that model. Honestly, one of the reasons I'm loyal to Wongs, aside from they are really nice guns, is Daryl Wong. He's got great customer service and will take you out and teach you how he gets those giant uluas and other Hawaiian fish. It's like getting to play a round of golf with a PGA touring pro. Then hang out at his house, bbq and talk story about spearing all over the world.
And no, I'm not a gun maniac. I have two stepsons, a son and a step daughter who I outfit. haha
It is difficult to provide definitions of American versus a Euro gun that everyone would agree with. In general an "american" gun is most likely a gun with an extension behind the handle that lengthens the distance between the notch or tab of the spearshaft and the end of the gun. This type of extension allows a gun to be loaded on the hip (or upper thigh really).
Euro guns typically have a much shorter distance, so from a mechanical and leverage aspect, the gun needs to be loaded with the butt or handle pressed into the abdomen or chest. This allows the gun to be shorter, and not sacrifice band pull (power).
When determining the "best gun" it is probably more important to match the size (length) and range and power of the gun with the visibility and the trargeted species. Long guns for clear water and short guns for dirty water is a pretty well accepted concept. In other words, more important to have the right SIZE gun than a particular type. There are many different designs and ALL will put fish on the table with a good shooter.
The link below is obviously promotional in nature, but it does provide some ideas about attributes of a gun which will help distinguish a quality gun from some other guns which lack important features. Check it out...
http://www.makospearguns.com/why-buy-a-mako-speargun_a/290.htm
Francisco Deluxe
Registered
The guns that MAKO Spearguns sells are described as railguns. That means the shaft rides on a guide or "rail" that is located on top tof the barrel. We also hve a gun that uses an enclosed track or rail, which means the barrel has a guide that encircles the shaft, except for a small portion at the top, which has a slot that functions to allow tabs on the shaft to stick up. This allows the shaft to be loaded wih bands and ensures that the shaft can not bend or whip or deform during the launch (even when powered up with strong bands).
The link provided above indicates that euro guns are appropriate for fish under 10 lbs. Our guns, which many would categorize closer to a "euro' gun, can shoot much larger fish- well over 100 lbs when properly sized and configured.
The distinction between American versus "euro" guns is being blurred as manufacturers constatly upgrade and modify their designs. Trying to categorize most spearguns into an A or B category no longer works so well.
However, to add to the confusion, the euro versus American nomenclature IS still applicable and used when describing spear shafts. A euro shaft has a rounded notch on the rear and the rear portion of the shaft is flattened on top. This notch mates with the trigger mechansim and engages with the sear. The sear holds the shaft securely as it is placed under tremendous tension when the elastic band(s) are loaded. Some guns are designed with trigger maechansim that use euro shafts.
Other guns (trigger mechanisms really) are designed to use a shaft with a square or rectangular notch. These are knows as American "notch" shafts - or just Amerian shafts. The nomenclature for the shafts is specfic to the type of notch. Shafts can be made with threaded ends or integrated tips and welded loading tabs or notches that are cut into the shaft itself to allow the wishbones (or bridles) of the bands to hold the shaft.
This is what a euro shaft notch looks like:
And this is an american shaft:
The link provided above indicates that euro guns are appropriate for fish under 10 lbs. Our guns, which many would categorize closer to a "euro' gun, can shoot much larger fish- well over 100 lbs when properly sized and configured.
The distinction between American versus "euro" guns is being blurred as manufacturers constatly upgrade and modify their designs. Trying to categorize most spearguns into an A or B category no longer works so well.
However, to add to the confusion, the euro versus American nomenclature IS still applicable and used when describing spear shafts. A euro shaft has a rounded notch on the rear and the rear portion of the shaft is flattened on top. This notch mates with the trigger mechansim and engages with the sear. The sear holds the shaft securely as it is placed under tremendous tension when the elastic band(s) are loaded. Some guns are designed with trigger maechansim that use euro shafts.
Other guns (trigger mechanisms really) are designed to use a shaft with a square or rectangular notch. These are knows as American "notch" shafts - or just Amerian shafts. The nomenclature for the shafts is specfic to the type of notch. Shafts can be made with threaded ends or integrated tips and welded loading tabs or notches that are cut into the shaft itself to allow the wishbones (or bridles) of the bands to hold the shaft.
This is what a euro shaft notch looks like:
And this is an american shaft:
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