Mares 58 or 70 Pneumatic

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Hoges in WA

Registered
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Location
Bunbury Western Australia
# of dives
100 - 199
Hi,
A quick question or two if I may take up someone's time.

I am looking at buying a Mares pneumatic gun, either the 58cm or the 70cm. Can someone in the know tell me.

1. How many times can it be fired before I have to return to the surface to pump more air into it?
2. Is it simple to reload under water?
3. Is the 70 far more powerful than the 58 or only marginally more powerful.

Unfortunately, I can't ask the dealer as I'm in SW Sicily and don't speak Italian. The dealer and I are getting along quite well for two guys who can't communicate.
Thanks for any advice.
Hoges
 
Unless the gun is leaking (!) you don't need to pump more air into it. The air system is closed and serves to create a spring-effect. It's not consumed or expelled by firing the gun.

I can't quantify how much more powerful the 70 is, but unless you are targeting fish that can be closely approached, you'll probably appreciate the higher power, and longer reach of the longer gun. To some extent, you can compensate for an inherently lower-powered size of gun by increasing the air pressure, assuming you still have the strength to load the shaft. The rated pressure of these pneumatics is high enough that I'd venture to say at max pressure, the average person would have difficulty loading the gun. Many guns have a two-position power switch, which provides a lower powered shooting setting where desired.

Reloading is quick, and simple enough if you have the loading tool that fits over the spear tip. You can always adjust the fill pressure of the gun if you think reloading is too hard or too easy. For faster reloading, if you don't need maximum reach with the spear, you can use the coiled lanyards, which don't require rethreading those loops between the nose piece and the line release at the trigger guard, like the line lanyards do. Or if you're really good, don't use a lanyard at all!:D
 
Unless the gun is leaking (!) you don't need to pump more air into it. The air system is closed and serves to create a spring-effect. It's not consumed or expelled by firing the gun.

I can't quantify how much more powerful the 70 is, but unless you are targeting fish that can be closely approached, you'll probably appreciate the higher power, and longer reach of the longer gun. To some extent, you can compensate for an inherently lower-powered size of gun by increasing the air pressure, assuming you still have the strength to load the shaft. The rated pressure of these pneumatics is high enough that I'd venture to say at max pressure, the average person would have difficulty loading the gun. Many guns have a two-position power switch, which provides a lower powered shooting setting where desired.

Reloading is quick, and simple enough if you have the loading tool that fits over the spear tip. You can always adjust the fill pressure of the gun if you think reloading is too hard or too easy. For faster reloading, if you don't need maximum reach with the spear, you can use the coiled lanyards, which don't require rethreading those loops between the nose piece and the line release at the trigger guard, like the line lanyards do. Or if you're really good, don't use a lanyard at all!:D


Many thanks for all that. Makes it quite clear. Off to buy the 70 in the a.m.
Hoges
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom