First gun - Which one?

[markjaffa]

Had a couple of good dives lately with lots of good size fish about. First dive resulted in a harli and a queenie - and lost spear for my mates gun. Fast forward to dive two - no gun and 8-10 pinkies seen - most at a range of 2-3m - with an average length of 70cm. Bugger!

So gotta get a gun! I have read all the threads on here about purchasing a new gun - and the "condom" versus "bubble" debate seems quite hot. My question isnt so much a choice between these two types as a question of quality between two manufacturers.

My choice at this stage is either a Rob Allen Tuna 1.3 for $385 with twin 16mm rubbers or a Seac Sub Asso 115 for $299. Both are new.

I will be carrying this gun along with my cray loop on most dives. It will be getting dropped in the sand/on the reef. I tend to duck into any cave I see - but mostly get out the way I go in - so I can pick it up easily. I assume that most people would recommend the Seac for this - but I also spend time in the blue at 25-30m looking for something big - which probably suggests the RA. Either gun will be a compromise - so which one has the best quality/support? How many seasons could/should you get out of the rubbers? How much for replacements? How often do you need to replace the seals on the Seac? How much for the kit - or do you source the rings seperately?

Look forward to your responses.

[xNARCOSISx]

My personal choice would be the RA, but I preferr the 1100. Easier to carry around when craying and a damm site easier to load.

[DECO1100]

Mark can i ask why you choose the cressi over the Mares Cyrano ??

Basically if your using the gun as an opportunist gun the cyrano or cressi would be a much more viable option, no broken rubbers, fast and quicker to load ( imo ) alot less maintenance of the years of ownership.

If ya planning on chasing Yellow fin tuna or dogtooth mackies and don't mind a diner plate size hole in ya fillet then the condom guns maybe the way to go, if its dhu's, baldies, trout, blues ect the phnumatic guns are simple, accurate, less mucking around and most importantly effective..

Cheers Mick

[xNARCOSISx]

And if there not loaded they float........away

And if you load em and put them down to catch crays becarefull not to step on it.

[DECO1100]

And if there not loaded they float........away

They only float as high as the line that is attached to the gun if the shaft is not in the barrel

And if you load em and put them down to catch crays be carefull not to step on it.

Mine gets loaded before i leave the boat and only gets shot off at the end of the day unless shooting dinner, touch wood never had one go off accidentally under the water or in the boat the safety are pretty good on them. unlike losing a finger or a nice knuckle bruiser if ya knock the rubbers on the condom guns

[xNARCOSISx]

Hmmmmmmmm could argue the case but he's already made the right choice

RA cant go wrong.

[Jedstar]

Scuba and spear guns ..... coming from a freediving back ground I must say that until recently I was convinced that a gun was the only way to go for range and power BUT after using a gun at depth with scuba must say I found them to be bulky slow to bring to bear and an absolute pain in the arse to reload when the fish has done a number on the line potentual dangers of putting down and picking up a loaded gun and mono use only for shooting fish all in all more trouble than they are worth. The guys I have been diving with in Esp do not like spear guns and promote and use good quality hand spears. After being resistant for six months trying to prove my point about the superiority of guns I have now been converted to hand spears and while spear guns can not be beaten in free diving because of the line and float for scuba the hand spear now rules IMO for the following reason. They carry easily with your cray loop they can be used to assist in baiting crays Southern crays being more challenging than their eastern brothers to catch hand spears are ready to use in an instant to target fish and yet they are not loaded until ready to bring down a fish and they are a dam site cheaper than guns. Power issue can be compensated for with double rubbers they are easily maintained & telescopic hand spears can compact until ready to dive and the largest fish I have caught has been on the hand spear . The hunting technique is a little different & you must pin your fish asap but after trying both methods I'll always choose the hand spear when scuba diving and the gun & float for free diving. JMTCW

Another factor that came to bear on me was 14y old daughter recenty go shot in the butt with a spear gun in an accident ... short story is this would not have happened with hand spear.

[markjaffa]

DECO1100 - I dont get the reference to the Cressi - but I guess you mean the Seac Sub. Choice of a Seac Sub was purely price driven. Didnt look too closely at the Mares or Cressi ranges - higher price mainly, but I am not a fan of Mares gear.

xNARCOSISx - I was leaning the way of the RA - but the one I was looking at was sold! So it has become a choice of one - the Seac Sub "bubble gun" Asso 115. Dont hate me for it - I will also be getting a larger "condom" gun as well - just a bit later on.

Jedstar - I can honestly say I hadnt thought of a hand spear. Used them when snorkelling as a kid/teenager. I take your point - especially the safety one - but I will be going with a gun. Given my local conditions, a lot of fish are shot mid water - which makes it pretty hard to pin quickly. I think it would be very hard to get close enough to use a hand spear - they dont like me at that range!