New Pelaj Railgun Review

[miles]

Pelaj have sent me and Tommy Botha a few of their proto-type guns to test. Over the past few months, these guns have been tested by both of us and here are our views:

From an average diver like me, certain categories are worth looking at:

Aesthetically, the blue cammo on the blue water gun and the brown cammo on the shorter reef gun look very good. The build quality looks to be very good and has certainly stood up to our abuse over the last few months. The double band muzzle looks and works very well, possibly one of the nicest double band muzzles I’ve used. The rail is also quite substantial and the spear sits quite nicely on it.

One of the biggest complaints that I’ve read on the spearfishing forums is that many don’t like the angle of the handle. It is more upright, when compared to the usual railguns, but when I used the gun, I adapted very quickly and actually came to rather like the handle.

All of the above is quite fine and well, but just exactly how well does it shoot? Simply put: quite SUPPERBLY!! The Pelaj gun in EXTREMELY accurate!! Maybe it’s the handle, but I’ve found that from the very first shot, the gun was EXACTLY on target. Where-ever I aimed for, is where the spear hit. Pin-point accuracy!!

Unfortunately, our tuna season has been dismal, so I haven’t yet been able to test the Pelaj gun on 50-90kg (100-200lb) class Yellowfin Tuna, but have absolutely no doubt that they’ll work very well, especially the 3x14mm band Pelaj Kanji gun. Tommy and I were able to test it on some smaller pelajics and some reef fish, up to 20kg’s, and were very impressed with these guns performance.

Review as per the legendary South African Spearo, and arguably one of the best spearo’s in the world, Tommy Botha:

“When entering the water with a new gun, one is unsure about the accuracy and the fear of placing a poor shot or even completely missing a large fish, surely puts one nerve’s on edge. Especially when one is using a gun whose grip is different to the normal guns I use. All these fears are prevalent UNTIL you’ve taken your first shot! The Pelaj gun has performed flawlessly and has displayed superb accuracy. No guessing or compensating for high or low shots, the Pelaj gun simply shoots where you aim it.

The brown cammo, that I used on the reefs, worked well, blending in well. The yellow on the grips is also very visible, making the retrieval of your gun easy should you drop it.

One particular incident was when my sinuses were blocked and I was unable to dive past the 5m mark. I ended up shooting a 9kg White Musselcracker from the top, with a vertical shot, hitting the fish exactly where I aimed. Anyone who spears regularly will know that vertical shots offer a very small target and it’s extremely difficult to hit the fish. Shows the superb accuracy. Furthermore, the fact that I’ve not yet missed a fish with the Pelaj gun is indicative of just how good this gun works! “

In conclusion, both Tommy Botha and I have only tested the 120 Pelaj guns and both of us echo the sentiment that Pelaj have created an extremely accurate and well balanced gun. It most certainly is on par if not better than the current genre of railguns. I can honestly say that I have now found a new favorite gun!!

[Wilddiver]

Hiya Miles,
Yeah, they look good. I've ordered a 1,5m Kanji as a back-up bluewater pelagic gun to my big wooden Matt Alexander. Some nice fish you got with Tommy there.

We'll be down in May for the tuna comp - hope the big 'uns are around by then - and look forward to a chance to dive with you and Tommy.

[peskydor]

I would have preferred detailed pics of the guns rather than fish fotos. But, this would not be an advert from SA without some kind of claim about fish. About the grip; it is baffling to me why spear guns use the Luger grip. Among hand guns, only the Ruger has retained the wrist buster for nostalgia reasons. Evidentally, this spear gun manufacturer, "Pelaj", has come to the same conclusion. Good for them.

[miles]

Hiya

Pesky, PELAJ is actually an Australian product. Here are a couple of pic's, courtesy of: http://www.designawards.com.au/appli...licationID=747

[peskydor]

Australia, whatever. Seeing those pics shows nothing innovative except the grip and I will offer a guess that any perceived improvement in accuracy is solely due to that component. Back in the day, the Spearfisherman company sold a gun with a grip cloned from the Luger. Many of today's guns claim to be "Colt 45" or something but most are Lugers which pistoleros know to be inaccurate.

[miles]

Hiya

Australia, whatever.

Just for your information, Australia is actually a completely different continent, as opposed to South Africa, which is situated at the southern most tip of the continent called Africa!! Distance from Cape Town, South Africa to Sydney, Australia is 6861 miles (11042 km's).

I will offer a guess that any perceived improvement in accuracy

Check the shot placement on the 18kg yellowtail below. Stoned fish tend to be the result of good accuracy and not PERCEIVED improvement of accuracy......

[peskydor]

Miles, very funny. These days, conflicts of interest span continents at the speed of light. Is your thread an advert or not?

[miles]

Hiya

Pesky, an advert for what? Palaj guns? I don't know!! They asked me to test their guns and i did!! Found them to be quite good and am simply reporting what i've found.

To be more forth-coming, they have offered me a sponsorship deal, which i will most likely take. Not that i need any more guns, but more from the perspective of being able to help the sport by participating in R&D for a gun manufacturer. (and i like playing with new toys!!)

Regards
miles

[Mattedhead]

Good on ya Miles! Most of us appreciate your posts, as they are the valued opinion of an experienced and respected diver...you are one of the more positive members on the board...however if you need a heaping dose of negativity, just check out the posts from the ol' salt "Peskydor." I can't remember the last post that wasn't sarcastic, negative or hyper-critical...

Regardless, thanks for the notice of a new product...one that most of us wouldn't be exposed to here in the US.

[RabiSpear]

Pesky, who are you?

Thanks for the thoughts Miles. The guns look interesting. I may have to check those out. They have been advertising forever.

[Wahooooo!]

Good gun review Miles. I enjoy your writing style whether you are reviewing a gun or a trip report. Post some pics when you get your first monster tuna with one of those guns.

[kill shot]

Originally Posted by Mattedhead

Good on ya Miles! Most of us appreciate your posts, as they are the valued opinion of an experienced and respected diver...you are one of the more positive members on the board...however if you need a heaping dose of negativity, just check out the posts from the ol' salt "Peskydor." I can't remember the last post that wasn't sarcastic, negative or hyper-critical...

Regardless, thanks for the notice of a new product...one that most of us wouldn't be exposed to here in the US.

Hit the nail on the head with that one. Miles hope to see you in May.
Nice fish by the way.





Eric

[Robbert]

Got a quick question. Why is it that it seems we are reluctant to post weblinks to company's we are discussing? Is it deemed to commercial to post a web link?

I have been collecting links to various gun builders and have noticed this trend. Every once in a while someone will post a link but it seems the rare exception. This thread is another example. So I googled Pelaj and the actual website did not come up right away but I did eventually find them. This has been tru ewith several other gun builders websites.

From my perspective it seems web links wudl not be to commercial becuase you can go there or not. The choice is yours. Maybe I'm missing something.

By the way Miles, nice review and I'll be adding Pelaj to my ever growing list of gun builders!

- Robbert
Robbert@SpearTrips.com

[settingsteel]

Nice pix and rpt, good to see your back in SA

[Man-O-War]

www.pelaj.com

Most of his stuff seems very similar to Rob Allen products, like this sheath/knife:


I dont think Pelaj brand has representation in USA

Miles, does the gun have a full lenght rail?

Nice report

Originally Posted by Robbert

Got a quick question. Why is it that it seems we are reluctant to post weblinks to company's we are discussing? Is it deemed to commercial to post a web link?

I have been collecting links to various gun builders and have noticed this trend. Every once in a while someone will post a link but it seems the rare exception. This thread is another example. So I googled Pelaj and the actual website did not come up right away but I did eventually find them. This has been tru ewith several other gun builders websites.

From my perspective it seems web links wudl not be to commercial becuase you can go there or not. The choice is yours. Maybe I'm missing something.

By the way Miles, nice review and I'll be adding Pelaj to my ever growing list of gun builders!

- Robbert
Robbert@SpearTrips.com