Looking to buy a gun soon, I could use some advice.

[mallardtone-man]

Hey guys, I am new to the forum and just wanted to say hi and ask for some advice.

I am going to be in Fla next week with some friends and we are going to to some scuba/freediving and spearfishing. As much as possible! I have never spear fished before but am super psyched to try it. I will buying a gun once I arrive in Fla. I have kind of decided on a 42" JBL SUPER CARBINE, I found a store on my way down that has them for $90.00. It is an aluminum 2 band gun. If someone has a better suggestion in that price range please let me know. It has to be something I can afford and I have to be able to get it locally. I can probably spend up to $150 or so.

I wouldnt even mind buying a used gun if I can find one in the keys but would have to get one with good bands or ones that I could replace cheaply. I intend to do mostly shallow water spearfishing and am pretty much interested in shooting anything that we legally can. I also intend to spearfish the waters here in MI for big carp, gar catfish, sheepshead and more so I would like a decent sized gun with a little punch to it. I would really love to have a larger gun like 60" but am worried I wont be able to get it home on the plane so I will have to ship it or something. All of that is extra $$ .

I hope someone can help me out with some good advice.

I also have a thread where i am looking for some general and more specific info for fishing the Marathon area if anyone can help me out there!

Thanks!
James

[keezdiver]

never been a big fan of the JBLs...they just seem really cheap and clunky. and i think the price reflects that.

42" is REALLY short for down here....

if you want i have several guns laying around. some different styles. maybe you can try them out and see what you like and don't like.


but honestly....$150 is not much of a budget.

that's like going shoping for a NEW car...with a $10,000 budget....

[Ron S]

I started with the JBL carbine, (shorther version than the super carbine, but same trigger mech.) First, it has a really terrible trigger mechanism, as it very rough and hard to pull with the gun's two 1/2" bands loaded. Second, the gun has no rail, and the beefed up back end of the spear slams into the barrel as it fires, causing a huge racket and making the gun less accurate than it could be. Third, the slide ring the gun comes with is very light, so a large fish will deform the slide ring and cause it to grab the shaft on your next shot. Fourth, there's no actual line release on the gun, just a narrow little clip that will pretty much only accept the thin nylon line that comes on the gun, which has a tendancy to tangle. Fifth, the gun floods with water and sinks. Not a problem on scuba, but it is for freediving. Sixth, there's no place on the gun to attach a floatling of any kind.
But hey, the one good thing about the gun is that it won't be a hassle to bring home, because after using it, you'll most likely just leave it in Florida.
If you're set on buying a gun and can only spend $150, pick up a Cressi Comanche and have something that will work and you'll enjoy using.
Ron.