Do I want a pneumatic?

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    Do I want a pneumatic?

    No you don't because.. 1. You love your POS RA :) 2. http://spearfishing.world/seve…perior-to-pneumatics.html 3. You can't give Harry the satisfaction :D


    Try someone else's for a few dives before you buy. Actually you can get them used all over the place, check ebay. If they're not leaking there's not much that can be wrong with them. Even if they are leaking it's probably just the seals.

  • Again I blame greekdiver and his videos of shooting fish after fish effertlessly with a pneumatic, reel and camera shot after shot.:D
    My reasons for considering a pneumatic;
    1.My favorite gun is a RA, which is a round barrel pipe gun similar in shape to a pneumatic.
    2. Unless I am mistaken, some pneumatics have a high and low power selector lever which would be very useful for me shooting down into the reef and then out into open water on the same dive.
    3. Pneumatics seem to have more power to length ratio than a band gun. To say that a 110 pneumatic has as much or more shaft speed than a 130cm band gun.
    4. If #3 is true, than a pneumatic gun equally as powerful as a band gun will be much shorter and track much faster.
    5. I sight right down the gun barrel and some pneumatic guns even have sights like a shotgun.


    I have many pneumatic gun questions. Maybe pneumatic gun users might help with answers.
    1. I freedive Florida reefs down to 80fsw and also shoot open water for wahoo, macks, and dorados. What most powerful pneumatic would you suggest please?
    2. Will a big powerful pneumatic float with a RA reel and camera?
    3. What are some of the pneumatic gun web sites? [Mares Cyrano, Mamba, etc]
    I have lots of other questions as I have never even shot a pneumatic. Any and all experianced information is appreciated.
    Thank you in advance

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    2. Unless I am mistaken, some pneumatics have a high and low power selector lever which would be very useful for me shooting down into the reef and then out into open water on the same dive.

    Most people don't use the power selector switch. When you pump up the pneumatic real good it gets kinda hard sometimes to shift the lever in the water with gloved hands. Many people myself included take out the power reducer block and seal the selector lever hole, this allows the gun to be pressurized more.


    Just plan your shots/wait for the fish to assume a position where you're shooting parallel to the reef. Even if you shoot into the reef if you have a single flopper shaft most of the time it's no big deal. If it does get stuck real good look forward to practicing your breath hold and chipping around the shaft with your knife to get it out (it's important to have a stiff blade here). Pneumatic shafts are cheap so if you lose one no big deal. If you use the Tovarich system they're even cheaper cause you don't need a sliding ring nor a piston adapter. Shooting into a hole is always risky no matter what power setting you're using.

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    1.My favorite gun is a RA, which is a round barrel pipe gun similar in shape to a pneumatic.

    :confused1:

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    3. Pneumatics seem to have more power to length ratio than a band gun. To say that a 110 pneumatic has as much or more shaft speed than a 130cm band gun.

    First see if you can load a 110 pneumatic without a two stage loader. You may not like how long it takes to load with a two stage loader. If you use the assist bar it makes the gun more bulky.

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    4. If #3 is true, than a pneumatic gun equally as powerful as a band gun will be much shorter and track much faster.

    Those fuckers are really nose heavy just so you know. If I have to hold one in the ready to shoot position for a long time my wrist starts to hurt. They have little flotation pads that they stick on the gun to float the front more. But this makes the gun more bulky.

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    5. I sight right down the gun barrel and some pneumatic guns even have sights like a shotgun.

    I shoot instinctively. I understand the concept of sighting down the gun I just don't understand how you have time for it.

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    2. Will a big powerful pneumatic float with a RA reel and camera?

    I seriously doubt it.

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    1. I freedive Florida reefs down to 80fsw and also shoot open water for wahoo, macks, and dorados. What most powerful pneumatic would you suggest please?

    Sounds like a perfect candidate for nice long multi band wood gun.


    Pneumatics are noisy guns and I prefer not to have anyone shooting them around me. The noise may not affect whether you nail the fish you're shooting at, but it will affect all the other fish in the vicinity.


    The pneumatic speargun is a good tool, it works. It's all about the little things though and what you do and don't want to deal with.

  • Both are systems that eliminate water in the barrel when loading the shaft. This is supposed to translate into more power, the piston doesn't have to fight the water resistance as it pushes out the shaft. Maybe it reduces noise too.


    Here's my understanding of the difference between the two but I'm not %100 sure about the Mamba. The Mamba achieves it with a special muzzle and seal that travels on the shaft. This system allows for the traditional slide ring on the shaft as place to anchor the shooting line. The Tovarich kit only uses a muzzle seal. This necessitates the shaft to be completely smooth with no piston adapter/sliding ring stopper, otherwise it would get caught in the muzzle. As such the shooting line to the spear connection needs to be made in front of the muzzle, so the shooting line is attached to a hole just back of the flopper.

  • Hau: I will give you a short answer to your questions:


    I used pneumatics for 20 years (were the only "decent" guns in my home country, Venezuela). When I tried my first "decent" band speargun They´re all in a closet collecting dust.


    And all my spearguns were "Top notch" pneumatics (Mares Sten), the biggest is a modified 115.

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

  • Marco brings up a good point. Back in the days, and maybe still today in some countries, when good band guns were not readily available, good pneumatics were. A good pneumatic is better than a crappy band gun.


    In Cuba mostly pneumatics are used because people can make/find the materials to make them easier than band guns. Past the handle everything else can be made by a machinist salvaging materials from the place where he works for the state. Most of the handles were very old Mares. Some handles were home made. Check out this completely home made Cuban air gun. You don't want one of these :) http://spearfishing.world/spea…tico-criollo-de-cuba.html


  • Marco is right about normal pneumatics. Although, i'm betting he hasn't tried a tovarich system on a pneumatic. I love it. Railguns are way more heavy than a pneumatic with a tovarich kit. Aiming is harder on the pneumatic but with practice, its pretty accurate. It shoots very straight and i keep getting more accurate with it.


    I'll post more later...

  • MArco you have way too much stuff collecting dust allready, i may be helpful helping you getting rid of that crap :)



    What are the best pneumatics around, and what are their power compared to a band gun ??

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

  • Greek,
    quick question. You use 9/32" shafts. Did you get your muzzle in 7.14mm or in 7mm. If you got the 7.14mm how do 7mm shafts fit, and if you got the 7mm, how do you 9/32 shafts fit?

  • Greek,
    quick question. You use 9/32" shafts. Did you get your muzzle in 7.14mm or in 7mm. If you got the 7.14mm how do 7mm shafts fit, and if you got the 7mm, how do you 9/32 shafts fit?


    muzzle is 7.14mm (9/32) on tovarich kit. I think 7mm would work fine too on 7.14mm muzzle. I haven't tested but im sure they would work without leaking. You could always order 7mm if you only plan on shooting 7mm. Since we live in america, i would go for 9/32.

  • MArco you have way too much stuff collecting dust allready, i may be helpful helping you getting rid of that crap :)



    What are the best pneumatics around, and what are their power compared to a band gun ??


    I use 115cm seac. I think its the best choice.

  • I ordered the 7.14. He told me that it would work well with 7mm but that the 9/32 in the 7mm was a little tight in his opinion. Thanx...:)

  • Monstruo: If you are going to leave it the way it comes from the Factory, I think that a Mares Spark Mimetic (old Sporasub Stealth) is the best choice. It is like a Cyrano with bigger air chamber and less expensive. It comes with a 1.5 mm trigger pin which makes it softer and has the best internal components of all the manufacturers around. Additionally, the piston is 11 mm which reduces the amount of water to be displaced. If you are going to install a water tight kit, a 13 mm piston would be a better choice.


    Greek, you´re right, I have not tried the Tovarich (and I could get a kit for free since Ramón Boto is my personal friend), but I am not really interested. At this moment, I think I have the guns I need.

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

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