When you look to purchase your first speargun the sheer choice of guns on the market can be quite daunting. When spearfishing in the UK our needs are quite different to when fishing in other parts of the world. In this article we will look at the different types of speargun that are available and what features they offer.
Firstly, there are two main types of speargun available, Rubber powered and Air powered. Rubber powered spearguns are similar to catapults and crossbow guns in that they power the spear by use of rubber bands that are stretched back then released to fire the spear. Compressed air spearguns are powered by compressed air behind a piston that sits inside a barrel. When the trigger is pulled the compressed air forces the piston up the length of the barrel pushing the spear out at the same time.
Today we are going to look at the rubber speargun variety as this is the most popular type of speargun used in the UK.
Price.
Spearguns (like most things in life) vary greatly in their prices. It is fair to say (on the whole) that the more you spend on a gun, the better the quality and refinement will be. Guns priced up to around £70 are generally of lesser quality. They will probably use thin rubber (13 or 14mm is common) and use poor quality spears/trigger mechanisms.
The £75-£150 range is where great value guns generally live. These will normally use thicker (16 or 18mm) rubbers to provide more power, along with using a higher grade of metal for the spears, thicker barrel on the gun, maybe even a "rail" guide to assist the aim of the spear and higher quality better design trigger mechanisms.
Once you go over the £150 bracket, whilst the guns are normally still a very high quality, I believe that the value for money gets lost. If you take a gun that costs around £150 and compare it to a guns that is say £250 - you have to ask yourself, "am I going to catch more fish with the dearer gun?"
The step between the entry level guns and the goods guns is one well worth taking, just be weary of some of the pricy guns that may not offer any benefit to your fishing.
Size
Spearguns come in a range of sizes. They are generally made from as small as 35cm up to 1.4 meters in length. Please note that when talking about sizes of spearguns the size relates to the length of the barrel of the gun, not the complete overall length of the gun.
For example a "75cm" gun will be approx. 1.3m when measured with the spear. It is the barrel section that is 75cm.
So what difference does the length make?
Simply put:
The shorter the gun the more easier to move under the water it will be. This can be an advantage in poor visibility, or when fishing up against rocks or in gully's/weed. The downside to this is that the gun does not have the sheer power that a larger version would provide. Larger guns, whilst they offer better power and more accuracy, they can be unmanageable in confined areas.
The most popular gun for use in the UK tends to be a 75cm. This size is big enough for fishing in more open water and also manages OK in more confined conditions.
If you only own one size of gun there will always be times when you wish you had a bigger or smaller version, sadly the only answer to this problem is to own a selection of sizes and use the most suitable at the given time.
Other features a gun may offer include, reels, bungees, filament line.
As to how beneficial the above are will depend on your personal preference. Reels are useful when shooting larger fish as it gives you the opportunity to "play" the fish. You can release the reel and return to the surface once the fish is shot. The fish can the tire and you can reel it in easier. Also reels can be used if your spear gets jammed in rocks. As before you can release the reel and swim back to the surface with your gun in hand leaving only the spear below.
Bungees are a simple "add on" if they are not standard with your gun. Costing around £7 they act as a shock absorber as well as making it easier to re-route your line when setting up your gun after a shot. The bungee gives you some "stretch" with the line which you will not have without one.
Filament line is both stronger and acts better in the water than the "string/line" used on some guns. A set containing the crimps used to fit it (you can't tie knots like with string) will cost around £4-5.
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