# spear gun



## coyotebuster

does anyone use a spear gun for shooting carp. Im thinking about trying it. Any suggestions about gear would be greatly appreciated.


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## carp_killer

have to talk to gunattic on that one


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## gunattic

coyotebuster said:


> does anyone use a spear gun for shooting carp. Im thinking about trying it. Any suggestions about gear would be greatly appreciated.


basics are a wetsuit, mask, dive flag, and gun. the complete kit would include weights and belt, gloves, socks, fins, snorkel, float, stringer. Myself, and my spearfishing buddies freedive, so no scuba equipment necessary.

You need a fairly powerful gun to penetrate the scales or bone of the carp. A 55 to 70cm gun in either pneumatic or double banded (prefer pneumatic) works good. Anything longer is tough to maneuver and in poor visibility the shorter guns work better. Pneumatics have more power/size ratio than the banded guns. Sad thing is that some of the good pneumatics have increased by about 50% in cost recently. Mares makes some good pneumatics, the Sten (8mm shaft) or Cyrano (7mm). An inexpensive band gun would be something like a JBL 38 Special (2 or 3 bands).


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## coyotebuster

I would be doing all my diving in the summer time, probably in 15' or less would I still need a wetsuit?


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## gunattic

depending on how much insulation you carry of your own, a wetsuit for most people becomes necessary when spending hours in the water.. and especially if you are hitting the thermocline (usually around 18' or so). Summertime lake temps are at best about mid 70's, maybe slightly warmer, and that's still a lot cooler than body temp and water steals heat fast. Fleet Farm has about the cheapest wetsuits around that'll work for mid summer spearfishing and not spending too much time below the thermocline, but if you're going in shortly after ice off or just before ice on, they won't cut it.
I start out with a 5mil suit, sometimes with cheap fleet farm 2mil suit over top in the spring, then switch to just the 5mil, than a 3mil suit for the duration of the summer, and then go back to the thicker layers before ice forms. My good wetsuits all have built in hoods, and I forgot to mention that a hood is nice too as that is where a large percentage of your heat loss comes from.


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## coyotebuster

Thanks for the good advice. I will be getting a wetsuit and a gun later this spring or early summer, some carp are gonna die


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## gunattic

you'll have a great time spearing carp. The bigger ones can about take you for a ride.

the wetsuit will make you more buoyant, kinda like wearing a life jacket, so you will need some weights and a weight belt. Look for a rubber weight belt (I know the scuba shops around here sometimes only sell the nylon belts, and they'll loosen up all the time) and get 2lb weights so you can fine tune your weight required. You will need to wear more weight the shallower you're going to hunt, and the deeper you go, you will need less weight. I try to weight myself to be able to float on the surface so I can rest easily and putting fish on the stringer isn't such a chore. I may sink slightly on exhale but can still breath normal without having to tread water. I try to be neutrally buoyant at the depth I want to hunt, whether 6' or 25', so I adjust my lead accordingly. With a 3mil suit for shallow hunting I'll wear about 10-12 lbs and wear 4-6lbs for hunting to 30' or so. Depending on body type, a person has to do some trial and error to find what is going to work best for them.


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## coyotebuster

Do you have any advice on how to get good at holding my breath for diving down deeper? I can hold it for about 1:15, also when you go down that deep doesn't it really hurt your ear drums? I know you have to be unplugging your ears constantly as your going down buy my ears still hurt when I get past the 15' mark.


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## gunattic

It's not so much about holding your breath as it about, as you mention, clearing your ears. You can do a dive to over 100' in 1:15 if you just go down and turn around, but if you can't equalize your ears (make the pressure of your inner ear the same as the pressure on your outer ear), you're not going anywhere. Do a google search for "frenzel freediving" and you'll get a ton of reading on the frenzel technique of equalizing your ears. And just like every sport, practice will make it that much easier when you're in the water.

It really isn't about holding your breath, but practicing that doesn't hurt either.. I take that back, at first holding your breath to the max will feel like your lungs are on fire, but that can be overcome with practice rather quickly. Rules are, slow deep breaths, full exhales, and *NO hyperventilating* (can cause blackout, not a good thing). Another rule, *NO practicing in the tub or pool without someone watching you ALL THE TIME* . Do your breath holds sitting in a chair or laying in bed, that way if you blackout you won't get hurt or die.


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## keppers

how long a shockline should I use for carp? would a reel be a better idea?


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## gunattic

no need for a reel, and the shock line all depends on your gun. my guns vary from less than 3' on my "can't see through the muck" mini gun to some over 12' on my biggest gun. For the water around here.. it's rare you would need over 5-6' of cord. I can usually get pretty close to the fish for a shot. Since I'm not on scuba that could be making some difference.

It takes a lot of gun to have power enough to go through a carp at 7~10' distance. A lot of things come into play, type of shock cord, diameter of shaft, type of point. These things all have significant influence on the efficiency of the gun.

North Dakota and Minnesota limit the tether line to 20'.


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## keppers

should I tie my shockline to the gun or to a float line?


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## gunattic

shockline to the gun, unless you're after tuna. I used to have the shockline fastened up near the tip of the gun, but now I've drilled out a hole in or near the trigger guard and fasten the line there. I only shoot pneumatics now, lots more power with shorter barrels.


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## Squeeker

If you are looking to go with a rubber-band gun, I would highly recommend going with something other than JBL. They are primarily a N. American product along with another company A.B. Biller. These are basically the "Carry-lites" and "Flambeaus" of the speargun market. They tend to be very loud in the water, are quite inaccurate, and lack power.

I don't know much about pneumatics, they are quite popular in the N. American market but not so much internationally. I personally like the idea that I can tie bands at my own will, keep back up ones if they get too stretchy or break. I think with a pneumatic, because it is a sealed air chamber, if something goes wrong you're trying to hunt down o-rings and such and can become quite dependant on the manufacturer.

I would highly suggest getting a ROB ALLEN 70 cm (if you are going with bands, that is). For almost the same price as what you would pay for a JBL/Biller, they have loads of power and are extremely accurate. I can almost thread a needle at 10/12 feet with mine. The spearshaft and flopper have a very slim profile in the water which is the way it was meant to be.

If you get a chance, try Saskatchewan for spearfishing if you make a trip up hunting. You are not limited to carp and can take exactly the same species and limits that hook/line anglers can.

I would pretty much agree with everything gunattic has stated, although I would make sure that if you choose a rubber weight belt, ensure that it can slip off very easily. I use a nylon one and sure it will loosen every once in a while, but I like the idea that if I am at the bottom and something happens, I can quickly release my belt and go shooting up to the surface. I'm not saying that you can't do that with a rubber one, I've just never seen one before.


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## Squeeker

gunattic said:


> It takes a lot of gun to have power enough to go through a carp at 7~10' distance. A lot of things come into play, type of shock cord, diameter of shaft, type of point. These things all have significant influence on the efficiency of the gun.


Yep, which is why I cannot understand why JBL/AB Biller have gone with a threaded speartip design. I got suckered into the marketing and went with one primarily to allow me to easily swap out speartips if one should get dull. Problem is though they end up very bulky and you lose penetration power. Slim profile is the way to go...If I could shoot a bamboo skewer with a flopper on it, I would


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## Squeeker

P.S. If there was ever ONE resource to research all of this stuff, it is on Deeperblue...Freediving techniques, spearfishing tips, guides, etc.

http://forums.deeperblue.com/


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