The Best Spearguns For 2021

What To Look for in a Speargun

When buying a speargun, it’s important to find one that’s comfortable to hold and easy to use. Equally important is choosing a gun that’s right for your needs. If it’s larger fish or bigger game you’re after, there’s no point using a European banded speargun as you risk bending the shaft.

And if you’re not the best aim just yet, using a pneumatic speargun might scare off your prey as they tend to be quite noisy.

So, how do you choose the right speargun for the job?

 

The Basics

For the beginner spearos out there, we’ll quickly go through the basics of how a speargun works and the jargon we’ll be using further on.

There are three main components to a speargun: the barrel, the shaft (or spear), and the handle with a trigger. After loading the weapon, you aim, pull the trigger and the shaft is propelled out of the barrel, hopefully into the fish you were targeting. The shaft has a sharp tip at the end which is what goes through your prey to kill it.

So you don’t lose the shaft if you miss your shot and to prevent the fish from making off with it, a line is attached to the shaft at one end and the gun at the other. Some spearguns use a shock cord that is attached between the gun and the line. These can be invaluable as they reduce the tension on the line, reducing the risk of the line snapping.

A line release is another useful component of many spearguns which holds the slack of the line out the way and releases it when you fire. More advanced spearguns feature reels or have a mount where you can attach a reel. This works like a reel on a fishing rod with the line wound around it.

Now you know the basics, here’s what you need to consider when buying a speargun.

 

Type of Spearfishing

The first thing to consider is the type of spearfishing you’re going to be doing. Are you planning on catching fish while scuba diving in deep waters or will you freedive and stay close to the surface? This will determine the kind of speargun, shaft, speartips, and gun length you need. Shallow water and reef fishing require guns with lighter shafts, a short-range, and less power. Hunting larger prey at depth will require a larger, stronger shaft and a gun with a longer range.

 

Types of Speargun

There are many types of speargun but just two main types dominate the sport: pneumatic and band-powered. Each has advantages and disadvantages. However, it usually comes down to personal preference and spearfishers tend to find the style that works best for them and stick with it.

 

Pneumatic Spearguns

Though not as popular today as they were in the 1960s and 70s, pneumatic guns are still widely used throughout the spearfishing world. They are very easy to use, have very little recoil, and can be fired over long distances with both power and accuracy.

The spear is fired by pumping air into the gun. After placing the shaft into the barrel, this compressed-air fires it through the water when the trigger is pulled. The power of a shot is determined by the strength of the user and how much air they can pump into the speargun.

Pneumatic spearguns generally have a compact design and use shafts that are around 0.31-inches (8 mm) thick making them hard to bend or break, ideal for penetrating larger fish. Reloading is quicker and easier than with a band-powered gun which is a feature that should be taken into consideration. If you miss a nice grouper on your first try, a faster reload speed is essential to get off a second shot before it swims away.

One of the major downsides to pneumatic guns is that they tend to be quite noisy when fired. Fish are likely to be scared away if you miss the shot which is why they’re less popular with novice spearfishers. Moisture can build up in the cylinder making them more difficult to maintain. And, although they are still accurate over large distances, they’re less accurate over shorter distances than their band-powered competitors.

Pneumatic spearguns are still very popular with seasoned spearos who prefer their fast-loading action and the compact size that packs plenty of power.

 

Band-powered Spearguns

Band-powered spearguns dominate the market and are the gun of choice for most spearos as they’re highly accurate and super powerful. They act like a sling-shot, using a band made of an elastic-like material that you pull back and release with the trigger, propelling the spear forward through the water. The bands are often attached to a wishbone, a V-shaped metal or rubber attachment, to make loading easier.

You can expect most band-powered spearguns to have a range anywhere between 3 and 15 plus feet (0.9 m to 4.6+ meters) depending on the length of the barrel and the number of bands you’re using. Unlike pneumatic spears, the power of a shot has nothing to do with the strength of the user. Power is controlled by increasing the number of bands. More bands mean more power. Band-powered guns are also completely silent so won’t scare the fish away if you’re a bad shot!

Now to the downside. Band-powered spearguns take more time to load than pneumatic guns, especially if you’re using multiple bands. They also use slimmer shafts, typically between 0.26 and 0.28 inches (6.5 mm to 7 mm) in diameter, which have a tendency to bend if you’re going for larger fish. Wearing gloves and a chest plate is also advised to protect your hands and body when loading.

Overall, band-powered spearguns are great if you want accuracy, power and are planning on catching small marine species. This combined with the fact that they require little or no maintenance makes this style of gun the best option for beginners.

Where a speargun is made also needs consideration as it has some influence on the weapons performance.

 

European Spearguns

European spearguns are compact, making them more streamlined when maneuvering through the water. Being more lightweight than American spearguns means reloading is a breeze. They use slim shafts which are perfect for catching small fish at close range, usually less than 10 feet (3 m). However, using a European speargun on larger prey could lead to shaft damage.

 

American Spearguns

American designed spearguns are typically made of wood and are more powerful and robust compared to their European counterparts. They use thicker shafts which means they can be used to shoot larger game. The increased size makes American spearguns more cumbersome, but it does mean you can install additional bands to improve the overall power delivered in the shot.

 

Length

In spearfishing, length does matter. Different situations call for different sized weapons. If you’re hunting in tight environments, looking for fish in caves or under boulders, a smaller, more compact gun gives you more maneuverability. Typically you’ll want a speargun somewhere between 19.7 and 29.5 inches (50 cm and 75 cm).

For shallow water and reef spearfishing, where you shoot fish hiding out amongst rocks and coral, a midrange speargun is ideal. These are the most versatile of weapons and can be used for short and long-range shots. Look for a gun measuring 31.5 to 45 inches (80 to 115 cm) to give yourself the best chance of catching your prey.

The longer spearguns are intended for use in deep, open water situations and when hunting big game fish. It’s essential to get power and strength behind the shaft to propel it through the water at high speed. These guns range from 47 and 63 inches (120 cm and 160 cm) in length.

Beginners may benefit from using a shorter or mid-sized gun to begin with and moving up in size as they become more experienced.

 

Shafts

A shaft is a piece of steel (stainless, galvanized, or hardened) with a tip at the end. Due to its resistance to corrosion, stainless steel is the most common metal used. Shafts vary in size depending on the length of the speargun.

The size, or diameter, of the shaft is important and they tend to range from 0.24 to 0.35 inches (6 mm to 9 mm). Slimmer shafts are faster through the water but don’t pack as much punch so are used for spearing smaller fish. If big game is your target, go for a thicker shaft that will penetrate the skin of larger fish.

 

Tips

Tips come in three main types: single barb, tri-cut, and pencil-nose. Single barb and pencil-nose tips are designed for catching small to medium delicate-skinned reef species while tri-cut tips are better suited to get through thick-skinned and scaled fish.

Behind the point of the tip is a flopper, a piece of metal riveted to the shaft. The flopper sits flush against the shaft after release, which maintains streamlining, and flops open after passing through a fish to secure your catch in place. There are different kinds but the most common are the single Hawaiian and Tahitian floppers and the double flopper.

 

Conclusion

Although spearguns are easy to use and have very few moving parts, buying the right speargun takes a lot of thought. You need to know where you are fishing and the type of prey you’re hunting.

Always take into account your experience level and how much of a challenge you’re after. Once you have this figured out, you can choose your gun type, shaft length, and tips for the best chance of success.

Hunting prey under the water can take some getting used to. But whether you’re looking to catch your first fish or have already speared thousands, the thrill and excitement are always there. Just make sure you have the right speargun to make the experience as easy and enjoyable as possible.

Have you used any of our top picks or do you have a favorite speargun that we’ve missed off the list? Need more information about spearfishing? Leave us a comment below and let us know your thoughts.