Good Choice?

[RBainer]

Originally Posted by SEA_ARCHER

I guess you have not actually fired the gun then because your claim of stretching it at 15 ft is completely wrong. I recently purchased the mako 110 gun as a backup while waiting to get one of the guns that jstiver mentioned.
I was pleasantly surprised by the way it shoots. Shooting in my pool at 15 feet from spear tip it is dead on and easily penetrates my 3 inch high density construction foam target with ONE 16 mm small ID band. So to say that 15 feet is stretching it's limits is not correct even if you are only loading one of the two bands.

I have not tested further than that distance (15 feet from tip or 20 feet from grip) because my shaft is single wrap and reaches the end of the mono.

I do not make any claims comparing the mako to Any of the pricey guns because I have not done any side by side comparisons, but I do know that 15 feet is easily within its effective range and not at all stretching it.

haha maybe i should sell my alemanni 130 and buy a mako

[jfjf]

An interesting discussion... Terminology is important in these types of discussions.

I think there may be an issue of defining what someone considers the "gun range".

Personally, I would provide an estimate of how far a fish is away from my eye. If the fish is 15 feet from my eye, then I would say I shot a fish from 15 feet away.

However, some other people decide to take a more analytical and rigorous approach to describe range:

They measure from the end of the muzzle to the target. This negates the length of the gun itself and any arm extension.. (which is probably a better way for analysis of guns of various lengths) - but is makes a huge difference of maybe 5 or 7 feet.

In any regard, I know that a MAKO 110 can shoot effectively to the limits of a single wrap (and past that to some degree). Not sure exactly how much past a single wrap, because I generally just use a single wrap of line.

The MAKO chart on the website indicates the length from the handle of a 110 to the tip of the spear with a single wrap is 21.0 ft. That is the maximum distance that is attainable with a single wrap of line. If you use the more rigorous approach and knock 4 or 5 feet off which is associated with the barrel, then you get a range (from the muzzle) of about 16 or 17 feet.

If I can shoot a fish with my arm extended that is 22 ft from my eye.. then I would say the gun has a range of 22 ft.. (it sounds better, anyway).

[jstiver09]

Hard to standardize range with that approach^^^^
-guys with short arms
-guys with long arms
-midhandles
-rear handles

Best to remove those variables and talk about the gun not the whole package, then add the other variables back in later for the "final product". If you don't you could never fairly compare guns.


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[Shorediver]

Originally Posted by jstiver09

Hard to standardize range with that approach^^^^
-guys with short arms
-guys with long arms
-midhandles
-rear handles

Best to remove those variables and talk about the gun not the whole package, then add the other variables back in later for the "final product". If you don't you could never fairly compare guns.


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^^^^this^^^^^

[joespy66]

Boy a lot of mathematicians spearfishing these days. As an engineer I appreciate all the calculations.

Full disclosure, I have (3) 16mm bands and a reel on my Mako 110. The fish hit were small. Rarely did the spear penetrate (as expected).

The post was more about aim and accuracy and less about killing. I was not trying to imply I was deadly from 30' just that the gun was accurate from that range.

[SEA_ARCHER]

Originally Posted by jstiver09

Hard to standardize range with that approach^^^^
-guys with short arms
-guys with long arms
-midhandles
-rear handles

Best to remove those variables and talk about the gun not the whole package, then add the other variables back in later for the "final product". If you don't you could never fairly compare guns.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I completely agree that in terms of defining a guns effective range there should be some sort of standardization. I agree that it is only fair to use spear tip to target to speak of a guns effective range as well as a flat shot. In real life terms MY effective range has to be from my mask. Lots of fun variables to consider however.

In terms of penetration it completely depends on your quarry. My requirements for penetration are somewhat less stringent that yours as I have a hard time sinking more than 3 of the purple construction foam in my pool. Two 5 gallon buckets of concrete barely keep it on the bottom. I could trim the sheets smaller, but I like the larger size to have a fresh area to aim and test after every few shots. What do you use to anchor your targets to the bottom? If you shoot five inches thick you must be using something with less flotation or have a better way to keep it down.

As an individual shooter I have to be able to combine the guns effective range with my reach and then factor in trajectory and current etc. With the clear water and heavily persued prey here in south florida I find myself wanting to extend my effective range further and further. As the saying goes...better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

[SEA_ARCHER]

Originally Posted by Slinginsteel87

haha maybe i should sell my alemanni 130 and buy a mako

Not implying this in any way. I have many rifles that are more beautiful than and more of a pleasure to shoot than my 300 win mag sniper rifle. There are many different reasons, I'm finding, to have different spearguns available for different situations.

[steve-oh]

Originally Posted by joespy66

I have a 110 Mako rail gun. I've tagged plenty of fish more than 30' away and most were not very big. (I love trigger) It has been very accurate and reliable. A good musician can play the worst instrument. Save the money on the gun and put it into more trips. Both put fish in the box.

I have a mako encolsed track 120 (with 3 bands) way overpowered (recoil is retarded)!!!!! and i can tell you that this gun is not hitting a target at 30ft regardless how many wraps of line i put on it. 15-18ft it is punching through any fish, but not always accurately. the only reason i have gotten away with a controlled shot with 3 bands is the enclosed track. i believe someone on this forum tested a mako in a pool and had pretty bad results. The truth of the matter is you get what you pay for. i have landed a crap load of fish with my mako and have over a hundred pics of fish to prove it. Sometimes its just the hunter!!! how else do you explain guys getting huge tuna and grouper on polespears! bottom line, mako's are on the high side of entry level. good buy for the buck. but then again, so is a hundai.lol!

[SEA_ARCHER]

Originally Posted by steve-oh

I have a mako encolsed track 120 (with 3 bands) way overpowered (recoil is retarded)!!!!! and i can tell you that this gun is not hitting a target at 30ft regardless how many wraps of line i put on it. 15-18ft it is punching through any fish, but not always accurately. the only reason i have gotten away with a controlled shot with 3 bands is the enclosed track. i believe someone on this forum tested a mako in a pool and had pretty bad results. The truth of the matter is you get what you pay for. i have landed a crap load of fish with my mako and have over a hundred pics of fish to prove it. Sometimes its just the hunter!!! how else do you explain guys getting huge tuna and grouper on polespears! bottom line, mako's are on the high side of entry level. good buy for the buck. but then again, so is a hundai.lol!

(spearq8) tested a mako (non enclosed track) 120 with pretty poor results. His tests are very well thought out and very well respected. However his test was not with the enclosed track version and he even hypothesized that an enclosed track would benefit the setup he tested.

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread...t=oceanic+test

If interested in any gun it is not a bad idea to see if spearq8 has done a test on it (he has tested a ton of guns). You might gain some valuable info on your future gun or setup.

Its unfortunate that with the nature of spearguns you don't have the opportunity to test / shoot a gun at the store before you buy. You have to rely on the opinions of friends, dive buddies, internet BSers. It is refreshing to see guys like spearq8 put in time and effort to not only test some of these guns but share the results with the rest of us.

[joespy66]

I found I needed to true up my shaft every now and then too. It doesn't take much to put a little bow in the shaft that will affect accuracy.

[Timinator]

I think the benchmark should be a Parrot fish broadside at 10' then count the number of scales you end up with on your tip!

[SEA_ARCHER]

Some of the locals shot them in Hawaii. They're actually pretty tasty.

[Timinator]

Parrot fish make great ceviche. I always "try" to shoot one for that purpose. Honestly, I've shot them broadside with a tuna gun before and got nothing but a single scale! Tough little muthers.