GUN SELECTION

There is no one gun that is perfect for everyone or all the different diving conditions. Divers have their likes and dislikes, visibility can be low to crystal clear, and terrain can be open or kelp forests. A diver may be spearfishing around wrecks or rigs, may be chasing reef fish or pelagics, may be scuba diving or freediving. It is impossible for one style to suit everyone's needs. The following explains some of the different uses for each style:

The REEF and HYBRID spearguns both come in the following three handle styles: rear, mid, and rear handle plus. The following explains the placement of the handle.

1. REAR HANDLED - These are the traditional styled spear guns that have the handles at the rear like a Euro styled gun. This is an easy loading gun from either the hip or chest. This is a popular gun for entry level to advanced divers and scuba divers. This handle placement is the easiest to learn to aim with. The disadvantage is that once you get past a certain length, maneuverability can be an issue. For scuba divers, it is easier to hip load so many scuba divers choose the rear handled guns.

2. MID HANDLED - The mid handled spear guns are designed to give spear guns extra maneuverability due to the pivot point being closer to the mid line. This is a great advantage to have when tracking game and maneuvering the gun under ledges, through kelp and around wrecks and pilings. Also, the mechanism placement at the rear enables the spear gun to have the maximum length of rubber pull and a longer shaft. This equates to an increase in power and distance. This gun is usually loaded on the chest. This is popular with advanced divers who want maneuverability and power.

3. REAR HANDLE PLUS - The rear handle plus is your traditional rear handle styled gun with the increased power and distance that the mid handled guns have. This is because the mechanism has been moved towards the rear. It is loaded just like a mid handled gun, chest loaded. You have the ease of aiming along with the maximum power of a mid handled gun... the best of both worlds.

BLUE WATER ENCLOSED TRACKED GUNS

The enclosed tracked guns are made with the finest handpicked teak and laminated into a “T” style lamination. This gives it greater strength and stability to lateral, vertical and horizontal forces. This means a straighter, stronger stock with no flexing. The internal weight systems frees the gun of bulky side stocks and wings, yet provides mass and balance while making those 20-35 foot shots.

On the business end of the guns, there is an anodized aluminum muzzle. The design enables it to hold up to six bands, which are only 1/8" below the plane of the shaft. Due to its minimal size, the blue water guns are tapered to the muzzle. All this translates to long accurate shots, minimum recoil, and a shaft that hits with power from a very maneuverable blue water gun. These guns are popular with the recreational and serious blue water hunters all over the world. There are three style of bluewater: Mahi, Ono, and Tuna.

1. The MAHI gun, at 57 in overall length, is one of the most versatile bluewater guns around. Because of its size, it has the maneuverability of a mid sized reef gun, but because of the 5/16 inch enclosed track shaft, there is the speed, distance, and hitting power usually found only in the bigger bluewater guns. The Hawaiians use these for the trophy Giant Trevally or “Ulua.” These trophies reach up to 100 pounds. On the Southern coast of California, it is a favorite of White Sea Bass and Yellowtail hunters. It has excellent maneuverability to slide through the kelp into the sunrooms, yet has plenty of power and distance for those long shots outside the kelp beds. The Florida and East Coast divers bring out the Mahi gun for the big game around the wrecks and rigs where you need the power and distance for those cobia, AJ’s, African Pompanos, black groupers, and Kingfish. Down in the Sea of Cortez, Baja Mexico, it is a great gun for those Roosterfish, Yellowtail, Tunas, and big Cubera snappers. This gun is perfect for the midwater gamefish. If I had to pick only one gun, this would be the one!

2. The ONO gun is the most popular gun for the serious bluewater hunters. It is the “bread winner” that brings home the bacon. Its size and power allows the bluewater hunter to reach out and hit those wary game fishes found in the clear blue. Its name says it all. It is maneuverable, light and an Ono (wahoo) killer. You can use it off Baja, Mexico, for big wahoo and dolphin. In the Gulf of Mexico, its been used to shoot huge wahoo and tunas. When you start seeing those kingfish, cobia, and huge AJ's around the rigs and wrecks, its time to bring out the Ono gun! This is an excellent choice for your next serious bluewater trip.

HYBRID GUNS

The Hybrid gun combines the best features of a Euro style pipegun and the American traditional wooden gun. Hybrids have a carbon fiber barrel that is married to the handpicked teak wooden stock. This makes the hybrid gun light, maneuverable, and balanced while gliding through kelp or waiting in ambush.

The Hybrid gun is Daryl's revolutionary design that divers are now beginning to realize gives them the “best” of all worlds. With the different styles and sizes, there is a choice for all types of diving, visibility, and fish. It is a great gun for reef, wrecks, rigs, kelp, anywhere there is fish. It is extremely accurate and silent due to the accutrack guide and state of the art hardware. The fusion of high-tech and traditional properties makes this a delight to shoot. For your everyday workhorse game gun, this is a great choice!

SQUID BONE HYBRIDS

In the quest for the ultimate hybrid, the "squid bone" hybrids come pretty close. With hand shaped laminate side stocks and precision ballasting, the squid bone hybrid has maximum mass and ballasting that enables minimal recoil, increased accuracy, and yet has maximum maneuverability. In other words.... it's fun to shoot! The sizes can be from 36in pistol to 63in ono slayer.

SEMI ENCLOSED TRACK HYBRID GUN

The semi enclosed track hybrid guns is a fusion of the hybrid style and the enclosed tracked guns. When shafts are over-powered, they tend to whip and there is a loss of accuracy. The enclosed tracked guns can be loaded up with band power yet are very accurate, because there is no shaft whipping. The back third of the hybrid gun encloses the shaft, and the shaft comes out straight. This is a good choice for a hunter who wants to load up on band power for longer shots.

NICKNAMED GUNS

The guns that have specific names are named after places or divers who influenced the development of that particular gun or the type of diving style it is used for.

The smallest gun to be named is “THE PISTOL”. It is a small gun designed for the very low visibility that can be found on the U.S. West Coast and Northeast coast. It is great for those Lingcods and Tautags. “THE NORTHEASTER” was also developed for the low visibility areas that “the pistol” was developed for. When the visibility improves to 5-8 feet, then the Northeaster is the one to have.

Another gun was named the “FLORIDA FREESHAFTER” for the type of diving that is done off Florida. This gun is an enclosed track Reef gun, and is extremely accurate because of no shaft whipping, and no shooting lines to hinder its flight. This is a favorite for hogfish and groupers. Scuba divers love the fact that it is easy and fast to load. The “G.R. GUN” is an enclosed track hybrid, and it is named after a well-known Florida freediver. He has popularized it by helping with the design and then doing well in tournaments with it.

A gun that was custom designed for the Middlegrounds off the west coast of Florida is now available. This gun was designed to bridge the gap between the 55" enclosed track freeshaft gun that shoots a 9/32" shaft and the Mahi bluewater gun. Many divers from Florida want a gun that has a larger shaft for freeshafting hogfish and groupers. This gun shoots a 5/16" shaft and can be used as a freeshaft gun or with a shooting line. It is the only Reef sized gun that is made to shoot a 5/16" shaft. We call this gun the “MG SPECIAL”, and it the most rugged of Reef guns and designed to be shot with one or two strong bands.

The "Super Magnum" is a semi-enclosed track hybrid on steroids. It has the maximum internal ballasting weight possible and with its four - five band muzzle has the same specs as the world famous Ono gun which holds many bluewater records.