Written by Fin + Forage’s Andrew Miller

Choosing your first speargun can be a daunting process. When you walk into a shop for the first time and see a wall full of wood, aluminum, and carbon fiber, the seemingly endless sea of choices can make it difficult to determine what you are looking for—and more importantly, what you actually need.

Unfortunately, browsing online shops and dive forums tends to compound that problem. The reason is that people tend to give advice based on the type of spearfishing they do, and even then, they might not be very qualified to be giving advice in the first place. Because spearfishing can look so different from one place to another, it’s impossible to find one “best gun” for every situation.

For example, divers in Northern California hunt in thick kelp and low visibility, slowly crawling across the bottom and contorting their bodies to find fish deep in caves and holes. A small, nimble gun makes that process significantly easier. Check out our Northern California speargun review here. By contrast, reef diving in Hawaii requires divers to drop deep and let the fish come to you. A long, slender gun will give you the reach you need to tag skittish fish without shortening your breath hold. And a blue water diver chasing tuna will need a cannon capable of slinging thick, strengthened shafts over long distances to connect with their prey.

So if you really want to get to the bottom of what speargun you need, you first need to ask what type of diving you plan to do. Once you’ve figured that out, the next step is to decide how much power you need.

Power

Speargun power can be a contentious subject. Manufacturers and their fans love to make claims that are difficult to verify and, sometimes, that conflict with the laws of physics. New divers especially can fall into the trap of thinking power is more important than it actually is. Nevertheless, because it is important to choose the right tool for the job, it is important to understand how power affects speargun performance.

To understand power, it helps to understand how spearguns work. In the most basic sense, a speargun is just a tool to store potential energy. You put energy into the system by pulling back the bands (or, in some cases, pumping compressed air) and locking those bands into the spear shaft. When you pull the trigger, the energy stored in the bands propels the shaft forwards and (hopefully) into a fish.

It goes without saying that an underpowered speargun will not reach out far enough or with enough punch to ethically harvest the fish you are targeting. But an overpowered speargun can be just as problematic. First, it is possible to overpower a spear shaft to the point that you lose accuracy. For this reason, it is critical to choose a shaft that is thick enough and stiff enough to match the amount of power your gun has.

Second, certain hunting situations require lower powered spearguns. When you’re hunting reef fish in heavy structure, the last thing you want to do is send your $50 shaft flying into a rock to get bent or stuck. To find the right balance, you need to match the power of your speargun to the type of hunting you are doing.

Speargun manufacturers increase power in three basic ways: by increasing the length of the speargun, making the bands thicker or by adding more bands. European-style spearguns (or “pipe guns”) often have one or two bands ranging in thickness from 14mm to 20mm. Manufacturers control power by changing the length of the speargun body. Euro guns can be as small as 50cm and as long as 150cm. As a general rule of thumb, guns 50cm to 90cm are dirty water or hole hunting guns; guns 100cm to 130cm are considered reef guns; and guns 140cm and above are considered blue water guns. As with anything, however, these categories are not absolute.

Size-for-size, American-style spearguns tend to incorporate more bands than their European counterparts. The benefit of these guns is that they tend to pack more power into a smaller package. The downsides are that it takes slightly longer to load and that more bands means more mass moving forwards, which typically means more recoil.

To counter this problem, manufacturers have experimented with a variety of roller-based speargun designs. By incorporating different arrays of pulleys, roller guns can increase the power stroke and stored energy in a speargun without dramatically increasing recoil. However, because these guns tend to be more complicated, they are generally not recommended for new divers.

Rear Handle vs. Mid-handle vs. Rear-Plus

Spend any amount of time on dive forums and you will inevitably stumble across a mid-handle vs. rear-handle debate. As with speargun power, many new divers give this question more attention than it deserves. But ergonomics are an important part of the speargun selection process.

The vast majority of spearguns you see in dive shops are “rear-handled” spearguns. All this means is that the handle of the gun is located at the back, directly beneath the trigger mechanism. Some guns, like pipe guns, put this handle as far back and as high up as possible in order to align your hand with the recoil of the gun. Other models may have a plastic or wood loading brace extending behind the handle. Long, rear-handled spearguns are best carried “soldier-at-arms” style and extended—rather than swung—to the target.

“Mid-handled” spearguns, by contrast, have handles placed roughly a forearm’s length down the body of the speargun and well ahead of the trigger mechanism. Pulling the trigger at the handle engages a push rod, which in turn engages a second trigger and fires the gun. Mid-handled spearguns are often favored where large guns must be maneuvered in tight spaces—such as hunting white seabass in Southern California kelp forests—or in blue water where extremely large guns are necessary.

“Rear-plus” guns are the ligers of the speargun world. At some point, a manufacturer looked at the rear-handle vs. mid-handle debate and decided there should be a middle ground. Lo, the rear-plus was born. In keeping with mid-handle tradition, rear-plus guns use a short push rod to operate a second trigger. But unlike mid-handles, the handles in rear-plus guns are located much closer to the butt. While this sounds like a recipe for a “greatest hits” album, the reality is that the compromise struck by rear-plus guns is a bad one. They channel the worst of both worlds and, frankly, are terrible. Don’t buy one.

Gun Materials

The three most common materials speargun manufacturers use are wood, aluminum, and carbon fiber. Unlike speargun size, the debate over which material is best often boils down to personal preference and budget. Wood feels nice in the hand, it’s easy to ballast, and it looks pretty. The downside, however, is that wood can be heavy. Additionally, a well-made wood speargun requires a lot of hands-on work, and they tend to be expensive as a result. Wood spearguns are available from mass-market companies like Riffe, as well as from custom makers like Ulusub, KAP, and Maohi Customs.

Aluminum spearguns, by contrast, are generally more affordable. Spearguns made from aluminum tend to be simpler in design, but they work very well for what they do. Well-respected brands include Rob Allen, Pathos, and Meandros.

Carbon fiber spearguns come in two different calibers. The first is essentially a beefed up aluminum gun, where the aluminum “pipe” body is replaced with a carbon fiber tube. This reduces weight, makes the gun quieter, and increases the gun’s corrosion resistance. The second class is more similar to custom wood spearguns. These guns come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can easily run into the thousands of dollars.

Trigger mechanism

Most mass-market spearguns use proprietary trigger mechanisms (“mechs”), making it difficult to generalize across brands. However, one major comparison worth making is that between standard and reverse trigger mechs.

Early speargun mechanisms operated by locking the shaft into the front of the trigger group. The concept is simple, effective, and still works today. The downside, however, is that the full length of the trigger mech sticks out behind the shaft, creating an extra three to six inches in length that do not contribute to the speargun’s power stroke. Over the last ten to fifteen years, many manufacturers have adopted “reverse mechs” that lock the shaft in to the back of the mechanism. Compared to a standard gun of the same overall length, a reverse mech allows a diver to get an extra seven to ten centimeters of band stretch—more power in a smaller package.

Speargun Alternatives

A discussion of spearguns would not be complete without a shout-out for pole spears and Hawaiian slings. Both of these options are more primitive than spearguns, but they give you the opportunity to build your skills as a hunter and enter the sport at a lower price point. Additionally, in certain areas of the world where spearguns are not allowed, pole spears and slings might be your only option.

Pole spears are relatively self-explanatory devices. Essentially, a pole spear is a big stick with a pointy thing on one end and a rubber band on the other. You “load” a pole spear by sticking your hand in the band and choking up on the spear. To “fire” a pole spear, you simply let go. Pole spears come in a tremendous array of styles, from inexpensive fiberglass models to high-end carbon fiber fish slayers. Common points include three-prong paralyzer tips, flopper tips, and slip tips.

Hawaiian slings are even simpler. A cross between a slingshot and a longbow, Hawaiian slings allow you to shoot a speargun-style shaft at relatively short distances by pulling back and releasing the rubber band. Hawaiian slings are particularly common in the Bahamas, where spearguns are not allowed.

Takeaways

So what does all of this mean for you? The short answer is that before you buy a speargun, you should go to your local dive shop and handle as many different styles as possible. Talk to local divers about what size speargun is best for the conditions in your area. Be realistic about the areas you intend to hunt and the species you intend to shoot. Figure out what feels good in your hand and buy whatever fits your budget. Then, get out in the water and learn how to use your gun. However, it is worth noting that while not all gear needs to be top quality, there is an argument to be made that your gun should take the priority on purchasing a quality and reputable brand.

Divers are notoriously gear junkies. We love to get new toys and tweak them to improve our diving experience. But gear is ultimately a small part of the total equation. If you find a gun that works for your diving style, your aesthetic, and your budget, don’t stress about whether it’s perfect. Buy it and go put some fish on the table.

How to Choose a Speargun