We’ve tested many spearguns over the years and have determined a few factors that will improve your accuracy and power. Make sure your speargun has the proper mass to absorb recoil. Correctly power your gun, knowing that more bands don’t always lead to more shaft velocity. Also, ensure your grip is customized to take the recoil into your arm and not into your thumb, which causes inaccurate shots. Based on this criteria, the best speargun is the Abellan Albacore 130. It’s been 3rd party tested — It’s easy to load, simple in design, accurate, and has tuna penetration capabilities.
9 Best Speargun for 2023 Reviewed
1. Abellan Albacore 130
Best Wood Speargun
The Abellan Albacore 130 is the speargun the OGs use. The design is unique in that the owner, Harry, has placed the handle as close as possible to the trigger mechanism to reduce the moment arm of the gun due to the recoil.
The bands are powered correctly for the shaft to reach terminal velocity. The grip has a slight degree turn to angle the recoil load into your arm, not your thumb, increasing accuracy. A 3-band speargun, it can shoot straight 8 meters with tuna penetration. That’s insane.
But don’t take our word for it. The speargun testing legend, Majd has a full video showing it in action with data to back it up:
For the longest time, these spearguns weren’t offered in the states. We decided to change that. We’re now the distributors for Abellan here in the USA.
If you’re looking for a speargun that will take down big fish for years to come, pick one up from us:
2. BleuTec Ocean Born
Best Carbon Fiber Speargun
The carbon fiber monoblock body and muzzle of Bleutec Ocean Born speargun make it one of the ultimate spearguns for blue water reef spearfishing.
Targeting large fish requires necessary power with no concession to hydrodynamics and allows counteraction to recoil of multiple bands. And Beutec got just that.
3. Unkolearnuhow Custom Roller Spearguns
Best Roller Spearguns
Roller spearguns have a cult following. They are great for reducing recoil in light pipeguns. Without a doubt, MannySub makes the best roller muzzles with their ceramic bearings. They aren’t cheap, though.
Having seen Brian build custom rollers in his shop in Kauai, I’m convinced he’s one of the best in the game for all things rollers. I had him modify my pipe gun and used it to land my 65 white sea bass.
If you’re looking for a new roller, I’d recommend talking with him and getting a custom. He also does invert rollers if you’re looking for that as well.
4. Meandros B28
Best Beginner Speargun
I’ve used this gun for several seasons and find it a solid beginner to intermediate-level pipe gun. The only issue I have with it comes with the universal handle. From what I’ve learned about recoil, I’ve noticed that the speargun was a bit light, and the force would be angled away from my arm if I wasn’t careful.
This was the speargun that I had my buddy Brian (unkolearnuhow) modify the muzzle by adding a MannySub on end and turning it into a 105cm roller. He added foam to the barrel to reduce the noise when it hit rocks and add more mass.
The trigger is fantastic, and the higher-end models like the Argos are also legit.
5. Rob Allen Aluminum Tuna Railgun
Best Rob Allen Speargun
The speargun’s barrel is created using aircraft-grade aluminum with a wall thickness of 1.45mm. This speargun will be a go-to gun in your arsenal even after you get your feet wet.
I recommend sticking to a weapon around 75cm in length for beginners, so you don’t have to worry about the added strength needed for long arms.
This barrel has an integrated rail, which makes this gun deadly accurate. The reef fish won’t even know what hit them.
My buddy who uses this gun swears by it, so it’s at least worth a test drive. If you think you’ll be getting more into spearfishing, it could be worth jumping up a few centimeters, but it all comes down to how much you want to worry about it at the start.
6. Riffe Marauder
Best Riffe Speargun
The Marauder is a top-notch speargun. The sleek, streamlined design made from a 5 laminate purple heart and mahogany wood stock is beautiful and incredibly durable. The manufacturing facility in San Clemente, CA, uses the latest technology to ensure a precise design built to last.
It offers four different models, the 47, 55, 63, and 63S, perfect for a wide range of spearfishing environments, from the reef and inshore to bluewater hunting. The closed band slot design, a new feature that requires Tie In Power Bands, combined with the Euro Style M-Tab Spear Shaft, provides extra band stretch for maximum power. I appreciate the unique rifle-style Push Button Safety that ensures a smooth, quick release when the target is in sight.
7. Pathos Laser
Let’s take a closer look at what makes this Pathos a beast in the water.
First off, this gun packs a punch. The power and accuracy of this gun are top-notch too. The only concern is the trigger mech, as it’s prone to scratching, which can lead to issues down the road. There are several trigger mech replacement components worth looking at from Ermies.
8. SALVIMAR Hero Speargun
This is a newer gun on the market and what stands out is the unique-looking handle. It comes with a metal trigger mechanism and sports solid anti-corrosion aluminum tubes.
Sometimes an aluminum gun can be noisy underwater, which can scare away fish. Thankfully, the designers at Salvimar coated the aluminum barrel with an anti-corrosion Teflon to provide noise-dampening and added protection.
This gun isn’t as popular in the States, but that’ll change soon.
9. Mares Sten
Best Pneumatic Speargun
The beautiful thing about pneumatic spearguns is their compact size and how many shots you can take with them before having to pump them back up.
If you are planning on reef fishing and tend to go for small to medium-sized fish and don’t want to worry about bands and rollers, then a pneumatic is best for you.
The Sten is a great gun, especially for scuba divers. Scuba divers have so much gear that loading a single or double sling speargun can be daunting.
With a pneumatic gun, it’s as simple as point, suit, and quickly reload. This version comes with an 8mm diameter spear shaft with a threaded tip, so you can swap out the advice for whatever the situation.
This would be a reliable option if I used a pneumatic instead of a sling.
Understanding the Types of Spearguns
Traditional Spearguns
Traditional speargun design (also known as band-powered spearguns) consists of an elastic band attached to the tip of the spearshaft to propel the spear through the water. These band-powered spearguns have been used for decades across the globe and have a simple, robust design.
Slings come in various sizes, from the smallest guns to the largest. They tend to be used by all skill levels and seem to be the gold standard design.
There aren’t many downsides to owning band-powered guns other than maintaining the rubber bands, as they are prone to crack and break over time. The beautiful thing is that band-powered spearguns tend to be reasonably low cost.
A band-powered gun is pretty foolproof and can be abused, up to a point, and still work, which suits a lot of spearfishermen who don’t spend much time on their guns.
Roller Spearguns
Roller guns are similar to sling guns but tend to give you more power in a shorter size gun due to the wrap-around nature of the rubber bands.
Most of these guns allow you to adjust the power of the arm by having different anchor points for the band to attach under the gun, which could be helpful depending on the day’s conditions.
Spearos like this style because the band pulls the spear the entire length of the spearshaft, which tends to give a straighter shot.
The downside of this style is its difficulty to load unless there are multiple bottom anchors to help give you a better grip on the band.
Some people love them, and some people hate them, but if you need more power and want a shorter gun for maneuverability, this is the style for you.
As for inverted roller spearguns, here’s what you should know:
Listen to Everything You Need to Know About Inverted Roller Spearguns
Pneumatic Spearguns
Pneumatic spearguns are great for shooting smaller fish, especially in low-visibility water. They usually have two chambers to hold compressed air. It uses compressed air to fire the shaft.
The main chamber uses a pump that comes with the gun, and the second is compressed when you insert your spear.
Pneumatic spearguns are all or nothing and more comfortable to load when they’re shorter but muzzle-loading becomes more awkward as the arms get longer.
The advantage of all the pneumatic spearguns is no bands to check or replace; if the weapon still has its pressure, then you are good to go. They are generally reliable, but when you get a leak, it is not necessarily a quick fix, whereas, with a band gun, you change the band, assuming that you have a spare to hand.
They also are negatively buoyant, so don’t drop the gun in deep water as you might lose it.
You get about 20 to 30 shots before you need to pump up the gun again, which is more than enough for a day of spearing. Most even have two power settings if you need to switch up your attack based on the available small to larger fish.
Lastly, they are pretty loud in the water, but that doesn’t bother the large fish.
How to Care For Your Speargun?
Although the top spearguns are relatively simple devices, they still have certain materials and moving parts that must be taken care of. Although each gun is different, and it’ll probably be best to look at what the manufacturer recommends, here are some general-purpose tips that might help keep your gun working for longer.
Speargun Buyer’s Checklist
- Rinse it with fresh water after use to remove salt and sand and let it dry.
- Keep it out of the sun to keep the rubber for your bands from deteriorating under UV light.
- When using wooden spearguns, please don’t keep them in a hot car, as the wood can warp.
- If your trigger action has sand or rust, find the instructions manual to open up the ergonomic handle and spray some lubricant there, like WD-40.
- Not spearfishing? Then take your bands off and keep them in a plastic bag in the fridge to help them live longer.
- If you want, you can use a rubber lubricant to keep the rubber moist, but since rubber is pretty cheap, it’s probably easier to replace them as needed.
- The speargun out of the sun, whenever it’s not being used, is the bare minimum care you should do.
- If you’re using a high-capacity air pneumatic gun, realize that there are many more rubber components than a sling gun, so rinse it extra and keep the weapon in a cool dark place when not used.
- Having an easy safety catch is great. Knowing how to use it will keep your dive mates happy and everyone in good spirits.
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