sounds like you may have bought a dud mate. i would have demanded a new one straight away. i have never heard of guns discharging themselves, and if i got one, i would be contacting the manufacturers direct. that is a serious safety issue, that potentially could have dangerous repercussions.

me and my mate both have had the same RA 1400's for 12 years, and other than changing the lackys a few times, they have been a far king brilliant gun, accounting for numerous mackeral, dhuies, and everything inbetween, all the way to whiting. one thing i did do, was immediately change the mono to antline (270kg breaking strain), and that has no memory, and i reckon is far superior to mono. i bought a spare spear when i first got the gun, and its still sitting in the shed waiting for the first one to break or be lost.

as to your question, i think the 3 most important things in gun selection is,

1) you want a gun that is well ballanced,

2) it has to track well and easily

3) IT HAS TO SHOOT STRAIGHT!!

gun size is for the individual to determine, but the going consensus is that a longer gun is a tad easier to use, as its got a fair bit more range, but generally harder to load. with that being said though, some of the smaller guns are becoming more popular with the beginners, as they are a bit lighter to throw around.

A closed muzzle will be quicker to load than an open muzzle for a beginner, maybe even more so on SCUBA.

You can get reels that require no drilling for a 30-32mm barrel, there are a few on the market. I think Barry Paxmans is one of them.

Its a shame your RA is faulty, definitely a massive safety issue and I wouldnt be touching that gun with a 50 foot pole. I have also had dramas with RA mechs but suspect it was more due to the mech not engagin properly because of sand/salt build-up, as a good tear down and lube fixed it.

I've had my RA Sparid 1200 for over 3 years now and it has given me heaps of trouble free use. I also use mono as my line and it has never even looked like snagging up in the gun.

As for drilling for the reel, the RA's have a sealed section in the barrel where the reel goes so in the case it does leak (and it shouldn't if you seal it right) it only floods that small section and not the whole barrel. 

Hopefully yours gets fixed as I've had no grief from mine

Personally I got rid of all my RA guns, have had 3 over the years. I dont think they are worth the money, would rather pay a bit more and get a much better gun. I found they shoot low, the mech wears faster then a steel mech and gets build up issues faster too. I hate closed muzzles - drove me to using a pelaj but have found that I am not a fan of steel guns at all.

In the mid range there is not a lot you can buy in the carbon guns from my knowledge....so I would look at the woodies. I run a riffe now and will never go backwards. I find my 1000 riffe is more then enough gun for anything I shoot at.

My 3 main criteria in a gun would be.

1) neutral bouyant and ballanced when loaded.

2) fast and easy to load for those multi shot situations - like when you ping something and the 600mm baldie swims in to see what all the noise is about.

3) good consistent range and accuracy - this is of course the most important.

I find the tracking argument is kind of null and void in todays market as I have never picked up a reef gun that I couldnt track through the water with minimal effort, biggest issue I have ever had was on RA and pelaj guns where the rubbers seem to vibrate when tracking through the water, funnily enough it seems to attaract the attention of fish like baldies and as often as not they will stop and offer the broadside shot for you when they hear it.

One thing to note on this is I have found on a woodie that if you "pop" the rubber on the side of the gun lots of more inquisitive fish will stop for you and give you a shot. I neer tried this on a steely but imagine it should be similar as I used to tap the but of my knife on the barrel to do the same thing.

If you want more info I'm sure the boys at www.wadivers.com.au would be more then happy to help out, though half of us are on here too :)

I hope this helps

Maybe try WA Undersea as well. Certainly a lot of guys there have RA, they seem to be onto pretty good deals on a few other brands as well.

 have a rabitec stealth carbon mate i rate them highly check them out!

MrWinta, 20m is a big dive so you could really justify going to a bigger gun like 1.4 or 1.5.  Edge is a really popular make with WA spearo’s but I have no experience with them.  I have an Orca Thula which is great and in your price range (not sure how long they go though).  

I have a bramd new never used 1.1m Freedivers EVO Reel gun going for $400 if you want it... Rate them highly... (with reel)

Damo

ph.0400 208 255

Sounds like you were unlucky to get a dud mech but certainly something that needs to be swapped out straight away. All those euro / ZA guns are easy to service and fix but its a good idea to join one of the local spearing clubs to learn how or take it back to the shop as you did.

IMO no gun is good at everything, you need to ask what you want that gun to do. Example: I have a triple 18mm carbon 1.5m gun with alexander trigger, shoots a 9.6mm shaft with slip tip though tuna at 25 feet but bloody useless on KGW and squid for which I love my 1m freedivers.

My go-to gun is my 1.4m Edge with single 18mm and 7mm spear however I only target dhus, baldies, trout, rankins and macks, if we are diving direction bank I tend to use my 1.4m Edge with double 18mm and 7.5mm shaft as there is more chance of tuna and the reef fish are generally out in the open.

Sneeking around strags or champs I like a 1.2m as it has the range to take out the odd mack but also easy to whack a dhu in a cave. Species comp diving its had to go past the thin euros (i like cressi geronimo) with pranga head for fast movements on small fish.

I'm currently on a kick of using dyneema/antline as spearline, certainly tougher but it does get tangled on the rubber occasionally, also good at cutting off fingers and unbreakable if it gets stuck down deep and no Pickering around.

So I guess the point is most well known brands are similar, every brand will have a small percentage that have problems, factory RA's always need 10cm longer spears, guns with plastic rails are quieter but are less rigid - dont over power them. Look at what species you are targeting and what sort of country, from your post I would say a 1.3 or 1.4m closed muzzle 7mm spear single 18mm yellow Edge rubber rail gun. Reel or speed rig is up to you, I always use paxman reels except for species comps when use speed rigs. Without a float its good have a boatie close by!