Pneumatic speargun Review - Salvimar Predator Vuoto 

Hi. Actually the last time that I travelled with one it fitted in the suitcase and no one seemed to notice. but you are supposed to let the air out of them when you travel. However I believe that there are actually some countries that you can be arrested if you are in possession of them because they are considered a weapon. So you might want to look into it before you travel and ask the airline concerned.

Its infinite. You do not lose air when you shoot. The spear is pushed out with a piston which is airtight, and then that is pushed back in when you insert the spear - which takes a lot of force.

Yes i love pneumatic spearguns. Beginner tip - let all the air out and customise the pressure specifically for a new person to try out. Yes, thats a shame about the postage to Aus. Just checked it out. You can try looking for the same gun on Ebay.com.au - as they seem to post to you. Or keep and eye out for the gun coming up on a different site. I have seen it on other sites but it since has dried up there. Good luck.

Has much better range than the cressi 100 - which is a very good gun. Both very accurate. The 50cm is a Seapro and has about half the range. Only good for close shots. The Salvimar has a lighter thinner spear as well as the vacuum system, both of which give it more range. I would also recommend the cress 100. Anything 75cm and above is good. The small one is a bit of a pain when the fish swims out of range.

When you shoot high power you need to reload high power, and on low power it is a low power reload. Since it separates the 2 chambers from each other you need to load that which you fired off. However, i believe you can progresssively load the gun with a number of small pulses from low power if you need to load high power. i.e. shoot high power, switch to low, several half pumps, then click, full load. You should hear the air going through to the other reservoir. However, it suggest that you just let air out so you can load the gun in the water ok.

I would recommend it yes. Good range for those bigger fish which don't swim that close to you. Try and shoot them in the head so they wont drag you around. You can put 30-50m braid on the reel which helps.

Hi. Pneumatic guns lose one bar of pressure every 10m (2atm) depth that you dive so if you are shooting at 20 m you lose 2 out of 20 bars of pressure so that's a loss of 10% power at 20 m. However if you are worried about it you can simply pump more pressure into the gun if you are shooting at depths. However I'm not sure if this applies to the vuoto guns given that the spare is held against a vacuum rather than the outside pressure of the water. So I think in the case of the vuoto it doesn't matter what depths you dive the gun will remain the same power. I find that these guns are overpowered to begin with and I have let a lot of air out of my gun to make it easier to load and to bring the range down to 7 m.

I most dive to 10-15mtrs ,, thanks for ur information ☺

I found that it came with way too much pressure to load. I was bending the spear trying to get it in. But apparently you can charge it even more for insane power if you want. The pump they supply means you can pump it up. But i would use this if you let too much gas out when adjusting the pressure. Or if you are travelling with it and they make you let out all the pressure to go in cargo (you are supposed to but it depends how strict they are about it).

@@PaulGarbettNZ I want to get vuoto but has to be on back order till september expecting to wait for 3 monts which i quite a bit. Did you end paying inport tax on it? Do you think the "dark side(carbon)" is worth the dollar and no reel as well? Cjeers. Nick

@@nickbulgary8531 No I dont reckon the dark side is worth it. Mine tend to get a bit banged up on the rocks and I'm glad I didnt pay extra for the asthetics. Have a look on amazon and ebay. Sometimes they come up there. You only need the reel if you are shooting big fish. Ie that can drag you under.

It's the 85cm. Good size to handle and good range.

Hi. No i've never heard of that happening. That actually sounds bad. It sounds like the shaft is not sticking into the piston there. You could try letting the air out and inspecting the piston itself. You would have to unscrew the front of the barrel with a large spanner. It is not that difficult. I believe these can be replaced fairly easily. Or you could look at replacing the gun. It sounds a bit dangerous as it is, and make it difficult to shoot down i imagine!

You can find the piston here if you need one: www.scubastore.com/scuba-diving/salvimar-speargun-piston-predathor-dark-side-vintair/138582/p

Although, it might just be a case of needing to put the spear in straight to begin with. Maybe wiggle it a bit until it goes clunk into the piston. Unless the piston itself is damaged. Let me know how you get on.

Paul Garbett Variety Channel thank you for replying. I will try your suggestions thanks. I have still been using it trying to figure it out with no luck. Yes very difficult to make a shot pointing down and losses it’s power if shaft not in all the way. I can’t seem to get parts from Italy to Hawaii right now for some reason but thanks for the link.

@@marksawka9710 you can get parts from maverick america. They are not all listed on the website. It sounds like an issue with the piston or the wrong shaft tang.

Paul i just experimented with 2 pull handles attached with a string to one another. IT WAS A GAME CHANGER!! I can esaily load the 100cm now, no issues. I saw a video short Salvimar video on the idea, in the video he had 4 handles to a string, all i needed was 2, Totally Enjoyed spearing today with the 2 mode Handle!!

@@giicllc8819 Great good work. I will look it up.

Yes you can load at low power. Usually these guns have a one-way valve for low power. You can load it in multiple stages, over multiple pumps of the spear. Eg you push the spear in half way then relax. Next time it will be easier as you have stored that energy. Or rather, the gas goes through the valve and stays there. Next pump will be easy to about half way, then push a little further to 3/4. A third pump will be easy to 3/4 then one final push to click the spear in. You can then switch to full power. Or back for half power. Alternatively, you can load on the land with full power by using the ground as support. Then shoot on low power, where it is easy to reload again in the water.

I dont know sorry. I let the air out till the point where i am comfortable loading. Thats one of the advantages of the pneumatic gun.

I dont know if it is technically the most powerful. It is very good power for the amount of force required to load it. There are longer ones which are more powerful, and there are other vacuum pneumatics as well. Only the spear which comes with this gun will work with this gun. But you can order spares from the same website.

@@PaulGarbettNZ thanks a lot Paul...your effort and research will benefit many

It is 85cm barrel so ablout 100cm from tip to handel.

Thanks sir...can u tell me wts length of shaft 🙏

@@Bluefinbustr about 85 not including tip

Thank you😊

No I don't think you will find them in Australia. You could keep and eye on Ebay.au and one might come up or you can get them from Tradeinn: www.tradeinn.com/diveinn/en/spearguns-spearguns/22/s?products_search%5Bquery%5D=vuoto

You can by extra shafts. It is a 7mm Tahitian shaft available here: www.scubastore.com/scuba-diving/salvimar-tahitian-shaft-for-pneumatic-guns-double-barb-7-mm/137428/p And yes you can shoot a larger spear from a smaller gun. It wouldn't be quite as powerful though because the spear would be heavier than the gun is used to - so put a little more air into it.

Yes i agree with you on all those points. Once a banded gun snapped and cut my hand open under the water. not doing that again!

@@PaulGarbettNZ i have to leave many times cause of rubbers snapping or dyneema snap, pneumatic if keeping good it will just need a service every 2 to 3 years

I see. Yes the shaft is a bit thinner than most pneumatic guns. This is a 7mm and most are 8mm. It is possible to straighten it again if you are carefull. Any luck doing that?

Firstly, dont worry about letting out some of the pressure to make it easier to load. You will still have a massive range and power with reduced pressure - that's really what the vuoto system is designed for. If you shoot on low pressure you then have to load only on low pressure - then switch to high once loaded.If you load from low to begin with i believe there is a one-way valve that means you can load the gun to high pressure in stages. (just as difficult to load, but can be done in several attempts with each storing some gas). It then can be fired on low (as is) or switched to high. One way to deal with it is to load on land (or shallow water to wet spear), then use only in the half power in the water - this way it is very easy to load/shoot in the water.

@@PaulGarbettNZ thanks a lot, quite valuable info. I'll test it while in the water and probably report a bit later. It seems to me that I might be using it half power most of the time anyway. I cannot remember six meters visibility here in the UK. On average it's 3-4. I also got Salvimar oil for the gun, how often do you apply it? Many thanks!

@@ddd34660 Yeah I would only use the oil probably once a season if at all. I think with the sealed system it probably doesn't need it as much. Nomal pneumatic guns the oil comes in contact with the sea water, and that only needs oil once a season or every second season.

@@PaulGarbettNZ i think we need a new video by you regarding the advance procedures for this gun 😄...like hi to low power toggles intricacies ...loading with low power settings and shooting at hi power...loading and shooting the gun outside water (from the boat) after removing the seal...that will be a gold for us ...BTW I am planning to buy this gun after your solid reviews ...anxiously waiting for reply and more anxiously for the video

Thanks for your comments. Yes it is a little harder to load with the thinner shaft as it can bend if too much pressure in there when loading. I let a little of the pressure out as I really struggled to load this one (85cm) on the factory pressure - which I think is 20bar. So I estimate about 15 bar. But this is still like a 7m range from your eye. I agree about the gopro. These are great for filming videos underwater. Literally point and shoot. Just leave it running on the end of your gun and go spearing as usual and there's your footage.

Paul Garbett Variety Channel it is worth getting the manometer to dial in the pressure. What and what size fish do you get with it? My 55 sent the shaft all the way through some grey triggerfish. They have very tough skin and bones. But the 55 see,ms less accurate for me than the 65. But love the small size. The footage with a camera at the tip is more immersive than footage that shows the barrel.

@@stefpix I don't think it is worth getting the manometer. What i do is pump it until its about the maximum that i can load it, and stick with that. For the Vuoto you need to take out the gasket to practice loading it dry. Yes, they are very powerful. Mine will easily go through 2 fish and out the other side. I always end up taking the fish off the string at the back. I have found the the long ones are very accurate - but it is the range that is the key. The range is directly proportional to the length of the gun i've found.

You never need to replace the air in the gun if you leave it pumped up. The air acts like a spring, and it drives a piston which pushes the spear. Older guns used to fire air out the gun to push the spear- which is not the case for modern pneumatic spearguns.

@@PaulGarbettNZ thank you 👍

I got it from: www.planetdivestore.com/dive/spearguns/pneumatic-speargun/salvimar-predathor-vuoto/16048/57752/sc. But you can also find it here: www.scubastore.com/scuba-diving/salvimar-predathor-vuoto-with-reel-85/1244270/p. I have noticed that it is often out of stock. So i'm not sure - maybe keep checking back. Or have a look on Amazon or Ebay for the same thing. Often they will post to more locations.

Thank you.

Hi. Thanks for your question. Sorry for the late reply. I thought I had replied but its not showing up. I have a 1.5mm braid for the retaining line. This is the right size to thread through the spear retainer. The other line on the reel is a cheaper 15m 2mm braid. Its all plenty strong enough for big fish.

@@PaulGarbettNZ Hi, thanks for your reply. I've only managed to use a 1.2mm braid for the spear retainer. Anything thicker wouldn't get through :)

@@nikolaospapadopoulos5564 ok good. So it has to be very thin then. The provided line needs to be crimped. So the braid allows for you to tie the type of knots I like for my setup. So I recommend that others find that same thin braid of about 1-1.5mm for thier setups. Got mine from hardware store.

Haven't heard, but will let you know if anything comes up. You dont need the reel unless you are shooting bigger fish.

I attach a nice float line (tube type with inner dynema) to the pneumatic speargun and use just monofilament with a bungee. It allows me also to drop the gun at the bottom to mark a spot or do something else like take some pictures with a camera.

They dont seem to no. Often you cant get them because the individual companies wont import them. E.g Salvimar doesn't seem to import into Australia. But there are no official rules against them. So you just need to find a selller who will ship them there.

Thanks Paul, you're right. For some reason there are several guns in their range that Salvimar do not import into Australia. I tried to check with Australian Border Force but of course their email address for the local district office is incorrect and I'll have to go to the office person. Pain in the butt for those of us who are trying to do the right thing.

@@123colinfrost ok. See how you go. I have heard of a few ebay sellers shipping those to Australia. So you might have to shop around. They usually use a expedited shipping like fedex. I dont know, maybe these circumvent customs?

About 7 meters. Depends how much air you put in. Maybe more if pumped up.

Thats odd. I think it is probably easy to repair. You can take these guns apart to do maintenance. If you let the gas out you can unscrew to nose and sort out any problems there. You can also buy a new muzzel and gasket if you need one. It is also possible for the piston to get jammed in there. Not likely, but it can happen if it is high pressure and shot off out of the water. You would also need to let the gas out and check it for damage, maybe oil it, and shove it back in. Let me know how you get on.

Hang on, was it not even loaded? Maybe the muzzel wasn't screwed in properly or something. Either way, let the gas out and check it. Do you know how to do that?

@@PaulGarbettNZ thanks Paul I did it but not sure if I did it ryt. 2 parts came out. But not sure if I did it ryt. Now I am scared to pump air back in it after the blast

@@eltonferns3236 Oh yeah. Maybe just do 50 pumps and see how it goes putting the spear in and out. See if it holds the pressure overnight. Good luck.

@@PaulGarbettNZ ok I'll try and see thanks.

Probably 75cm or greater. The effective range is about 6x the length of the gun. So in water 5m deep you want about 85cm. The sealed vacuum guns its even further range. I suggest that you get the longest that you can load - as the longer the gun, generally the better accuracy as it places the spear closer to the fish. The max i can load is about 1m - as my practical reach is about 200cm.

@@PaulGarbettNZ Ok thanks, I will be swimming out into the ocean from the beach, and my height is just under 5'11" ... does that give you a better idea on the length I should go with to shoot fish from surface with ease? still 75cm?

@@ryant8430 I would suggest 85 and above really. The 100cm is a good gun. My salvimar vuoto is 85cm but vacuum sealed with a range of 7m. You can measure it from the top of your foot to your maximum reach above your head with a closed fist. For me, the largest is 100cm gun, 200cm reach. Your reach would have to be 220 to go up to a 110cm gun. You can also get an extender which increases your reach - people use them on like a 130cm. Apparently the 130 vuoto is the most powerful gun you can get. Its range would be more like 10m!

What did you decide on?

​@@PaulGarbettNZ I ordered a SALVIMAR Predathor 65cm because it fits in my bag for travel, haven't used it yet but will soon

Don't let the air out. It will be ok over the winter. Just make sure there is no water in the barrel. Leave the gun nozzle down over night, then take off the nozzle and rubber gasket and put the spear in by putting the loader on the ground and pushing the gun down onto it. Change to low power, and bounce the gun up and down on the spear. Sometimes you will find some water come out onto the spear or drip out the end. Replace the rubber and nozzle and store over the winter. I spray a little silicone on some of the parts to preserve them - such as the power selector - which tends to get a little salt into it.

@@PaulGarbettNZ thank bro, is bike shocks oil is good fr this gun? Hw much ml should I pour in it?

@@cookwithmegoanrecipe8789 I'm not sure actually. It's probably one of the better oils to use. But sometimes the these oils can make the o-rings expand and loose their seal. So i'm not sure. I've had good and bad results. I think the silicone oils are the only ones that i can guarantee will be ok. You shouldn't need to oil it add all since water should not actually get into the gun. But if you doing oil it only add a small amount -like maybe 10-20ml. The rubber gasket in the muzzel should be oiled only with silicone oil, otherwise it will expand and loose its seal.

Ok👍😊😊 thanks

Thank you. I have fixed it since making this video. It is better as you suggest.