Viper Pro Water Review

As of today, September  4, 2013, I can now confidently conclude my experience with the 120cm Viper Pro and how it functions while spearfishing. I have been using the gun for the past several months.  It was a slow transition for me, to make the move from my “go to gun”, the Mares Phantom ,but the Viper quickly proved itself  superior. If you have been on my boat in the last 6 weeks you  know that I only hunt/use  the Viper Pro.  I have to date shot over 100 fish, both big and small. Many of the fish shot where stripers in 30 to 50 pound class.  Also, a lot of smaller fish at long range like scup and black sea bass.

First , the gun has performed flawlessly. No breaks, flooding, no band hang-ups,  cracks etc. As, far as handling this gun is as light as any carbon gun I have ever used. It is neutral to light in the water column and floats as it should when the shaft is out. It is weighted perfectly underwater.  This gun handles and shoots like a dream. It truly shoots like a laser. Not high , not low but right where you point it.

The open muzzle is designed perfectly. The shooting line strings quickly in its designated grooves and holds the shaft down. It never once came off on me all summer in the water or in transport.

The trigger is great. As I mentioned in a previous article it can be adjusted in several ways including the amount of pull you prefer. Nice feature!

The line release is stainless steel  and positioned well. It does what it is supposed to do most of the time. On the particular gun I have it would on occasion require me to pull the trigger when putting the shaft in the gun, and at the same time manually pull the line release back into its locked position. If this is not done the shaft would not seat to the sear and can’t  be loaded. I have seen this on many other guns and once you know what you have to do it’s no big deal.

The reel is good.  There is a pin at the back of the reel just in front of the trigger guard that holds the line up tight into the line track. In theory, this is great but in practice not so good. The line is impossible to level wind when the pin is used. The good news is you don’t need it and instead just use the line guide that comes on the front of the reel…Problem solved!  Bellow are pictures that will explain how too and how not to rig the line on your reel.

In conclusion, after a 100 + fish, this gun has proved itself to me in every way. Only thing left to do is get 2 guns in every size.