RIFFE Euro Style Speargun Series "MAG-TRACK"

[spearheads]

What i meant was its OK to wear the weight vest down to 6 meters but once past 6 meters my torso doesn't pull towards the surface so that 2 kg on my back is not needed any more so i dont wear the weight vest, most of my diving is 7 to 10 meters.

When spearfishing under 6 meters i wear 2 kgs on the back ,2kg on the sides, 4kg on the belt also 500 grams on my ankles,

But when deeper 7kg on belt and 500grams on each ankle.

Hope that makes sense.

[Polystigma]

I have been using my 110cm Riffe Euro for a while now. My opinion on the gun. Is that it is very well balanced and feels great in the water. I have been shooting the gun with the stock shaft and bands. I do a lot of diving around rocky reefs ad kelp. The gun is simply too powerful for this kind of stuff. If I am close to rocks I only load one band. By loading both bands and shooting fish near rocks. I have bent the shaft 3 times so far. The gun is also very accurate. No recoil to speak of and tracks very well.

Only problems I have had with the gun was some minor muzzle delamination. I called Riffe and they replaced the stock no questions asked.

[Old Man Dave]

Just out of interest I gathered together half a dozen shafts, different sizes and most importantly different manufacturers and tested them. They are all effected by a magnet. Some stainless isn't (I thought). However all the spears tested would hold in place using a magnet. Maybe all open muzzle guns will be "magnetised" soon.

Dave

[foxfish]

Originally Posted by Pastor

I'm sure you could fit one in

What were you thinking for the track? Just wood or fitting an insert? I found this supplier of Derlin in the UK amongst other plastics, maybe of some help.

Well I have ordered a trigger unit & shark fin spear - I have a design in mind for a 1mtr long enclosed track roller gun. Now I need some form of 8mm plastic tube, I cant seem to find any Derlin tube but B&Q have some PVC 8mm tube? My plan would be to bed the tube in a square channel cut in the wood stock using epoxy & graphite powder mix. I could then cut a slot for the spear fin. Any thoughts on using PVC or any idears where I can buy Derlin tube?

[Roan]

Originally Posted by foxfish

The biggest disappointment was the "mag track"!! What mag track? There is a small magnet fitted near the muzzle, that's it, no mag track as such just a little magnet! Still a good idea but a little misleading!

Yeah, I was in a shop today checking it out. When I first heard the gun described, I took that to mean a whole mag track (and it sounded like a bad idea). Saw it today and it's just a magnet about the size of a dime at the end to the barrel, but it seemed plenty to just help keep the shaft in place as you're wrapping the shooting line.

A full or nearly full mag track seems like it would put too much drag on the shaft.

Thanks for the report Polystigma, it seems like a nice gun... too bad I already own too many!

[smaillaut]

Hi,

I'm the sales manager for Riffe in Europe, and we're looking for distributors, independant reps or shops to sell Riffe gear in England.
So if you are interested feel free to contact me at : smaillaut@groupeh2o.com
FISH FOR THE FUTURE
Selective divers set their sights on only those few prize game fish they will enjoy eating

Enjoy

[Pastor]

Out of interest, do you stock the American style shafts with the tabs on them?

[Spaniard]

I thought Apnea in Jersey already were the UK reps for Riffe equipment??

[smaillaut]

yes we stock the shafts
yes Apnea in Jersey is selling Riffe but they are not exclusive for UK and UK is big !!

[Pastor]

That is good to know. I'm OK for now as it's the end of the season but no doubt I'll be needing more next year. Thanks

[foxfish]

Apnea only stock the larger diameter shafts.

[smaillaut]

We stock 100% of Riffe Gear here n France (Marseille)

[tbgsub]

I was ordering an Omer Cobra, but the Riffe Euro was in my local shop staring at me, and the Omer order wouldnt come through for 3 more weeks due to order lmitations (our shop, aquasmith needs large orders before omer will ship [means I couldnt get a special order on a 500.00 US gun if I wanted to within 2-3 weeks! really annoying!!]), so I wasnt going to wait anymore to go fishing, and decided to get the RIFFE.
I am going to ROTA this weekend in the CNMI islands, fishing just off shore at the many drop offs around ROTA, and this gun is the Inbetween Machine that I need.

Fortunately the shootout results from Skindiver magazine placed this gun as being more accurate over the Cobra, although after shooting the cobra and reading their comments, I wonder if their opinions were not a little slanted towards domestic products, as I feel the Cobra was seriously accurate. My Omer Cobra 100mm was used extensively for 1 year and 4 months till I lost it in high current!!!

I will only know after shooting the Riffe Euro if the accuracy is similar or even better, but lets say I am skeptical untill proven wrong.

I will update you on my findings.

best regards,

TBG SUB.

P.S. the old omer shaft, and all Omer shafts still work with the New Riffe Euro, so If you are not too jazzed on the Tahitian flopper you can always for Hawaiian, or Vis Versa, which is kind of nice! I am also wondering if the flopper placement affects spear drop significantly enough to change the accuracy ratings in the 1007 skindiver magazine shootout results. might be worth looking into, you know shoot each gun with both flopper setups and see what goes where.

[grass]

Just got my Riffe Euro 120. Couple of questions:

1) The gun come with the bands that look too long for this gun. Is there a band sizing chart for it? I use 62cm 16mm bands on my RA 120. The stock bands are 70cm.

2) The gun will load the spear only if the trigger is pressed. Under water its a bit annoying. Is this a faulty trigger or is it a safety feature?

[tbgsub]

Interesting, is the safety foreward (open) when you load it? or is it in safety?
I have been loading it both ways and didnt notice the trigger issue you mention.

I used to load in safety religiously, but to save time when by myself I dont bother.
perhaps load spear with safety open (tab foreward), they flip the safety (tab toward the handle) for loading the bands, that is usually how I do it. I also notice that the tab sits in a mid position both up or down while loaded, and you have to pull the trigger to make it open once, then pull the trigger once to fire, not sure why it is like this, as it seems prone to missfire or cause user negligence thinking it is on semi safety when it actually isnt.

you should be able to load it just after firing it.

The bands look longer, but if you measure the length of stretch, it is much longer.
almost every fisherman I know of modifies the bands shorter of every gun they get regardless of brand, however you may have bands getting weaker when pulled over their maximum distance for long periods of time, which is probably why the longer bands, to keep the power the same over a long period of repeated use, which is preferable to constantly changing out high load bands for fresh power form short bands.

best of luck.