Roller Spear Gun

[Mark Cuban]

Hi everyone, I am looking to get my hands on a roller gun. I know these guns shoot further than traditional guns and would like to know what roller guns you like? I am taking my family out fishing and I want them to have the best equipment, I will be buying each of them a roller gun but I want them to have a quality one. With so much information out there it's hard to decide. God bless

 

[Mark Cuban]

Mostly in the bay. We are going to practice shooting in the bay first then go to reefs

 

[Kodama]

If your family has little experience than i would suggest to keep things simple and just use a classic gun. The increase in power and range is not worth the extra complexity for a beginner. Also rollers tend to shoot low which you will have to adjust for.

 

[Mr. X]

Mostly in the bay. We are going to practice shooting in the bay first then go to reefs

Hi Mark, Which bay, where? How far can you see (in metres) in the water there e.g. are we talking gin clear or pea soup? This will help determine the appropriate length of speargun, which is perhaps the most important detail. If you don't know this, it suggests that perhaps a roller speargun is probably not the most appropriate choice for you, as Kodama already suggested. Speargun length affects power and range. However, the need for power is generally greatly overestimated and other important factors underestimated, or not considered at all, by beginners. For example, ease of loading, balance, accuracy, comfort, appropriateness (e.g. for user, fish size, visibility and conditions), availability of support and spares, warranty.

As somebody already mentioned above, the size of fish you are targeting is an important consideration. For example, I tend to use slim, superlight spearguns these days but they would be inappropriate for large game fish. These are nimble, fast tracking spearguns for the poor visibility and fast moving, modestly sized fish I most often encounter. At the other end of the continuum, heavy duty clips, lines, floppers, etc. and special float rigs are required for big, powerful fish. Horses for courses.

There are some very good American makers, as well as manufacturers and resellers, of spearguns, others can probably advise on that. Darryl Wong (in Hawaii) and Setting Steel are a couple of high end makers that spring to mind, not sure if they make roller spearguns. Mako sell robust, powerful railguns, not sure if they do a roller (Dani?); an American company selling product produced in Taiwan, I believe. I believe Riffe manufacture in California(?).

 

[sharkey]

Who has been advising you that roller guns are the best for your family starting out?
Keep it simple to start & also go to someone else for advice.

 

[plongeur]

Excellent video here explaining roller guns. I frankly don't see them as an 'advanced' option, but rather a different technology. What has kept them from the mainstream is cost, but now that is less of a factor. You get a higher powered gun in a smaller form factor. The roller gun to a 'standard' gun is sort of like a compound bow to a 'standard' bow in archery.

 

[Mr. X]

Interesting Plongeur. In our limited visibility, I can usually reach most fish I see with a regular, single band speargun, which is faster, lighter, simpler and easier to load. I recently opted to buy quite long rollergun* to give me more range/accuracy when conditions are unusually clear. A shorter roller speargun would be more versatile for everyday use in our waters but I have other spearguns that I prefer to use for normal conditions.

*95cm. For GB waters we generally suggest 70-90cm barrel lengths for normal, every day use. But conditions are sometimes much clearer in some locations. Some experienced spearos have noted that occasionally a 110cm or 120cm speargun would be more appropriate. It is for these unusual conditions/days that I bought my roller.

 

[Shotmaster]

I have an Allemanni 105 Mediterano Double roller. Its a work of art. I use a cheater band to load it. Its very powerful and accurate. I have been chasing fish for 40 years. I dont plan on going back to a regular gun. Its more powerful with a single band than most regular double band guns. I will post some pictures. Take not of how i have my bands tied. Faster loading and no problems with the band pinching/snagfing my gloves.

 

[Shotmaster]

Here is video of the gun. Very accurate at distance.

 

[Mr. X]

I thought he'd vaporized that first fish . Clean kill though.

Do you have the same configuration, 2x14mm and 8mm spear? 8mm seems huge to me. But for big, powerful fish, usefully tough I would think.

 

[NiceGuy27]

I couldn't see where you come from, but if you don't wanna listen to the writers before (a roller gun requires you to load 3 bands, your kids and you will have MUCH more fun with a conventional gun wich can be loaded in one pull) i suggest you to get your hands on a Pathos Sniper-R.

If you take away some material from the muzzle, wich you can do later on, there is nearly no low trajectory problem with this speargun. Pathos also makes some bad ass fins.

I have the Sniper-R 85 for 3 years now and I am very happy. Bands can be changed to 14mm Small ID for easier loading and better performance overall. The 14mm bands completely eliminated the low trajectory problem, taking away some plastic where the wishbone gets pulled up at the muzzle helped also a little.

Simply a great speargun

 

[Kodama]

I couldn't see where you come from, but if you don't wanna listen to the writers before (a roller gun requires you to load 3 bands, your kids and you will have MUCH more fun with a conventional gun wich can be loaded in one pull) i suggest you to get your hands on a Pathos Sniper-R.

If you take away some material from the muzzle, wich you can do later on, there is nearly no low trajectory problem with this speargun. Pathos also makes some bad ass fins.

I have the Sniper-R 85 for 3 years now and I am very happy. Bands can be changed to 14mm Small ID for easier loading and better performance overall. The 14mm bands completely eliminated the low trajectory problem, taking away some plastic where the wishbone gets pulled up at the muzzle helped also a little.

Simply a great speargun

I am interested to see pictures of the modifications you did on the Sniper roller. I have the same gun in 95 which I used for several years.
There’s a tread on the forum called’ improvements on the Pathos sniper roller’ would you mind posting them there?

 

[Shotmaster]

I thought he'd vaporized that first fish . Clean kill though.

Do you have the same configuration, 2x14mm and 8mm spear? 8mm seems huge to me. But for big, powerful fish, usefully tough I would think.

Yes, mine is exactly the same. I get a lot of instant kills with it.

 

[Shotmaster]

I have had mine for 10 years. Best money I ever spent. I watch other spearos struggle with the latest whiz bang gun. I did too, have owned many guns and types of guns. I really liked the pnuematics for short range on small fish. I wanted a powerful blue water gun and came upon Alemanni. I am 5'6" and the conventional big guns were too difficult for me to manage. This one is perfect. I can shoot one band, which is what I usually do unless I am going after big game and need the 2nd band. I instant killed a 220lbs Yellowfin tuna with it making a perfect headshot at 20-25 feet. To fully appreciate this gun you need to have used all the garbage guns first. Very few guns can match this one in performance in the water. I have owned some big name guns and will not disparage them, i just got lucky and found the best one for me.

 

[plongeur]

Its a work of art.

It is indeed!

 

[Mr. X]

Good point about roller being a possible solution for those with a shorter reach but needing a powerful speargun. Re. reach, I see Rob Allen, in a new roller wishbone video this week, prefers to use his separate RA load assist (a rubber loop, wishbone and metal hook) rather than a load - assist loop fixed at the wishbone.

Also interesting that you run a double roller speargun with a single rubber. I wondered about that. Seems like a double roller might be excessive/unnecessary for many conditions. But nice to have the option if you need it I suppose. Do you still use an 8mm spear with the single rubber?

 

[Shotmaster]

If you look at the first picture you can see my Rob Allen Load Assist (cheater band) below the gun. It works amazingly well. Especially for those of smaller stature that dont have the reach!

I use the 8mm shaft all the time. The added rigidity is part of the reason for the accuracy. Less flexing of the shaft. There are thicker shafts than the 8mm. I bent one shaft on fleeing grouper. He was angled away from me and i didnt give enough lead. It wasnt a kill shot and the fish bent the shaft running into a hole. That would not have happened if both bands were loaded. The shaft would have had full penetration and imobilized the fish. It was a 3/4 angle shot from behind. I was taken by surprise since i had hunted that spot before and never seen a grouper that size.

I load one band if i am hunting in holes in rocks/reef, or just smaller prey. The double band for longer shots and larger fish. I use and integrated shaft with flapper. It has less drag than a screw on tip.

 

[Shotmaster]

I wanted to add that hunting elusive/skittish fish requires greater accuracy at longer distances that most conventional guns arent capable of consistently achieving. Shaft speed and hitting the aiming point every time increase your success and clean kills. I live in Florida and Hogfish are elusive. They keep distance and flee. I shoot most at 7-8 meters and never miss. This is why I like this gun.

 

[Mr. X]

At 7-8m that is impressive. Is that a triple- wrap of spearline?

I recently took out my spearguns and led them on the ground with the spear lines fully extended. I was surprised to find that they all had very similar line-limited range - only about the length of my car. The double wrap on my Apnea ST 60cm gives it almost identical range to my 75 and 90cm spearguns, in theory anyway My 95cm has usefully more range, thanks to it's double wrap of spearline, but not hugely more. I was a little surprised by how little range they all have.

 

[Shotmaster]

Its actually 22 ft (7 meters) double wrapped and attached at the rear of the shaft (no slip ring) and to my reeline. Most guns especially the smaller ones have a shock bungee and anchored to the gun. Which mechnically limits range, mine does not. 8 meters is the point where shaft drop becomes the limit for accuracy and loss of velocity for large game.