Wife Now Wants Gun???

[JJRICE]

Hi, new member here Just wondering - been spearfishing for a while. I use a Riffe Baja & Sea Hornet guns & have no problem w/ my guns but now my wiffe wants to give it a shot... has anybody ever had this problem? Do not have a clue as what kind of gun to buy for women - something easy... any suggestions would be great! We usually shoot A.J.'s, Hogs, Snapper, etc. - vis. around 35-80 ft.

 

[fuzz]

Welcome to the forums!

Nice problem to have :hmm

A big consideration would be whether she'll be loading the gun or would you be doing the honors? This will determine the size if shaft and/or rubbers to be used.

Another big factor is price - your guns are greatly different in terms of price... what's your budget on her gun?

Has she tried your guns out?

 

[donmoore]

I just ordered my wife a Riffe MT #1 Hawaiian . I thought hard about a JBL, because they are less expensive and the sliding ring line attachment makes them easy to restring and reload, but the Riffe’s seem to last longer, because they are built better. At least that is according to IYA.

The MT #1 also is very mid handle at that small size. I got the Hawaiian because it’s has a smaller more efficient shaft and only two bands. I am going to make her use a float with it, because I don’t want her dropping this expensive gun.

Good luck. You know there a few spearfishing records for women. Check it out at http://www.freediver.net/iusa/home.php
don

 

[JJRICE]

Well Fuzz, my guns are so different cause the vis here. One day great, next day it sucks & also I shoot a lot of fish inside of wrecks around here whereas the Riffe Baja is impossible for me to get around inside. But accuracy with the Riffe is excellent, whereas Sea Hornet isn't. She can't load neither of them(also hell no, I am not doing it for her, if she wants to shoot she'll have to do it herself!.... I hope?) That's why I would like to find small accurate fun for her - thanks.

 

[Iyadiver]

Rice,

Riffe MT1 will be good for a lady, just like Don said. What you need is the powerbands to be reduced to 1/2" diameter instead of the typical 9/16", should be much easier to load. Then get 3 of those 1/2" for a MT1 with Hawaiian. My friend's wife shoot a Standard #2 with 1/2" x 4 bands and 9/32 Hawaiian shaft. If the hubby uses the gun, he swap back to 9/16" x 4 bands and the 5/16" shaft with the Ice Pick. In fact the wife loves to hunt more the the hubby, so sometime hubby become the caddy and load the gun for her.......

MT1 size is nice for wrecks . Using 9/32" Hawaiian, there will be almost no recoil even with 3 x 1/2" bands.......but....without the floater wing kit, it will most likely to sink with shaft out. As long as chest loading is done, it is very easy to load this small baby Riffe. I am amazed if you can take a #4 Baja to a wreck, I can only think that many of the fishes are hanging around the outside perimeter of the wrecks.....I won't want to shoot into a wreck with #4 Baja, too much power ( my #4 set up is maxed out ) and too slow to swing for close quater work.

Anyway nice to hear u go hunting with you wife. My wife used to carry my fishes on the stringer for me but now with kids (3), she can't come to hunt with me.....


DON,
Good of you to get your wife to hunt with you....let her know the excitement...

 

[fuzz]

Hey JJ,

Don's suggestion is a very good one - the metaltech series is a cheap, solid, dependable, accurate option...

My personal thought would be to get a eurogun like a Rob Allen with a double muzzle. Use 2 14mm rubbers & a 6.5mm or thinner shaft & you'll have a quick, deadly accurate gun that she could easily learn to load. The shaft is a bit thinner and may tweak if she slings it into a big gag; however, the shafts are quite durable & cheap at ~$20 a pop.

 

[JJRICE]

IYA, THE RIFFE IS TO BIG THATS WHY I BOUGHT CHEAP SEA HORNET(BUT WITH NO COMPLAINTS! GREAT FOR WRECKS KNOCKING AROUND ETC..) BUT AS FOR NOWAY I`M A CADDY OR AM GOING TO LOAD GUN!HER GUN HER JOB! ALSO FUZZ LOCAL SHOP SAID COULD NOT GET RA GUNS?WOULD NOT SAY WHY.DO YOU KNOW OF SITE?

 

[Jon]

I just bought a R.A. from FLORIDA FREEDIVERS. I got it within three days of ordering it. Great gun in my limited experience.

Jon

 

[JJRICE]

THANKS JON WILL CALL THIS AFTERNOON

 

[donmoore]

Iya,
Good idea about the 3 - ½" bands. I wish I had ordered those bands with the gun. My wife loves to catch fish, but I can’t get her to work on equalizing her ears. I have a feeling my 10-year old is going to get more use out of the gun than my wife. Her freediving is progressing nicely. Now if she just doesn’t feel sorry for the struggling fish!

PS The kids saw "Finding Nemo" the other day and a few days later we went to the rigs. They said, "shoot a baracudda dad", so I shot a 46" one. They were happy it wasn't going to eat Nemo's family anymore.
don

 

[fuzz]

Originally posted by donmoore
Iya,
Good idea about the 3 - ½" bands. I wish I had ordered those bands with the gun. My wife loves to catch fish, but I can’t get her to work on equalizing her ears. I have a feeling my 10-year old is going to get more use out of the gun than my wife. Her freediving is progressing nicely. Now if she just doesn’t feel sorry for the struggling fish!

PS The kids saw "Finding Nemo" the other day and a few days later we went to the rigs. They said, "shoot a baracudda dad", so I shot a 46" one. They were happy it wasn't going to eat Nemo's family anymore.
don

I suggested the euro gun because the lighter shaft will give more distance & speed with less rubbers - 3 is a lot to be loading (my ex used to complain about 1), but either choice would be great!

Don, sorry... I was diving yesterday & this funny looking fish came swimming by.....

 

[ivan]

hi

Dont worry about spending all that money on a riffe for your wifes first gun. Get her a Rob allen about a 110cm barrel, and like Fuzz said throw on a couple of long 14mm rubbers and thin spear and you will have a gun at half the price yet just as much fun for her.

cheers

 

[donmoore]

Fuzz, that picture is hilarious!

I like the Riffe MT better than the euro guns for these reasons. The mid handle will allow her to hold the butt with the other hand. Makes swinging faster and teaches proper holding for when she is able to handle more power and recoil. Second, parts are easier and quicker to get. Third, the gun will handle much more power, if I ever want to reconfigure it. Fourth, with so much made outside of the U.S. its kind of nice to buy a U.S. product.

Euro guns are good too. Some of my reasons for the Riffe are only valid when living in the U.S..

Good hunting and stay more than the distance of shaft line away from the wife until she cools down from all the money you spent you spent on spearfishing gear this summer.
don

 

[Iyadiver]

Well said Don.
A +- hundred bucks different is no big deal considering u get a gun that will not have a trigger problem when u load it to the fullest..... . You won't want to sue ur wife just because of a mis-fire.....

 

[ivan]

hi

Im :waterwork now Don

cheers

 

[Griff]

iya, dont you get a rest tab on a riffe shaft? this would make it a lot easier to load for a smaller person, right? if so it may be an option for the better half.
cheers
mark

 

[JJRICE]

HEY FELLAS, CHECKED RA GUNS AND I`M GOING WITH A RIFFE MT1.SIZE OF GUN LOOKS PERFECT(IF NOT FOR HER WILL BE GREAT FOR ME INSIDE OF WRECKS@REEFS) BUYING ONE TODAY TRYING OUT THIS WEEKEND,I`LL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT DOES..IF SHE DOESN`T SEND A SHAFT MY WAY:waterwork

 

[icarus pacific]

maybe this is too obvious but...

I'm coming into this a bit late, but here's one...

Ask her what she wants!

Now granted she's not going to know exactly, and is probably going to defer to you and what you've been letting her use and if that's a riffe, hey smooth for her. But getting her in on the gun picking is going to make her feel a whole lotta mo bettah and eager to outdo you. Not a bad thing in any respect.

And Harold... dude, what's w/ the shine shorts brah? :girlie

 

[fuzz]

Aww c'mon Sven, you know girls like shiny objects :hmm

 

[icarus pacific]

Originally posted by fuzz
Aww c'mon Sven, you know girls like smooth objects :hmm

yes they do.