Rob Allen VS. Riffe for blue water

[trip4dave]

Whats up everyone? I am going to the Cortez Banks in the fall and from what I understand I need a pretty good gun. I have looked at all those 'how to choose a gun' pages, they sorta helped but I wanted to see what everyone thought. The Riffe's just seem over priced, but I am concerned about whether or not something like a RA 140 will have the stopping power that you need for big Wahoo and yellowtail.

Any advise would be great.


:confused:

[100days-a-year]

No comparison for bluewater Riffe is king.No way to get as much power out of one band or even 2 as with the 4 -3/4 bands you can fit on a big Riffe.I shoot a 54" Biller with 3 SS 5/8 bands and my range is half my buddies big Riffe.Reloading I kick his ass,but I've only had a few times in bluewater where I needed to stay in the water that long.In a school of snake wahoo or dolphin any reef gun will work.I have shot as many as 4 dolphin before the school sounded,that would be hard on a bluewater gun.but for wahoo that can run #125 here and avg over #40 and yellowfin tuna at #200 tops and avg #60 I'd borrow the Riffe.I only leave the reefs 2wks outta the year so a $500-1000 gun would not fly for me.

[donjim]

To 100 days a year....
I live in costa rica and hunt the near shore reefs with a hawaiian sling. I have just gotten a boat and will now be farther offshore and possibly using a hooka so I want to up grade to a gun.
I am going to be in Jacksonville soon and thought you might know of a shop where I can see some models in the flesh and pehaps buy one.
Also, would appretiate your advice on type and model and such issues as wood vs metal, reels, length etc. Basically, I don't know squat about it.
I wood be fishing reefs for snapper and grouper etc.
Thanks....donjim
Yahoo messenger....donjim2000

[IyaDiver]

Hi Dave,

The calculation is simple.

RA even at whatever length, can only use 16mm (5/8") x 2 bands. If you use 20mm (3/4") x 2 , the factory do not reccomend that, as a few triggers have failed under those loadings ( some guys shortened the 20mm rubbers ) . Most likely a 7.5mm shaft is the biggest they use, if not 7mm (9/32") or 6.5mm.

Assuming Riffe and RA are using the finest rubbers available (they are ), the energy potential of the gun depends on how much rubbers you can use and how heavy a shaft you can launch out of the gun. It is that simple. No matter what brand, if you want power, there must be more rubbers and at least a 5/16" (8mm) shaft but better at 3/8" (9.5mm) if the bands are like 9/16" x 4 or more. Speed x mass of projectile is the key.

Just like a fiream, a high end 9mm HK or a Smith automatic with the same bullet weight and powder quantity will offer 95% similiar power. 5% different probably by the barrel design/length or auto mechanism and so on.

The difference you will experience between say an RA140cm ( I don't know the actual overall length ) and say a Riffe Island of 157cm (62" actual overall teak stock length ) is that the Riffe is massive in size, heavy and extremely powerful.

Light gun and thin shaft can not take too much power, even if the trigger can handle the load. There is a limit what a 9/32" shaft can take before it whip and be inaccurate, the longer the shaft, the easier it will whip. The recoil is also massive and can be dangerous on a light gun with elevated power level. This is why the Riffe Island with 65" shaft will come with 5/16" shaft and many will upgrade to 3/8" when more rubbers are used.

In terms of energy potential, 2 x 16mm rubbers is about 220 pounds of rubber pressure. A Riffe Island can take up to 4 x 16mm which is 440 pounds of rubber pressure, and the trigger is still very happy at that power level. I think Riffe Island is the most popular of all the big Riffes. A friend of mine has 2 of them and he loved it so much.

The South African have great success with RA and 6.5mm shaft because they are supposed to swing easy and the tri cut Hawaiian shaft penetrate easy on fish flesh than say a regular Riffe large spearhead or the Ice Pick slip Tip.

In most cases if you use a 6.5mm or 7mm shaft on a fast and big wahoo, make sure you have lots of spare shaft. It will bend into arc shapes you won't believe........ by water pressure alone. I even get 3/8" shaft of 55" length bent by a 80 pounder Tuna speeding away, caused by just water pressure, not hitting any rocks.

In the long range shot, you can not beat heavy shaft powered by many rubbers. The power retention is great for 20 feet or further shot, spear tip to fish, gun length NOT included.

Also to note that Riffe makes many model and many are small short ones like the Competitor series. It is not that every Riffe is a blue water gun, but Riffe do make great blue water guns. Why I know so much about Riffe is because I have 4 of them. From 32" to 61". My mid-size fully rigged 50" Riffe Metal Tech 3 uses 6 x 9/16 rubbers with 3/8" x 55" shaft. Shoots like a dream even on a single hand shot at 5 bands. In fact my fifth 62" MT5 Riffe is coming soon. The built and quality is impressive and the trigger is world class.

If the fishes will come close and u are really good at stalking them, most medium power level guns will do. Long range gun does offer you insurance for those rare expensive trip.

Enjoy your choosing.


IYA

[trip4dave]

I am going with the Riffe thanks for taking the time to through down some facts. I went with a 62" Islander, b/c I don't want to get out there and come up short handed. The gun should arrive early next week! I'll post a picture when it gets here.