new to spear board

[Meat]

new to this forum wanted to say hi to every 1 been diving for 3 yrs i just bought 2 new riffes the metal tec 1 and 3 if any 1 here has a #1 id like to ask u some qustions about it i took it out sunday shot 5 gags with it all from 9 to 10 ft away only 1 did it go all the way though 2 i lost the tip hardly went in them and the other 2 i got the tip went only like 2" in them is thire any thing i can do to make this gun better thanks meat

[Dive4Blood]

What up Meat! Alot of the guys on this board use Spearfishing Specialties guns, but I'm sure someone will help you out soon.

[kitefisherman]

Meat: I am new to this board too. I don't know anything about the metal tech 1, but your metal tech 3 has a very similar configuration to the Riffe Hawaiian that I shoot (50" stock, 3 24" x 9/16" bands powering a 57" Hawaiian flopper). I have only been spearfishing a little over a year now and don't claim to have a lot of big fish spear experience. However, I had my best day yesterday. First I shot a 25 pound amberjack from about 15 feet. After I pulled the trigger the fish just hung there. As I looked to see if I had missed it, I saw my line running from my muzzle into the fish (entering above and behind the pectoral fin and out through the opposite gill) with the spear hanging down from the other side of the fish by 5 feet. The spear completely passed through the thickest part of the fish and the fish didn't know what happened - then he woke up and ten minutes later he was in the boat. Later in the morning I followed a 2 foot cobia to a pod of 4 more nesting in the sand. I picked out the largest one from about two feet and popped him in the forehead (slanting at a 45 degree angle down and back). As I desperately grasped my gun expecting all hell to break loose (I have only shot and lost one small cobia before, but I have heard stories), the big fish just laid there in the sand. My spear point fully penetrated the skull but did not penetrate the skin of the belly. The fish came to the boat as dead weight. It scaled out at 51 pounds and measured 54 inches overall, 45" fork. I will post pictures later this week. In any event, I suspect that you won't have the same problems with your metal tech 3 as you have had with the smaller metal tech 1. Carrying the bigger gun isn't that much more of a burden and you never know what you might happen across (I was looking for lobsters when I happened upon the cobia). You might also consider adding a third (and/or perhaps thicker) band. BTW, the Riffe site says the MT1 has an effective range of 9.5 feet, MT3 of 13.5 feet and MT3S of 20 feet (same as my Hawaiian). Good hunting!

[richhermes]

Welcome to the board, Kite!

Can't wait to see pics of that 51 pounder!

[greyface]

Howdy, and nice shot on the cob!

[Steel Shootin']

Kite and Meat, welcome to the Board. Sounds like a great day, Kite.

Speaking of Riffe, does anyone know why the Metal Tech 3 Hawaiin has an effective range of only 13, but the MT3-S (standard) has a range of 20?

[Charlestondivin]

Meat, I may be stating the obvious here but you get more power out of the gun if you lock out your elbow. A bent elbow absorbs some of the energy meant for pushing the spear.

[Meat]

kite first let me say nice kill i think im going to start to carry my #3 the only reson i was useing the #1 was we were diving wrecks that day just easyer to carry the small gun

[inletsurf]

Yo meat welcome

[kitefisherman]

Scott: the MT3 is the "standard" 50" stock metal tech gun; it has two 9/16" x 24" bands. The MT3S is the souped up 50" metal tech gun; it (and the non-metal tech teak Hawaiian) has three 9/16" x 24" bands giving it an additional 7 feet or so of range. I don't know of any reason why you can't just add another band to the MT3 and convert it to an MT3S although you might want to confirm that with Riffe. I have a new set of three 5/8" x 24" bands that I will replace my existing bands with when the time comes. They will probably give me a little extra power. I suspect that Meat's MT1 performed up to its specs; it's just that he was shooting the gags just outside (or at the limit of) the gun's effective range. Hope this helps. kite

[Steel Shootin']

Thanks, Kite. I assume they both have the same amount of line on them. I thought maybe the MT3S had more power and line reach, but with the same size stock couldn't figure out how they got more line on it. I was looking at these guns at LDS and thought they were nice. However, one caveat. Jay Riffe told me that if you go with the optional enclosed track, and you bend your shaft at all on the dive, you're "out of business."

[dlock]

welcome to the "locker room" Meat & Kite. Meat, try changing your bands to 5/8 and maybe even a 22" instead of 24". You have a few options you just have to experiment. Good luck!

[Divin' fool]

Welcome guys...sounds like you dive out of Ponce. This board is getting more East coast shooters everyday. Can't wait for the East meets West shootout:D

[FredT]

See if you can get some 3/4" dia Riffe bands to fit it. If you can cock them and they don't bend the gun they'll wring all the penetration out of the gun it can do.

FT

[inletsurf]

welcome Kite!!!

[dothanfrogman]

Welcome from the KING of the locker room.

[kitefisherman]

Guys: I'm having problems posting the photo which is a 61 KB jpeg file. I browse and open the file down where it says "Attach file". The file appears in the box. But when I try to preview or post my reply, my text shows up but the image is missing. Any suggestions?

[kitefisherman]

Figured it out - sort of. Here's the cobia, the AJ, my much-discussed Riffe and Captain Tony of the dive boat Diversity on which I shot the fish off Boca and Deerfield.

[kitefisherman]

Here is the kill shot.

[Meat]

kite that was a hell of a shot what dive boat are u going out of

[kitefisherman]

Meat: The dive boat that I regularly hunt off of is the Diversity (www.thediversity.com). It is docked in Deerfield Beach and runs out of Boca Inlet. It is a general recreational dive boat, but it is very friendly and accommodating to divers who want to spearfish and chase lobsters. The captain is a local native and is an avid hunter who grew up hunting and diving the waters. The boat does daily two 2-tank trips to local (Boynton to Pompano) reefs and wrecks and occasional night dives. One nice thing is that divers split up into whatever groups they choose, take a flag and do their own thing; you don't have to follow a dive master on a "tour" like many of the Palm Beach boats. Sometimes the boat will do a more tech oriented dive such as the upcoming (2/8) dive on the Hyroatlantic which sits in 180+ feet of water. Diversity will accommodate 16 divers but will go with a minimum of two which is nice midweek and in the winter when the hunting is good and the crowds are thin (there were only 5 divers on the boat last Sunday when I shot my cobia).

[Steel Shootin']

Nice shot, Kite. You brained him. The old unicorn angle. :D

[kitefisherman]

Scott: . . . and it's a good thing that I brained him. He might have come after me with the other end of my spear. That's a story I'd rather not be able to tell. I think in the future I'll try to shoot from a backwards angle if I have the same opportunity. Any advice? I am new at this.

[Meat]

hey kite what do they charge for a trip sounds like a cool boat to go out of

[kitefisherman]

Meat: $45.00 for 2 tank dive. Extra if you need tanks, BCDs, etc.