Roller gun on scuba?

[thomasj1107]

Anyone using a roller either line or freeshafting on scuba? Advantages? Disadvantages?

 

[Johnoly]

Anyone using a roller either line or freeshafting on scuba? Advantages? Disadvantages?

Yes to both your questions, I hunt using both depending on the dive site targets. I'll side step the freeshafting question-you'll understand it when you get pissed off at lineshafting cause everyone knows
"Guns don't kill > Accuracy Does "

I'm biased to Koah. The 2 main advantages of a Koah Roller are :

1) It is an Enclosed Track to eliminate shaft Whip {aka youtube the Archer's Paradox} .

2) The ability to change to change "power settings". There are band notches on the underside of the gun that you can power up or power down depending on the targeted fish. In effect this kinda makes a 42 inch an easily swingable/tracking gun as powerful as a long 60" gun, but much faster to swing sideways in the water to track/aim on a fast moving fish. That stops missed shots. The 2nd feature of the Koah Roller is called the 'kicker band' in front. If you are shooting downward towards the reef sand on a hogfish/etc, loading only the kicker band will allow you to accurately place a stone shot without blasting an over powered shaft into the reef. And due to the longer bands and band stretch, it is easier to stretch than a non roller standard band setup. The Koah Roller gives you many more options over a standard Roller setup.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

In general a roller gun is slower to load and this is probably considered a negative by scuba divers. I won't go into the advantages of a roller gun because they are the same or similar for a free diver and a scuba diver.

MAKO sells roller guns with 2 options for loading and two options for barrel TYPE and in various lengths.

If you want speed in loading (and less complexity) then you will prefer a double wishbone configuration. This has a 4-5 inch extra loop on the wishbone that allows yo to grab it and start pulling the band without a load assist band. this should work for a 100 cm gun and smaller - possibly for a 110 gun, depending on your strength and arm reach length (see below).

Wishbone Type Load Assist

The MAKO Wishbone Type Load Assist is perfect for loading shorter roller guns while the MAKO Hook Style Load Assist is better for loading longer roller guns.

makospearguns.com

We offer roller guns in an open barrel (open track) and enclosed track options. If you select an open track, then you need to wrap the line around the muzzle to hold the shaft down. This takes time and is not possible for freeshafting. So it sounds like if you are line shooting or freeshaft shaft shooting, you would want to select an enclosed shaft (barrel) option for our roller gun.

If you selected a MAKO roller gun with the double wishbone bridle and an enclosed track the shaft loading and band loading will be very, very quick and simple. Place the butt of the shaft into the front of the muzzle; allow the shaft to slide into the track and it will "fall" directly down into the mechanism (it can't fall off sideways); then give the shaft a tug to ensure engagement with the mechanism; most people would then recommend pressing the safety button; Then grab the long wishbone, pull back to the first notch; re-grip the band to hold the band in the rear portion; and then complete the load to the furthest notch.

Takes longer to describe then actually do it.

The MAKO Roller gun is extremely well balanced, weighs "nothing" in the water and is very easy to swing. The single band provides excellent power (even with a line on the shaft) and for free shafting it should be even faster and has near zero recoil due to the roller band configuration which makes the gun a pleasure to shoot and improves accuracy.

Titan Elite Speargun with Roller Muzzle & Spear Guiding Enclosed Track

The MAKO Roller Speargun with Enclosed Track guides the spear in for faster loading and guides the spear out for increased accuracy.

makospearguns.com