Rob's Custom Riffe

One of the most common questions among divers is "what speargun do you use?" My answer to that question varies from, "what works for me might not necessarily work for you..." and continue on to dodge the question, to telling specifically which gun I use and even how it's rigged. But like most spearfisherman I have more than one gun so I have to be specific when I refer to which gun.

My "Theory of Choice..." First of all, the conditions you dive in narrow down the gear choices you need. However, there is much room for personalizing and / or customizing, which is why there are so many choices in the relatively small market of Spearfishing. Have you ever noticed throughout the world there are about 10-15 different camo. wet suits to choose from, about 10-15 long blade fins available etc. etc. but there are about 300-400 different spearguns worldwide!!! Maybe more if you count the garage guys that "design" their own guns.

My point is, out of all these choices I have found ONE (1) gun that can do everything for me and I call it my all-around gun, the Riffe Competitor 4X speargun. I emphasize me because, as stated earlier, what works for me might not necessarily work for you. I have found by sticking to one gun that has:

1. Enough maneuverability -

"Enough" maneuverability refers to "not too much and not too little." What I'm trying to say is obviously a short gun is going to have great maneuverability BUT it's not going to have much range. A long gun is going to have great range BUT not much maneuverability. A maneuverable speargun is nice but how fast do you really need to turn it... because if you need to turn it super fast you probably shouldn't take the shot. On the other hand, if an Uku comes up behind you point blank but your gun is facing forward and if it takes too much effort and time to turn a big gun 180 degrees, the fish will sense this and dig out.

2. Appropriate Maximum Range for available fish and conditions -

 "Max Range" refers to the maximum possible range that any modification or enhancement can give to a speargun. Naturally, it's much easier to make a big gun shoot less distance than a small gun to shoot a greater distance.  "Appropriate" refers to the fish and conditions you will be diving. You wouldn't need a gun that shoots thirty feet if your visibility is ten foot and the fish are ten pounds.

On my Riffe Comp. 4X I am able to tailor:

The only slight exception is when doing what I call "Extreme Blue Water Diving" where my 68" Mid-Handle Riffe Blue Water Gun with Full Wing Kit, 3/8" dia. Shaft, slip tip, four (4) 5/8" x 28.5" bands and release assembly is brought out of the gun case during Ahi season. I can, and often times do, use my 4X in the Blue for Ono's, Mahi etc. but there is no comparison to the Blue Water Gun for its range and accuracy.

It would take me volumes to explain my reasoning that I decided on a Riffe Comp. 4X as my gun of choice over all the many other choices in the world so I will limit this article to the modifying / personalizing of the gun to my requirements.

The Riffe Competitor #4X

The Comp. 4X is more or less balanced for a 9/32" dia. Riffe spear shaft. With the shaft in the gun and the two (2) stock 9/16" x 26" bands the gun sits neutrally buoyant. The first personalization I did was to experiment with the best ratio of power (overall band strength) for the shaft and set-up. I found that two (2) 5/8" x 26" bands would fire very nicely and accurately without an excess of recoil. This set-up worked quite well until the first "reasonable sized" fish I speared easily bent or even broke the 9/32" dia. shaft. I also noticed the weight of the shaft didn't have quite enough impact on some species of fish over fifty (50) pounds. I tried simply using a third (3) 5/8" x 26" band for the larger fish but in many situations it still wasn't quite enough or the shaft simply broke in half when a "large" fish scraped against the reef.

Next I tried a 5/16" dia. shaft and found that the gun became a bit negatively buoyant. I actually liked the fact that the gun became slightly negative because it seem to help me on the descent plus it seem to sit better in "moving" water, like near the shore line. Of course the gun would float upward once it was fired. Spearing the reef occasionally did nothing to the 5/16" shaft where I'm SURE it would have bent the 9/32". Also, spearing a "larger" fish that, again, I'm sure would have bent the 9/32" shaft, did nothing to the 5/16 dia. shaft.

On the slightly negative side of things, I noticed the increased weight of the 5/16" dia. shaft was affected by any decrease in power, as the rubber bands age, greater than the 9/32" dia. shaft. This meant I had to keep my rubber bands fresh and crisp. But I love to make a cannon out of every gun I use so three (3) 5/8" x 26" bands just wasn't enough for me. I cut the bands to 24 inches, simultaneously increasing my "band stretch" by two inches. Remember, rubber has its "maximum stretch point (MSP)" which, beyond the MSP you will simply be tearing the material and significantly decreasing the life of the rubber band(s) so don't shorten them too much.

I want to make it clear that the band power described above is what I have found to be appropriate for me. I have shared my set-up with others and some have come back with sprained wrists, chipped teeth or bloody noses so BE READY!!! I have shot this set-up for so long I don't even think about it so you will get use to it as well if you decide to try the same or similar.

Now onto the shaft situation... I mentioned I changed from the stock 9/32" dia shaft to a 5/16" dia but that's not all... Riffe's 5/16" dia. Hawaiian style shafts are "milled" for the flopper. There is good and bad about the milling... The good part is the flopper tucks nicely behind the milling therefore creating a more hydrodynamic flopper style shaft, however the milling also weakens the shaft. Now the 5/16" dia. shaft has similar strength of a 9/32". So, what I did is to take a threaded 5/16" dia. Riffe shaft and ground down the thread to a nice, slow tapering, "sticky sharp" point creating a much more penetrating point for those big fish situations. It's so nice the tip has a tendency to keep me from taking those wild, reef smacking shots that merely wound the fish and bend my tip...

I drilled my first hole at three inches below the point, which is the standard distance for most Hawaiian style shaft manufacturers. Next, I drilled a second hole approx. three inches below the first one for a second Hawaiian flopper. The first flopper is fitted onto the bottom side of the shaft, for best holding ability, and the second flopper is fitted onto the topside of the shaft as a "back up." Having two floppers on opposite sides serves several purposes...

The gain in strength by using a non-milled shaft I feel far outweighs the small gain in hydrodynamics of the milled shaft. Lastly for the spear shaft, I like to polish the shaft to reduce the resistance against the barrel when fired. When I remember to apply some silicone spray to the track of the gun before a dive I notice an even smoother release and even an increase in range. Keep in mind that only one small improvement like polishing the spear shaft is NOT going to make all the difference in the world... No, your gun will not double its range or do the dishes and your laundry, but if you add up all the many little modifications you do THAN you are making a difference. Where's the limit???

I have tried many different shooting lines and they all have their ups and downs. I have come back to monofilament line due to its speed, strength, cost and availability for the majority of applications. The largest exception to this rule is when spearing large fish in a cave or on the reef, like the Ulua (Giant Travally). I like to change my line almost every time I go diving so I keep a spool of it along with the proper crimps and crimpers to do the job on the spot rather than have to take it back to the shop. Keep in mind that mono stretches so if you spear a big fish it may not wrap on your gun properly anymore. Also, as a big fish stretches the mono the mono becomes thinner and can pull through a crimp. For this reason I burn the end of the mono at the shaft end and double crimp it.

I believe in being ready at all times because you never can predict what you will see. For this reason I always rig my gun with a breakaway system attached to my float. For my application, I don't believe in a reel because we have huge Ulua and pelagic fish close to shore and both would spool a reel in a matter of seconds... and than what? Many times I have been lining up on a two or three pound fish and a fifty to one hundred pounder swims by... I never want to blame my equipment for being inadequate or rigged improperly. We, as freedivers and spearfisherman have plenty to think about already so we don't want to compound this fact by using cheep or poorly rigged gear.

Upgrades, modifications and personalizations... in general some are factual some are theoretical but weather they actually help your gun shoot faster and farther or if they just makes you feel better and more confident in your equipment than I think it's at least worth trying. Lastly, a word on technique for shooting your new cannon... BRACE PROPERLY!!! Bracing properly will protect your teeth but it will also increase range by allowing all the momentum to push forward rather than backward and accuracy by holding the gun still while the relatively slow spear shaft exits the barrel.