Just bought my first Rob Allen gt 80cm carbon roller. Your video really helped me. Thank you! Bought a 6.6mm spear with 14mm rubbers. Can’t wait to use it
I am using the full ceramic 686 bearings (for more radial material in the roller) in MVD G3 rollers so that the cord (vs bands) have least resistance running thru the rollers. So am trying out the MVD Carbon 900 inverted roller but using your numbers for preload at the muzzle (approx 16lb per band x 3) on a 6.25mm shaft, mostly for reef fishing ++. I really love this series you give - it has helped me enormously. There's no substitute for experience!
Such an awesome video!! Very informative and well presented, keep up the awesome work💪 Best spearfishing channel on RU-vid. It's always a good day when coatsmans uploads a video!
Mr. Coates thank you so much for your amazing videos and help. On a recent trip I had a problem with a brand new roller. It was shooting a foot low and eight inches to the right. It was miserable to say the least but was able to use Kentucky windage to save the trip but for the first couple days it was miserable. After watching your videos I discovered my fix was using an uneven wishbone because the gun was so overpowered for a 900 and all is right in the world. So thank you for that. My question for you is according to Majd (Spear Q8)'s extensive testing he feels that the rollergun cannot compete with a well configured standard gun. Mathematically he is incorrect, but he may be right since he has tested in the real world and in the pool and those are his results. As I am currently in the process of shopping around for new parts to build a new gun I am conflicted. I want to go roller with cheap and good carbon shafts but in my country it is a huge dilemma and almost impossible to find shafts that work with roller guns that will clear the rollerhead and wishbone. Not many mini sharkfinned shafts around that are carbon steel. I am also looking into the mako roller with the railed barrel that can accommodate normal sized carbon shark finned shafts. How would you advise me? Have you seen rollers truly outperform equal standard guns that are dialed in? And how do you feel about tracked guns? Thank you so much for all you have done for the community and your time.
Dante, Glad the video's helped you. There is no comparison between rollers and conventional guns. Proven in the pool and and in the sea, and not just by me. A few years back I did extensive testing with various conventional guns and paired them up with rollerguns. After those sessions I was 100% completely convinced that conventional guns were and are obsolete. The only place for them is short guns in caves. To get the same performance and accuracy as a roller, you need a much larger and heavier gun to manage the recoil on a conventional gun. Don't get hung up on finned shafts, there are very few roller muzzles that work well with them. And you will need an uneven wishbone to make them work.I prefer notched shafts with rollers. Tracked guns are also obsolete, with shorter rollers there is no need for a track. In Fact many top roller manufacturers like Alemanni don't even have rails on some of their models. Enclosed tracks are only there to manage recoil, which a good roller should not have at all. Hope that helps?
@@CoatesmansSpearfishing it most certainly helps! Thank you for the quick response and all you have given our culture and industry! The math backs you up 100% and as I said I agree with you and wish to stick with roller guns only now I know it is not a out of the box thing. You must tune it to you as we do with land hunting as well. Don't take a rifle out of the box and hunt with it. So thank you for the clarification. It was interesting to see that people have produced different results that defy math and I thought it only suitable to ask you, the expert on the topic. The math supports your claims hands down. It is just sad over here in the states especially since covid it is impossible to get notched carbon shafts. We are extremely limited and usually only for large shark fin tabs, even the minis are almost impossible to get. But I will do as you say and use them exclusively. Thanks again for everything and the response! I wish you and yours tight lines and following seas!
Full ceramic bearings using smaller diameter roller pins (6mm) are much lighter than the traditional ceramic bearings with stainless steel outer and inner races, while improving corrosion resistance and even less frictional resistance
Hey Adsum, Reels free you up from towing a buoy and buoy line around the ocean. There are pro's & con's to both and I will have to do a series just on this subject.
Amazing video. How many % would you stretch 16mm Rob Allen rubber on this setup in 0C degree water for maximum performance? Still 6,6mm shaft. I can fairly easily load 14mm Rob Allen rubbers at 400% on this setup. Best regards from Denmark (🥶).
How does the gun shoot with the 14mms and 6.6mm shaft? I would only consider changing if you are not penetrating the fish you are shooting. If you go 16mm rubbers start at 55cm and shorten from there. 50cm will be 360% This will probably add a little recoil to the gun tho.
@@CoatesmansSpearfishing thanks for the reply. The spear dips quite alot in 0C water - this makes it difficult to hit small fast fish. Penetration is not the problem for me, accuracy is. The gun does not have this problem in 15C+ water, at these temps this setup shoots amazing and with very little drop. I will look into your recommendations with 16mm Rob Allen rubbers.
let me know how the 16mm bands go. It is amazing the drop in performance with latex rubber in cold water. 0dec C is freaken extreme!!! No one in their right mind should be diving in that 😂
Hi Chris, THANKS A LOT for the cool series of videos on roller guns!!! They helped me a lot. I also watched your vids on ‘Bridels Riding Up Roller Muzzles’. Isn’t ‘bridles riding up’ a big problem with this old Mannysub roller head as well? The bridle is not stopped by a vertical barrier and will lift the end of the spear, right? I am asking this because I have a Salvimar Hero Roller 95 which has a very small gradient on the muzzle similar to your old Mannysub. Would be very grateful to get your advice. Kind regards, Chris from Germany
Hey Chris, On the Salvimar I would use the uneven bridle as the gradient is very low. Especially if you are using a notched shaft. Small finned shafts are better (only if the back of the fin is flat and not hooked over)
if i reduce the overhang of the 6.6 shaft to the minimum (the flopper almost touching the muzzle), could i get away with the aluminum barrel on a 900? i would asume that a shorter shaft would shoot straighter because less flexing when shot (oscillation), compromising 10 cm of reach that could be compensated with a bit of more power on the rubber bands.
You are right about the shaft. Short and thin works well. With the 900 and ali barrel you have first get the gun to float with out the shaft. If you can achieve this then a 6.6 or 7mm will work, but the gun will be very negatively buoyant.
Good afternoon, thanks for all the information. I'm building a single roller, 83cm of barrel, and 92cm head to notch. I'm going to use a 6.5mm shaft of 120cm. but I am in doubt if I use 14mm or 16mm rubbers, here in Portugal, on summer the water can reach 18º, but in the winter I already got 13º, what do you advise me? what would be the ideal stretch %, I will use primeline. thanks, Best Regards.
Hi Raul With the 6.5mm shaft I would start with 14mm bands at 47cm This should be fine in summer. See how it goes in winter, maybe shorten by a cm or two in colder conditions. Chris
These videos are really helpful. Thank you for making them, Chris! So a shorter overhang is better for rollerguns because of better buoyancy, reduced whip and better power compared to the weight of the spear? Would a shorter overhang be better for a normal non-roller speargun as well then?
Thanks for all the great videos mate. I have an RA roller Tuna 800. That came from factory with 7.5mm and 16mm bands, from what your saying it could be better with 7mm and 14's. So why does RA sell it like that? It sinks like a stone so ill probably put foam down either side of the barrel.
Hey there, Tuna 800, thats for halibut in freezing water. Other that there is no point in that gun. On the 800 loose as much weight as possible. Go light shaft, light reel, take off big clip, etc foam filling the end cavities won't help as much and I would change as much as I can to lighten the gun before going to foam.
When using a gun like an Aimrite 120 how do you Measure the band length when you have use a bridal? To get max pretension you’d want a 60cm band if pulled back to the loading lug so using a bridal would your bands be 30cm then 30cm bridal? 🤯🤯🤔
Hey there, did you see this video on pretensions? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-j0Eg8LcUAgM.html I will be doing a video on 1200 soon as well.
Hi Chris, I just bought a 90cm MVD roller gun (90 cm is barrel only) 16 mm Sigalsub red rubbers. However, I am noticing that the backend of the rubbers (where hooks are on yours) is a pretty long wishbone instead of just small hooks, making the rubber start at about 1/3 of the length of the barrel when preloaded. Should I switch to 14 mm rubbers that extend all the way from the handle to muzzle when preloaded?
So good! I just built a 90cm carbon roller and love it, you should do a rate my roller where we bombard you with pics and info of our rollers and you tell us how bad they are 😂
Do the ceramic bearings still have acetal races? Trying to figure out the weight difference. Also is the difference in performance between glass and ceramic proportionate to the loading? You mentioned 5-10% difference but have also heard much greater of a difference. Thanks
Hi Fried, Yes both the inner and outer races are ceramic. The Acetal races deform under pressure this is what causes the inefficiency and difference in performance. Increasing the forces will increase the drag on acetal bearings, they don't carry load well. So with more powerful setups you could lose way more than 10%
Super helpful video again Chris! Quick question regarding shaft setups, do you notice any difference between setting the flopper on the top side or bottom side of the shaft with accuracy?
Hey Jason, what ever side you have the fopper there will be drag or lift. So if you have your barb ontop it must be flat with no flare. Otherwise it could cause the shaft to drop and shoot low. Barbs underneath are pretty much the std and easeir to use. I usually dont use the flopper n top. I just had a shaft in the workshop that the barb was put on the top so decided to use it and see. I have had no problem with the aiming and accuracy. But it did seem odd the first time I used it. I also have not lost any fish to the barb not opening so it does work.
That’s pretty good video brother, need your advice regarding these specs, 90 wooden Roller with 14 m bands with length of 50 for each, and 6.5 shaft 130 Cm ( unfortunately, 6.6 is not available around so I have the option to go for 6.75 or 6.5 )Thank you so much in advance.
Hey Authur, The RA Tuna uses 2 x 16mm bands and a 7.5mm shaft & The Snapper uses 2 x 14mm and a 7mm shaft. My personal opinion is that the Snapper is a far better balanced setup. Its faster with less recoil & more accurate.
@@CoatesmansSpearfishing thanks for your answer! So if I put an single rollerhead on my 130cm snapper speargun will be a good setup? (Like your 120cm tuna single band roller)
single roller on a 130 with the same setup as the 120 will be fine. In my above answer I was referring to the conventional guns. As the Snapper is a conventional gun set up. for single rollers 120 & 130 stick to the recommended setup in the video. 16mm bands (half barrel +5cm) with a 7.5mm shaft 👍 You conventional snapper is probably an Ali barrel which is more than strong enough, but will be slightly heavey with a std RA roller muzzle. I have many guys who use this setup and love it.
I have a 70cm roller gun with a 6mm shaft, since the shaft is pretty thin, should I make the rubbers longer or still stick to half barrel +5 cm ?? I'll be using 14mm primeline rubbers, how long should it be ? Thank you =)
I have a 900 hammerhead evolution with the E2 roller muzzle and Rob Allen Vecta 2 40m reel and my gun is sinking without the shaft. What do suggest to add some buoyancy?
You can try make side buoyancy pods. A carbon barrel is pretty much your best solution. Again barrel ID cant be 25.5mm or less. Even the RA at 26.5 is boarderline.
Hey Tom, I have not used a Mako roller, so can't comment. The 900 in the video is a Rob Allen handle barrel and reel with an old Mannysub muzzle. Before you by ask some basic questions about buoyancy with spear in and when its out. Shaft and rubber setup, although you can change that after I guess.
@@CoatesmansSpearfishing Thank you for your response. I plan to buy a Roller Speargun for hunting in the reef, do you recommend 900 or 1000? my target is fish up to 40 lbs. Thank you
A std 900 with a reel with a basic rubber muzzle just floats. So the buoyancy is already very low. I think the Mannysub with plastic /glass bearings will probably be your safest bet.
@@CoatesmansSpearfishing thanks for your response, it would be interesting to see a comparison of weight of different models on the market, do you run a double wrap on the 900? perhaps a floatline instead of a reel may be an option
A side by side buoyancy test would be great. One day maybe?? Yes double wrap. It is a bit of a pain on the reef, you have to be quick with getting onto the line and taking up the slack after the shot. But single wrap is too short. A float line would reduce the weight significantly, even assist the gun float if it were buoyant. So that will work fine.
