Riffe NO-KA-OI Mid Handle Speargun

[ONESPEED]

I'm looking for a new gun that I can use on the reef and for light bluewater duty. Does anyone on the board have any experience with the Riffe NO-KA-OI Mid Handle Speargun? Looks like a contender for what I want to do. I would like to hear any pro's and cons or advice on comparable guns. Thanks in advance.

 

[Hank49]

http://www.spearboard.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=12

Try this link. these guys are really helpful and experienced and I'm sure you'll find someone who has used that gun you mentioned. I have a Riffe Comp 3XS by the way. I'm not an expert but I free shaft it in clear reef water down to about 40 feet or so.

 

[gonetobaja]

That is an awsome gun for what you are looking for. The mid handle design gives you an easier swing and the gun has the power for a nice blue water fish.

Beware of guns that say that they are comprable. You will find that even though they are "custom made" they lack alot of the properties that come with the Riffe guns

Riffe guns have silicone washers between any metal to metal contact to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion. They have rubber stoppers in the gun to prevent the line release and the trigger mechanism from hitting metal to metal. This attention to detal might not seem like much but when you are going for a long blue water shot it can make the difference.(IMO). The bands on the Riffe gun have line for the yoke. It is also silent upon release. Other guns may have copied the nice teak wood work, or come up with "half and half hybrid" types but there is no other speargun manufacturer in the world that I have ever heard of that incorporates all of the top quality features that you find in a Riffe Gun.

When you ask around find out how many silencers are placed in the gun for noise reduction upon firing.

You may be suprised by the response.

Many will argue that all of that attention to detail, down to the last little thing, is not really necessary. Firing noise may not make a difference to other people. The individual serial numbers on each gun may not be a big deal. The special grips on the firing mechanism that has a hard plastic core with a soft overmolded grip on it may be overkill to some. Some may not care if the handle is soft and comfortable, some may opt for the all hard plastic firing systems.

So anyways, yea, good choice.

I have owned JBL, AB Biller, and then finaly got a Riffe.

I have shot and seen, OMER, RABITECH, SPORASUB, WONG, and MERLO

Now I use exclusively RIFFE guns because I cant break them and they continue to perform over and over even when abused.

Not washed off, thrown in the back of a truck and then a 6 hour drive.

GTB
www.gonetobaja.com
www.spearfishingvideos.com
www.seawolvesunltd.com
www.sea-wolves.com

 

[pescador775]

Boy, what a load. The Riffe guns are well made and the No- Ka- Oi is a nice medium size shooter with the maneuvability advantage already mentioned. However, there are no dissimilar metals in the gun so isolation with washers is a non starter. The snubbers or bumpers or whatever might have some slight effect on gun noise but noise is not a problem anyway unless you are blasting away with a powerhead. Fish respond to sight, not sound. One exception, the croaker family (white sea bass), are sensitive to bubble bloops which means any bubbles from your wetsuit or snorkel might cause them to flash. The white sea bass cannot react quicker than the travel time of the spear so don't worry about gun noise. Be attentive to this: any Addict gun (like the No-ka-oi) has the grip located in an unbalanced vector which simply means that it may have a tendency to kick the gun butt into your head. This can be overcome by loading light weight rubber bands or by gripping the gun with both hands. Another method which takes practice is to embrace the gun butt under the armpit. Because of the open muzzle the gun may aim differently than to which you are accustomed . Again, practice. Until you get used to the line routing, the gun may load a little slower. You will get accustomed to this quickly. The Riffe gun does not like steel cable shooting line. The cable tends to scar the wood in the area of the line release. This is a teak gun (heavy) so selection of a light weight reel is advised. The reel is side mount only unless you make a special mounting block. I suggest you look at the "Australian" reel from Spearfishing specialties. If you use a trailing line it is convenient that the gun is delivered with an attachment point already bored into the stock. Don't use any Riffe arrow less than 5/16". The shafts are made in Mexico and those that I've used tend to be softer than US made shafts. Perhaps someone can bring us up to date. It is possible that the quality is better now. Some of the Riffe spearheads are kind of weird or impractical. It will help if you can get shafts with standard 6mm thread, from wherever.

 

[Hank49]

Fish respond to sight, not sound. .

A very informative post, Pescador. But I am sure that fish do respond to sound, as well as sight.

 

[Chad Carney]

I'm looking for a new gun that I can use on the reef and for light bluewater duty. Does anyone on the board have any experience with the Riffe NO-KA-OI Mid Handle Speargun? Looks like a contender for what I want to do. I would like to hear any pro's and cons or advice on comparable guns. Thanks in advance.

Onespeed,

Nice yak full of bugs!

No doubt spearfishers are passionate about what they shoot!
Riffe makes some of the best production guns available, and several of my friends use them.

Since you asked... even more friends have switched into Daryl Wong custom guns. For scuba and freediving in FL, you might find an enclosed track reef gun, like my 55" Florida Freeshafter would be a really versatile gun, allowing fast reloading and freeshaft capability, as well as light bluewater line shooting. Mine is a rear handle plus, which I like for the added reach in clear water, but it and the mid handle have the same long 44-5/8" band stretch, which along with the enclosed track allow extreme band power and accuracy. This gun is internally ballasted, but still floats, unless I use the handle clip weight to intentionally make it negative. Every gun is made and signed by Daryl himself and carries his lifetime warranty. He loves to talk or e-mail with spearfishers about their ideas and needs in guns. I now own 3 Wong guns, also a 57" MGS, and a 50" FL Freeshafter.

Disclosure:
One of my jobs, as a dive sales rep. in FL, lead to Daryl providing me with a few more guns for demo purposes.
And I now distribute Wong/Riffe style spears for him as well.

There are plenty of photos of the guns on my mobilescuba website and Daryl's, both below.

Chad

 

[pescador775]

Onespeed, I never heard of a blue water free shafter so I'm guessing that you will need a reel or trailing line. At the very least, these devices will cushion the rush and prevent soft fish like the King Mackeral from pulling out the arrow. Importantly, they can prevent loss of the arrow, the gun or worse. A Riffe would not be my choice for freeshafting. An enclosed track is suitable for that and more, and a modestly priced track gun can be purchased from these guys:

http://www.spearco.netfirms.com/

This Extreme gun is tough and sturdy, and the guys who make the Extreme are easy to deal with.

Hank, the noise thing is just an echo from Riffe's blow hole. The whole issue is silly. If you are concerned about noise, the kind that matters, make sure your fins don't break the water. That can have a startle effect on some fish species.

 

[Hank49]

http://www.spearco.netfirms.com/

This Extreme gun is tough and sturdy, and the guys who make the Extreme are easy to deal with.

Hank, the noise thing is just an echo from Riffe's blow hole. The whole issue is silly. If you are concerned about noise, the kind that matters, make sure your fins don't break the water. That can have a startle effect on some fish species.

Thanks for that link. Those guns look nice and are priced low. Are they really durable?

I wasn't sure what you meant when you said fish don't respond to sound. I've seen snappers startle when I passed gas in my wetsuit (pretty loud) while trying to sneak down the reef.

 

[pescador775]

Yes, the Extreme guns are rugged. They have oversized triggers made of stainless steel. The mid handle gun has a delrin track like the $800 guns. The mahogany stocks look chunky and they are. This extra mass is important in a mid handle (and most other) gun to prevent barrel jump. Out of water, the gun is heavy, in water it is approx neutral. The finish is good, non reflective, sealed. The grip is extremely strong, almost unbreakable I would say. The muzzle can never rip out or split. It is a Kitto clone, a bit strange looking like the entire design, but provides in line thrust of the high modulus bands. In the world of tube guns versus tree trunks this is definitely a trunk. However, it has a relatively short swing radius and quite stable and accurate.

 

[ONESPEED]

Good info guys, keep it coming. I've been spearing many, many years w/ a JBL Sawed Off Magnum and the gun has been very good to me for what it is, however I recently popped a big Cobia with my buddies Daryl Wong gun and realized what I've been missing. I have looked at the Daryl Wong guns on his site but damn, so many choices it's a bit confusing. My big concern with the Wong guns is my buddies has no safety, is that the case with all of them? That said the safety seems a bit complicated on the Riffe, I love the safety on my JBL, just flip it with your thumb and shoot. When I started spearing the rule was always have a safety you can easily access with the thumb on your shooting hand, what's with all the elaborate or no safety at all guns now?