one for dan

haven't posted much lately, but with spring coming up and the new/old house almost done i had an itch to try something new. bought the roller muzzle and reel from greece last summer and i planned to try a roller so i though why not a hybrid roller. going out to try it tomorrow but i wanted to give you guys a sneak peak. i know dan doesnt like hybrids but i wonder what he thinks about this one?

thanks for the kind words everybody.

i did get a chance to put the gun in the water yesterday and i can report it's still work in progress.

first the specs: the gun is 120cm in length (i'll use the metric system because i want to compare this gun to other euro models) from butt to muzzle. the band stretch is 100cm from the loading tab on the shaft to the top of the roller. the first stage adds 50cm from the bottom and the second adds another 20cm, for a total of 170cm. for those not into the metric system thats 67'' of total band pull, which is about what you get from a 72'' tuna gun, packed into a 47'' euro.

the tube is 40cm long, 2.54cm id and 2mm wall thickness. the wood is appr 5cm by 3cm at its widest point and tapers to meet the tube and the handle to about 3x3cm.

the muzzle and reel in the pics are from mvd in greece (apologies to our friend petros, i had no idea ). muzzle od matches the tube and it weighs about 130g. the reel was not used because it's too heavy at 180g.

a 114cm by 6.5mm shaft was used and the trigger is from niletec. the band is 16mm thick by 44.5cm long (times 2) and there is 2.5cm long wishbone on the bottom and another 7.6cm long on the top. the band is cut to 3.5 times stretch when loaded to the second stage and about 3 times on the first.

the handle is made from a piece of marine mahogany plywood core with epoxy paste molded to my hand and sanded smooth.

i normally like guns that are very slightly negative in the water and sink very slowly but completely flat with the shaft in. the roller muzzle is almost twice as heavy as others i used and i had to cut shaft overhang to get it to balance properly (see pics).

first impressions in the water were mixed. it took a while to get the thing loaded and i had to resort to using a hooking device (D ring from my float line) to get the wishbone away from the muzzle. to load the gun you first load the bottom of the band to the first stage (front line anchor), then load the top to the loading tab on shaft, finally, load the bottom to the second stage.

the power and shoot smoothness were impressive, after the first shot i only loaded the band on the first stage as it had more than enough power and i was exhausted by the second time.

once loaded, the gun felt nicely balanced and very easy to maneuver in the water with excellent power given the length.

this is my first attempt at making a roller so i need to adjust a few things. first, the band length and/or the length of the bottom wishbone needs to be adjusted (made longer). second, it would have been helpful if i had another stage or placed the first so the band didn't have as much tension when loaded on the bottom in order to make it easier to load on the top.

overall, i hope someone makes a lighter muzzle maybe using titanium instead of ss so the balance is easier and more time spent in the water getting use to loading. i also think a roller is a good choice in certain situations. it would make a great travel gun, a good gun to use in tight situations (kelp) and in high current because of it's size to power ratio. aslo, it's a natural fit for a hybrid euro because it allows the front to be made thin for easy maneuvrability (given the balance problems are worked out).

like i said, work in progress but lots of potential.

thanks don, thats very generous of you.

congratulations on the impending nuptials, when and were's the bachelor party?

Quote from Don Paul

PM your address for the Ti.

What bachelor party?

Cheers, Don

you know, strippers and booze.

took the gun out this weekend after making a few changes for another try.

first thing i wanted to address was to make it easier to load, initially the band was really tight when loaded on the first stage and the only way to pull it was with a hooking device which made things difficult. i though of just making the band longer so it would hang over the muzzle but that would defeat the purpose of the roller gun by decreasing power at the end of the shot (the real advantage of a roller over conventional guns), i also though about adding another stage but i didn't have enough room in the wood. the last resort was the best solution, in keeping with the "keep it simple" approach, i added another loop to the wishbone which allows for extra length to the band and by simply going to the shorter loop, extra power.

i wanted this gun to replace my two band 90cm, i wanted a euro of about the same length with more power so i can take a calico and a wsb with the same gun in dirty water.

although there was nothing much to shoot this weekend i was able to swim around with it for a while and take a few practice shots. the gun felt nicely balanced, comfortable to load and easy to maneuver. it felt underpowered when i shot it but at the end of the shooting line i felt a noticeable tug, while this is not a real way to compare my old two band 90cm to it, i feel good enough with the power that im going to use it as my wsb gun and see what happens.