Speardiver Roller Muzzle Review

I finally got my Speardiver Roller Muzzle. I was so impressed with the robust construction and size of the muzzle that instead of putting it on my "petite" Pathos 90 Open Carbon, I decided to try it out on my DIY 55" Hybrid Rearhandle Plus...I know, call me lolo...crazy...but I couldn't resist. I'm not a fan of the longer roller guns. I feel the true benefits of the roller muzzle are most evident in shorter guns, especially when conditions like visibility and structure require a shorter gun but the fish require the power of a larger, more robust setup.

The included multi-stage bottom attachment actually was designed well enough that I was able to install it on the teak stock portion of my gun, even though it was made for a round barrel. It is a three stage set up, but the way it's installed the stage closest to the muzzle (stage 1) will be where the wishbone will be anchored for loading. Then stage two and three will actually be where the wishbone will sit for shooting. The distance from the roller's leading edge (where the bands enter the roller) to the last tab on my Daryl Wong Shaft is 135 cm...a way longer roller gun than I ever thought was prudent. I have 14mm small id bands tied at 72 cm with the bands slightly pre tensioned while anchored on stage two. The shaft is a 7.5 mm. The way it is right now in its pre-test form, the band is still load able without the load assist, and feels as though when the anchor wishbone is moved from stage two to stage three the band stretch is maxed out. As with every gun, I won't have it dialed in until I get it in the water and take some shots with it. It will be interesting to see if it will be a power/range improvement over my standard muzzle setup ( a Tinman three band hole muzzle) with two 14mm small id bands, or if it will just have better accuracy due to less recoil.

After using my 110 roller exclusively in Mexico with such great success, and getting the roller set up dialed in, I'll never go back to a standard banded gun with my shorter guns. I still enjoy my banded large reef/blue water guns, but this will be a fun project to see if I can get the same results with a gun this size.

Multi stage attachment

Overall

Rollers, by design, are more involved than the standard banded guns. That's the only thing I don't like about them. So I prefer simple and clean setups. I have two shorter roller guns (in theory, shorter guns are best for roller muzzle setups) both rigged with the looped loading "bridle" on top of the muzzle. Keeping the loading process the same is important to me so that my muscle memory stays the same. In Mexico with the abundance of fish, quick loading became the key for me using my rollers. My 90 is a single stage, KISS simple set up and perfect for close in reef hunting. If I wanted less power, I would simply load the wishbone on the first notch of my notched shaft. This is harder to do if you use tabbed shafts since there is a tendency for the second/third tabs to snag the wishbone as the wishbone comes to rest on the roller muzzle "sled". On my 110 I went to a two and three stage set up so I have the option to load for a more powerful shot, but found that I really only used the max power stage without difficulty and still had succes.

I think you could set up your roller with the loading loop/bridle on the bottom side and be just fine. I just prefer to keep the bottom of the gun/barrel as "line free" as possible...there is a lot of "stuff" going on with shooting line, reels, bands, loading tabs, etc underneath the barrel and having another line or loop to get in the way seems like it would provide another opportunity for tangles. Either way, getting familiar with your set up, using it repeatedly, and getting it dialed in for you is crucial. Many on the forums have great ideas and suggestions complete with band length and preload graphs, etc, but these are only a good starting point for getting your roller dialed in. I spent a good amount of time in the water tying and retying my anchor wishbones to get the "right" feel and power preloads for my hunting. Let me say that I got to know my roller guns really well while bobbing in the ocean fine tuning the setup. Once I got it right my rollers became the only guns I wanted to shoot.

It will be interesting to see if a longer, beefier gun like my hybrid RHP will be a flop or the answer to having a great pelagic roller.