Improving an Ono gun

    I have a Bluewater Ono gun. to be honest, the gun sometimes seems to shoot right, others just can´t hit a wounded whale with it. I Think it lacks mass and ballast. I was wondering if i can install a Riffe muzzle elevator and a Riffe teak ballast kit in order to make it stable. Do you think it worths to do that or shoud i trade it for another gun instead? The gun is rigged with 4 5/8´s and a 5/16 shaft and kicks heavily, and shoots somehow low... or high or who da fug knows cause i had spent hours trying to figure it out

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Does it float with a shaft in it? If not you would have to add more floatation if you add more weight.

    Davie Peguero

    I don't have experience with big wood guns but this is what I would do. First I'd check the shaft against a good straight edge and make sure it's straight. Then I would make sure that the flopper is not bent, maybe even take it off. I'd check for the shaft to have at least 13" of overhang, any shorter and I'd change to a longer shaft with proper overhang. Then I would put two 5/8 bands on the gun and see how it shoots. I just can't see it not shooting straight like that, theres not much to it unless your handle is really far under the plane of travel of the spear, then I'd bring it closer.


    Once its shooting straight I'd start to add power to see where it goes erratic. When you find the point where accuracy starts to suffer you know you need to add weight/volume to the gun.


    With that said I believe in dedicated guns. The idea of having a gun where if you need more power and range you can put on side stocks and stuff is good in theory but in reality you never end up doing it back and forth. A gun should be built for the intervals which you jump from target species to target species although there can be some overlap. For big power and range a gun should be designed for that from the start because this makes a gun bulky in the first place and if you start adding shit to make a smaller gun do the work of a big gun it's going to be even more bulky. If there is no possibility of buying the correct gun then of course go ahead with the modifications.

    Quote from oto

    jeez, why would there be any improvement needed on a $1k+ gun :confused1:


    Oto and Dan, maybe is just me, cause everybody else loves their Ono guns and are pretty succesful with them, maybe something is wrong with me. But i get perfect shots with other guns like Riffe Baja and Baja plus of the same size and maybe same power. I had tried everything when target practicing and i don´t know where the dang shaft goes. In spite of that i had hit some fish with it, those wasn´t great shots, cause i just aimed to the bulk, cause the band piling on the top don´t let me see shit. Still i was able to actually hit some fish with it :confused1:

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    You have to follow a process of elimination like what I wrote if you really want to figure it out. Just so we know what the hell we're talking about here's a pic of the ono gun right?



    Shit aimrite handle, not ergonomically correct. OK I never shot one and I just don't know about these guns but for sure don't overpower it. How long is yours anyways?

    Quote from seahunter49

    You have to follow a process of elimination like what I wrote if you really want to figure it out. Just so we know what the hell we're talking about here's a pic of the ono gun right?



    Shit aimrite handle, not ergonomically correct. OK I never shot one and I just don't know about these guns but for sure don't overpower it. How long is yours anyways?


    Long enough ...:D uuh, the gun, is 63"


    I had shot it with just three bands with the same results. About the Aimrite handle, is just a piece of crap, i had busted at least four of them with the larger guns. I think is ok. for the less powerful ones. They always brake from the rear holes :D

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    I have a Riffe Baja that is 61" and shoots a 5/16 shaft with three 5/8´s. The gun is a track driver, never missed a shot with it. Clinically accurate to say the least. When i first saw the gun i though it would be kicking like a mule due to the huge bands. Not so, i can barely notice recoil with that gun. Is it the gun? I don´t think so, my dear friend and diving mate Rommel has a Baja plus, that is 67" and shoots just as accurate. Ok. Wait a min, maybe i got a lemon with the Ono, but other people seem to love their Onos. I had a blast when i first shot it cause i actually landed a fish, and then i tought it was a great gun, in spite of having hit it low. With the time i got frustrated. Same with the other guns, they are ok. as long as you dont overpower them. A hybrid gun is accurate with just two bands and a thinner shaft, or with some lead in the handle, that makes it pops out. I had been guilty of confusing good will with quality. The maker of the guns is a great, polite and adorable character :) but his guns are not that magic superb guns that everybody is talking about. I bought guns from him following the advice of the awesome and unbelievable reports of Wong guns in spearboard. I took the Riffe bashing as gospel. I was guilty to do the same thing. Is not fair for the people who is trying to invest in "The best speargun around"

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Edited once, last by monster slayer ().

    I think that Julie Riffe is sexier than Shery Daye and that's all the reasoning you need to make your gun purchase :)


    I realize that its not a joke when you invest the kind of money Daryl takes and the gun does not perform. Did you buy it new or used? How much?

    I bought it new. The magnums are good guns. But they are too expensive in the sense that you just can`t use 3 5/8s and a 5/16 shaft as advertised, cause the gun lacks the mass and the ballast to withstand the recoil. For a 1 k gun it`s spare to put so little wood on it. From gun to gun the amount of wood used is spare compared with the price variation, from a 50 mag and a 55 mag the price is 50 dollars less and the difference in wood mass is huge. None of them are properly ballasted for the advertised 3 5/8`s. That`s the reason people criticize Riffe. The bigger midhandle models are not properly ballasted and so on. I have a Riffe midhandle (midrange) and is a great gun, worths every penny that i had spent.

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Quote from seahunter49


    I realize that its not a joke when you invest the kind of money Daryl takes and the gun does not perform. Did you buy it new or used? How much?


    The Ono runs now for 1100k i bought it for 1000 new. I guess Daryl`s first guns were better due to the fact that he took every detail as a piece of work. Suddenly he was flooded with orders all over the World, and since he is the " Only elf in the wood shop" quality began to suffer, i don`t think he has the time to personally test each gun he makes now to perfection. Not so with the first guns he made i guess ...

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Edited once, last by monster slayer ().

    Hi Monster,


    In your pants, I would contact Darryl Wong directly telling what's going on. Normally just a very small detail could make a difference between an accurate gun with a piece of crap.
    As you said, probably was not fine tuned before leaving the shop...

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    Quote from Marco

    Hi Monster,


    In your pants, I would contact Darryl Wong directly telling what's going on. Normally just a very small detail could make a difference between an accurate gun with a piece of crap.
    As you said, probably was not fine tuned before leaving the shop...


    You are right Marco, I´ll do that

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Why delete it, I posted some good information on how to analyze what the problem could be and it would be good to be able to refer to it at a later time. If you resolve the problem with Daryl's help just post back and it's good for everybody.

    The Wong site has changed. Now the guns are even expensiver, but see, now they have a disclaimer note pertaining some issues like "aiming". Bottomline about the dang article is that "practice makes perfection" ... A 1000k gun and you still need to practice with it!!. I had personally owned three Wongs and four Riffes, and there is no comparison indeed. The Riffes are dead on right out of the box, better crafted and the accesories more durable than the aimrite´s handles and hardware. Riffe are commercial top quality guns. Wongs are expensive, beautifully crafted, odd shooting, semi custom guns, that indeed lack mass for more than three bands, and overall high quality, except for the plastic crap accesories that the gun comes with. If they had a bit more wood mass, they would be top notch.


    http://www.wongspearguns.com/ (Faq´s, aiming)

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    I'm sure wong's reef models shoot the same as Riffes. But yeah, you don't see any of us here using hybrids. The Aimrite handle belongs in the trash, I can't believe Wong goes to the trouble of making his guns look good with those fancy finishes but is still putting that crappy handle on them. Mind you the Riffe handle is only a little better ergonomically speaking, but at least it doesn't break.

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