Woody advice
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Diving
Forum Name: Spearo's Corner
Forum Description: Free-divers & spearos chat about their sport
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=46635
Printed Date: 02 Aug 2026 at 5:08pm
Topic: Woody advice
Posted By: S.O.T
Subject: Woody advice
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2009 at 9:37pm
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Looking at getting my first woody and would like some feedback on either of the two following brands/models: - Riffe Euro 130 - Andre Euro 144 Also I've never used a mid handle gun so am interested to see what you experienced blue water hunters think of them (pros/cons). Cheers. |
Replies:
Posted By: fish food
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2009 at 10:29pm
| Well ive got a 120 riffe euro, moves very well sideways better than a carbon railgun IMO. Not as good up and down. Accurate as. Very Well balanced below the surface. If that helps. |
Posted By: S.O.T
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2009 at 11:28pm
| Thanks FF. Do you use it for all your spearing or just the blue water stuff? |
Posted By: fish food
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2009 at 11:37pm
Ive never done blue water stuff  , But has been sweet for general snooping and weedline diving IMHO, for small fish i load one rubber only still shoots straight as. Up and down i discovered turning the gun 90 degrees and then lifting or dropping is the way to go due to the profile of the barrel.
theres a short vid of me using it on a goatfish  in the auckland vis thread
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Posted By: S.O.T
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2009 at 11:50pm
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That sounds ideal really. I'm going on a few blue water expeditions over Christmas and early next year and want to give the woodys a good go to see if they are any better/worse than my current RA guns. Thanks for the tips as well. |
Posted By: Nick.
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 8:34am
| just get close, you'd be amazed at what a 1.4 RA will shoot: |
Posted By: herby
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 10:08am
| Well played Nick. |
Posted By: Unclejake
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 10:36am
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I just typed a big replay but it got wiped and I CBF typing it again.
Riffe good.
My Euro 130 swings horizontally better than my Sporasub Viper 115 (hard to believe but true)
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Posted By: S.O.T
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 5:19pm
 ).
As always, getting closer is always better.
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Nick. wrote:Posted By: random
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 6:33pm
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Shoot a bigger version of what you use around the reef. 130 is plenty big enough in blue water.
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Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 6:41pm
| Liked using my 130 in Aitutaki, easy to dive with and swing around. A bit more range would have been nice at times though. |
Posted By: pomblasta
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 6:51pm
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an alloy 120 is all you need for gamefish. if you cant get close enough then get out the water. ------------- Skipper says : the beatings shall CONTINUE , until morale improves!!! |
Posted By: random
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 7:20pm
You could have always brought out a triple wrap?!?!
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Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 7:27pm
Well, that or shoot them from further away with a big gun. Whichever suits.
Hehe - yeah putting a second rubber on would have been a start too but I wanted to be able to hit fish rather than fling spears past their heads at high velocity
On the topic - I'd suggest going with a big rear-handle gun like a Riffe euro. Those mid-handled guns are quite different to use.
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Posted By: Diver Dan
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 8:26pm
| Come on Pomblasta - just because you shoot those easy fish at Minerva! You are right though. Unless you are shooting really big fish, a 120cm gun single wrapped is the gun for all seasons |
Posted By: S.O.T
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 9:04pm
| Will hopefuly be shooting some biggish fish. Got a 2 trips planned. Both in West Australia, one to Shark Bay/Carnarvon and the other to the Albany region. Targets on my fish list over summer are: GTs, Samsons and Macks, also what ever else comes by. If my 120 works then cool, but don't want to risk loosing a good fish to. |
Posted By: Diver Dan
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 9:23pm
| A good strong gun is a prerequisite in that part of the world for sure. Some of those fish fight dirty, plus you might have to cope with a bit of shark and Queensland Grouper action |
Posted By: kolt45
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2009 at 8:34am
| Woody? Build one. |
Posted By: tom1
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2009 at 9:46am
+1 on that idea
 not difficult, you just need a steady hand |
Posted By: tom1
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2009 at 9:53am
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Kolt, how do you get on ballasting your guns?
made a 160 midhandle a few years ago, didn't need any lead, is lovely and neutral with no muzzle lift on discharge, but just finished a 130 rear handle, 3 laminations, 65" 5/16 spear and it still floats with the spear in. Feels ok to use but you can definately feel it lift a bit. would you bother ballasting it or live with a bit of "lightness"?
 I'ts quite low pro', i was surprised by the buoyancy?! |
Posted By: kolt45
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2009 at 12:51pm
| Find a pool and some lead sinkers. Hop in the pool and hang the lead with fishing line from the gun (shaft in). Distribute the weight with as much as possible in the front end, but still maintaining a level sink. Mark the lead locations and then drill and inset the weight (best to pour your lead into 1/2" nuggets so you can drop in a 1/2" drill hole). Done. |
Posted By: chalkeye
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2009 at 1:11pm
are laminations necessary on a woody? I'm thinking of building and sourced some teak, but i noticed a lot of guys use T shaped lams... is this superior to a single solid block? |
Posted By: kolt45
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2009 at 5:06pm
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Lams necessary? Absolutely. Especially if you plan on using the gun in different climates (NZ then tropics is a popular combination) I would highly recommend T-lams also. Ts complicate the lamination process, but if you have the tools and time, it's worth it. |
Posted By: Spearsniper
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2009 at 5:11pm
My preference is laminated, just because it is more stable over time, and less likely to warp. ------------- http://spearfishingreview.info" rel="nofollow - www.spearfishingreview.info "If at first you don't succeed, reload and try again" |
Posted By: TheSnapperWhisperer
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2009 at 9:54pm
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Lams necessary?
I used to have a woody that was laminated (glue strips were vertical). If I left it in the sun it would bend to the left, so I then had to leave it in the sun for a half hour or so to get it straight again! (not kidding!). I eventually fixed it with a laminated section on the bottom making an upside down T shape, and it was sturdy as anything. Lesson learned the hard way - (i.e. what gun you use is basically irrelevant to your catch) ------------- http://www.facebook.com/TheSnapperWhisperer |
Posted By: S.O.T
Date Posted: 04 Nov 2009 at 12:48am
Would love to one day but at the mo I have neither the time, tools or personal experience in building weapons of mass destruction. Due to current job and location all the free time I get will be spent either travelling to dive locations, or in the water. Maybe after I get my first woody I can reverse engineer it and figure out how to build one... one day. |
Posted By: McKoy
Date Posted: 05 Nov 2009 at 11:42pm
I think UJ has a Riffe he's not using, why not cut that up and see how it works 
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