Rob Allen Tuna Speargun Review - NEF Spearfishing

Rob Allen Tuna Speargun Review

To start off I will say that my review of the Rob Allen Tuna Speargun is way overdue. When it comes to railguns, the Rob Allen Tuna is by far my personal favorite. I have been diving with them for some years and it is also my customers favorite and best-selling speargun at NEF Spearfishing. The Rob Allen name is world famous in the sport and known for being a leader in product development. Many of the products Rob Allen has designed in South Africa have been used and applied all over the world. His dedication to innovation and quality standards have made me a believer in just about everything with the Rob Allen name on it. So let me break down all the features that make this speargun the preferred piece of gear by many spearfisherman.  

I will start with a feature I think that is the basis of this railgun design and often overlooked when divers are shopping and comparing spearguns. Everyone can pick up this speargun and see that it is a  “railgun”. Meaning the barrel is designed with a full rail on top of the barrel to support the shaft and keep the path of the shaft accurate when it is fired. Where the Tuna is unique is it is designed with a thicker walled aluminum barrel than most other euro style railguns. I have reviewed and tested a lot euro style railguns that are designed with ultra-light aluminum barrels, which does make them easily maneuverable in the water. But I also see there are three negatives of a light weight aluminum barrel.

The first being they can be more easily damaged. The second is that when you get into lengths 100cm and longer the thinner walled barrels can flex when loaded with two or more bands, affecting accuracy.  The third and most important in my opinion is “muzzle kick”. Muzzle kick is the result of speargun being overpowered for its design/materials and components such as bands and shaft. When the speargun is fired the bands retract and the recoil energy causes the muzzle end of the speargun to kick up. As the shaft is leaving the speargun its trajectory is changed by the rising muzzle hitting the mid to back area of the shaft…. usually resulting in “shooting low”. Some spearos begin compensating for this muzzle kick in how they aim. Many do not even know they are doing it. 

This inaccuracy may not be that noticeable when shooting at close range, but frustrating in longer shot placement. One can adjust the speargun to create less recoil and better accuracy like using smaller diameter bands and thinner diameter shaft. But when it comes to hunting the larger more powerful fish, we have in most saltwater zones of the United States, a setup of 7mm shaft with two (or more) 16mm bands is really ideal for providing the proper amount of power for penetration and a shaft durable enough to withstand large fish.

Rob Allen has seemed to eliminate all that with the thicker walled aluminum barrel on the Tuna speargun. Along with the thicker walled barrel it also has a slightly larger barrel ID, which creates the correct amount of buoyancy for ballast and balancing in the water. When combined with the increased mass of the larger barrel to absorb the energy when fired and eliminate muzzle kick…. The result is a highly accurate speargun. And we have the ideal setup of bands and shaft size for the prey we are pursuing. The full shaft rail on the top of the barrel supports the shaft and keeps it’s trajectory true as it travels the length of the barrel and exits the speargun at the muzzle.

Having a smooth operating and reliable speargun is something desired by all spearfisherman. The Tuna is designed with a simple, strong and maybe one of the most dependable trigger mechanisms in the industry. The trigger mech is housed in a removable cartridge that sits in the world famous Vecta handle. It features a stainless line release and trigger sear and rugged acetal trigger. The mechanism cartridge is held in the handle with one pin and can easily be removed.  All three pieces of the trigger mechanism can easily be removed as well, each held in place with one pin. The design is simple, which is probably what makes it so reliable. I have never had a customer tell me they have experienced a problem with their Tuna mech, which is a component on other brands which can fail over time.

This “South African” made railgun does not come stock with a loading butt on the back of handle like most euro style railguns do. Rob Allen designed the shape of the Vecta handle to be easy for most divers to load without a loading butt. However, they do offer a replacement mechanism cartridge that has a loading butt in the design. *I do prefer loading it with the loading butt and use it on all of my Rob Allen Tunas and offer this feature to my customers as well. It is a simple switchover of the mechanism components from the standard cartridge to the “Custom Loading Butt” cartridge. The cost is about $32 for the blank cartridge and you/I can switch over the mechanism. Once installed, the loading butt falls in line with the design of the speargun and allows for a perfect line of sight aiming.

A stainless line release is positioned on the underside of the handle, forward of the trigger guard. This keeps the shooting line situated along the side of the barrel and anchored underneath on the line release. Each Tuna speargun4 inch tuna clip mounted in the handle for an attachment point for your float line. If you prefer to not have the tuna clip on the handle, simply remove one screw to separate handle and it removes easily.

Rob Allen offers the Tuna in both open and closed muzzles. I only stock the Tuna spearguns in an open muzzle because that is the more desired setup for American spearfisherman, but I will gladly special order one for anyone who desires one. The bi-directional rigging design of the open muzzle on the Tuna speargun allows it to be rigged for either left or right-handed use when loading. Due to the placement of the line release on the underside of the barrel, one can simply run the shooting line down the left or right side of the barrel.

Next, we come to the rigging. The Rob Allen Tuna comes rigged and ready to hunt fish with two 16 mm bands with spectra wishbones, 7mm diameter shaft, and 400 lb. black mono shooting line which is connected to a muzzle bungee (shock absorber) at the muzzle. One should note that the Rob Allen shaft is one of the strongest on the market. While it is a notched shaft (notches in the shaft where the band wishbone loads), the notches are designed with smooth edges, as to not cut the spectra wishbone. This is a cool feature I love about these shafts as using spectra wishbones is preferred for safety over using wire or metal wishbones many other spearguns are designed with. The shaft also comes with a “Tuned Flopper”. Flopper tuning is something we usually do when buying other brand flopper shafts to optimize when the flopper should stay open for better holding grip after penetrating a fish. This shaft is already tuned, you can go straight to diving with it.

While the Tuna speargun does not come outfitted with a reel (common for almost every railgun) , it is designed with reel mount installed on the speargun so you can easily add one. *I highly recommend the Rob Allen Vecta Composite Reel as it is designed to be a perfect match for the Tuna speargun. However, the universal dovetail style reel mount will accept many other brands. Like the entire design of the Tuna speargun, its reliability is made possible by the simplicity in design and quality construction. It features a drag that is smooth and strong for putting the brakes on tough fish. Spool this reel with 50 meters of 1.8 to 2mm spectra line and you are ready to go.

If you start looking to purchasing a Rob Allen Tuna with a reel, have a look at my NEF Spearfishing Rob Allen Tuna RTS (Ready To Shoot) Speargun Package. I offer a complete package with reel, reel line, upgraded stainless muzzle line guide and gun rigging to your desired setup at a great discount compared to purchasing all the components separately. All you have to do is dive and shoot fish.

With the Rob Allen Tuna spearguns being available in a wide range of sizes (70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, and 160 cm) it offers a model capable of taking on anything that swims.

If you want the Tuna in longer length like 130cm and larger for hunting pelagics, a Rob Allen threaded shaft to use with a slip tip is also an available add on. They are popular here at NEF Spearfishing as I offer the Tuna in Bluewater Package with 1 flopper and 1 threaded shaft, slip tip and shafts rigged with breakaway rigging. Contact us if you are interested.

I hope this helps any spearos looking for info on this popular speargun. You are always welcome to come into NEF Spearfishing and see one for yourself. If you think I missed something or would like to add your input on your experience with the Rob Allen Tuna Spearguns, please leave a comment below.

Dive Safe,

Mike

NEF Spearfishing Co.

May 11 and 13'th 2018 Newport RI Spearfishing Report - Dave Gleeson

Date: 5/11/17 and 5/13/17

Location: Newport, RI

Viz: 15-25’
Temp: 54

Report Contributor: Dave Gleeson

Notable Gear - Rob Allen 80cm Roller Speargun 

5/11: My first dive of the year couldn’t have been much better. Viz was great despite heavy wind and a decent swell, and fish were plentiful. I probably saw close to 800 schoolies during this trip, and even managed to pick a keeper from the group with a 30” bass taken for dinner.

Tog were around as well, and I was able to get my limit without issue.

 5/13: Conditions remained great out front for my second dive of the year. Alex Zygmunt, Baley Rochefort and myself dove slack low tide and the beginning of the incoming, and had great visibility ranging from 15-25’. Tog were schooled up and in good numbers, with lots of fish in the 18” range. I managed to take one male ~22” in addition to a couple smaller fish, and the three of us got out of the water with 6 nice tog.

Fluke are around, as I saw a few shorts and my dive buddy Alex Zygmunt shot a keeper @ ~21.” I also saw a few scup, but surprisingly no large schools.

There seems to be a lot of life around, with plenty of small skates, dogfish, and the largest clearnose skate I’ve ever seen.

The season is definitely upon us- finally! With only two weeks left before tog is closed for the summer, get out there and grab a few. Just try to remember to leave the big females alone, we need them to spawn if we want to keep tog around for years to come.

Happy hunting, DIVE SAFE

Dave 

Props to new diver Alex Zigmunt for getting his first fish (s) this week and very nice fluke ! Way to Do It ZIG ! Nothing makes us happier at NEF Spearfishing then to see new divers getting stoked !

Be sure to check out Dave's breathtaking photography and videography at www.davegleeson.com

May 21, 2017 Newport RI Spearfishing Report - Mike Chace

Date: 5-21-2017
Location: Newport RI
Report Contributor: Mike Chace
Notable Gear: HammerHead Benthos 5mm Wetsuit & HammerHead Raptor 95cm Speargun

My phone had been buzzing with good reports from the previous couple of days from friends. This member of the Tog Cult was EAGER to get in the water and see some fish. I set aside some time from the busy days and nights that had consumed my time in the NEF shop for the past couple of weeks. I try to always put my customers needs before my desire to get wet so this had kept me out of the water from hunting some fish for at least 14 days. When i began checking forecast Saturday and saw that the wind would lay down and come out of the NE Saturday morning i thought we might have a great shot at y first dive on the outside of Newport the following morning. Thanks to my good buddy Eric for getting free to go diving with me and luckily the forecast held true and we arrived to unload the kayaks to an image of flat surface conditions and clear water.

We paddled out a short distance to a rock pile we thought might be holding some decent fish. Upon sliding over the side of the kayak I began to chuckle and yelled over to my dive buddy Eric who was getting ready that we had 20 - 25 ft visibility. This was about the beginning of slack tide turning low to incoming at 10:30 a.m.

There was many tautog about. About four minutes into dive I descended to backside of a ledge and as I got settled on the bottom I immediately saw a bass about 32" come in quick to check me out and dart off. I held off on the shot thinking he had to only be the first, wait wait wait the others will come in. During the next 2 hours I saw only one other schoolie size bass. The tautog seemed to be everywhere, many males in the 15-16 inch range out roaming about and the big females tighter to the rock piles and holes.

Then a northern puffer fish presented a shot. I knew that my son Ethan would be excited to eat them, and if there is one there should be more here. It takes a couple to make a meal due to size. Nope, no others. Northern puffers are not poisonous FYI, and the body meat tastes much like a shrimp.

I had already harvested one 17 inch blackfish about 20 minutes earlier when I dropped down the backside of rock drop off to see a much larger tog dart off from the crevasse in the rocky bottom and head around me to my 6:00. I decided to not to chase him because that rarely works out well and surfaced. Recovery breath and breath up trying to hold my position against the mild current by watching a landmark I picked out on the bottom to focus on. Guessing an approach to where I thought the fish headed to I slowly dropped down the front side of a ledge hoping that when i came around the rock he might be held up there. When I rounded it there were at least 5-6 mid size females slowly kicking about and beginning to scatter when I noticed a much larger set of chins under an overhang about 12 feet away. I gave two kicks towards him and as he started to come out and see what was approaching him and slightly turned (as if to dart out of there) which provided me with a shot through the gill plate.

Well as decent size tautog usually do if you do not stone them, he began his crazy twisting death roll they do as I am swimming up to him and as I get two feet away I feel the line go limp. I look under  the rock overhang and see my empty shaft lying there. $%^# ! "He tore off I thought to myself". Well as I surfaced and began to reload the gun and started to drift backwards a little I picked up on some movement out of the corner of my left eye and notice it is a nice size fish. I think "It can't be?" And begin to reload the gun quickly but only loading one band this time. As I kicked over I noticed he was nose down with tail up between some rocks directly on the backside of the rock I had shot him under. As he tore off he must of swam out the backside exit and I think at that point he was stunned and hurt and stopped there. I waited a few seconds hoping for a more clear shot free of the rock behind him so I did not blunt my shaft tip. Then I saw an angle shooting down on him from above that would be clear and shoot. 
 
As I strung him on the stringer I thought I was lucky bugger to not have lost him after the shot, a second shot almost never happens. I will take a little luck whenever I can get it. I thank Eric Cadorette for being a great dive buddy to get out with and for taking the still shot of me from his GoPro for the report. Eric harvested a couple of really nice tautog also, so we both had happy stringers.

We can only hope the conditions can hold off for another week and maybe by next weekend see some great bass here for Memorial Day weekend. Cooking up the first fresh blackfish of the season for the family was a treat. I am very anxious to get in another dive this weekend.


Another Day Another Gift from Mother O, a great way to start off the season.
Mike

May 18, 2017 Scott Bianco Spearfishing Report - 19.26 lb Tautog !

Date: May 18, 2017

Report Contributor: Scott Bianco

Thank you to Scott for graciously taking the time to give us a report of him freedive spearfishing that 19.26 lb Tautog !  Can I call it TOGNASAURUS ?

It all started with a text "got time for a quick after work dive?". After a long day the last thing I felt like doing was trailering the boat down and taking a beating from the south gusting wind. After much debating I decide why not lets do it. At the ramp I almost called it while looking out at the gusting wind figuring there wouldn't be much vis. Brian convinces me to make the boat trip and we head out. Once there we anchor in some shelter from the wind and suit up. Conditions aren't the best, south wind with an outgoing tide, the top five feet had a brown haze making the vis about 2 feet but opening up to great 8' vis below. 

As we swim away from the boat and towards the rocks Brian says to me go left and he will go right. I head off to the left and start to make my first drop of the evening. I start my decent and about 3 feet down I notice a white chin through the haze passing me on my right shoulder. I level off and remain motionless, only moving my eyes to track the fish. The white spot barley visible passing in front of me towards the left, then circles back to dead center.

The words of a great dive friend going through my head ,don't move anything don't move your fins relax and be part of the ocean. I was able to see a little patch of white belly behind the white chin so I knew from the spacing that the fish was of good size.I kept my gun pulled in tight to my body making sure not to "track the fish" waiting patiently for the fish to turn and become centered in front of me. I shot between the two white patches and the spear landed center mass and the white spots stopped moving instantly. 

I swam up to it and got a solid grasp on the barb end of the spear and pulled the fish in tight to my body and started swimming it up to the rocks. Once  I had a grasp on the fish it came to life like they usually do, but this one was different I knew I had something bigger then I have ever shot before. With a good amount of struggle I manage to get me and the fish on the rocks and out of the water. Seeing the fish out of the water really hit home fast just how big this fish really was. I held on with both hands for a few minutes till I knew the fish was dead. The ocean offered up an amazing fish to us that evening. Fish prints will be made to honor the life of the fish.   

Scott Bianco