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You can be sure Bill has one of these - might search his blog for a review.

I'll also take exception with overly complicated - nothing overcomplicated about Re-Tree-Vit reels, they just had bad knob composition.

Hi all - I reached out to Bill and he gave me some great questions to ask OCR. Here are Bill's questions and then the responses, below. I think I'm going to get one. I love that they are made in the USA and they are built like a brick s41t house. Plus being able to pull the line in with the lever then fight the fish "on the reel" like a normal fly reel is neat to me!

From Bill -

this is my first time hearing about a new semi automatic fly reel. Based on the photo, there is no need for handles on the spool. the retrieve lever is the fastest way to retrieve the fly line. the handles are overkill and too slow. "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" is how I answer those who want handles on a semi-automatic fly reel. In my opinion, the price is too high when you considered the price of SA fly reels on the market now. but the price of everything has gone up. I'd want know, is there a drag, can the drag be used while fishing, what is the reel made of, how much it weighs, salt water applications, and how much backing does the spool hold?

From OCR:

The handles are to fight fish with AFTER taking up slack - especially with light tippets. This simplifies line retrieval by not having to pull line in with one hand and run the lever with the other. People can just fight fish how they normally would after clearing the slack.

The drag is very adjustable and smooth and engages very quickly. The gears are also covered and waterproof - something no other reel offers. The reel foot is adjustable so this reel will balance perfectly with most single-hand fly rods. The line guide reduces tangles on the lever and reel/rod interface.

The drag is made of carbon discs, stainless and brass parts. It is saltwater-worthy, but should still be rinsed after fishing just as a general maintenance precaution (salt will eventually destroy everything).

The reel is aluminum, steel, and brass. It can handle anything. There is a small Delrin screw to lock the reel foot in place should the angler wish to. The guide rod is fiberglass and will likely have a nickel-silver and agate line guide with aluminum fitting that is removable from the reel frame if desired.

This reel is made better than Peux - which has plastics even though they claim not to. Their finish quality is not nearly as refined as ours. We have compared directly.

Below are the backing capacities I currently have using typical 20 lb. Braided backing:

WF6F 90 yds.
WF5F. 95 yds.
WF4F 100 yds.

I’d guess about 80 yards of 7 wt. and 110 of 3 wt. at a minimum. But, this will vary with line tapers and backing design of course. We rate the reel size as a 3-7 wt. reel.

The reel weighs 7.9 ounces. We used brass in some of the gears and the cover plate weighs a bit more. Again - we used all metal, not Delrin/plastic. Also, our weight is adjustable to achieve perfect BALANCE. So the rod/reel feel perfect during use. Also, it’s a matter of two ounces from the lightest semi-autos.

in case you missed my report, here is a link to my blog:https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3840370308443832391/5551159745738073113

I compared the two top semi automatic fly reels available today;the Peux Fulgor and the O C R Bighorn. The Bighorn actually costs less than the swiss made Fulgor!
Bighorn does everything the Fulgor does and then some. I own the Fulgor and have caught many many fish with it .