Powering Up!

[Aimrite]

What makes guns shoot erractically? Several things actually but lets talk about powering up. It does not really matter what type of gun or manufacturer, what really matters is power to wieght ratio's. It's "physics" don't take it personal, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction!

What this all means is while powering up to a certain degree may be beneficial for some people it may have the opposite reation with others. If you take a 50" gun of any type it should have no problem handling two 5/8"Bands, this is a very common setup. However, you will need more control with 5/8" bands than 9/16" due to more recoil. You are not overpowering the gun as much as you are overpowering yourself. There is a world of difference between a diver wieghing 225 lbs and one that wieghs 150 soaking wet just like the difference between a very experienced spearfisher and a novice.

If you want to minimize erratic shots follow these guildlines; use the gun the way it was intended ie. you cannot take a 50" reef gun and turn it into a bluewater special by slapping four bands on it, lockout your elbow and use two hands when you need to, aim by super-imposing the tip on the target and use a straight shaft!

I hope this helps.

[straight shaft]

Nicely done, Rick.

You may also control recoil by adding mass and weight to the gun. Keep in mind that you may have to enclose the track to reduce shaft-whip...or go with a larger diameter shaft..or both. My .02 worth.

[rigdvr]

like I said it was simply my experience with that particular gun. I am the proud owner of 3 Wongs for various situations. The 50" cf hybrid is my smallest gun and I use it on the reefs in Florida or the shallow rigs here where mangroves, medium red snapper and the occasional cobia are most common. The gun is much easier to handle with the smaller bands for me when targeting these smaller fish in water with typically less vis...I dont need it to shoot 20 ft I just need it to be as spot on as I can get it.

If I get deeper and bigger fish are expected my MG special comes out of the boat and it can handle the longer shot much better and the enclosed track is a bonus. With it I mostly target large AJ's, grouper, big snapper, and cobia.

If I am lucky enough to find the true blue that day, it's the Ono's turn to get wet. It truly handles all the power I can give it as smoothly as the hybrid.

At 6 foot 205lbs I am not overpowering myself. After shooting Riffes for years I dont want a kicking mule anymore so instead I use the gun in its intended way. Like I told some of my buddies when they asked why I need three gun...a punter can probably kick a field goal or two, but why not use the placekicker instead?

If someone really needs 5/8 bands on the 50"cf shooting a 9/32 shaft they are probably shooting the wrong gun.

[rigdvr]

"I am often asked why a gun shoots a certain way or why doesn't a gun shoot "dead on". There are many factors that determine how and why a speargun shoots a certain way, but let's start with band power.

I believe that one of the most common problems that divers have with a speargun is misses due to the power of the bands on the gun. We all would like to have a gun that shoots 25ft and hits center mass every time, but the reality is that an increase in band power gives more distance but at a sacrifice in accuracy. For every action, there is a reaction. When there is an increase in forward speed of the shaft, there is also an increase in recoil. For example, this can be seen when firing a pistol. Similarly in spearguns, the recoil will also cause the front of the muzzle to lift upward. When this happens, the muzzle will lift the end of the shaft upward as it leaves the gun and cause low shots. Some divers believe that low shots means the gun needs more power while the answer is actually less power.

Although less power means less recoil and less muzzle lift, it also means less distance. There is a fine line between distance and accuracy. Also some bands have more punch or snap than others (usually a characteristic of all-black bands....also harder to load). The more snap, the more recoil. Other bands (like some of the amber bands) have a softer, smoother release and less recoil, but less distance. It takes practice and experimenting with different bands lengths and band materials before you can find what works for you. I've shot rifles competitively for over twenty years and no serious shooter buys a gun off the rack without trying different loads of ammo and testing. Why should a serious diver be any different? Practice makes perfect." - Daryl Wong

After experimenting I found the smaller bands to suit me better on that gun...Mike

[Aguaji]

My toes get tingles when I see a speared wahoo. What a beautiful creature.

Good post Rig.

[Hamrrhed]

Aimrite,

That is my White Sea Bass Wet Dream!

Congrats!

Anthony

[Aimrite]

Thanks, I had some real good guides. Those are the un-song hero's of our sport for without boat captains and guilds we would be blind as a bat. Our success is actually determined by these men and women that live on the water and cater to our sickness. I certainly salute them and their dedication.

[rigdvr]

Wouldnt trade my job for the world except that I spend WAY too much time ON the water and not IN the water;)

[Murat]

Yeah really good job Mike. I wish to have opprtunity to have same job. But i had to stick to student and school life for now.I don't expect a funny job like yours after graduation. But at least i am very close to sea to shoot few fish when i want to eat some.:cool:

[rigdvr]

after re-reading these posts, it sounds like you and I are saying the same thing in different ways Rick. I do agree that the hybrid CAN handle the bigger bands but when really considering the job I need it to perform, they are unneccessary.