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All About Guns What's your weapon of choice, and why? Discuss the beloved speargun here!

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Old 02-13-2018, 07:32 PM   #1
Orbayburak
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Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

I just came back from a Mexico vacation. Brought a Rob Allen 120 with me which i never shot before(usually shoot a 90cm guns in NJ with very good accuracy). Missed most of my shots with the RA in mexico. I realized it had a lot of recoil with the stock bands and after reading more about it stiff arm is the way to go to minimize the recoil. Im not here to blame the gun that has great reputation, i just want to see what is the best way to aim and shoot.
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Old 02-13-2018, 07:43 PM   #2
brandon cadalzo
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

KWTony has a great write up and video to go along with it about modifying the grip to help minimize recoil which would improve accuracy. Also I’m sure that switching out to a 14 or 14.5 small id band set up would help a lot to minimize any shaft whip. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/dxvjWnUoSqI also the famous Spearq8 has an excellent video on modifying the grip of a speargun. Here is the link for that one. https://youtu.be/9Hz-4mgnvYM
Overall I’m sure it’s just a practice issue. Gotta have more time to dial in the gun. These ideas are just there to maximize your guns potential.


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Old 02-13-2018, 09:34 PM   #3
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

A long time ago, i bought a new RA gun (120 or 130) with a single 20 mm 3/4" " (fat) band. It was horrible.

The single band came from the factory so damn short that I literally (and I mean that) was seeing stars after loading it. When you pulled the trigger, the thing nearly exploded with recoil. So much so that I was half afraid of it and the accuracy of this setup was ridiculous.

I finally gave up on it when i missed a grouper under a rock. For the life of me, i still don't know how I missed that fish. I have had many epic misses (with many different guns) but this miss could only be described as "impossible".

I had used a 110 RA with two easy bands and it was accurate and not troublesome to load. I shot hundreds of fish with it and eventually sold it to a teenage kid who literally shot thousands of more fish with it and even a pig (I think).

So unless your shaft was bent or something, I have to suspect that the gun was overpowered. In addition, for most any gun you want to have a very stiff elbow if not a straight arm to allow better offsetting of recoil and deliver better accuracy.

After a few misses, I think I would have done some target practice on a water bottle or a shell on the sand until I was putting the shaft where I wanted. If it had two bands I would have tried to practice first with one band.
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Old 02-14-2018, 08:55 AM   #4
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

I bought a 130 RA, used it for a solid 6 months could not hit the side of a truck. Switched back to another gun and hit everything I wanted. Just my experience. Gun was just not compatible with my style.
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Old 02-14-2018, 06:48 PM   #5
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

Great info Brandon. I think the gun is little over powered with the original bands. Going to change them with small Id bands to 350% stretch. Rather have less powerful but accurate gun.
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Old 02-14-2018, 08:18 PM   #6
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by Orbayburak View Post
Great info Brandon. I think the gun is little over powered with the original bands. Going to change them with small Id bands to 350% stretch. Rather have less powerful but accurate gun.


Accuracy is way more important! If you can hit the vital areas most of the time that’s way better than risking tear outs and spoiled fillets.


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Old 02-15-2018, 02:35 PM   #7
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

All my guns are RA Tuna aluminum ranging from 90cm to 140cm and area all set up the same way. 14.5mm small ID bands tied to around 350ish% with 7mm shafts. Good accuracy, not much recoil and have killed hundreds of fish with these over the years. I do shoot straight arm style but can still shoot bent arm in weird positions if needed, especially in low vis.
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Old 02-15-2018, 06:16 PM   #8
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

i think the extended butt would also help the accuracy as the handle pushes to left when fired.
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Old 02-22-2018, 09:38 PM   #9
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

So, I guess its different for everyone.

I have a green handle 130 cm Rob Allen. I started with the single 20 mm band, and only went to 2 x 16mm when the 20mm got too hard to load (after I turned 50). I still love that gun, but I am giving it to my Nephew because its hard for me to load now.
I can hit with it as good or better than any other gun that I own. But, when I started diving, all guns were rear handle Arbalete style guns. I cant hit anything with a mid handle gun. I have owned a couple of custom mid handle guns, but never got used to them. For me, its what I use the most.

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Old 02-22-2018, 10:29 PM   #10
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

I could not hit anything with my Rob Allen guns. I put in a Meandros trigger mechanism, and that cleared up the line of site along the shaft. I also went to 14 mm small ID bands stretched to 360%. Now it can shoot the eye out of a wolf eel. I think in the US we all grow up with BB guns, then 22 caliber and then bigger rifles. When we buy spear guns we sight the same way we learned to sight a rifle. With the Rob Allen there is a cover over the trigger mech so if you sight the gun the same way you learned to shoot the BB gun, you end up shooting over the top of everything. I would say that the muzzle lines up very well with the barrel. If you change out the trigger mech, you end up with a very accurate and high end gun, fit for people in the west that are used to shooting rifles.

Last edited by Coos-spearo; 02-22-2018 at 10:40 PM.
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Old 02-22-2018, 11:46 PM   #11
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Re: Rob Allen / Rail Gun Shooting Technique Question

makes me feel good its not just me. i feel like the problem is recoil from the slightly over powered bands and me not being used to shooting that long of a gun.
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