Omer Aluminium.

[shaneshac]

I want to put 2 bands on my new omer alluminium 100. Which bands do you recommend?

I take it the second band goes through the hole in the muzzle.

Will it affect the accuracy?

Has anyone had any corrosion problems with the alluminum muzzle and handle?

Thanks and a happy new year to you all.

Shane

[fuzz]

If you're going for smoother shooting, stick with the stock 16mm & add a 9/16 black. If you're looking for power, you can step up to a single 20mm (when looking for more power in a single band, I use a band 1 size shorter... i.e. 18mm 120cm band for 130cm gun), I've used mean green hi-modulus bands as well as blue-coated white bands with good success, but because of my personal preference I've gone back to using thinner, smoother bands. I personally like Euros for their quickness & smoothness so I decided to use the lumber guns in my artilery with the hi-mod bands.

Yup, the 2nd band goes through the hole... unless you have an open muzzle

Personally I don't like over-powering euro guns just because their narrow diameter & light weight gives it some mean recoil action - much much more noticeable than a similarly loaded riffe or hybrid. Putting some track down on the gun works great & helps alleviate some of the shaft flexing issues associated with extra power.

Corrosion hasn't been a problem, but I've found the muzzle to be very brittle & of not good quality. First time I ever used it, my muzzle was busted by the tiny fins on the Riffe euro-shaft. I was very upset, but figured it'd be okay since I can just convert it to open muzzle anyways. When I went in to the store, I saw 2 muzzles that had also been broken(not sure how) & were in for repair. My thinking is that the aluminum muzzle is strong, but relatively brittle in some parts. For example, I've used mini-finned shafts in plastic muzzle guns & found marks where the tabs or crimp had hit the muzzle... but no breakage in any of them. About my 3rd shot, I looked at the muzzle & noticed that a nick had been taken out of it. i was perturbed, but continued to dive. 2 shots later, I was reloading & noticed that it was completely broken through! Oddly enough, I had 2 brain shots in a row with the broken muzzle on the way back to the boat! Maybe the shaft was hitting it the whole time? I checked to ensure that the shaft was perfectly straight and I couldn't find any flaw in the system.

I'm very disappointed because of how much I spent on this gun, but instead of wasting time, I went home, put an open wong muzzle on it, new track, OMER reel, & I was back in business. The major selling point of this gun is the connection between the trigger frame and the barrel, not the muzzle, so I'm still satisfied with it... just disappointed in the design. Only time will tell what the long-term results will be...

Overall I like this gun. I love the look of the barrel & it's a really nice piece of work. Would I pay this much again for a euro? No. With a 120cm Alluminum, couple tracks, new muzzle with line guard, couple sets of bands, RIFFE euro-shaft, reel, $30spool spectra, etc.... it really hurts & I could have bought a nice hybrid for that price and still had enough to buy some new fins... However, despite my cognitive dissonance, I appreciate a good gun & won't be getting rid of it anytime soon

Click the picture in my siganture to see it. It's the modified gun on the top.

[Iyadiver]

Nice Info fuzz. I guess Omer is off my list for a Euro gun then. RA seems to be off the list too, I rather go and get a Rabitech. I have yet to own a euro that I like. I honestly been cofused looking at euro closed muzzle, been wondering how does the crimp get thru easily without banging, unless it is very small like a 250# mono ones.

[fuzz]

Don't usually have any problem with the crimp, but I like to use light line(200#) with my closed muzzle euros and just change the line every trip. Not the most economical means, but it always holds(don't use euros for the big game) & doesn't hinder the quick shaft speed that Euros are known for.

The line that comes with the Alluminum is tiny! 200# is pushing it, but the stock mono is 100# or 150# at most!

I'd really like to try out a rabitech as well but it doesn't look any better or worse than one of my open-muzzle/track-installed guns so not sure if I should get any more toys.........

[memnoch]

Alluminum!!!!! Yeah …
I am using my Alluminum all the time here in Tampa Bay. I personally have all of major guns form Riffe, Wong, Kitto, Picasso, Beuchat, etc.and 3 that I made with help of some skilful craftsman’s.
Omer Alluminum is one of the best guns among all of them for bottom fishing, Model I have is 100 cm and in beginning I used conventional 300lb leader with standard crimps. Never have muzzle to brake but had some cuts on mono from crimps when shafts is exiting muzzle. Simple resolution, use smaller crimps and lighter leader line (problem NO MORE). Pelagic reel is excellent fit and works well all the time.
I use boat riffe euro-shaft and original OMER shafts. I used once second band but found that with it is over powered especially if you hit rock or metal rack (it bended my tip and shaft from impact). For 100 cm model one 18 mm band is just OK. Please bear in mind that I dive a lot here and use it and abuse it a lot.
Only downside is price is too steep for most of pockets but like most of new guns that is where it starts and over time might go down. My Alluminum paid for it self 10 times over so far.

Good and safe hunting
And remember gun is good only as hand that shut it.

Sasha Bratic
Tampa Bay

[shaneshac]

hey Fuzz.THaks for that

I have four questions for you.

One: How do you remove the original muzzle. Those screws have no heads on them?

Two: Did you have to modify anything on the gun to fit the wong euro muzzle?

Three: WHat track did you use and how did you fit it?

THree What two bands do you use with the euro muzzle? Length and diameter?

THanks a lot to all who have replied

Shane

[shaneshac]

hey Fuzz.THaks for that

I have four questions for you.

One: How do you remove the original muzzle. Those screws have no heads on them?

Two: Did you have to modify anything on the gun to fit the wong euro muzzle?

Three: WHat track did you use and how did you fit it?

THree What two bands do you use with the euro muzzle? Length and diameter?

THanks a lot to all who have replied

Shane

[hammer]

As with any new product (cars, software, etc.) there are problems. The new Omer guns are not exception. The problem w/ the muzzle and the shark tipped Riffe shafts is a problem that Omer needs to fix. Having said that, the gun is accurate and powerful -- I landed a nice Wahoo w/ the 130. Omer is aware of the problem and should increase the size of the muzzle to fit the Riffe shafts - these shafts have become one of the most widely used in the freediving community. When we all bought the new Aluminum guns we were part of a Beta Test. As w/ car recalls, Omer, as the manufacturer, should offer to fix this known problem through its authorized resellers.

I have been pleased over the years w/ Omer products (knives, fins, masks, guns, etc.).

Dive Safe, shoot straight.

[Mattedhead]

I have had an opportunity to hunt with the Alluminum myself and it is honestly the sweetest shooting gun I have had the chance to use. Incredibly accurate and extremely smooth. I love my Riffe, but this thing is slick! I don't have the technical knowledge to offer this thread so I spoke with Mark Laboccetta of OMER and he passed along this information:

"Just like the last Hammer's e-mail I says, like a car-if you suip it up or change the characteristics and modify it, you're changing the way the car is going to perform and it will void the warranty. Just like a car these guns are not intended to be modified otherwise performance will suffer. The first diver's gun would not have buckled the muzzle if he had not overpowered it with two bands. There is a reason for that. If however I am wrong and he was only using one pair of bands then that's very strange and unheard of, in fact Riffe might have sent us a shaft that had an unusually higher shark fin than the spec shaft (9mm overall height) causing it to hit the muzzle.

With a second band what's happening is that by overpowering it, the 6.75mm shaft is whipping and not coming out strait (its still surprisingly accurate) and as its wipping it's smacking the muzzle. This only happens with shafts longer than 150cm usually or guns 110 or longer when thin shafts are overpowered. The simple way to avoid the problem is not to use more than an 18mm band, even a very short and tight 18mm band would never create this problem. The second way to avoid the problem is not using a Riffe shaft if overpowering the gun. A standard Omer 7mm shaft with two bands without the shark fins is a much better compromise with 2 16mm bands anyway since the shaft is heavier and thicker than a Riffe shaft. The muzzle problem aside, two 16mm bands are overkill for a Riffe shaft regardless.

The key is that by altering either the stock power or shaft set up the diver must counter react one or the other. If you change the power of the bands you need to change the shaft too. If you go to a thicker shaft you also have to increase power. You cannot achieve a more powerful gun by using more powerful bands keeping a thin shaft without it affecting performance. The Aluminum with a Riffe shaft and a single 18mm band is an accurate and balanced set up that is hard to improve on a single band gun."


I hope this helps,
Matt

[shaneshac]

I have the Omer 100cm and noticed after my first couple of shots that the shaft was etching marks on the barrell and the gun was shooting low. I put a shaft guide in and that has alleviated the problem slightly as I can move this up and down and change the vertical angle of the shot.

My next step is to incorporate a rail so there is no shaft whip at all.