double band overpowering euro's.. myth or fact?

[sickbugs]

well well.. seems like about 40% of people online say that a euro that comes with single band will get shaft whip when u throw on that 2nd band, especially euros with 6mm spears.. im starting to realise thats not the case.


my friend dives exclusively with a 75 cm beuchat arka, used to go single beuchat band, then following me, he switched to single dessault bands, then recently, he threw on another 16mm loop band. before we dove, i told him it probably would shoot like crap, because thin spears dont handle double bands good, well, to make a long story short, he made my stringer look pathetic at the end of the dive !! every shot he took was a headshot, and every fish was more than 10 foot away from the end of his gun, that lil spear took off like a bat outa hell every time he pulled the trigger, no shaft wobble noticed. the gun doesnt have a rail, doesnt have any mods to it, still shooting the standard spear... i took a couple shots with it, and i must admit it impressed me, much higher shaft speed than with my 90, flatter shots at distance (no shaft drop) and it seemed to pack more hitting power than my 90cm too.

well, whats the opinion on this? shouldnt the spear be flexing all over the place? shouldnt it be impossible to put a spear in a 2 lb parrotfish's head (perfect stone shot) at about 15 feet?

[Pastor]

A 115cm spear is proportionally stiffer than a 130, from my own experience and that of my freinds, adding extra power does affect the acuracy of euro guns. Im sure there are odd instances of people not noticing a difference but I am convinced that that is due to a lack of testing rather than an un-noticable change in accuracy. adding another 16mm band caused my gun to shoot very high at close range but strangely back on target at about 6ft then low thereafter. Thats my and my freinds experience!

[Ron S]

Well on the one hand, if it works for you and your friend, then nobody else's opinion or experience really makes much difference. On the other hand, doubling up on the power might cause the trigger to wear too soon, resulting in an accidental discharge. I don't know the Beauchat trigger, or what it'll take, but you might want to find out. Kevin Sekuda at Hammerheadmuzzles.com uses that trigger. Might want to e-mail him at that website and see what he thinks from a safety standpoint.
Happy shootin!
Ron.

[Pastor]

Originally Posted by Ron S

On the other hand, doubling up on the power might cause the trigger to wear too soon, resulting in an accidental discharge.

Which If I hadnt been just in from the pub I would of course mentioned
Seriously, a very good point!

[spaghetti]

Originally Posted by Pastor

adding another 16mm band caused my gun to shoot very high at close range but strangely back on target at about 6ft then low thereafter. Thats my and my freinds experience!

True!
In short: thin shafts absorb too much energy from "overpowered" bands, so they swing a lot in the initial path of their trajectory. By swinging, they disperse the energy in excess, and after having dispersed it all, they go straight.

[sickbugs]

well that clears up a bit, ron, from what i can tell, the hammerhead evoloution doesnt use a beuchat trigger mech, its an italian mech, and the beuchat mech is french. however, the arka mech differs a bit from the mundial mech, the arka has a different sized sear (bit narrower) and the housing isnt as strong as the mundials, however, it is still a very strong gun for its price, double bands arent a problem for it, i know a few people that have double bands on theirs

[Pastor]

I read a post by Bill McIntyre a while ago regarding a video he had seen about spearguns being shot, he commented that on a particular occasion that the spear had bent upwards in the middle about 6" just after the trigger was released. Made me wonder what the hell goes on in that fraction of a second. Bill if you read this could you elaborate pleeeeze

[Ron S]

sickbugs, sounds like you know trigger mechs a lot better than I do. The only Euro mechs I'm familiar with are my Sporasub and my Rabitech. As far as Hammerhead, I didn't know what mech the evolution used, but I believe that prior to the creation of the evolution gun, Kevin sold some Beuchat guns that were modified. I also noticed that on the hammerhead site they sell their evolution triggers for $55. Might make for an interesting project...
Ron.

[liberte]

how long of a band did your friend tie on his arka? did he make the band himself or buy it? i was thinking that the 6mm shaft was super thin and would wobble, but maybe not. i haven't used mine yet but can't wait.