Cayman HF2 any reviews?

[nohu_eater]

One more thing about the HF2. If it comes with a match 50 reel, change the line to amsteel dyneema or picasso spectra. The line that comes with the reel is absolute rubbish.
Also, addressing the issue of noise, an aluminum track will always be noisy, especially when tracking a fish. You will probably notice a lot of rattle when swinging the gun. You can always install a plastic track on an excaliber like mine has.
If you are diving in poor vis, a 90 excaliber would be sufficient.
I know that the HF2 looks all new and sexy, but the excaliber is really reliable.
Also, I repeat, the line release has issues on some guns. I heard this from a reputable retailer who carries the HF2.

[ILDiver]

My HF was kind of loud too. It's now very quiet. I changed out the bands and put a Dyneema wishbone on it and I put a Dyneema shot line on it as well. The metal crimps seemed to make noise off the barrel too. The only thing that can rattle now is the clip on the bungee and the spear hitting the barrel, but the shaft is more of a light scrap at times and I never hear the clip hit the barrel. I bought and installed a HammerHead Muzzle that has "wings" on it to bring the bands more inline with the muzzle. Now the bands are not pulling the tail end of the shaft into the barrel and it is even more quiet. The muzzle was not a necessary addition really, I think it was quiet enough just taking the rattling bits out of the system. The most noise on mine came from the metal wishbone smacking the barrel just before the muzzle. I'm almost tempted to try the metal wishbone again with the HH muzzle to see if it reduces it's striking of the barrel. But I'm happy with the setup as it is.

P.S. I love the Cayman trigger. My line release hung up once early on, but I think it had some grit in there. The trigger pull is smooth and reliable. The Excalibur has a tried and tested handle, but the Cayman is a better trigger group imo.

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by nohu_eater

.. an aluminum track will always be noisy, especially when tracking a fish. You will probably notice a lot of rattle when swinging the gun. You can always install a plastic track on an excaliber like mine has...

I've never noticed any noise from the track of my aluminium RA railgun. However, I have noticed the muzzle clip clanging and/or the spearline vibrating sometimes - particularly in cross currents. I removed the clip now but I noticed new RAs have a clear pastic tube covering the clip, perhaps to stop this & prevent scratching/pitting. Good point about adding an Omer track later. My (non-Gold) XXV doesn't have a rail & that occurred to me - but it really doesn't seem necessary or worthwhile (only 75cm) & I'm trying to keep it light & sleek.

The metal wishbone does flop about a lot on the XXV (partly due to that unusual pivoting muzzle) dinging the soft carbon barrel. It's crying out for a Dyneema wishbone (lighter, quieter, safer, less damaging, cheaper) but I'll probably leave it as-is until these rubbers give up the ghost & then switch to bulk rubber & dyneema; will need to polish the spear grooves up first though.

[Marwan]

im trying to figure out what you mean guys...id imagine the noise would be the result of continuous contact between the spear (stainless steel) and the barrel/rail (aluminum) as you fire the gun..the wishbone shouldnt have any difference if its dynema or regular SS articulated...am i missing something??

[Marwan]

the rail on my rabitech and omer 2000 does supress a bit of noise as they are plastic/rubber stick on rails, so it makes sense to me that theyre a tad quieter

[ILDiver]

On my HF, there are small knicks just before the muzzle on the barrel. The metal wishbone follows through and the spear has left the rail already. I am assuming the band is slowing down as in compresses, so it hits the barrel behind the shaft. I don't seem to get the scraping now either with the H.H. muzzle.

[nohu_eater]

Originally Posted by Mr. X

I've never noticed any noise from the track of my aluminium RA railgun.

It depends how the front of your shaft is held down: by either the shooting line or with a closed muzzle. A closed muzzle doesn't secure the shaft to the track as snugly as wrapping the shooting line over the shaft on an open muzzle. Although, it wouldn't make a huge difference, it would be noticeable.
Also, a plastic track on a small gun (75cm) makes it easier to line up the shaft while reloading. You just put the shaft in the muzzle and slide it down until it locks in. I find it a little quicker that way.

One more thing: I recently had the opportunity to try a Mares Sten pneumatic, and found that it virtually eliminated all the problems I encounter with band powered guns. Of course, there are drawbacks to loading a pneumatic (somewhat awkward to load; need to carry a spear loader), but it was very powerful and very accurate. Surprisingly, contrary to popular belief, it wasn't that noisy. The noise was comparable to hitting a rock with your shaft. Besides, the struggling fish made much more noise than the shot. Also, I found it very easy to aim, due to the custom longer shaft.