57" Mid Handled Woodie!!

[miles]

Hiya

Just a short review on my latest toy. 57" mid-handled woodie. Shoots a 8mm spear, propelled by 3x16mm's. Basically the smaller version of the big 63" Tuna Gun which is also built by Tommy Botha. It uses the same trigger mechanism, which is used with up to 5x16mm rubbers, so its PLENTY strong!!!

As most of you know, i'm a die-hard Rabitech fan. They are awesome guns, accurate, robust, quite and well priced. How-ever, i'm now starting to see the limitations of the euro style guns (including the railguns)

Firstly, this 57" Woodie is a gun designed for BIG fish. It is not as accurate as my Rabitech. What you are how-ever sacrificing is a bit of accuracy for more range. Think about it like this, how many times has THAT BIG yellowtail kingfish JUST swam past, JUST out of range!!! I've tried 2x16mm's on my Rabitech's but with double wrap of line, penetration at the end of the spearguns reach isn't wonderful.

Now the beauty of the 57" Mid-handled gun comes in the ability to VERY QUICKLY swing the gun on a fish. Tracks MUCH easier than my 115cm Rabitech. The range is absolutely awesome!!! Equate to roughly 10m range FROM your hand!!!! From the picture you can see that its about the same size as a 1.2m euro gun, but has the manouverability of a 90cm gun and the range and power of a 1.6 or 1.7m euro gun!!!

I think i've now seen the DARK SIDE and i like it........ ;D ;D ;D ;D

Regards
miles

 

[icarus pacific]

wood is good!

Welcome to the fold, Miles. Indeed much of the good natured hooting and hollering of the past few years on the site here involved Iya, Abri and myself going over the merits of wood versus those, uh...:girlie guns. Once you get past the fact that the wood guns are going to cost more, the rest is a moot point especially when you throw in the advantages of a mid handle.

I still feel that it's a studied matter of practice and time to get proficient with whatever gun you use, and there are times and places where a euro gun is the better deal. I plan on bringing one to next year's Keyz Kraze if for no other reason than to pierce my sinuses :blackeye But as you're finding out and as evidenced by that veeeeery smooth set of photos of your last tuna session, a wooden gun can deliver and if the fish are big, usually deliver dinner. You've got the bases covered with your quiver of guns.

Hey, if you ever want to get something going over there with a couple of the other SA types and host a trip. lemme know.

PS... how about putting up an overhead shot of the guns, particularly the wings on the top-most gun in the photo? Those rear wings look to be very nicely proportioned.

 

[Alison]

Originally posted by miles
I think i've now seen the DARK SIDE and i like it........ ;D ;D ;D ;D

Such a nice boy too! Crying shame when this happens :waterwork

 

[Alison]

On a more sensible note, what is the idea behind those wings? is it just a anti lift thing or do they serve another purpose?

 

[miles]

Hiya

Ali, in my limited knowledge on wooden guns, wings add ballast as well as additional floatation to the gun. According to my understanding, the heavier the gun, the more recoil it'll absorb, the less recoil you'll feel.

icarus pacific, picture attached!! Also check out:
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?threadid=51471&highlight=tommy+botha

Regards
miles

 

[Murat]

recoil absorber, band lifter (especially if placed at the front or the entire length of the body) and "things" which makes the gun attractive

 

[Alison]

Thanks guys
Yes I can see the recoil thing, my dad explained the law of the conservation of momentum to me a few weeks ago and the band lifter makes sense too, a bit like that hammerhead widget that someone was trying to sell the other month yes?

 

[Iyadiver]

Welcome to the V-8 of the spearguns Miles. If the legendary Tommy Botha himself makes & see the light of the tree trunk..........what more can we say....right Uncle Sven....??

Looking at the list of rail guns you own I can say that you know enough about rail guns and have honestly tested the perfromance edge of a rail gun. Let's face it, a rail gun can take anything a tree trunk can but at a much limited range. Also the fact a 7mm shaft is just too thin and not able to hold inertia at long range.

On the accuracy issue, it is so logical that a small power gun is more accurate than a high power tree trunk but some tree trunks or in my case aluminum+tree trunk, it can be ultra accurate. A 22 caliber will group tighter at 10 meters compared to a 357 Magnum, that is a fact but a competition model high power gun can do great groupings too. More recoil and un-hydrodynamic big spear heads & shafts must contribute to something negative but the range and power at impact is worth it.

The goal is to land a fish, so when we can have a better tool, we must get that better tool. If I were to chase my shy doggies with me blowing bubbles and armed with a rail gun, I will never be able to land those 25 kg up, I can't get close enough.

Now that you have enjoyed a mid handle, it is one of the better feature to have on a speargun. I learnt that some years ago.

One thing I can't figure out is that why a rail gun gets its size by the length of the barrel ? This is misleading information. Length over all is more fair to use as comparison basis because we know that a longer the gun the more power advantage it has.

You as the owner of 11 rail guns and have a 130cm rail gun, and now is amazed at the power of your 57" woodie with 3 x 16mm bands, so how is it that the other 130cm rail gun users seems to find their guns capable of shooting great range....what have they been comparing it with all this time ?

I am amazed that SA being the land of big fishes and yet a tree trunk is not easily available. Start making them woodie guns more Miles....we want lots more fish stories....

BTW, that's a sweet looking woodie Miles...

 

[ajwaverider]

Originally posted by Iyadiver
One thing I can't figure out is that why a rail gun gets its size by the length of the barrel ? This is misleading information. Length overall is more fair to use as comparison basis because we know that a longer the gun the more power advantage it has.
IYA
I think overall size would be a good estimate of power and range with rail guns,riffes and some wooden guns,but some
gun makers add like a foot extention after the trigger mech for a buttrest(jbl,biller).The gun mabe 60" overall but the amount of rubber stretch is alot less than say a 55" riffe.

By the way Iya! The reason I sent you a pm asking where you were is I'm always searching DB for various info on guns and
the like and I kept finding past threads or post you answered
with some great information.Keep up the long post because i'm
reading every line

Miles! Is that the gun you told me you were getting? Very nice
piece of work.Like Sven said "Wood is good".I was think about
wood versus other guns the other day and the euro I want to build would be easier to make and serve it's purpose very well(like all euros)but there is just something about wood .Even though the tree from which the wood came from is dead the gun seems to still be alive with a soul within in it .Definitly a must have for any spearos quiver.Those tunas will be shaking with fear when you get in the water after them.

Stay safe man .

 

[alik]

hey ,miles is that wooden gun better than a c4 carbon?

 

[fuzz]

I have a 55" one made by Sven... wanna trade?

 

[miles]

Hiya

Fuzz, more details please!!!!!!!!!!!

Besides, i do have a few Rabitech's gathering dust here...................................

Regards
miles

 

[fuzz]

Ooooh, that'd get him! His hard work traded for a Euro! rofl

 

[miles]

Think of the headlines:

"Moster Tuna shot with gun built by Uncle Sven!!!!"




ps. I did see a nice looking gun with some PURPLE wood in it, in your collection!!! What is that gun?? Must get me one of those too!!!!


Alik, no comparison between the c4 and the woodie!!! Wood wins hands down!!!! (still like the c4 plenty though, just a bit spoilt with the new found range and POWER of the woodie!!)

miles

 

[uluapoundr]

That dark colored wood gun in Fuzz's pile of guns is a Yokooji Koa Wood enclosed track. This gun was just too beautiful for me to use so it found a new home. Yokooji makes some beautiful koa wood guns.

I use a RA railgun and a Rabitech stealth. I recently went back to my 55" KES enclosed track, and it reminded me of what accuracy and distance this gun has.

 

[miles]

Hiya

Any other nice woodies looking for a good home?? Promise they'd be well looked after, and have an exciting life!!!!

Miles

 

[Deepdown]

Never thought I'd complement another man on his woodie, but here you go, nice woodie Miles!

Rolo, don't get jealous.

Miles is the gun an enclosed track gun? I couldn't see clearly from the pic.

Anyway, dive safe, and keep posting those stories.

Gerald

 

[rigdvr]

Finally someone admits that a mid handle wood gun is easier to swing than a euro Its a sign of the armagedon!rofl

My latest addition is on the way from hawaii and when the sweet teak arrives I will post a pic of the quiver. I did get a aimrite railgun this summer just so I can be well rounded but more times than not you'll have to pry the hybrid from my cold dead body

 

[miles]

Hiya

Rigdvr, i only wish that i had learn't the virtue's of a mid-handled gun earlier!! Being brought up on a diet consisting of the very best railguns around (Rabitech and RA's), has made me a bit narrow minded. Each gun DOES have its place. When hunting yellowtail kingfish, i still reckon my 115cm Rabitech rules supreme. Especially when there is plenty of fish around!! Easy loading (single 20mm) and excellent accuracy counts in its favour. When trophy hunting though, or when specifically going after BIG PELAGICS (30kg+), i doubt whether a mid-handle woodie has any equal!!!!

Besides, wood does look simply GORGEOUS!!!!

Deepdown, no, it isn't an enclosed track. In all honesty, i've never even seen an enclosed track. I understand the principle of the enclosed track allowing plenty of power to be put onto a spear with-out affecting the accuracy too much. Just none available in SA at the moment.

Regards
miles

 

[Deepdown]

Hi Miles,

Let em tell you, the enclosed track makes a huge difference in accuracy, especially when powered up all the way. I just started to experience this myself as I switched from my 120cm RA to a 55" wong magnum hybrid with semi enclosed track. The gun is dead accurate. I used to also use a 60" hybrid w/o the enclosed track, and was missing fish left and right at distance when fully powered up. Now with the shorter gun and enclosed track I'm making longer shots, and haven't missed a fish yet. It's basically a beefed up hybrid, with a thicker stock and balasted properly to handle all the power. Here is a pic of my buddy Emil holding the gun to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Not the best pic, but it shows the enclosed track...