cayman hf 100 / different size bands

[nbk]

Hi all. I recently purchased a cayman hf 100 and used it two days ago. Initial impressions:
1. very light
2. easy to manuever
3. difficult to load with the supplied band ( my chest is a bit sore .. no chest pad)
Overall the gun shot very well but the range seems very limited.( I'm used to metaltech 3s)
I have a 6.75 shaft to replace the 6.5 factory shaft but was wondering can i use the supplied band (i believe a power 18) in conjunction with a 9/16 band. In essence can I use 2 bands of varying diameters on this gun.
Any thoughts?

BTW I modified the metal wishbone on the power 18 band to use dyneema.

 

[Lazuli]

Personally, I'd avoid mounting two different makes, thicknesses or specifications of rubber on an arbalete unless you were really into extreme fine-tuning and experimentation.
You want consistency of power and an even range of power from your band response. Rubbers of different ages and manufacturing processes do behave differently. This could over-power, slow-down, cause wobble etc, etc. All trial and error territory.
Start cutting and tying your own slings/bands to find out which rubber suits your speargun and spearfishing style best. That way you can cut bands from the same batch and at lengths you find work best - not lengths and thicknesses the manufacturer deems will be all things to all spearos. Again (IMHO) OMER power rubber is clunky, tense and heavy and not smooth and snappy off the trigger like some superior quality bulk rubber on the market.

You have a great gun there. Maybe a bit of tweaking and pimping could make all the difference!

Cheers

p.s. congrats on making the switch to dyneema!

 

[strangelove]

I have a couple HF, I've replaced the original band with one 20 mm, also with a 7 mm shaft. The loading gets a little easier with the rubber butt and the extended support.

I would like to hear more input about mixing different bands, my friend in Brazil does all the time, but would be nice to hear more.

I think if you use more then one band, you may want to look into 7 mm shaft.

 

[nbk]

Just came from testing the set up and could not get the second shaft loaded as the 18 is so thick and I was using a 6.75 with low profile sharkfin tabs.The gun shot poorly with the one band.Shot two spanish mackeral but missed 4 more! Good thing is I can spear 1 minute walk from where I live so will probably return to original setup and try again tomorow to learn this new gun.

 

[Fondueset]

These guns have a very good rep - you may want to check over on spearboard - know some divers over there experimented with optimizing the cayman. I believe they may have used two smaller bands - say 16mm.

Getting used to a rear handled gun after the mid-handle MTs is apt to take awhile - aiming techniques are very different.

 

[spaghetti]

For the chest pad, use a towel. My bro in law had a wetsuit with no chest pad, and used to bring a little towel (or tissue) secured to his belt, so when he had to load the gun, he put the towel on his chest. Low-tech as it gets, it worked for him.

Anyway we europeans do not exactly chest load our euro guns. We put the gun butt on the abdominals, just a couple inches above the belt, and load to the first notch of the spear, THEN we lift the gun up to the chest to load the second notch.

Missed shots with a new gun are normal: you've got to get used to it.

Hope this helps. Cayman HF is a good and accurate gun. Enjoy.

 

[nbk]

Thanks. I will try your suggestions.

 

[strangelove]

Did you shot low or high (I wonder).

I think with two bands (I would at least), you need to be shotting a 7mm shaft at least. The setup I have in Brazil is one RA 20 mm band with HH muzzle and 7 mm shaft works really well.

View attachment 24879

View attachment 24880

I will have to say I am deep in love with this gun, it is 90% perfect (with HH muzzle), I just wish for a little more angle on the line release.

 

[nbk]

I returned the gun to the original setup and went fishing again today.Got 4 nice strawberry groupers and a few mackeral.I had to adjust my aim as the gun shoots above where I expect to hit.I have a mako iconic 120 on the way with 7mm spear and two 16 bands. Will report how it shoots as soon as I get it.