A friend of mine, who has been spear fishing since he was 12 in Hawaii, told me which brand of gun to buy. That was over two years ago and with a few modifications my RA has been great.
I really like my 1.3 gun. It is "reasonably" accurate.
I can hit an 8x11 notebook paper at 3 meters 5 times out of 5 attempts.
(Tape-measured spear-tip to target, target: 1m x 1m Maas style floating net, gun “V” benched on a sand bag, clear visibility, no current, protected salt-water marina, glass surface conditions, 74 degrees F., clear and sunny San Diego, etc...). I have tried removed most variables due to human error (no booze) and environment.
There are a ton of RA users out there.
What are your thoughts on the following?
Barrel Plug...My gun never came with a front barrel plug...I tried making a foam plug and added 1"of silicone glue, but it was good until I dove to 50'...I tried shoving a a cane tip down the barrel but it didn't seat correctly. You should have seen me drilling it out! (joy)
Muzzle…. The inside 16” rubber broke (wire-wishbone failure) out in the kelp. Was using 2 16” bands, but had no access to the inside rubber hole. Also, the 2mm mono crimp at the end of the spear, now made smaller, still clips the closed muzzle. What about an open Aimrite-style muzzle? Hell, I put one on in Guam, and it’s the heat. I can now change bands even in the water.
Chatter…when I track a fish, retract the gun, turn to where I think the fish will swim, extend the gun completely while getting my body mass behind the gun, final adjustment, and smooth trigger pull. My point is...I can’t just swing the gun. The mono and line-clip to the bungie bang against the barrel in a "chatter-like" sound. Strong current whoa...makes it worse. I enclosed the clip in small vinyl tubing, (similar to the spear tip protector), and applied several layers of duct-tape down the length of the barrel to keep it from chattering and scaring the fish.
Safety…sure you heard this one before. In the first month of use, the safety develops a mind of its own. It doesn’t stay “on” when you need it to, and then, it mysteriously slides “on” when lining up on final approach to fire. I have heard of people just ripping the safety out with pliers. Ok, I guess if you’re in the “I don’t trust a safety anyway club”, but troublesome if you are trying to sell the idea that RA guns are the heat to a new or an experienced spearo.
Wire wishbones... fray too quickly, look unsafe with little wear and I just got plain tired of lancing my skin. I had my own experience when the wire gave way, ripped the glove. Fortunately, 10 fingers and no blood. Why not sell the gun with Omer-style wishbone that a guy can just tie in another piece of dyneema. This could even be done in the water. I am a big advocate of “methodically placing”, not “slide-scraping” the wishbone into the notch. I eventually filed/polished the loading notches in all my spears.
Shark-fin tabs…love ‘em. It preserves the life of my Dyneema wishbone. They even come with a sissy tab for that end of the day load or a possible low-power, one-band fish-in-the-hole shot. I don’t think I’d have tried this unless I went with an open muzzle.
A small, square loading pad...looks like a nice feature to newbie potential gun buyers, and a few others. If you could remove it and still have a redesignedbetter “non-slip area” to load with, it would be great. Most all the other gun manufacturers have them.
Front stabilizer? You guys experiment with these? I’m not an accuracy freak but a fifth of J.D. got me wondering... lot of people use them, but I've never seen one on a pipe-gun.
RA enclosed track? RA Mid-handle? I gotta quit drinking.
It would be a hoot to hear from other RA spearos,
What works, what dosn't, & thought on the above...
I really like my 1.3 gun. It is "reasonably" accurate.
I can hit an 8x11 notebook paper at 3 meters 5 times out of 5 attempts.
(Tape-measured spear-tip to target, target: 1m x 1m Maas style floating net, gun “V” benched on a sand bag, clear visibility, no current, protected salt-water marina, glass surface conditions, 74 degrees F., clear and sunny San Diego, etc...). I have tried removed most variables due to human error (no booze) and environment.
There are a ton of RA users out there.
What are your thoughts on the following?
Barrel Plug...My gun never came with a front barrel plug...I tried making a foam plug and added 1"of silicone glue, but it was good until I dove to 50'...I tried shoving a a cane tip down the barrel but it didn't seat correctly. You should have seen me drilling it out! (joy)
Muzzle…. The inside 16” rubber broke (wire-wishbone failure) out in the kelp. Was using 2 16” bands, but had no access to the inside rubber hole. Also, the 2mm mono crimp at the end of the spear, now made smaller, still clips the closed muzzle. What about an open Aimrite-style muzzle? Hell, I put one on in Guam, and it’s the heat. I can now change bands even in the water.
Chatter…when I track a fish, retract the gun, turn to where I think the fish will swim, extend the gun completely while getting my body mass behind the gun, final adjustment, and smooth trigger pull. My point is...I can’t just swing the gun. The mono and line-clip to the bungie bang against the barrel in a "chatter-like" sound. Strong current whoa...makes it worse. I enclosed the clip in small vinyl tubing, (similar to the spear tip protector), and applied several layers of duct-tape down the length of the barrel to keep it from chattering and scaring the fish.
Safety…sure you heard this one before. In the first month of use, the safety develops a mind of its own. It doesn’t stay “on” when you need it to, and then, it mysteriously slides “on” when lining up on final approach to fire. I have heard of people just ripping the safety out with pliers. Ok, I guess if you’re in the “I don’t trust a safety anyway club”, but troublesome if you are trying to sell the idea that RA guns are the heat to a new or an experienced spearo.
Wire wishbones... fray too quickly, look unsafe with little wear and I just got plain tired of lancing my skin. I had my own experience when the wire gave way, ripped the glove. Fortunately, 10 fingers and no blood. Why not sell the gun with Omer-style wishbone that a guy can just tie in another piece of dyneema. This could even be done in the water. I am a big advocate of “methodically placing”, not “slide-scraping” the wishbone into the notch. I eventually filed/polished the loading notches in all my spears.
Shark-fin tabs…love ‘em. It preserves the life of my Dyneema wishbone. They even come with a sissy tab for that end of the day load or a possible low-power, one-band fish-in-the-hole shot. I don’t think I’d have tried this unless I went with an open muzzle.
A small, square loading pad...looks like a nice feature to newbie potential gun buyers, and a few others. If you could remove it and still have a redesignedbetter “non-slip area” to load with, it would be great. Most all the other gun manufacturers have them.
Front stabilizer? You guys experiment with these? I’m not an accuracy freak but a fifth of J.D. got me wondering... lot of people use them, but I've never seen one on a pipe-gun.
RA enclosed track? RA Mid-handle? I gotta quit drinking.
It would be a hoot to hear from other RA spearos,
What works, what dosn't, & thought on the above...
