Rabi 1.4m carbon too ligh for bluewater hunting?

[marginatus]

I have a friend that is considering to buy that speargun. Ihave one but i have used it only twice and still can´t give an solid opinion.
His doubts are related to other spearos opinions that say the a 1.4m carbon gun is too light and the shots won´t be accurate and that alu would be better. Until now i don't have that idea from my rabi (and with a 8mm spear).

Could some of you give some input on this?

thanks

FErnando

 

[Marwan]

"problem with alu, is that it might not be as stiff as carbon, so when you are shooting big fish and generally have a powerful band setup (2x16 or 2x 18) maybe the alu would be more prone to barrel flex (probabaly not with 2x16s though, i would expect most alu's to handle that)...just my 2 cents

 

[marginatus]

Do you find a lot of recoil wiht a 2x18 on a carbon barel?

 

[Marwan]

never tried twin 18's

 

[miles]

Hiya

Marwan is spot on. The Allum. barrel does flex in almost all guns that are 130-140cm in length. The carbon barrel is definitely recommended in those lengths.

I shoot a 130cm Rabitech Carbon Apex and a 150cm RA Carbon Vecta and they both are pretty accurate. I've never bothered much with the whole barrel flexing issue, my philosophy is simple: if the gun shoots where i aim it, who cares whether the barrel flex's or not??

My favourite set-up is my 130 Rabitech Carbon Apex with 2x16mm bands and a 8mm SS Spear (actually 7.9mm). Works VERY well on that gun. The only downside is that the muzzle on the Rabitech is a bit small, so you have to wiggle the spear and crimp to get it back through the muzzle when reloading. Not much of a problem though. Better choice would be their new open muzzle, which works quite well!!

A 1.4m Rabi carbon will definitely work for BW hunting. Just be cautious with the length though. The longer the gun, the more difficult it is to track with. I've found my 150cm RA to be too long to track fish with. For me, a 130cm railgun seems the best compromise, good manouverability and power. Haven't shot a 140cm railgun yet, so i can't comment on it. Still waiting for my 140cm railgun to arrive.....................

Regards
miles

 

[Seal]

I have the 140 Rob Allen Carbon Turbo Railgun (what a name) with 2x18 bands.

It tracks pretty slow, but then again i often use two hands for the initial track. As for recoil, theres not much imo. No more than a 90 with 2x20 for example. It's a sweet gun : )

 

[Camona]

Yes, about the barrel flexing theres no dout that carbon fiber is way better (harder composite, greater density, etc etc) , dispite the fact that RA garanties that theres no flexion on their alum barrels.

The question is, carbon fiber is mutch lighter then alum, there for with the same setup of spear and rubbers for the same sizes of berrel, the one with less mass or molecular weight ("lighter") like carbon, and with the same energie of shoot (because of the same size of rubbers) will result in a greater "displacement" or movent beetween barrel and spear in opposing directions (3rd Newton law). This will increase the vertical component of the resulting movements, by the laws of fisics.......
In uther words it will have a greater reacoil theoreticly speaking, making the shot go less accurate.
Picasso solved this problem by adding wieght (variable led) to the muzzle
This is all theoreticly speaking, all on paper ))

The question is..... on field testing, in the water shooting fish, lets take for instace the 130 carbon , and a 130 alum (witch seems to be the most popular measure), did the people who shot bouth, or with similar measures (+- 10 cm beetween barrels tops), foud significant recoil diferences beetween aluminum and carbon therefor affecting its accuracy in more distant shots?

Another question, is the RA carbon barrel in longer versions (140,150) as thick as the rabitech barrel, 2 mm rienforced with rings?

Thanks, guys hope i get some answers
good hunting

 

[Rob Allen]

Hi Camona,

Sorry to answer so later, only saw this now.

Just to put you in the picture if it is not to late, our carbon barrels are all the same in terms of thickness/dimensions. This is because they are manufactured by being pulled through a die at great pressure. The system is called "pull trusion." It allows a much higher and well controlled fibre to resin ratio. It is pulled at 3,5 to 4 tons of force, this makes it 30% lighter and 30% stronger than hand laid up tubes such as paddle shafts etc. Also, our internal dimensions are larger than euro barrels, giving more strength.

We don't need to put supports on the ends of our tubes because we have sufficient hoop strength as some of the fibres are wound around the straight fibres while they are being pulled through.

Yes the tube itsself is lighter than aluminium but we do fit lead in the muzzle where it is most needed. This can be varied pending on the gun length and or set up.

Regards,
Rob Allen.