Shorter Shafts....an Over hit

[ihab]

Just gathering some opinions.

I hunt mostly reef.....and as common...when I miss the fish......I hit the reef & the point of the shaft eventually will need sharpening every so often.

After a couple of times of sharpening the tip of the spear...the whole spear starts to get a bit shorter.....in comparison to its original size.

This is when trouble begins.

I've noticed that when firing the sharpened spear (shorter spear)...the spear has an "over hit"....i.e., it tends to hit a little bit above the target intended.

Did this happen to anyone.........Am I making sense.

If so, would you say that the shaft in this case has more power thus the over hit !

Thanks for your comments !

 

[Coral Sniper]

What size shaft do you use if its 8mm I can understand but the thinner shafts dont really need that much sharpening because they dont have as much spear smashing momentum,you can also power down or shoot at a different angle. About the short shaft,I find that they are hard to aim with. I prefer extra long shafts.

 

[Marwan]

Ihab,
Stop making excuses for missing your shots when you hot rocks with the tip it gets kind of dull, use a simple file (i use the one on my swiss knife), file in one direction towards the spear tip and rotate the spear as you do it to ensure its even all around. I never felt it shortened the spear or had effects on accuracy, theoretically its not the same as brands new, but i dont think to the extent that it misses shots...

 

[ihab]

Hi Marwan; I'm still in search of the elusive bongos:friday

The spear I'm using is an RA, 7mm about 140 cm long....with a single 20mm rubber & 100 cm RA gun....otherwise known as the "Canon" in my book.

By time ....and after sharpening the sepear a couple of times, it looses from 2-4 cm in lenghth....that's when the trouble begins.....or maybe just my imagaination.

Still, I have a strong feeling, the shortened shaft due to sharpening gives an over hit....Let's hear more from this.

Cheers

Ihab,
Stop making excuses for missing your shots when you hot rocks with the tip it gets kind of dull, use a simple file (i use the one on my swiss knife), file in one direction towards the spear tip and rotate the spear as you do it to ensure its even all around. I never felt it shortened the spear or had effects on accuracy, theoretically its not the same as brands new, but i dont think to the extent that it misses shots...

 

[Huw]

I've thought abotu this a few times now... why are shafts so long? I would have thought that there would have been at least one long (90cm) gun that had a shaft around 30cm long, is there ant reason that it wouldnt work? Im sure it would make handling shot fish alot simpler? Any techs out there that know an answer?
It's probably a stupid question, but i have just wondered about it a couple of times

Huw

 

[Marwan]

2-4 cm in length sounds waaaayyyyy too much for shaprening loss, what are you using?

 

[Marwan]

looks like my water activities will now be confined to internet opinions oooohhhh the price of parenting

 

[ihab]

The spears are sharpened maybe 10 times+ before they loose 2-4 cm.
And Marwan...stick to baby sitting for a while....!

2-4 cm in length sounds waaaayyyyy too much for shaprening loss, what are you using?

 

[Ron S]

I have a couple shafts for my 75cm gun that I've actually removed the barb from and shortened by two or more inches. (5cm+) I have seen no loss in accuracy with these shorter shafts, and they don't shoot high. However, if you use the tip of the spear to aim with, shortening the spear will raise your point of aim, causing you to shoot high. Does sound like you've taken off a lot of metal in sharpening though...
Ron.

 

[fogish]

Huw here are my uninformed ideas on your question. I would think the shorter shaft would be less accurate, especially at a longer distance. You are also going to lose penetration - 1/3 the length would be 1/3 the mass (if made from same materials and same diameter) so it would have less momentum. The best way to know for sure is to take one of your old shafts and turn it into a makeshift 30 cm shaft and see for yourself.

I would think it would be good for shooting anything at close quarters (cracks or small caves?) and easier to handle, but again you would lose accuracy at a distance as well as penetration. Maybe consult a local archer about different shaft lengths and how they effect accuracy.

One good thing is it would be fired slightly faster since it weighs less and would have less drag since there is less linear surface in contact with the water. I am fairly sure that this would not compensate for the loss in weight to equal the momentum of the 90 cm shaft.

Anyone who really knows anything about this subject please correct me, maybe Mark Labocceta or someone who has been a spear fisher for 10 years, maybe a physicist.

One reason I can think of that a shaft would be inaccurate after grinding off 2-4 cm is if the point is really off center. Other than that something pointed out above, using the point of the shaft to aim off of and not compensating for a shorter shaft. Is the shaft bent after repeated shots into the reef (I know that is less likely but something to look at)?

I've thought abotu this a few times now... why are shafts so long? I would have thought that there would have been at least one long (90cm) gun that had a shaft around 30cm long, is there ant reason that it wouldnt work? Im sure it would make handling shot fish alot simpler? Any techs out there that know an answer?
It's probably a stupid question, but i have just wondered about it a couple of times

Huw

 

[ihab]

No, the shaft itself is not bent....but still I get the over hit..

Funny thing is, if I'm firing from the top towards the bottom...it is accuarte....but firing straight ahead or slightly downwards....it get's this over hit.

Does this make sense

Huw here are my uninformed ideas on your question. I would think the shorter shaft would be less accurate, especially at a longer distance. You are also going to lose penetration - 1/3 the length would be 1/3 the mass (if made from same materials and same diameter) so it would have less momentum. The best way to know for sure is to take one of your old shafts and turn it into a makeshift 30 cm shaft and see for yourself.

I would think it would be good for shooting anything at close quarters (cracks or small caves?) and easier to handle, but again you would lose accuracy at a distance as well as penetration. Maybe consult a local archer about different shaft lengths and how they effect accuracy.

One good thing is it would be fired slightly faster since it weighs less and would have less drag since there is less linear surface in contact with the water. I am fairly sure that this would not compensate for the loss in weight to equal the momentum of the 90 cm shaft.

Anyone who really knows anything about this subject please correct me, maybe Mark Labocceta or someone who has been a spear fisher for 10 years, maybe a physicist.

One reason I can think of that a shaft would be inaccurate after grinding off 2-4 cm is if the point is really off center. Other than that something pointed out above, using the point of the shaft to aim off of and not compensating for a shorter shaft. Is the shaft bent after repeated shots into the reef (I know that is less likely but something to look at)?