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Old 02-22-2017, 02:52 PM   #1
spearq8
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Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

Finally got around editing the video for this test. Nothing new here, gun performed really well ... very compact, very powerful and very accurate. Water was very murky but still managed to go through the test.

I did modify the handle as I just can't shoot any gun anymore with normal handles! It just makes shooting much more pleasant and I don't have to worry about Left Shift. I know that there is a new handle for the Abellan and I hope to get one soon to try out. I also put a Carbon Fiber skin as I had the vacuum pump out for the Albacore skinning and figured might as well skin this one too! The CF skin does not affect performance but it sure makes the speargun bullet proof and able to take much more abuse on a boat. I used the default Hunt 8mm shaft ... but this time the shaft had the fins at the absolute max. I really didn't like that as that last 1cm is all about leverage and was quite difficult to get the back band in, if you are abdomen loading. Of course you can always chest load ... but I don't like that. I actually prefer the older Hunt shafts with the fin a tiny bit more forward. There is a new thicker pad for the Abellan ... maybe adds that extra 1cm ... I have one on order so let's see.

The gun is very compact and it is about 7 or 8 cm shorter than the Pathos Sniper 125 that I tested with the same shaft. I couldn't help but think that there was easily 5 cm lost space which would have still kept the gun around the 120 size. The shaft overhang can easily take 5cm and you would still have 3cm extra for flopper to clear the muzzle. I think with an 8mm shaft, the 5cm extra would push the shaft to Terminal Velocity ... but maybe that is being really finicky. I really wanted to test a good 7.5mm shaft as I think it would do really well, but I just don't have a good quality 7.5mm shaft. Gun is ridiculously easy to shoot accurately, just like all the Abellans. Have to like a gun that shoots perfect right out of the box. If I had to choose only one gun that I could keep ... it would have to be this one.

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Old 02-22-2017, 03:18 PM   #2
Castronova
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

I've been using this gun about 2 years now I think. I've said the same thing to a few people, if I could pick only one gun to use everywhere for every fish it would be the Denton 120. Easy to load, enjoyable to shoot, small enough and big enough. Really a great package out of the box.
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Old 02-22-2017, 04:20 PM   #3
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

Majd is that the Denton 110 or Denton 120 with the new naming? I know Abellan recently changed their model names where the old Denton 120 is now called the Denton 110.

Edit: must be the new Denton 120 if shooting 160cm shafts with 132cm band stretch.
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Old 02-23-2017, 04:50 AM   #4
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

Yes this is now called the Denton 120 ... with 132cm band stretch. I think the perfect shaft for this length of gun would be a 155cm shaft. I just feel there is too much wasted shaft overhang. Of course I would prefer a 5cm or 6cm longer gun as that would come in handy with the heavier 8mm shafts. If you look at the Pathos Sniper 125 ... that gun actually needs a 165cm shaft as some floppers would sit on the track. Of course I don't let the flopper sit on the track and will let it hang ... but a 160cm shaft is slightly too short for that gun ... yet it is too long IMHO for the Denton 120.
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Old 02-23-2017, 09:18 PM   #5
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

Good grouping but surprising amount of drop over that distance
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Old 02-23-2017, 11:45 PM   #6
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

When water is murky, I can't see the target well so I tend to aim a little lower ... so shots should be about an inch higher. I would pay more attention to the shaft drop difference between 5m and 6m ... and that is more than I would have liked. My feeling is that the gun would be better setup with a 155cm shaft if you wanted to go 8mm ... or just give the gun an extra 5cm of band stretch. An 8mm shaft is a pretty heavy shaft and for two bands would probably need close to 135cm to 140cm band stretch on both bands to reach Terminal Velocity ... this gun had about 132cm on the long band. Of course you could also go 7.5mm and that would most likely flatten the trajectory as the 7.5mm for sure would be @ TV. Now I will put my helmet on as all the guys that shoot the 120 with 8mm shaft and are happy with it are going to get upset. In the end you need to choose the setup that best suits your needs. If hunting large fish at close range, the punching power is more important than a little gain in trajectory. Personally I prefer flat shooting as I hunt clear water.

On another note ... On the day of the Pathos Sniper test I did try a few shots with this gun with 14.6mm small ID bands at the same stretch ... and somehow I got higher penetration (about half a palm more). I didn't feel it was enough of an increase to warrant a new accuracy test and doubt it would change things that much. Maybe the Default setup with the 15mm small ID bands is not optimal and there might be a small performance gain with the 14.6mm bands. Generally speaking if you get higher penetration that means you have higher shaft velocity ... and thus flatter shooting. Here is the Penetration Test I did a few days ago with the 14.6mm bands. I did the test twice as the first shot seemed like it was in a crowded area and might give a false result ... but both shots had identical penetration.

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Old 02-24-2017, 05:54 AM   #7
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

To me, this last post is the most valuable information and crucial to tuning bands for a particular shaft on any gun. Amazing that it can be broken down to fractions of a mm and still see gains.
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Old 05-31-2017, 03:05 AM   #8
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

Majd, just wondering what you ended up doing to keep the shooting line to the side of the bands on your Denton?
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Old 05-31-2017, 05:49 AM   #9
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

Nothing yet but I have a few very good ideas. The thing is that we have to make sure that the line unraveling iis done with minimal loss of shaft velocity and not allowing any snags.as possible
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Old 03-20-2018, 08:54 PM   #10
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

Hi Majd, I have some of the blue 14.6 small id rubber to make bands for my 120 Denton i bought recently. I'm going to try them with a Hunt 155cm 7.5 shaft. Did you just cut the blue bands in the video to the same length as the Cressi bands that come with the gun? If not what length did you cut them to? Thanks
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Old 03-21-2018, 11:42 PM   #11
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

I don't remember what the Cressi bands cut length were, but really the cut length is just an estimate as band shore hardness varies from batch to batch (similar to band thickness). For a 7.5mm shaft and 14.6mm bands just cut 360% and it should work really well. For this gun the 7.5mm shaft actually had better performance than an 8mm shaft as only 2 bands are being used. It shot much flatter with very high penetration even at the end of two wraps.
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Old 03-22-2018, 02:24 AM   #12
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

Quote:
Originally Posted by spearq8 View Post
I don't remember what the Cressi bands cut length were, but really the cut length is just an estimate as band shore hardness varies from batch to batch (similar to band thickness). For a 7.5mm shaft and 14.6mm bands just cut 360% and it should work really well. For this gun the 7.5mm shaft actually had better performance than an 8mm shaft as only 2 bands are being used. It shot much flatter with very high penetration even at the end of two wraps.
Thanks that's a good start, just one more question . When making your bands, what would be the usual distance from the constrictor knot on the end of the band to the bend in the dyneema in the centre of the bridal ? I'm assuming the 360% is only taking into account the part of the band that's expanding, is not the bridal or 1cm or so of rubber beyond the constrictor knot.

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Old 03-22-2018, 08:03 AM   #13
brandon cadalzo
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Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

Quote:
Originally Posted by spearq8 View Post
I don't remember what the Cressi bands cut length were, but really the cut length is just an estimate as band shore hardness varies from batch to batch (similar to band thickness). For a 7.5mm shaft and 14.6mm bands just cut 360% and it should work really well. For this gun the 7.5mm shaft actually had better performance than an 8mm shaft as only 2 bands are being used. It shot much flatter with very high penetration even at the end of two wraps.

Did the 7.5 pass the tuna test? Also did you use a 160 or 155 7.5mm? Thanks in advance. I’m just wondering what your thoughts are because I’m debating getting one. I have an 8x160 on my 120 now with 15mm bands at 380%.


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Last edited by brandon cadalzo; 03-24-2018 at 08:25 AM.
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Old 03-24-2018, 09:04 AM   #14
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

I love 7.5 shafts on most my 120ish size guns! Great balance of speed, mass and recoil!
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Old 03-24-2018, 01:05 PM   #15
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Re: Abellan Denton 120_2017 Test

I’m just wondering if a 7.5mm x 160 shaft could pass through a tuna with the same or better performance than a 8mm shaft given the same range in spearq8’s video. I do like how the 7.5 shaft offers a much flatter trajectory towards the end of 2 wraps.


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