About Railguns

At Sumora our primary focus is on selling railguns. We believe that railguns offer the ultimate spearfishing experience. There are alternative diving suppliers with a larger product range, but we don’t try to be all things to all divers. Rather we have focused on the area where we can add the most value, and that area is the speargun railgun technology.

So what is so special about railguns?

Railguns are one of the most recent developments in speargun and spearfishing evolution, but the concept behind a railgun is relatively intuitive. Railguns are unique in that they have a protruded "rail" incorporated into the gun barrel for the full length of the shaft. This rail supports and guides the fired spear the full length of the barrel with the result that the spear sits in the rail throughout launch and is less susceptible to “spear-whip.” Moreover, because it slides on a very thin film of water through this process, the spear is released with greater power and accuracy.

The spear on a gun without a rail will sag between the handle and muzzle. To accommodate for this, the gun is usually fitted with a longer spear which prevents the spear sagging and from shooting high.  By fitting a gun with a rail, the sag effect is eliminated, and this allows the diver to use a shorter spear. There are numerous advantages of this with the two main ones being enhanced accuracy and longer spear life as a shorter spear is harder to bend.

Not only does the rail add spear accuracy and launch speed, but because the barrel is thicker-walled and has a slightly bigger diameter, a railgun reduces another source of inaccuracy called “barrel flex.”

The net result is that a railgun offers the spearfisherman a weapon that is more powerful, maneuverable, easier to load and more efficient than alternate speargun models. But perhaps it’s greatest strength lies in its simplicity. “The less that there is to go wrong, the less there is that will go wrong.” The railgun is durable and many South African divers have been using the same Rob Allen gun for over 10 years of demanding diving.

At Sumora, we either offer two types of barrels:

  • Aircraft Grade Aluminum Barrels for increased strength and stiffness, enabling stronger rubbers to be used in longer lengths without “barrel flexing”
  • Carbon Barrels. These consist of vacuum molded woven carbon that are unsurpassed in rigidity, and strength. The result is a neutrally buoyant, stiff and tough speargun that combines clinical accuracy with ease of underwater handling.  These guns are remarkably light in the water, enabling the spearfisherman to relax in the water and consequently reach far greater depths in the hunt for a wide range of target species. And this carbon is very strong witness 200 lb Nico jumping on the Rob Allen Carbon Barrel. (Video Curtesty of Dive Factory, Durban South Africa) 

Railguns come with various options that we will be happy to discuss with you. Broadly speaking, we offer single or double rubber muzzles, and also a wide range of lengths and configurations.

To see which railgun is appropriate for you, please consult our Railgun Chart.

To read more about railguns please see our Railgun FAQ section.