Rabitech Stealth Carbon Railgun review (By Tim Theunissen, Chairman Wahoo Dive Club, Durban)

I have recently had the pleasure of testing the new carbon railgun manufactured by Rabitech Stealth- South Africa. My personal preference is the 120 cm-length barrel owing to its versatility in hunting both pelagic and reef dwelling species.

The first time I used the gun was for hunting daga salmon (Mulloway) on some of the wrecks just south of Durban. These wrecks lie in depths of 25-33m and provide the ideal hunting ground for salmon where large shoals can congregate. On entering the water, my first impression was the lightness of the carbon barrel. After several dives we found a nice shoal of these illusive fish and ended up boating three ranging from 15-24 kg. The light carbon barrel made tracking the fish under water very easy and the plastic stick-on rail reduced the usual “thlank” sound I’ve come to expect. The comfortable grip and maneuverability made hunting the deeper water an absolute pleasure and the equipment held up to the notorious robustness of this gear busting fish!

I spent the last weekend of August up at Cape Vidal, one of South Africa’s premier gamefish locations. Anything from Spanish mackerel, wahoo, sailfish and even marlin have been speared here. Once again, I put the 120 cm Rabitech Carbon Stealth to the test. Although the fish activity was fairly mediocre owing to cold water and the wrong currents, I did manage to spear a 22 kg Spanish Mackerel on the last day. The fish almost disappeared from sight immediately after it swam up to my flasher. I chased the fish for quite some time, before it made a wide turn angling out to sea. I swung the carbon barrel quickly in its direction and managed a solid mid -body shot. Even after some strong bursts, the spear was still dead straight. I have used a variety of Euro- style spearguns over the years, and must say that I was very impressed by the overall feel, accuracy and lightness of the Rabitech Stealth Carbon.

See also the Apex review.