TargetTalk

Looking through Rapid Fire photos and saw some photos of Ralf Schumann.

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news ... popup=true

The weight system on the end of his pistol looks quite large. There is a modern version called the EVO-4 that the Italian team uses.

https://www.hst-systeme.com/evo-4

How much do these systems weigh? I know there is an optimal weight balance that has been discussed on forum before but this system seems to take a different approach.

More curious about the science as the EVO has a bit of a price tag on it.

TIA,

Ted

The weight of the Evo-4 is less than the weight of the standard 6 x tungsten weights - sorry don't have scales to be precise.

EVO-4 412g
Pardini with 6 tungsten weights 438g
not a lot in it really...

I have a shooting colleague who borrowed one of these Schumann RF barrels. He took it apart but there didn't seem to be anything magical about it. No special weights and springs - nothing! Difficult to determine what makes it worth the money.

Bob

Bob,
any photos?

Thank you for the info. I am also curious on the internals. I thought there would be something fancy lurking inside for the price.

I've asked my colleague who knows more than I about these barrels if he can chip in.

Bob

My colleague appears reluctant to post to the forum but has given me the following to pass on.

"My colleague, who has used a version of the Schumann barrel, said it is very clever in how it truncates the recoil potentially leaving more time for seeing the sights. In Australia we first saw it around 2011 when Schumann competed in a World Cup match. Video showed that the recoil seemed different.
The Schumann modification seems to compress the recoil so that it is over very quickly but the shock is not as smooth as with the normal barrel, though that is not a problem. The sights do not move quite as far to the left (right handed shooter) compared to the Pardini rapid fire barrel, so the impression is that the normal barrel seems to have flow from target to target. The Schumann barrel requires a slight change in technique. You have to move the pistol between targets a little more than when using the normal rapid fire barrel. It is good if you don’t mind adjusting your traverse technique and are comfortable with the abruptness of the recoil. It is a development worth evaluating."

Going on my colleagues description of the recoil of the Schumann barrel it is likely that Schumann is using some sort of means to shorten the recoil and this probably involves springs possibly under tension, meaning they cannot move much as that would likely extend the recoil, but that is a educated guess. I would add that it seems that the barrel itself is an SP barrel and not an RF barrel.

I might also add that my colleague knows of what he speaks - he was one point away from being sent to Mexico by the Australian OC in 1968 to shoot in the RF event and still shoots a pretty reasonable score today.

I'm sorry that this is not more definitive but it is how the device behaves which is important, not necessarily how it does it.

Bob

My colleague has just pointed out that one has to supply one's own barrel for the Schumann/Evo-4 shroud and the one he tried had a standard (SP) barrel fitted. He'd be interested to hear of any experience using the same rig but with an RF barrel.

Bob