Arrow ammo

[lockmanslammin]

has anyone tried using an actual arrow with a sabot as ammo?

My gun barrel is 1/2" copper, and if I take an arrow and twist it as I insert it in the barrel the fletchings curl nicely and the arrow slides right in.

I can't test it at high pressure (3 or 400PSI), because I live in town and I haven't got the opportunity to go to the farm lately. I just don't think I should try this experiment in my garage..lol.

I'm thinking it should work pretty well, I was just curious if anyone had tried it?

Lock

[ghostman01]

nope but i have made darts out of a 3" nail and cut up bit of cotton. they go a long way and are fairly accurate

[lockmanslammin]

I just finished making a dart the other night out of about 4 inches or so if 1/8" or bigger music wire, a wire nut, and a little epoxy.

But this isn't really a garage ammo eather...hehe

Lock

[ghostman01]

yeah the 3" nail ones are realy cheap and fast to make

[Ceppu]

My copper QEV launcher has 2 meters long barrel made of 8mm ID copper pipe just for this purpose.

Aluminium crossbow bolts are nice fit in the barrel if you cut off the vanes and add an earplug to the hollow end of a bolt (for airtight fit in the barrel). These actually are quite accurate even without vanes.
(Well, i did not cut off the vanes but used old bolts that were worn out in use and had dropped them already)

The bolts fly a few hundred meters with just a 110 psi pressure. I wonder how far they would fly with like 300 or 400 psi.. just have have to build a pump for it.


..duh, after reading your message and mine again, I realized this had nothing to do with sabots.. Well, I'll share it anyways

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Inspiration?

[lockmanslammin]

..duh, after reading your message and mine again, I realized this had nothing to do with sabots.. Well, I'll share it anyways

Sure it did. you are just using an ear plug as your sabot. That was exactly the kind of response I was looking for.

And JSR, I had totally forgotten about that gun. I seen that stumbling around online quite a while ago. Neat gun.

Lock

[sniper hero]

a little search and I found this
http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid= ... &plindex=0

[Brian the brain]

With a regular qev or piston gun, iamgine you put a piston ( like a permanent sabot) in the barrel.On the muzzle you put a reducer, to go down to the size the arrow will go through.The piston should have a hole in it drilled about halfway from the front, to accept the arrow.

You now have a silent airrow gun.
You will need to vent the barrel to reset the piston, or make it slightly leaky.

Arrows are best made from aluminium tubing ( 8mm) and a bolt as the tip.
You take an oversized bolt, put it in a drill and grind it down to fit the tubing.The tip itself should remain bigger.
Now put the grinded down end in the drill and spin the other side to a point.
To insert sideblades ( ??) put a slit in the bolt lengthwise before you "lathe"it. After the arrowhead is finished , insert a piece of steel plate in the shape you want and superglue it.
I'll add a picture to explain.

[rcman50166]

I've built exactly what you are looking for. I used a 1 ft concrete nail for the body and seven foam core boards for the fins. I used 2 inch foam board layered and cut in half for a sabot and barrel piston. Maybe I can get some pics up... now where are they...

EDIT: Ugh school sucks, can't find a picture on these computers but I have a link showing the design.
http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/viewtop ... tml#159270

[lockmanslammin]

Sniper Hero: That was a cool video, for one reason... It showed that the guy could shoot an arrow through the piece of wood with a barrel that was undersized using a pop bottle as a chamber. Makes me wonder what a 36 inch barrel with 400PSI would do with an arrow..HEHEH >smiles evilly<

BTB: I'm not thinking of making a special gun or barrel for an arrow just using my current cannon
http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/ongoing ... 13286.html

And actually, just using real arrows. They are pretty cheap for the lower end ones. But thanx for the response man. I was looking at your design though and couldn't help but wonder if the sabot wouldn't just shatter the end of the barrel off when it hit it?

RCman: How did your design end up shooting? Looks like a cool idea.

Thanx for the responses everyone

Lock

[THUNDERLORD]

I wanted to reply last night but it was very late.

obviously, 3-400psi will be very powerful. I would love to see damage pics or video .

A sabot with a bigger bore and same size arrow,made from cardboard or thick foam in theory would be better. Kind of like a blow gun dart, they really have incredible power for the pressure behind them.They utilize the volume of pressure rather than the speed(like amperage vs. voltage).so A discarding sabot would work even better.

Haven't checked 1/2" copper yet, but a yellow wire nut made by "Ideal" brand is exactly the same diameter as a aa battery(Ideal brand seem to be the best/most sturdy). also an orange wire nut(Ideal) fits into a standard size 1/2" pvc pipe but I cant remember what schedule pipe. I have been wanting to gather all the info for various uses to post a how to on it but I am working kind of crazy hours now. Anyone can feel free to beat me to it.

You can cut or grind or just put the wire nut in a vice and drill a hole though the back then either epoxy/glue the back of your arrow in(you will need to experiment a little to find the best length( I call mine thunderdarts lol) for your gun.
Also you can put a bolt through the hole drilled in it and run a nut(s) on and sharpen the tip.
If it's unstable try putting the bolt in the other way(if it tumbles).

For even cheaper arrows than stores sell (also been trying to get time to do a how to)Do this:
Get a 3/8" dowel rod(check for the straightest ones), 3/8 althread, 3/8 brass or aluminum tube ( in the hardware store or mostly hobby shops), vanes (best to buy at an archery store, you can buy nocks there if you want a few for bow use) and super glue

1-put the all thread in a vice and grind it to a point.
If you want a broad head heat it red hot and hit it flat then cool it in ice or oil and grind a point with an angle grinder or bench grinder.
Then cut the point off the length of allthread and make another from the same piece over and over.
2- cut a length of brass or aluminum tube about 3/4-1" and you will have to bang it a little onto the dowel of desired arrow length.
Super glue it halfway on the dowel.
Take the point you made with all thread and add super glue and bang it into the brass/alum. tube. the threads hold the glue and work better than smooth rod.
3-Epoxy/super glue the wire nut on the back where the nock would normally go.
If you want to put a nock you can find a large pencil sharpener and sharpen the back to fit in the plastic nock(that way they'll work in a bow or sabot).
4- If you want to add fins/ vanes glue them on. It's best to make a jig to get them straight.Or atleast something to draw them on straight.

If you want to use a discarding sabot try cutting several sheets of corrugated cardboard, glue them together and put a hole through several of them for the arrow to fit into.
For better accuracy,Make another longer one with a hole all the way through and cut it in half so it breaks away from the arrow when fired.

If you make them right, you won't be disappointed. I shot one through a metal shed on accident at far less pressure .So I understand the garage thing ha ha. BTW I'll be waiting for those damage pics at 3-400psi.

[Hotwired]

Inspiration?

I'm amazed it's firing arrows that don't even weigh 20g with the heads attached.

Darts weigh more than that. Some even weigh twice that.

[Brian the brain]

lock wrote:

I was looking at your design though and couldn't help but wonder if the sabot wouldn't just shatter the end of the barrel off when it hit it?

The ones made out of china...yes...

I was assuming cork or rubber or nylon or wood using a bumper...

etc...

[daccel]

Adding to BTB's idea - see attached. I don't see how you could use a sabot and have something stop the piston without separating it like this?