SpudFiles

I was looking through the spudtech archive earlier and i was noticing some distance claims. Most notably, 1400 feet with a concrete filled tennis ball. I think the benchmark for measuring your guns range should be how far you can shoot a potato. I mean these are spud guns and god forbid we shoot spuds . Anyone have any claims on there guns distances? Any tips on getting better distance? Im really trying to break a quarter mile with the launcher im building now. ( BTW How accurate are the external ballistics measurements on GGDT?)

Right now my spud shooting field is a semi busy road haha. I go out at nights when nobody is driving. Living in the suburbs sucks

Spuds usually explode on impact with the ground, making it very difficult to determine how far they travel.

I haven't shot a spud in months now... I never have them around my house, and I don't have a good cannon to shoot them with. In my opinion, 2" barrels are best for spuds. Some people will argue 1.5" is better, but I personally like 2" more (to tell you the truth, I have never shot a spud out of 2" barrels before . However, I do know that 1.5" is too small, and I am pretty sure that I would like 2" better [2.5" is too big]). Hopefully, upon completion of my next cannon, I will be able to verify whether I like 1.5" barrels or 2" barrels for spuds.

End Ramble

i think splatter is good. i always find a nice white skid mark on the ground and its easy to see on the street haha. Also having a spotter out a ways in the distance you are shooting is good too. But be careful, ive caught one in my hat before . I always have those babys around. Theyre cheap, and dont do much damage if you it street lights, cars, or houses. Also, not to keep asking the same question, but has anybody tested how accurate the GGDT distance tool is? Ive calculated the mass of a tater in a 2 in barrel is about 100g.

GGDT is probably fairly close to being correct on its distance estimates. OF course, for the GGDT distance to have any meaning compared to what you are doing you need to be launching the same mass at the same launch angle.

i have very easly broken the quarter mile mark with ths cannon.

http://www.spudfiles.com/spudtech_archi ... hp?t=15811

the reason i havent posted it here on spud files is because i and adding a piston valve and modding the chambers a bit.

hi wrote:i have very easly broken the quarter mile mark with ths cannon.

http://www.spudfiles.com/spudtech_archi ... hp?t=15811

the reason i havent posted it here on spud files is because i and adding a piston valve and modding the chambers a bit.

with a spud? sweet. im hoping my gun will do that and it will be half that size it looks like. BTW can you give some of the particulars of that gun?

Ive gotten over 200m with a beer bottel if that helps? and thats my small cannon by big boy got nearly half a km

Bubba

can you give some of the particulars of that gun?

what do you mean?

the chamber is all sch40 2''. for a while it had a ball valve and that was enough to get spuds 1/4 to 1/2 mile. i found that i could only around 1/2 mile when it was at about 130 psi, which is high because i usually shoot at about 75 to 80 bacause it is redicoulously powerful as it is.

the barrel is 16 feet long and is 1.5'' pvc. i use a compresson union for loading.

i recently put a piston valve on it and it is rediculously powerful, i can honestly say i have no idea how far it shoots because its is impossible to see the spud leave the barrel.

if you want distance, just make a pneumatic with a 10 foot barrel and a big chamber.

edit- about 2'' barrel for taters. i find that 1.5'' is better because you can have a longer barrel and therefore, a higher muzzle volocity. also, 2'' is often to big for taters. i find i almost always have a very loose fit with 2''.

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thats impossible because i have found spuds way farther than that. i now know thats my original 3/4 mile is false, but i know 1/2 is possible.

edit- 55 grams is less than two ounces by the way.

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I always have the problem with spuds that if they're flying well (and therefore further), then they can't be seen. If they're visible, they're flying badly, and therefore not far.
But I do fire from a 20.3mm barrel, so the slugs are pretty small.
The best guess I have is at about 300, maybe 350 yards, for a spud that has flown absolutely properly from a good cannon.

The best maths I have at my disposal can predict a 1/4 mile potential range for my brother's new cannon with spuds, and 1/2 a mile with a steel ball bearing.
But that's going to be hard to check, because we haven't got a 1/2 mile of clear ground around here to try it over.

Of course, many cannons can't shoot spuds (unless you can find spuds that fit 3" or 4" barrels), so trying to measure range with them is useless.

I reckon a system of three possible benchmarks:
-Maximum possible with any ammo.
-Maximum possible with your most common ammo.
-Maximum possible with spuds (if they can be fired).

EDIT: I personally don't like the GGDT distance calculator's accuracy - there's a reason I wrote my own one.

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joanna, could i see your distance calculator?

oh and btw, i measure a spud that was 1.5 diameter after being barrel-cut, it was about 4 inches long and weighed 96 grams. so i used 100 in GGDT.

The <a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/spud_wiki/inde ... s">Wiki</a> doesn't bite.