nail dart thing

[boar]

ok i had to try this nail dart thing so i had a 3/8 ball valve and a few fittings whiped up a nail dart with a duct tape cone i used 1/2 emt for the bbl breech loaded it aired it up to 100 psi the tank was 24" if 1/2" pipe shot it into 3/4" plywood at about 10' it stuck deep the cone held together and i was able to get several more shots out of it b4 i tried long range out of those shots none went all the way through the plywood i tried up to 140 psi as thats all my little compresser had left in it it was too dark to try the chrony but with all the things wrong with it i was still impressed the valve is too small too much head space hand acctivated etc i hope to try it again soon with some of those things eleminated

Boar

[Forum Admin]

sounds like you've been bitten by the bug. earlier, I remembered seeing where someone used wire nuts as the cone. I have a bunch of spare ones and found several that fit 1/2" type L copper pipe very nicely. I have yet to put a nail through one and give it a shot though. They fly out pretty hard when using just a breath of air behind them, so they might work as well. Another guy uses the nozzles off adhesives, like the ones used with a caulking gun. Those would make nice long taper cones as well...

[boar]

i got off work a bit early today got to shoot this thing in daylight still has lots of stuff wrong with it but at 20 yds it was zippin darts fast and flat was only gettin 3/8 to 1/2" penetration also took a shot at long range no target just out in the field with a little elevation i think i could hit targets at near 100 yds maybe not great and maybe not with enough power to do damage but hit and maybe stick had so much fun shooting it i for got to pull out the chrony all these shots were 100 to 120 psi with a 8 or 10 inch resivor

Boar

[Forum Admin]

Sounds like you had fun. Once you work out the kinks, it would be cool to shoot darts at 100 yards and get them to stick into a board. I think with the right setup darts could even be used to take game at that range...  Looking forward to seeing chronograph numbers, it has been between 10 and 15 degrees outside and I'm in charge of the store the next couple weeks to boot, so I've not been able to get much airgun time in myself. Guess you'll have to carry the torch.

[boar]

ok i got to play again today i tried some diff size chambers  they made a little diffrence but not much then i tried a longer bbl that got me from 220 at 140 psi to 280 at 130 psi then all that was left to try was the 3/4 ball valve spring activated i didnt realy have the exact fittings that i needed so i kinda cheated it together made for excesive headspace but with the 5' bbl i hit 404 fps @120 psi with the 27" bbl it was 358 @120 psi now thats more like it i had some more test in mind but i broke my cheated adapter so off to the herdware store maybe i can get the headspace down too
btw i found that 260 fps almost puts the dart allthe way through 3/4" plywood 270 fps sticks about 3/16" out the other side 400 fps burries the nail to the head and ruins the dart this is at about 20 ft

Boar

[boar]

got some fittings at the hardware store this evening and put it together nearly no head space its a bolt action the bbl slides fwd for loading it still needs another valve and a storage tank for multiple shots also its a pain to cock the ball valve and spring its duct taped to a peice of plywood for a stock that is there mostly just to have a place for the spring mount its too dark for the chrony but it ruins darts shot at 3/4 plywood 20 feet away burries em to the head hmm i wonder if i could nail 2 pcs together cant wait till tommarrow git to do some more shooting maybe try a smaller chamber

Boar

[boar]

oh man its dark and drizzly no crony today unless it clears up a bit did ruin a couple of darts shooting ply still need to see if i can nail 2 sheets together

Boar

[Forum Admin]

sounds like we ordered the same weather today. I'm hoping tomorrow will be nice enough to continue my QEV vs ball valve experiments. 

[boar]

ok it is doable i can nail 2 pcs of 3/4 plywood together from 20 ft away

Boar

[boar]

ok i put a much smaller chamber on it today it only shot 295 lost just about 100fps so i think small than i had but bigger than this woll be about optimal it sure does fill fast now though

boar

[boar]

man my typing is bad

Boar

[BoyntonStu]

ok i put a much smaller chamber on it today it only shot 295 lost just about 100fps so i think small than i had but bigger than this woll be about optimal it sure does fill fast now though

boar

What size chamber and barrel?

[boar]

the barrell is 5/8 id or real close to it the chamber is 3/4 x4" long the old chamber was 3/4x 12"
Boar

[BoyntonStu]

the barrell is 5/8 id or real close to it the chamber is 3/4 x4" long the old chamber was 3/4x 12"
Boar

I am using 3/4 x 13 for the chamber.

3/4 x 38 for the barrel.

[boar]

i wanna try a 3/4  or 1" barrel i think there is some potential going larger bore with the low pressure

Boar