High precision nail darts?

[BoyntonStu]

I finally got my shock pump and now I can test those darts with consistent pressure. Until now it was pretty much a wild guess with a bad gauge on my larger pump.
I tried pumping the M4 with it and it takes about 160 strokes with the shock pump alone. If I use 2 pumps, it takes 6 strokes with the larger pump to 13.5 bar and then 85 strokes with the shock pump. I'm very pleased with this cause it almost cuts the number of strokes in half  

I'm very pleased with this cause it almost cuts the number of strokes in half  

Just the opposite is desired for ********.

****Modded**** LOL - there are some young people on the forum, Stu. 

[FighterAce]

Some words of wisdom there Stu, you must have a lot of experience  lol

I tried shooting with "more consistent pressure" but I dont see a big grouping improvement. I'm gonna get some more pvc pipes soon and I'll cut out a piece for a new barrel witch will be 70cm long. I'm hoping the 20cm increase will make a difference.
And Stu... this time dont relate barrel size to.. ehem 

[BoyntonStu]

Some words of wisdom there Stu, you must have a lot of experience   lol

I tried shooting with "more consistent pressure" but I dont see a big grouping improvement. I'm gonna get some more pvc pipes soon and I'll cut out a piece for a new barrel witch will be 70cm long. I'm hoping the 20cm increase will make a difference.
And Stu... this time dont relate barrel size to.. ehem  

Quoting the Bible:

Psalm 16:11

"... at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (King James Version)

"... In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." (New American Standard)

[Forum Admin]

I'm never going to see that verse the same again. 

[josephlys]

So whats the conclusion on the fins/fletching on the naildart. Does it really improve accuracy? Should i go for it.

[FighterAce]

I think not. They dont always point the same way and can make each individual dart turn in different direction.
I pretty much stopped testing fins because I know I can make them consistently but they refuse to stay that way.

We should look more into centering the dart inside the barrel and separating center of pressure and center of gravity as far as possible. A longer barrel on my part too 

[FighterAce]

So I got the heavy profile bolt installed on the M4 along with a longer barrel. I also put in a longer 1/2 connector between the 2 valves. Now I get 7-8 shots  at 30 bar before needing to refill 

I made some more paper darts yesterday and shot a group a few mins ago.
I must say I'm stunned by the results. I took all of the shots off 1 fill so the pressure was inconsistent measuring from 30 to 10 bar. All shots were taken at 12 meters, standing. The 2 nails with ripped off paper are from my last zeroing, I couldnt find a mallet to get em out so I just ripped the paper to mark them.



Less then 5cm group right there!

My red dot seems to shoot a bit low/left or maybe I was holding the gun too firmly 
Anyways... I think my next gun that will be a sniper rifle, with 80 cm barrel, full length bolt and a consistent opening valve will yield even better results. The conclusion is... my darts are good enough, its just that my rifle wasnt. I should work on separating center of gravity and pressure a bit more tough, they seem to land at a slight angle.

[josephlys]

Thats some good accuracy for paper darts. So I guess paper darts still have a fighting chance after all. Is thats a long tail dart with 5cm or 7cm nails?

[FighterAce]

All the tails I use are 80mm long and have an angle of about 9°. I dont like to go with long tails for longer nails because bigger nails have bigger diameter heads meaning that in a longer, small diameter tail they will sit further back. If you want to go with a large nail then I recommend a longer tail but with larger barrel ID.

[josephlys]

Do you make your darts fit the barrel tightly so the pressurized air really needs to push the dart out with force. Or do the darts fit the barrel just enough, where they can be pushed forward easily. I normally do the latter for my darts

[FighterAce]

The M4 was not built to handle tightly fitting projectiles... the bolt system would literally blow up if I tried that and the dart jammed for some reason. I plan on solving this problem with a more heavy duty bolt system for my next sniper rifle but I dont think that will result in me making bigger tail OD to get a better seal... in my opinion its not necessary.
I make them just big enough so they dont roll out the barrel on their own.