INVENTORS!! HELP ME OUT!!

[CREEPER™]

I need help designing a projectile!!


What I have in mind is a cylinder 2" in diameter by 6" in length.  The cylinder is cut in half lengthwise top to bottom.  It is hinged on one end.   The spring mech from a small mouse trap (just the spring, not the trip)  is placed inside. This will make the cylinder naturally want to open.  In the end opposite the hinge,  there is a circular catch plate with a hole drilled in it.  In that hole, a nail is inserted.  So, you can imagine that if you remove the nail, the cylinder will spring open somewhat violently.  

NOW.... fill the cylinder with .12g bbs    
And then insert the catch nail to keep it closed.  

THEN, tie 100+ ft length of fishing line to the nail.   Tie the other end to the barrel of the "cannon". There's your projectile!  

The projectile will be launch "potato cannon" style using a potato cannon and wd40.   

Once fired, the projectile will travel it's full range until the fishing line runs out.  At that moment , the line YANKS the nail from the projectile, causing it to open and sling bbs.   

So my question is:  will it work? 

[SASQUATCH]

theoretically yes, so you designing a mortar basically

[CREEPER™]

More like a tank turret.  The trajectory will have to be more or less a straight line or it won't yank the nail out!

[BARRICADE]

I have built these on small scale but they will be better with something making a POP or a BANG so the whole field knows it happened...  Think a Battery and Hot wire and Firework..We know how to add this CREEPER... I have built what you want and yes it works but we used a weak spring though

[CREEPER™]

Well the potato cannon itself will make quite a bang!

[Blaze]

Kinda already taken buddy. this is actually what your talking about but just simple.   this is the mine version but can easily be used as a hand cannon with a few mods....the kid is truely annoying but i actually have 3 of these togeather & i set them to one trip wire at diffrent sections so nobody knows where they are.....somewhat you end up getting hit from the fron, side & back lol. 

[BigJohn]

Blaze, that is nowhere near what he is talking about.

[cloakndagger]

theoreticaly, it would work, problem is, the technical difficulties of getting such a device to fly any distance without tumbling and set it off in the same city as where you aimed would be staggering to say the least. My suggestion would be  a tube the top part of whichl opens about 3/4 of the way down like a flower. Inside you put your bbs. Each "petal" (3 or 4) would be sprung to pop open when a pin in the nose released, either by command wire or impact button. So now you have something with balance.. adding fins and tweaking the weight of the base would allow you to adjust it for straight and steady flight, even if you had to add a nerf style tail. Now the final hurdle is firing it from a spud gun..... even though most of them operate at low power, lobbing a projectile is a very violent affair.. if you can overcome that, you are onto something

[BigJohn]

The idea of someone shooting chunks of PVC pipe at me from a wd40 powered potato cannon is not very appealing.
I can help build a cannon, but I don't suggest shooting PVC projectiles.

I'm not going to go into construction details on this forum in case the resident minors decide they want to try to build w/ my instructions.

Why not use the setup Crimson had? Do nerf footballs not work or are you looking for a different downrange effect?

BTW - wd40/hairspray potato cannons are not the answer.

[Blaze]

Its close enough for somewhat what hes talking about if hes looking at spring loaded.  you should just build this lol....make you one like 20 times the size lol.

[paiken]

I dont know how well this work in the woods. If you were in an open area without anything blocking you it would theoretically work.

[cloakndagger]

I think hes trying for the effect of airbursting ap artillery but im right there with ya bigjohn on the not wanting to be on the recieving end of a giant hink of pvc being fired at me lol

[DYNOMUT]

The idea of someone shooting chunks of PVC pipe at me from a wd40 powered potato cannon is not very appealing.
I can help build a cannon, but I don't suggest shooting PVC projectiles.

I'm not going to go into construction details on this forum in case the resident minors decide they want to try to build w/ my instructions.

Why not use the setup Crimson had? Do nerf footballs not work or are you looking for a different downrange effect?

BTW - wd40/hairspray potato cannons are not the answer.


I agree with big John nothing larger than a bb should fly at anyone unless it's nerf or nerf like.

[BigJohn]

A foam Sabot round could be made that would separate when it leaves the barrel and the bb's would be free to fly on thier own.
A pool noodle cut lenthwise should work for what you want.
Start with a solid noodle and split lenghtwise, hollow out a payload chamber in the middle.
Use a couple rubber bands to hold the round until it's time to use.
Dead simple and easy to build.

The BBs would rain down all over the place.

[cloakndagger]

Awesome idea bigjohn, i wonder if you could attach some monofilament fishing line to the rubber bands and let it feed till right over the traget and it still have enough forward motive to deploy when the line runs out....