High-Power Copper Sniper Rifle
Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 9:37 pm
After many failures, tears, and dreams shattered, I finally managed to complete a working copper pneumatic. Its not the best, nor is it even pretty, but I am really proud that I finally conquered copper 8) .
<img src="http://www.spudfiles.com/uploader/uploa ... umatic.JPG">
Specs
Chamber: 1" x 60" Type L Copper Tubing
Barrel: .68" x 72" 6061-T6 Aluminum Tubing
Valve: Copper piston valve, 1" inlet and 3/4" outlet. Piston is constructed from UHMW; exhaust valve is 1/4" Detrol QEV piloted by a 1/4" blowgun.
More pictures:
<a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/uploader/uploa ... JPG">Valve Detail</a>
<a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/uploader/uploa ... >Downrange View</a>
<a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/uploader/uploa ... PG">Barrel Support</a>
This cannon was built strictly for performance. The long paintball barrel, combined with a decent 1.8:1 chamber to barrel ratio, provides a great amount of power. According to GGDT, at 125 PSI with compressed air, this gun should be able to break 800 FPS. If I pump it up to 250 PSI, which is feasible due to the high pressure construction of this pneumatic, it will be able to break 1000 FPS. If I can get my hands on some helium... then the real fun begins .
I am actually somewhat surprised at how low the velocity figures are; I have seen many paintball cannons on this sight that also can get 800 FPS at 125 PSI; this is using 24" or under barrels that have a diameter of over .7"! For some reason, I think the owners might be a little optimistic on their figures... I am probably a bit optimistic myself.
I find this cannon to have a nice weight, even though it is extremely long. I plan to add a laser scope to it sometime soon, to make aiming easier. I might also add a breech loader in, because muzzle-loading a .68" paintball down 72" of .68" barrel is NOT fun at all.
I don't think that this cannon is complicated, so I doubt that there will be too many questions. I hope to get up a video within a week or two; I have a tennis tournament and a 25 page paper due within the next week or so; luckily my AP exams are over, so that frees up some time. I'm going to see if I can break some PVC pipe with frozen paintballs; it is probably unfeasible, but I have never played around with this type of power before, so its worth a shot .
Though its far from the best copper cannon, I am still really proud of it (trust me, success after multiple failures spanning over a period of nearly eight months feels REALLY good). If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks for looking.
PS: And yes, I am calling it a sniper, and I am calling it a rifle... though it does not have a rifled barrel. DEAL WITH IT
<img src="http://www.spudfiles.com/uploader/uploa ... umatic.JPG">
Specs
Chamber: 1" x 60" Type L Copper Tubing
Barrel: .68" x 72" 6061-T6 Aluminum Tubing
Valve: Copper piston valve, 1" inlet and 3/4" outlet. Piston is constructed from UHMW; exhaust valve is 1/4" Detrol QEV piloted by a 1/4" blowgun.
More pictures:
<a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/uploader/uploa ... JPG">Valve Detail</a>
<a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/uploader/uploa ... >Downrange View</a>
<a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/uploader/uploa ... PG">Barrel Support</a>
This cannon was built strictly for performance. The long paintball barrel, combined with a decent 1.8:1 chamber to barrel ratio, provides a great amount of power. According to GGDT, at 125 PSI with compressed air, this gun should be able to break 800 FPS. If I pump it up to 250 PSI, which is feasible due to the high pressure construction of this pneumatic, it will be able to break 1000 FPS. If I can get my hands on some helium... then the real fun begins .
I am actually somewhat surprised at how low the velocity figures are; I have seen many paintball cannons on this sight that also can get 800 FPS at 125 PSI; this is using 24" or under barrels that have a diameter of over .7"! For some reason, I think the owners might be a little optimistic on their figures... I am probably a bit optimistic myself.
I find this cannon to have a nice weight, even though it is extremely long. I plan to add a laser scope to it sometime soon, to make aiming easier. I might also add a breech loader in, because muzzle-loading a .68" paintball down 72" of .68" barrel is NOT fun at all.
I don't think that this cannon is complicated, so I doubt that there will be too many questions. I hope to get up a video within a week or two; I have a tennis tournament and a 25 page paper due within the next week or so; luckily my AP exams are over, so that frees up some time. I'm going to see if I can break some PVC pipe with frozen paintballs; it is probably unfeasible, but I have never played around with this type of power before, so its worth a shot .
Though its far from the best copper cannon, I am still really proud of it (trust me, success after multiple failures spanning over a period of nearly eight months feels REALLY good). If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks for looking.
PS: And yes, I am calling it a sniper, and I am calling it a rifle... though it does not have a rifled barrel. DEAL WITH IT