Show us your pneumatic spud gun! Discuss pneumatic (compressed gas) powered potato guns and related accessories. Valve types, actuation, pipe, materials, fittings, compressors, safety, gas choices, and more.
I just got back from a test session with my metal 2 inch cannon. We shot various things, but the coolest shot was a 2 inch 178 gram compound round fired at a cinder block at 230 psi. The block was setup on edge and shot in the center. The block exploded and left the lower 1/3 of the block sitting exactly where we placed it. There were cinder block pieces 30 feet in the air. The slug went through the cinder block and hit the dirt berm behind it. At that point, the slug gouged the dirt and went upward faster than we could see it. We never found the round. Next we will put two blocks back to back and see if it can penetrate both blocks with one slug. We plan to get some damage videos on July 9th. A bunch of us will be firing 45 handguns and rifles. I have a special invitation to show up with my cannon with the proviso that I shoot another cinder block for the guys.
So, what are some cool things you guys have shot?
Matt
Exotic E-bike builder, air cannon builder, and overall crack-pot. ;~)
“The combined synergy of a man and rifle is matchless.
The steadiness of hand, the acuity of vision and finally
the art of knowing how to make the rifle an extension of the
body all equate to the ultimate synthesis of man and machine.”
Cool things.. Full cans of pop. I didn't shoot at them, I shot them. The splat on a tree was impressive. Took a limb out of the top of a Pondersoa Pine with a can of pop.
Opening a full can of pop with a marshmallow was a satisfying moment.
I haven't destroyed much, but this was with a friends cannon. What we shot was an actual baked potato, fresh from the oven, and stuck in a sabot so it didn't make the barrel nasty. It exploded in mid air and coated the target in potato. Good times...Good times....
Never underestimate your cannon
I pumped my airgun ONE time with my bike pump, one single stroke, and the ammo skipped off the ground and made it to my neighbors car, three houses away. No damage, couldn't find a mark, but still... no good.
On garage related stories (DYI needs to chime in soon), I was testing out sabots for a .303 FMJ round (no casing, no gun powder) fired out of my first hybrid (3/4" barrel). Turns out sabot design is really important since the first few shots barely penetrated an inch in 4" thick pine.
Finally got a sabot design to work a little too well as the bullet penetrated all 4" inches of the pine, my large garage door and buried itself in to a tree stump about 40' behind it.
Not that it's the coolest thing I've destroyed, I haven't destroyed many cool things.
I have had a few projectiles go clean through the plywood sheets, through my backstop behind it, and into a pile of wood beyond that. You can never underestimate what a projectile fired with compressed gas (especially a hybrid) can do.
Matt
Exotic E-bike builder, air cannon builder, and overall crack-pot. ;~)