So I've been wondering how to make a reasonable simple magazine that would interface with the NTS breach with minimal modification. Most parts of the magazine equation are easily solved. Thin polycarbonate or even wood for the sides, a spring made from music wire. Lock/release solutions are well-known, and I have a few ideas of my own involving magnets. The interface itself is the tricky part.
Fundamentally, the magazine, once secured, simply has to push darts into the breach as it opens and closes. In and of itself, this is an easy thing to do with the NTS – just secure it against the breach hole. The problem is that while the magazine is not in the gun, all of the darts will be pushed out by the magazine spring.
This problem is solved in the LS/Recon "clips" – as it is in firearm magazines – by topping the opening with curved wings that prevent darts from coming out the top. This solution has three problems as applied to the NTS, however. First, the wings would be difficult for most people to produce. A few possible methods present themselves: pieces of PVC or brass tubing; bent polycarbonate; holes drilled in a solid block. Second, the wings tend to deform the darts, especially when many darts are loaded in a magazine. Third, and most crucially, the NTS breach itself does not have nearly as much of the inner barrel cut away as do the LS and Recon – on the contrary, since fully half of the circumference remains, it is no narrower than a complete tube, and thus no "wings" solution could work. This could be rectified by cutting away more brass, which would have negative effects on durability and could affect performance. I once flirted with the idea of "wings" that retracted around the breach, but I saw no simple and reliable way to implement them.
If the "wings" idea were to be adopted, it would be worth exploring the possibility of using an Angel breach. Certainly, the Angel breach is well-tested to work with a magazine with "wings", and its performance has been impressive. If the Angel breach were used, the option would exist to either keep the dart directly above the magazine when ready or to push it forward as the standard Angel breach does. The advantage of pushing it forward is that of having a "clean" firing position – the dart would be in a pristine section of barrel. This could have positive effects on range, accuracy, and dart wear. On the other hand, dead space would be introduced behind the dart, which would take away from the power applied to the dart. I don't know how these factors would balance out. Perhaps Boltsniper could enlighten me as to why he used the type of breach that he did, other than the compact design.
When considering these factors, another possible solution occurred to me. Rather than using two disconnected "wings", the "wings" could meet at the top. This would provide the most secure hold and would be easy on the darts. To load the magazine, the bolt/outer sealing tube would have to be held backward (as is typical) and the barrel itself would have to be pulled forward. When the magazine was inserted, the barrel could be pushed back through the front and back holes in the top part of the magazine. On the plus side, the NTS breach could be left substantially as it is. On the minus side, getting the barrel and bolt to properly align after being completely disconnected would be problematic at best. Additionally, reload time would be slightly increased.
The other way to prevent the darts from being pushed out is to suppress the pushing force itself. The magazine follower could be secured in place at the bottom during loading and let free when inserted into the gun. There are several ways to accomplish this. The simplest would be to insert an object, such as a dowel, into the side of the base of the magazine, transfixing the follower via holes aligned for that purpose. The object would be removed after magazine insertion. The main disadvantage to this is that it adds another element to the reloading procedure, one that could be lost or fall out. Alternatively, some sort of latch could be used to prevent the follower from passing a certain point until it was disengaged, similar to the magazine release on a LS. This would be potentially complicated. Finally, all solutions that rely on arresting the magazine follower leave open the possibility of darts falling out or being jostled out on their own. To solve this, an object could be inserted at the top, or a slight constriction could be added to the magazine. These solutions in turn have their own problems.
These are my thoughts on adding removable magazines to the NTS. Thoughts or suggestions?
Edited by Thom, 02 July 2008 - 11:44 PM.
