35 replies to this topic

[Dan Cromer]

Well, I intend on becoming an engineer "when I grow up" so I took on the problem of poorly performing foam shot about a year ago as a problem to solve. I finally finished tonight.

Most people try to make "foam shot" by putting several 1/2" darts behind one another in a barrel. It doesn't perform well at all, with the first dart falling on the ground, the middle ones flying 5 feet, and the one in back shooting across the room. They really dont' spread at all.

I solved this. Many of you may have heard me babble about this in the past, but this is my offical announcement on how to make good shot: cut 1-2" darts lengthwise in fourths, and put a dab of hot glue on each quarter. Here's how it works:

In the past with packing darts, only the rear dart received any power, and it just pushed the other darts out. They only go about 15 feet, and spread inconsistanly. The new quartershot darts don't do this. 4 quarters are put together into a dart like shape, and stuffed in the barrel. When fired, each quarter receives an equal ammount of power. What results is a shot that shoots further, spreads evenly, and spreads wider. I was also able to put two whole darts, one behind another, (read: 8 quarters) into my boomstick modded RB, and darts traveled from 15-30 feet, with one soaring across my huge basement and hitting the wall. Very impressive, I must say. Repeated trials show darts almost always travel from 10-20 feet using 4 quarters and 15-30 feet using 8. The darts also fall within a cone about 3 feet wide at the end.

The only problem with these darts is they're hard to clean up, and not easy to load in mid-war. I solved this as well by making several 4" barrels and attaching a coupling to my shotgun blasters, enabling me to preload several shells and quickly reload.

These new darts should prove extremely effective indoors. They're harder to dodge since there's 4 times as many darts, and give you a circle 3 feet in diameter to hit your enemies. Rapid fire guns can, essentially, blanket an entire area with darts in a matter of seconds. I'm thinking my AT3000 is going to become a streetsweeper...

Hope you guys enjoy.

[Zero Talent]

Well, I intend on becoming an engineer "when I grow up" so I took on the problem of poorly performing foam shot about a year ago as a problem to solve.  I finally finished tonight.

Umm.. This took you a year?

Yeah, some other kids have done that, too, but in a crappy format. for some reason, the idea was abandonned in the presence of homemade ammo. Nice job! I'll try some of those.

[SSWB]

Yeah, Zero's right. My friends and I discovered this thing several years ago. I posted about it on the old Nerf Online, but no one seemed to care...

Anyway, we never actually made them by quartering a dart; we just sort of eyeballed it: about one inch was the average length I believe. Also, though I can't remember if I actually tested to see if this made them better, I always put three BBs plus hot glue at the tips. When I still had my 1500, I'd just load in 4 to 8 in one of the barrels: very effective, many kills. A friend of mine would just go crazy. He'd stuff 15 to 20 into the barrel of his modded Super Soaker. The barrels were removable, so he'd have five or six of them fully loaded in a quiver for quick reloading. The cloud of shotgun pellets was huge; getting shot with one directly was an interesting experience: it was as if a huge, dense wall of foam were flying inexorably toward you...yeah, I pay attention in English class too much...

[Zero Talent]

Yeah, Zero's right. My friends and I discovered this thing several years ago. I posted about it on the old Nerf Online, but no one seemed to care...

Oh, nevermind. I thought when it was introduced, you guys used a Nerf micro, which of course has that hole in it... It was probably just a side-effect of my raving stupidity, for which I half-heartedly apologize. I just could have sworn I had really bad ranges with the ones I tried...

[Corpus]

Myself, whenever I bother with shotgunning, fill a 1/2" PVC tube, about 4" long, with bits of foam soaked with a bit of hot glue. Prepare these before hand, stick them in your gun and fire.

[Langley]

Foam pipe insulation cut into wedges work pretty well too, but they're a bitch to glue weights into.

[Mantis]

Can someone dumb it down for me? You take a dart and cut it from top to bottom into quarters?

[Dan Cromer]

I don't think I explained this right.

No, what you do is hold a piece of backer rod 1" long with the round part facing up, and imagine the top of the dart was a pie. Cut the pie into 4 pieces. You now have 4 incredibly tall pieces of pie. Put a dab of whipped cream (hot glue) or possibly a cherry (bb) on top. To shoot them, reassemble the dart like it wasn't cut up, stuff it in the barrel, and fire.

I could take pictures if you want, because I don't think anyone's following. Who wants to host them? Gimmie an email.

[cxwq]

I think that explanation was excellent, but then I was following you from the start. If you'd like me to put the pic up temporarily, mail it to cxwq@nerfhaven.com.

edit:

[Kuhlschrank]

So if I'm understanding you correctly, the quarter darts will still remain the 1" length? When I finish building Zero'sLandmine design that he posted on NHQ I'll have to try out this type of ammo.

[Spoon]

Kuhlschrank? As in Der Kuhlschrank=Refridgerator auf Deutsch? Sprechen Sie auf Deutsch ja?

[NerfManiac]

Très agréable. Je n'ai jamais su ce concept même existé. Même si vous n'avez pas fait qu'en haut, il ait pris beaucoup de penser.

Edit: Very nice. I never knew that concept even existed. Even if you didn't make that up, it took a lot of thinking.

[Zero Talent]

Breaking out the languages, are we?

This project is an epitome of the ideals an individual can excel towards in a goal-minded organization. Truly, this work deserves an recognition for its achievement in distinguished excellence, and irrevocably inspirational value. You are truly a synergetic ground breaker, with an efficiently variable, yet progressive paradigm.

Translation: Nice take.

[Kuhlschrank]

Kuhlschrank?  As in Der Kuhlschrank=Refridgerator auf Deutsch?  Sprechen Sie auf Deutsch ja?

Ja, ich bin der Kuhlschrank oder "the refrigerator/cool closet."
Ich spreche nicht so schlecht deutsch(ich bin in deutsch drei).
Ich war nach APOC in August.

For those not familiar with german:
Yes I am the kuhlschrank or "the refrigerator/cool closet" My German isn't too bad

(I'm in German 3)
I was at APOC in August.

[Frenzied fury]

Ahh, todos los personas aqui hablan aleman! Lo siento, pero solomente hablo ingles y espanol.
Translation: Ahhh, they all speak german. I'm sorry, but I'm to lazy to learn a third language and so will continue knowing only english and limited spanish. Or soemthing close to that.

And Zero, that reminds me of a story that a friend told me. He received a letter from a college, and found it to have such horrible mistakes that he corrected it in red pen and sent it back.

[NerfManiac]

Wow this is getting pretty wierd not to mention off topic. By the way I'm in French 1.

[SSWB]

Heh, interesting that you guys know German. My dad's actually from Austria, so I can understand some simple German. Oh, yeah, and I can also speak Vietnamese...

But yeah, I never though about cutting a dart lengthwise; I'll have to try it one time.

[Dan Cromer]

Thanks for ruining my topic you bastards.

[Sandman]

What happens when only one slice gets pushed out and the other ones are stuck in the barrel?

[neonerfer]

What happens when only one slice gets pushed out and the other ones are stuck in the barrel?

One slice shoots and the others stay in the barrel...

[Cadmond]

What happens when only one slice gets pushed out and the other ones are stuck in the barrel?

WAKARIMASEN! BWAHAHAH! take the japanese skills.. actually.. that should have been shirimasen.. damn. I don't understand.. I don't know. same thing.. .. . ...

Good job on the shotgun, I think I'm going to take advantage of it ... anyways, ... sugoi desune!

[Sandman]

What happens when only one slice gets pushed out and the other ones are stuck in the barrel?

One slice shoots and the others stay in the barrel...

Your logic is almost as sharp as your sarcasm...

[neonerfer]

Always a pleasure.