12 replies to this topic

[Toast]

So I've removed the ARs in all my blasters, yay!
And I've created stefan slugs from foam backing rods, washers for weight, and felt "thingies" for cushioned tips. I've field tested them against the elite darts and noticed they under-perform in distance by around 5 feet, on average. I assume this is due to the lack of aero dynamics. And that's what brings me here again.

Am I right the darts tips are what reduces it's distance? Regardless, how can I fix this.

My stefans are currently 3" long, the same as stock Elites. My 3" stefans shoot further than my 2" stefans by about 4 feet, on average.
I purchased one one Kane's kits for the FBR and felt tips. And using a #6 zinc washer for the weight.

My stefans have the kick and the accuracy, but their distance is lacking.
Looking for any tips from the veterans to improve their range.

[CigarBaby]

Since glue domes are much more aerodynamic, they do fly further than slugs. However, I don't think the seller of this pink foam allows it to be used in combination with a glue dome. Another thing you can try is to cut down on your stefan length. 1"-1.5" length darts should work better.

[xXhunter47Xx]

I'm no veteran but I believe that it's the length of your stefan that is affecting it's flight.
Stefans are usually only 1.5" in length because that's the optimal size to balance with the #6 washer and felt tip. At 3 inches the front is much heavier than the rear causing it to dive bomb.

Edited by xXhunter47Xx, 11 August 2013 - 07:33 PM.

[nine]

Are your blasters just modded by removing the ARs? If so, they probably just aren't powerful enough to propel washer weighted darts as far as elites. Also, if you are making Stefan's, why not rebarrel your blasters and use shorter darts? That should add a nice increase in range.

[azrael]

'xXhunter47Xx', on 12 Aug 2013 - 12:33 AM, said:

I'm no veteran but I believe that it's the length of your stefan that is affecting it's flight.
Stefans are usually only 1.5" in length because that's the optimal size to balance with the #6 washer and felt tip. At 3 inches the front is much heavier than the rear causing it to dive bomb.

You want a heavier front, that's what makes darts flight stable.

Toast, if you bought from Kane, he explicitly says not to use them with metal. So stahp.

[xXhunter47Xx]

'azrael', on 12 Aug 2013 - 12:53 AM, said:

You want a heavier front, that's what makes darts flight stable.

Toast, if you bought from Kane, he explicitly says not to use them with metal. So stahp.

Correct, but my simple knowledge of physics makes me assume with the front weight to rear weight ratio is too disproportionate.

[Mully]

Slugs, Amiors, etc., are designed to be used by blasters that generally tend to have a lot more power than store-bought blasters with their AR's removed. The reason your not getting the same range out of your Stefan's than you are out of your standard-issue stock darts, is because the blasters you're firing them with are probably too weak to use them, without extensive modification. I'd recommend sticking with stock darts with gently modded blasters, and then moving up to Stefan's and that kinda stuff, when you start making homemades, or hoppered blasters, if you haven't done that already.

[azrael]

'xXhunter47Xx', on 12 Aug 2013 - 01:00 AM, said:

Correct, but my simple knowledge of physics makes me assume with the front weight to rear weight ratio is too disproportionate.

If anything, a longer rear makes the the rear more heavy, no? Haha.

The reason why we have gravitated towards shorter darts (other than capacity) is because shorter dart lengths have less drag on them, this can fly a bit further. However, there is a trade off, IMO, since darts are also a drag stabilized projectile.

[Toast]

So far all my blasters, save my Maverick, are stock internals with the AR removed. I have some 5kg springs I plan to install. I'll probably mod a 2nd Retal so I can compare side by side performance: AR removed and AR + 5kg spring. Maybe that's the main issue, like you guys have suggested.

But as is, my 3" stefans perform noticeably better than the 2" and 1.5" stefans. Equal in every way except length. I seems like the nature of the weight shouldn't be a huge contributor to my scenario. But I could be wrong. Assuming the #6 washer, a BB, or Kane's included weather stripping putty contribute an equal amount of weight, they should be more or less equal in performance. Although maybe I'm wrong and the vertical weight distribution of the washer is significant enough when compared to the spherical distribution of a BB or sphere/ellipse of the putty.

Could the distribution be it, or more likely the spring and stock internals?

[Zorns Lemma]

If you have 5kg springs around, just install them and see if that fixes your problem.

Heavier darts only travel farther than lighter ones when you've hit the point where the mass helps against drag (otherwise it doesn't make sense for heavier darts to ever travel farther than lighter ones when you ignore air resistance).

Edited by Zorns Lemma, 12 August 2013 - 09:50 AM.

[Langley]

'Toast', on 12 Aug 2013 - 12:18 AM, said:

So I've removed the ARs in all my blasters, yay!

If you have only removed your air restrictors I would just stick with stock elites. As mentioned above, you might get a slight improvement if you increase the mass of your darts by using a heavier weight, such as a steel slingshot weight or a copper BB or two. This will only give you a minor improvement and may even hurt your range.

Kane's darts/supplies are designed to be safe in the over-powered blasters we generally use around here (homemades or air guns which were designed to shoot much larger ammo) at great cost to performance. Using them in mostly stock blasters is going to be a giant step back.

[Toast]

I installed the 5kg spring and the stefans are getting almost the same distance as the stock Elites, plus they're significantly more accurate. So that's a huge plus. I have other dart and barrel questions, but that's for another thread.

Regarding safety and Kane's foam, I noticed he only states he intends of them to be used with non-dangerous materials; so I think everything mentioned thus far fits will within the spirit of his request.

Thanks Guys!

[BlackBoarderV]

'Toast', on 13 Aug 2013 - 7:09 PM, said:

Regarding safety and Kane's foam, I noticed he only states he intends of them to be used with non-dangerous materials; so I think everything mentioned thus far fits will within the spirit of his request.

Thanks Guys!

Metal is the dangerous material he is trying to avoid.