19 replies to this topic

[joeyaglr444]

I have seen people who made stefans with dimples on the back of they're stefans others don't. I put them on the back I have no idea why but does it affect the range or velocity at all?

[NerfMonkey]

I think in my Super Soaker and Titan it helps a little bit with accuracy and I do it for my BBB and I can't really notice a difference. I think it's only really effective in guns that fire 100' plus, but in those it helps mine with their accuracy a little, maybe a bit with range but not much.

I'd do it because it doesn't seem to hurt performance, even if it doesn't help, if you have any high-powered guns you use you might try it.

[SirTofu]

Holes in the back = good for air guns
No holes in the back= good for spring guns
That pretty much sums it up.....

[opiumpanda]

Holes in the back = good for air guns
No holes in the back= good for spring guns
That pretty much sums it up.....

What if you dimple it like a golf ball? It seems to make sense to do that because it decreases turbulance behind the dart hence increasing range. It wouldn't make a difference whether it's an air gun or not.

Edited by opiumpanda, 29 September 2005 - 05:51 PM.

[SirTofu]

Many people on here have reccomended leaving out the holes in darts for usage in spring guns. I tried it, and they work better, and I have no idea why, they just do.

[Tarius]

the theory behind the dimple in stefans:

it sould expand slightly to make the air not move around it, which would make it lose some of the pressure, and slowing the velocity down. making the dart not go as far. it's concept can be taken from the minie ball, used during the civil war.

a spring gun however, in my opinion doesn't matter since all the spring guns do is push the dart out at a high speed.

[Forsaken angel24]

I have found that putting dimples and holes (like stock darts) in stefans is a bad idea. Personally after about 3 shots with a high powered gun the stefan breaks. EIther the back starts split, it splits in the middle or even worse the glue peice and weight go flying off of the foam entirely. I leave my stefans whole.

[joeyaglr444]

OH Damn i got a huge problem i have been lookin round the site for Stefans and they look pretty enormous i mean theyre not even close to the size mine are. My Stefans are all like the 9mm of nerf guns there about half an inch by length and and less than a quarter inch by width i put hot glue and a BB and she flies pretty well but i mean i fear im not getting the highest preformance.

[cxwq]

OH Damn i got a huge problem

I think so too. Please learn to type very quickly or you won't last long.

[grunty]

i have to put holes in my stefans for my DTB. or it will suck balls.

Edited by grunty, 01 October 2005 - 08:14 AM.

[joeyaglr444]

My mistake Cxwq,

I get the same results on my splitfire dimpe or no dimple feels like theres no difference for air powerd firearms.

[TimberwolfCY]

I use a hot glue gun and melt holes in the end of all my Stefans. It mostly seems to aid in the reliability of the dart; I've found that darts I shoot from my guns that don't have the holes in the ends tend to fly more unstably, affecting both accuracy and range. I think a lot of it has to do with both "catching" the air of the gun and keeping the center of gravity shifted foward well. I don't "drill" holes in my darts, like standard Nerf darts, just put a "dimple" on the end with a hot glue gun. Part of this is also aids the dart in coming free of the beginning of the barrel; if you heat the FBR (such as in a clothes dryer), it expands, so in something like a PowerClip it may have trouble coming out (I did with a couple darts even after I put "dimples" on the end).

[DTReaper]

why I think people started puting "dimples" or holes in the end of the dart was to minic the mini ball but the reason that worked was because it was made if lead and it would heat up and expand into the rifling of the rifle and then get pushed out so therefore a dimple in the end of a dart will not effect range greatly.

-DTR

[cxwq]

why I think people started puting "dimples" or holes in the end of the dart was to minic the mini ball

Funny, I always assumed people started putting holes in their stefans because Nerf darts have holes in them.

In micros, it doesn't effect range if your darts are weighted heavily enough. In megas, it may help the dart expand to fill the barrel better. If you under-weight your darts, drilling them out is necessary to keep the center of gravity forward. Anything regarding 'catching the air' is a misunderstanding of the physics of nerf.

[Team Slaya]

Odd, I found that when I heated up my stefans, they didn't expand, they shrunk. This actually make them fir remarkably well in CPVC, but too loose in other barrel materials like PETG or 9/16" brass. I now just don't heat my darts as much and it's fine. Unless I want to make darts for CPVC.

TS

[LordoftheRing434]

I use a hot glue gun and melt holes in the end of all my Stefans. It mostly seems to aid in the reliability of the dart; I've found that darts I shoot from my guns that don't have the holes in the ends tend to fly more unstably, affecting both accuracy and range. I think a lot of it has to do with both "catching" the air of the gun and keeping the center of gravity shifted foward well. I don't "drill" holes in my darts, like standard Nerf darts, just put a "dimple" on the end with a hot glue gun. Part of this is also aids the dart in coming free of the beginning of the barrel; if you heat the FBR (such as in a clothes dryer), it expands, so in something like a PowerClip it may have trouble coming out (I did with a couple darts even after I put "dimples" on the end).

This is exactly what I do. I'm not sure why, but it's been a ritual for 3 years now. It makes a hole not too big (so they don't crack the side of the dart), but it makes a small hole. They seem to work better than when I make solid stefans. Sure, they split sometimes, but I have so many darts that they're rotated enough to have a long lifespan.

~Rings

[Falcon]

Theoretically, if you melt the hole int he back of a stefan so the back edge of the dart is fairly thin foam, then when air is pushed up against it, the edges of the back of the dart will expand to create a perfect fit in your barrels (if it's not perfect already) so it really should help your seal.

However, it makes no difference for me because

A) I use stock dart foam with stefan tips because the foam is higher quality, so they have holes drilled in them anyway

-and-

because I use 17/32" brass for my main barrel, with 1/2" brass as a nested stub in the back. Fits stock darts like a glove, so there's no room for expansion. If there was, then when I fired my gun, the 1/2" brass would hold the dart still for a split second while the hole filed with air, swelled, and then proceeded to split wide open.

Don't knock it until you've tried it!

[DTReaper]

Well what you do sounds like a logical reason to put a dimple in the back of the dart.

-DTR

[Falcon]

Huh?

What do refer to as being "What I do?" My darts already have a huge stock-drilled hole in them. A dimple would change nothing...

[joeyaglr444]

intresting, I personnaly do not make my dimples so HUGE i put mine about the size of a a 177 bb An actual bb not a fish weight.