19 replies to this topic

[pwnchu]

So i was playing around with taping string to two darts. The idea is that if any part of the string hits the target, the bola will wrap around and hit it (plus the bola will be spinning from one dart to the other). Or it can whip around cover. I encountered several problems with this:

-First of all, you have to have a powerful enough launcher to consider more than one dart.
-You have to put both of the darts in the barrel. Otherwise if one is dangling it will make a severe bias towards the ground which makes it suck.
-Doing this, both darts will fire relatively precise, so that you won't see the string stretch that far.
-It's a pain to get the darts in and keep the string in a good position. Wrapping the string around the dart works ok.
-The string only spins in one dimension. You would need a third dart or a way to get the bola to rotate in the 3rd dimension in the air.
-The bola, not surprisingly, has a much shorter range than firing two darts, probably cause the way each dart leapfrogs the other.

My conclusion is that it would be better just to fire two darts (even three may have a better range) than to fire the bola. Maybe there is a way to accomplish this with a very powerful launcher and 3 darts.

[Forsaken angel24]

Very creative! I made some of these like 2 years ago with blood tears. I found they spun in the air vertically. Which pissed me off because I wanted it to spin horizontally. I may try working with these again. As they would be perfect for Assassin games.

[pwnchu]

I'm sure they would have no doubt of who fired it at them though.

I think mine actually spin horizontally sometimes. It's kind of random. Probably the way you pack the string in.

The problem with the bola is that it does nothing until the string is taut (unless you have a very long string, which has its own problems). Once it gets to that point, it loses energy quickly. So the effective range is very restricted.

[vanpaun]

Check your PMS (not period mood swings private messages) Pwnchu.

[camo]

You could make a double nightfinder with only one trigger, then put a dart in each barrel, with the string running in between the two. That would make it not spin, and therefore not lose (much) range.

[pwnchu]

I think any slight difference in power will cause it to spin. Also, if it doesn't spin, it can only get to the original distance between the two barrels. Not to mention it would only be useful for a handful of blasters.

[shoeshine5]

What about using a titan to fire two ballistic balls? I think balls would work better than darts.

[keef]

This reminds me of Nunchucks

How would it fly straight and all right if the string is taped to the front of both?

[Thom]

What about using a titan to fire two ballistic balls? I think balls would work better than darts.

Weighted ballistic balls.

[Kid Flash]

what type of barrel do you use to fire the balls from a titan? i havent found any pvc that is a tight fit.

[pwnchu]

I would think you would tape the string to the back of the dart, otherwise the dart would spin as the bola also spins, making it even less efficient.

(The front of the dart, not coincidentally, belongs in the front)

[Forsaken angel24]

Firing from a Splitfire would be interesting.

[Nonsense Man]

Maybe you could fire the gun sideways.

[Retiate]

I really think this should be done with the ballistic balls, as Shoeshine said. I'm not sure if they need to be weighted, but I think it would be better if they were.
And Kid Flash, I believe Bags used 1 1/2" PVC to fire the balls from his Titan.

[crazyguy]

Well I was able to get my bola darts spinning horizontally, by having one dart in the barrel and the other balanced on my hand. My hand was parallel to the barrel, about 8 inches apart and 6 inches down (were the scope is). My string (it was actually some old fishing line) was 12 inches long and I fired the whole thing from my bbb.

There are two down sides to this:
1. The ranges are about 20 feet (fired flat at chest level)
2. The darts probably aren't going to last long (I have shot mine about 50 times and they look like there slowly being riped, I taped a loop at the end then weaved the string into it many times.(I'll try to get pictures later))

Also I think the idea of the double nf's is a good idea, it would probably work better. You don't really need the darts spinning in the air for then to wrap around something, it would just look cooler. Just remembered! couldn't you just use a manta ray instead of the double nf's, someone should try it.

[Grenada]

pnwchu, this has given me inspiration. I tried to do this by hot glueing the string to the tip of three 2 1/2 inch pieces of FBR out of my shotgunned BBB and magstrike. The only problem was the is the string didn't wiegh enough, and they went five feet tops.

[keef]

Manta ray didn't work.

I tried it, they both went around 8 feet...

Mine is crayola'd. Can someone PM me a Manta Ray mod they use to make it useful in a war?

Also- My old double NF, never could shoot darts 30 feet, so this would probably be worse :-\

[pwnchu]

I think it's not a good idea. I can fire at least 5 darts (up to 8) out of my homemade with better range than a single bola (i put both rounds in, in case you're wondering).

The bola will spin randomly, usually horizontally since the darts aren't propelled with nearly equal force (I'm using 15" barrels, plus my remaining amount of pvc which is a few inches above 20).

It's not necessary to spin the darts, but otherwise you can't increase the distance between the darts (unless your barrels are really inaccurate against each other. Just wondering, has anyone gotten them to not spin? my guess is that it's close to impossible, short of using precision tools.

The best use i think would be to use it as a melee weapon.
range: 4'
ROF: automatic (until you get tired of spinning it)

I might try whipping it to ambush people around the corner.

as for my bolas, i'm using more normal string, and i just put the string under the tape once. They usually don't break off. I don't think that will damage them.

edit: a dumb trick i thought of was to put one dart in your barrel, then spin the bola around, using it for melee. Then when you want to shoot, you throw the end you're spinning, then shoot.

Edited by pwnchu, 17 September 2007 - 06:26 PM.

[Grenada]

Okay, I just tried it with one bb. It went about 10', which is about half of normal. I think these might be effective in titans though, so thats something I should test.

Edited by Grenada, 17 September 2007 - 09:36 PM.

[zaphodB]

Use dental floss for the string. It's strong, visible, and minty fresh. Use a long length, 2 feet or so.

Use heavy fishing weights and stick them inside of sections of stock nerf darts. Fill with glue. Shove them both down the barrel of a BBB. Enjoy.