This is my second try at a roller gun, this time incorporating some of the things I learned with this one: http://forums.deeperblue.com/diy-homemade/91556-first-try-roller-gun-modified-mako.html
That gun had excellent power and accuracy, but the muzzle was heavy and it was a pain to re-load the shaft because of the way the arresting pins pulled the wishbone down tight against the top of the track.
I'm still using a Mako handle and barrel as a basis, but this time, I've tried to reduce everything to the minimum.
The muzzle itself is G10 for strength, with Delrin rollers on a stainless axle. Thin titanium strips run around the outside just to protect everything from rocks and wrecks. It's nice and light, but no bigger than it needs to be.
The main thing that I'm playing with here is the way the bands are stopped at the end of the shot. I tried it a bit on my first roller, and it seemed to have some promise. A second wishbone runs beneath the tube, and catches on the two short bushings at the rear of the muzzle, which keeps the bands from pulling around the rollers. This leaves the primary wishbone slack, so it's easy to re-insert the shaft into the track. I'm using an ETR barrel this time, so wrapping the shooting line is simple.
On the plus side, it's a simple muzzle configuration that's easily adaptable to a standard barrel and handle. On the downside, it doesn't have the two-stage cocking that you get when the bottom of the gun has multiple band attachment points. That sort of limits the preload that you want on the bands, or it's really tough to load the band.
Hopefully, I'll get a weather window over the next few days to try it out.
That gun had excellent power and accuracy, but the muzzle was heavy and it was a pain to re-load the shaft because of the way the arresting pins pulled the wishbone down tight against the top of the track.
I'm still using a Mako handle and barrel as a basis, but this time, I've tried to reduce everything to the minimum.
The muzzle itself is G10 for strength, with Delrin rollers on a stainless axle. Thin titanium strips run around the outside just to protect everything from rocks and wrecks. It's nice and light, but no bigger than it needs to be.
The main thing that I'm playing with here is the way the bands are stopped at the end of the shot. I tried it a bit on my first roller, and it seemed to have some promise. A second wishbone runs beneath the tube, and catches on the two short bushings at the rear of the muzzle, which keeps the bands from pulling around the rollers. This leaves the primary wishbone slack, so it's easy to re-insert the shaft into the track. I'm using an ETR barrel this time, so wrapping the shooting line is simple.
On the plus side, it's a simple muzzle configuration that's easily adaptable to a standard barrel and handle. On the downside, it doesn't have the two-stage cocking that you get when the bottom of the gun has multiple band attachment points. That sort of limits the preload that you want on the bands, or it's really tough to load the band.
Hopefully, I'll get a weather window over the next few days to try it out.
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