Fin stabilized and/or sub-caliber ammo?
Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 12:35 pm
I abandoned my last project because of a long planned vacation trip, but now that I'm back and fully recharged i feel like i just have to finish her! It's a single shot pneumatic 30mm cannon thats meant to be fired like a rifle. The barrel is a 1m long piece of aluminum profile tubing, so it's a very nice and seamless smooth bore. I mainly want to aim for range and accuracy.
I've decided that making self stabilizing ammo would be far more feasible than actually making a rifled 30mm barrel since a PVC barrel is not an option... Rifling the aluminum barrel would weaken it's structure and the projectiles driveband would have to be made of an even more ductile material if i don't want it to rip the barrel apart at higher pressure shots.
My first question would be; full bore or sub-caliber? If I understand correctly, a sub-caliber projectile (APFSDS) is only used for it's extreme penetrating capabilities. Applying the full force of a cannons bore on a spot thats only a fraction of that. I bet that they are also faster and suffer less from drag and friction because of their shape.
Problem is, they are only accurate if the sabot is very precisely made. And i have no machining or 3D printing capabilities... Only basic tools; yet i already have a decent idea in mind.
Or would it just be better to stick with a full-bore fin stabilized projectile?
If thats the case; enter question number 2!
I've noticed that a 2" long 3/4 nipple fit's the bore almost perfectly, i was thinking about buying the cheapest arrows i can find and cut off the fletching part and a few inches of shaft. I would pour lead into the nipple and drill out a hole for the shaft and epoxy it in place.
I'm just worried that when the valve opens the fletchings would get blown off or something. Or that arrow fletchings are too soft/weak to stabilize such a heavy projectile?
I'm also very curious about any previous attempts made on this forum on making fin stabilized ammo. Or even other methods ( My craziest idea was a round containing a CO² cartridge with angled jets to be punctured upon firing to cause a spin).
Oh and did they ever shoot that Miniboy projectile? I remember following that topic a long while ago...
I've decided that making self stabilizing ammo would be far more feasible than actually making a rifled 30mm barrel since a PVC barrel is not an option... Rifling the aluminum barrel would weaken it's structure and the projectiles driveband would have to be made of an even more ductile material if i don't want it to rip the barrel apart at higher pressure shots.
My first question would be; full bore or sub-caliber? If I understand correctly, a sub-caliber projectile (APFSDS) is only used for it's extreme penetrating capabilities. Applying the full force of a cannons bore on a spot thats only a fraction of that. I bet that they are also faster and suffer less from drag and friction because of their shape.
Problem is, they are only accurate if the sabot is very precisely made. And i have no machining or 3D printing capabilities... Only basic tools; yet i already have a decent idea in mind.
Or would it just be better to stick with a full-bore fin stabilized projectile?
If thats the case; enter question number 2!
I've noticed that a 2" long 3/4 nipple fit's the bore almost perfectly, i was thinking about buying the cheapest arrows i can find and cut off the fletching part and a few inches of shaft. I would pour lead into the nipple and drill out a hole for the shaft and epoxy it in place.
I'm just worried that when the valve opens the fletchings would get blown off or something. Or that arrow fletchings are too soft/weak to stabilize such a heavy projectile?
I'm also very curious about any previous attempts made on this forum on making fin stabilized ammo. Or even other methods ( My craziest idea was a round containing a CO² cartridge with angled jets to be punctured upon firing to cause a spin).
Oh and did they ever shoot that Miniboy projectile? I remember following that topic a long while ago...