SpudFiles

qwerty wrote:Only that far?

0.20g airsoft BBs are VERY poor aerodynamically. If you get them very fast at all, they just lose that velocity in mere feet.

Just like an increase from 500 to 700 m/s with golfballs only increases the range from about 540m to 590m, the same thing happens with airsoft BBs, only worse. Big increases in velocity only make small increases in range.

Also, I'd reckon that with a sufficiently aerodynamic projectile, the HyGaC could put something a lot further than a mile. Get the projectile right, and fifty miles wouldn't completely surprise me.

I'd struggle to send a .2g BB 100m at 350PSI. At about 40m it just drops and probably lands at around 50m or so. Even shooting with a nice healthy angle I imagine it wouldn't go too much further without a nice tail wind.

Have a look at the Zalinski Dynamite Gun:

In 1885, he demonstrated an operational prototype with an 8-inch bore that could fire a 100 pound charge of dynamite two miles.

I have to agree with Rag, optimising the projectile is far more important than the launcher specifications.

Larda already HAS such a projectile. And it looks almost to pretty to shoot.

Also, .2 gram BB's are very poor for range. They are used primarily in short range roles. Heavier BB's are used as range is expected to increase, with dedicated, well-funded snipers using rifles meant for .44 gram graphite coated, or even .88 gram 8mm BB's for extreme range. The vast majority of midrange assault rifles use .25 gram BB's and have an effective range between 80 and 120 feet. Hopup units are used to boost this, of course.

Yep, with the hybrid sending 0,20g BB's at 480 (the barrel is only 25 cm long...) m/s, I was expecting a little bit more though. 100 meters has almost been verified in practice.
I finally repaired my airsoft rifle and it shoots farther than the hybrid which is pretty lame !
However, I remember a fellow airsofter who had a M700 by Tanaka, He had not tuned it, so it was raw power... in a battle, he took out two opposite players behind me from 90 meters with 0,33 grams BB's at 550 fps!!!! I let you imagine the whistle it did when flying over my head

To get back on topic, a mile shooting cannon is very possible, if the projectile is very-well thought.

SEAKING9006 wrote:Larda already HAS such a projectile.

Yeah, but it ain't the one he chronoed at over 3000 fps, which I wouldn't bet on making a mile.
16.6 grams in a 20mm diameter, with a flattish nose? That ballistic coefficient ain't gonna be pretty. Probably wouldn't even make half a mile.

Sure, his darts (even if they aren't sub calibre) would make it to a mile and some, but that's not a result of the HyGaC20 having huge cojones, it's a result of the projectile being up to the job.

The simple fact of the matter is, show me any cannon, no matter how powerful it is, and I could show you a projectile that it wouldn't be able to fire a mile.

But that works the other way. With the right projectile, launchers don't need much power to manage a mile range. I reckon that it's possible on considerably less than 100 Joules if you worked at it.