[giwtro]

Hey everyone, I was fiddling around with some of those otoscope tip cones, and I realized something. The replaceable spikes for track shoes screw almost perfectly into a 4mm otoscope tip. I put a drop of super glue in the threads the spike made, and it locked in solid. What I ended up with was kind of a hybrid between a light stun dart, and a spike dart. I shoot these out of a 6ft .5cal pipe, and they fly pretty fast. You can find the spikes here for about 15 bucks. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000670VE2/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p200_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0MWX69RY7B3TTBZKAMHQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

And here is a picture of one of the darts. Let me know what you think of the idea.

 

[squirrelslinger]

I have a lot of those track spikes, albeit in worn out form(my sister was a runner and I saved the used spikes).

I'll have to try that.

 

[giwtro]

A little love with a belt grinder, and they will be nice and pointy again. Sorry about not having photos, it keeps saying that the format is not allowed. By the way, would anybody be able to move this thread to the area for discussing darts? I meant to post it there, but I hit the wrong button.

 

[squirrelslinger]

it is completely fine... I usually don't post photos because I don't have a camera.

 

[Teach]

Hey everyone, I was fiddling around with some of those otoscope tip cones, and I realized something. The replaceable spikes for track shoes screw almost perfectly into a 4mm otoscope tip. I put a drop of super glue in the threads the spike made, and it locked in solid. What I ended up with was kind of a hybrid between a light stun dart, and a spike dart. I shoot these out of a 6ft .5cal pipe, and they fly pretty fast. You can find the spikes here for about 15 bucks. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000670VE2/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p200_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0MWX69RY7B3TTBZKAMHQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

And here is a picture of one of the darts. Let me know what you think of the idea.

I have used similar ones that were made for my boots back in my logging days. The spike was not quite as long.....maybe 5/16 inch in length but the spike had a wide base on it.....looked something like an old Roman shield. I had to spin them in a drill against a grinding stone to take the OD down to the point where they would fit down the bore but they worked just OK at close range but they were poor past 5 yards or so. Lost speed very rapidly and flight was spiratic when actually used on targets to see what they really were doing. I've since gone back to marbles with a cone super glued onto them. They fly great and hit very hard. There are photos of these in the member photo area of ones I've made. I've not seen many other folks post photos of them before but I know lots of guys use them. It's kinda one of those things everyone knows about that gets taken for granted and doesn't come up much. Anyhoo, keep tinkering like this. It's how new cool stuff gets discovered.

 

[giwtro]

Thanks for the input teach. I did notice that they were kind of light, but didn't think that it would be affecting the aerodynamics of the dart so much. The original idea behind the dart was that you would use them for hunting like regular stun darts, but the spike on the front would add a bit of penetration to crush the skull of the animal like a squirrel or rabbit (I never used them for hunting). I guess I will mess around with adding a bit of weight to the dart to make it heavier.

 

[NaturalFork]

Those sound slike they would do the trick!

 

[squirrelslinger]

if you want to kill stuff, just go buy a box of .223 bullets. Not cartridges, just the bullets.

make really long cones from tyvek, and put the bullets in the end of the cones. they are really long ranged, very accurate, and extremely deadly.

For target practice on close targets use 9mm bullets-the rounded end is a lot more durable than the really pointy end of a rifle bullet...

I think it is obvious that you should use FMJ bullets because the lead is fully covered.

I have a buddy who reloads ammo and sells it. he buys casings, reloads, and sells the reloaded ammo, and he gives me his reject bullets.

.223 FMJ ultra low drag/boat-tail bullets seem unbeatable as they are very dense. This makes the darts be much more accurate IMO.

All I know is that I have killed a squirrel and 4 starlings with them- compared to a few starlings with normal darts. the squirrel was delicious. the starlings I didn't eat.

 

[giwtro]

What is the effective range that you are getting out of those? Also, will a .5" diameter blowgun be able to push those, or would I have to step up to a .625? Other than that, those seem pretty awesome!

 

[squirrelslinger]

I've been using .625 PVC.

I measured it with a caliper. (that HAS to be misspelled)

a .50 might be able to, I dunno, I don't have one.

I just had bullets lying around and thought, why not?

the squirrel was a luck shot almost 20 yards diagonal.

I hit it in the head, almost right in the eye.

I guess it knocked it out of the tree and the fall killed it.

I doubt the bullet-cone thing killed it- there was plenty of blood, but I found the cone and bullet seperately from the squirrel.

range? they fly well over 250 feet at a 45 degree angle. normal darts fly around 200-250 depending on weight.

the finished darts(.223 bullet+5 inch tyvek cone) weigh a little over 4 grams.

I was too scared to actually go "full power" with the blowgun for fear of losing them(the parking lot was only 100 yards or so).

 

[Teach]

What is the effective range that you are getting out of those? Also, will a .5" diameter blowgun be able to push those, or would I have to step up to a .625? Other than that, those seem pretty awesome!

9mm generally run .355 to .356 of an inch in diameter although I have seen cast bullets used in old guns that were up to .358 which is a standard size for 38 special and 357 mag. As a .5 blowgun is still 12 thou larger than the biggest diameter bullet mentioned here it will fit down the bore no problem. Blowing it is another story - too heavy for practical purposes.