Airsoft bow....would anyone want one?

[LancsSkirmisher85]

Hi guys,

 

Fairly new here so be gentle

 

I'm an avid tinkerer and maker of anything and have been developing an airsoft bow just for fun... I was wondering if anybody actually would want one in a game and if so, what would you want from it? 

 

Apologies if I've posted in the wrong place!

 

cheers!

[Stratton Oakmont]

Been done on here already, do a search and you will find it. They may even appear and help you. 

[PopRocket123]

My dad built this a couple of years ago. There's also someone else now making and selling their own design. 

[LancsSkirmisher85]

Looks great! I've reduced the overall length (piston plus barrel) to make handling easier and reduce weight and aiming issues, most the ones I've seen are basically sniper set ups nailed to a bow so I've deigned from the ground up- I'll be able to post pics in the next week or so, if anyone would like to see how does it handle? Is it usable?

[Groot]

 

Surely this makes more sense 

 

https://www.gdfb.co.uk/larp-archery-275-c.asp

Edited July 28, 2021 by Groot

[EDcase]

50 minutes ago, Groot said:

Surely this makes more sense 

 

https://www.gdfb.co.uk/larp-archery-275-c.asp

Because you'll be losing them constantly.

 

I don't see the point myself either but its an interesting concept so would be interested to see what you come up with #LancsSkirmisher85

I guess you could do a Cowboys vs Indians game but we know how that would end...

[Rogerborg]

Sure, it would be interesting to see what you've come up with.

 

It's not that insane an idea, you're just using a leaf rather than a coil spring to shove a piston down a cylinder, and let's be honest, we're all playing with toys.

 

If it's draw-and-release rather than drawing to cock a latched spring, then consistency might be an issue, and CQB sites in particular might want to take a hard look about what it's really capable of, as opposed to how long a pull you use for chrono.

[Druid799]

I’d say no .

[Cr0-Magnon]

It's not a new concept, so the idea itself isn't that appealing. However if you were to create one with attractive parameters, then I'm sure a few on here would drop the cash on an impulse - airsofters always enjoy a bit of that action 😄

[Tackle]

I'd have one just for the Craic, but it'd have to be skirmishable, & there I think lies the problem, being able to set a consistent FPS that's not open to abuse🤔

Guess the only way to do that would be a fixed piston or draw stop, matched to your spring power ?

In the past I've considered picking up a cheap bow from wish etc & having a dabble to see what I could come up with.

[PopRocket123]

2 minutes ago, Tackle said:

I'd have one just for the Craic, but it'd have to be skirmishable, & there I think lies the problem, being able to set a consistent FPS that's not open to abuse🤔

My dad used a compound bow for his so that the draw is the same each time. He's set it up to fire at basr power levels but you could change it to cqb friendly levels by swapping to a lower volume cylinder or adjusting the cams to reduce the draw.

 

He did the maths and even this cheap kid's bow he used is capable of in excess of 9J so he volumed it to be safe for airsoft and used the excess cylinder volume to feed the air back to behind the grip to keep the length down. He also made a buffer system in the front of the cylinder to stop it from tearing itself apart. 

[LancsSkirmisher85]

Thanks for all the replies so far guys, all good input! My design so far uses a standard airsoft coil spring for consistency and has a limited cylinder stroke which sets the max fps (at full draw) to an acceptable level so it could only be fired at safe velocities with the current cylinder fitted so hopefully that should limit abuse

 

Any Thoughts on what might make it unsuitable for skirmish so I can keep that in mind? 

 

much appreciated!!

9 hours ago, PopRocket123 said:

My dad used a compound bow for his so that the draw is the same each time. He's set it up to fire at basr power levels but you could change it to cqb friendly levels by swapping to a lower volume cylinder or adjusting the cams to reduce the draw.

 

He did the maths and even this cheap kid's bow he used is capable of in excess of 9J so he volumed it to be safe for airsoft and used the excess cylinder volume to feed the air back to behind the grip to keep the length down. He also made a buffer system in the front of the cylinder to stop it from tearing itself apart. 

That's superb! I was toying with a side by side design but I want to keep it simple and as "normal bow looking" as possible.  Huge qudos to your dad for that work tho, he could probably sell that design if he protected it first!!!

[Rogerborg]

22 minutes ago, LancsSkirmisher85 said:

he could probably sell that design

 

To the massive nascent market for niche toys in a niche hobby?  

[PopRocket123]

1 hour ago, Rogerborg said:

 

To the massive nascent market for niche toys in a niche hobby?  

He looked into it but it wasn't cost effective in the slightest. He'd have to sell the completed unit for at least £500 with all the hardware, printing and man hours that went into it. He was considering selling the files with the correct bits of tube or links to a supplier. 

[Tommikka]

This is very nieche, and is sought out by the few who may use one, but will be a very expensive and very limited ‘weapon’ in a game.

Anybody using one in game is going to be shot a lot more than they are going to hit anyone.

 

There was the AirRow now a few years back and was sold for a very short time.  Existing ones are closely held by those who own them and I’ve seen a few that have considered selling but quickly fall through as they won’t let it go

 

The AirRow was primarily sold for paintball but had airsoft and lead pellet versions, and was approx £500 complete with bow or about half that for the fittings excluding bow, but as in the thread below someone bought just the kit thinking they would get a ‘better’ bow for the money, but spent the same overall for an equivalent and the shop staff spent hours getting it all set up together 

Someone who’s experienced and has an existing bow would find it easier 

 

https://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/thinking-of-getting-an-airow-gun.158448/

 

 

[Rogerborg]

Hmm, now I'm fascinated to see how the air seal and feed mechanism would work.

[LancsSkirmisher85]

They're cool, but waaaay to bulky at the front- I'm hoping to reduce that a lot!! As for costing £500...wow!! That's expensive as he'll! Haha

[PopRocket123]

2 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

Hmm, now I'm fascinated to see how the air seal and feed mechanism would work.

My dad used a cut down tappet plate with an AEG air nozzle and hop up. You have to manually rack the air nozzle to load a BB then pull back the string and release to fire. 

 

I came up with a tappetless system to use the excess cylinder volume to move the nozzle so you didn't have to do it manually but we haven't implemented that yet. 

[remus]

Necropolis but with reason... saw this vid thought it may help those still looking at this idea...

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4201208576600407&id=731351820252784

 

https://www.micryan.uk/project-1

Edited September 18, 2021 by remus