Does anyone remember a blowgun/slingshot hybrid?

[Snowdog]

Back in the mid to late 80's, there were advertisements of a trigger fired blowgun that resembled a subgun. It was powered by two rubber-tube slingshot bands. Supposedly, the bands connected to a plunger that forced air into a chamber, that was connected to the smaller blowgun tube. When the trigger was pulled, the plunger would slam forward compressing the air and sending the dart out at break-neck speeds.

I know I saw this in a couple gun rags, but now they're nowhere to be seen.

Anyone?

 

[Joe Demko]

Yes, i remember it. Dean Grennell also made reference to it in an article he wrote not long before he died. From what I recall, it got pretty impressive velocity out of those blowgun darts using exactly the mechanism you describe. They weren't all that awfully expensive either. Wish I had bought one when they were around.

 

[craftsman]

Hybrid BG/Sling

Drop a line on the Yahoo blowgunsnw group (search on blowgun in the groups window) to Charlie - he's in NJ, and has one. He can tell you where he got it, and if there are any more out there. Shoots a .40 cal, if I remember right.

 

[Nobody]

Let us know what you find. I recall that as well and would be interested to see more information about it.
Others that dropped off the face of the earth...
The Combowsling, a slingshot/bow device with wheels and tubing,
The Airrow gun, a compressed air gun that fired aluminum arrows both above and below water.

 

[abaddon]

In Elementary school a kid made slingshot-type weapons that shot pencils. Basically a tube with smaller than normal slingshot band at the end. You could shoot pencils pretty good through them. Some sort of dart weighted in front would be even better. No air comression involved though.

 

[Perfesser]

Took me a minute to call it up from dead storage (old brain)...it was called a Megadart and it was wicked. 3/8 inch or .40 sounds about right and I think it would put darts through an inch of pine. The bands were surgical latex tubing and you pulled back on a T handle to cock it. I could probably sketch it from memory. The toughest parts to make would be the brackets and the connector between the pressure chamber and the barrel.

 

[stupadasso]

Mega Dart gun

I have one of these. I dug it out of the closet the other day, replaced the bands, and was amazed again. I found this forum searching for info about the gun. I bought mine in the early 80's from the Sportsman's Guide. I don't remember how much it was, but not much. Does anyone have any info about these guns? If anyone has any questions about mine...just ask.

 

[Nobody]

A picture of the Megadart would be nice if you could do that please.

 

[stupadasso]

Pictures

I hope these help.

 

[BHP FAN]

Man that takes me back!Those were sooo badass! A buddy got one.We tried it out in his garage workshop,and could not believe the power.Basicly a 10 speed bicycle pump mounted to a blowgun pipe. we shot it the length of his shop at a fruit crate with a crude bulls eye sharpied onto one of the 3/4 pine endcaps on the crate,and...it shot the blowdart through not only that side of the crate,but the other sideas well,dissapearing into the drywall.It left behind the ''cone'' of the dart,when it hit the first 3/4'' side panel ,and except for the holes it left behind,that's the last we saw of that dart!

 

[stupadasso]

Megadart

It is powerful. I bent a hunting dart by hitting a knot in a board, but it still stuck and I needed pliers to pull it out.

The tubing that is on it now is for slingshots. I have heavier latex ordered. I think that it will be at least twice as strong as it is now.

The company that made these seems to have disappeared. I can't find anything about them. Unfortunately, Nerf makes a "mega dart" product and that keeps coming up in searches.

 

[BHP FAN]

The Megadart was pulled almost as soon as it came out.It was way too deadly,and IIRC some kid killed his kid sister with one.Imagine the liability laywers salivating over that one.Congrats.Having shot one with wrist rocket tubing on it,I'm sure you could control pests with it.

 

[TimboKhan]

I had one of these! I had no idea it was called a Megadart, which is a very rad name. I traded a carburetor or something to this dude in high school for it, and enjoyed it pretty immensely.

 

[stupadasso]

What would one be worth? Are they in any books that I could look up? I have had it for so long that I almost forgot about it. It just sat in a closet while the kids grew up.

 

[Gordon]

I'd trade my Prowler Fouler for a working one.

 

[Big Daddy Grim]

Dang I want one

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Never seen that one before - very bizarre and very cool!

 

[elmerfudd]

Sounds easy enough to make. Personally, I'd be tempted to use an old paintball gun with about 3' of electrical conduit for a barrel.

You can get older spyders, brass eagles and the like for next to nothing.

 

[glistam]

Paintball gun? Now there's an idea... Pretty darn powerful.

Although at that point, what you've got there is basically a pneumatic dart rifle, much like the one's biologists use.

 

[RyanM]

A pump action paintball gun with a 3-4 foot .625 cal barrel, modified to load darts from the breech, would probably be very good for silently hunting small game up to about 10 pounds.

 

[stupadasso]

I saw one that was made out of pvc and shot 50 cal balls. It worked but the design left a lot to be desired. It was awkward to hold and aim. The power was there though. You could easily shoot small game or targets 15 yards away. Not bad for a plastic chamber and a foot pump.

I guess it could have been modified to shoot darts...I didn't think of it before.

 

[capecod37]

Oh, fun stuff, brings back some great memories of the blowguns and slingshot combos that my brothers used to make when we were kids. And the pipe rocket(marble) launchers powered by cherry bombs.
The darn things were pretty accurate too once they refined their building process.
Ive still got some pretty cool spear guns down cellar and some nice old Whammo slingshots, not where my grandsons can see them however.
We did get a .38 caliber harpoon gun from a yard sale a few years ago, that also is well hidden, so well in fact that even I cant find it.
Now for the real blowgun with darts which a friend of my brother has, this thing was commercially made many years ago. I will ask him what and where it is, as its so accurate that we used to take squirrels out with it. It had a sort of a tapered needle thing on the tip of the 'bolts'.
Another thing not good for grandsons in the 8 to 10 year old range, though we are teaching them how to shoot properly with our Beeman pellet guns.

 

[Furious Kang]

When I first got into snorkeling ages ago there was device known as the Hawaiian Sling. It was tube of bamboo or wood or plastic with some strong rubber thong or surgical tubing attached. You put a spear into, drew back and fired. I could never get any fish with it, but the natives were good at putting fish on the table. Never tried it on dry land myself but was made to understand it had the range of five to ten feet.

 

[capecod37]

Ive still got a couple of those too, in the cellar with the old spear guns.
Well hidden. The surgical tubing is all gone to heck, probably just as well. But we could always get new stuff.

 

[boyntonstu]

It is powerful. I bent a hunting dart by hitting a knot in a board, but it still stuck and I needed pliers to pull it out.

The tubing that is on it now is for slingshots. I have heavier latex ordered. I think that it will be at least twice as strong as it is now.

The company that made these seems to have disappeared. I can't find anything about them. Unfortunately, Nerf makes a "mega dart" product and that keeps coming up in searches.

Can you describe the trigger mechanism of the Megadart?