Is spudding dead?

[D_Hall]

I confess that as a hobby I've pretty much given up spudding. Mostly, I get my fix from playing with VERA. Don't get to do it nearly as often as I'd like, but she's ruined me for lesser guns.

On the plus side, this summer she's going for 2,600,000 ft*lbs.

[CpTn_lAw]

Hey D_Hall,

I tought I was done with spudding... but then I came to my senses again.
I very recently built a homemade QEV piloted by industrial QEV air rifle. I machined my own nylon piston, and it is housed in a 3/4" brass tee, with a 18mm piston seat. The flow is outrageous, and there is almost no difference in the sound of it between dry fire and actual projectile shot.

I'll have more space to shoot when I finally move in to my first house next year.

Good to see you're having fun with VERA.
I was showing a video of it to a colleague a few days ago, he was amazed ! I still am, fantastic job!

[qwerty]

I'm still here and I visit occasionally. My degree/drinking takes up almost all my time but I have 4 months off in the summer and have access to a lathe amongst other tools. Might see what I can whip up.
It's very nostalgic seeing some of these names again, jeez.
In my opinion the development of smartphones and the desire for punchy information with quick results is the main factor contributing to the decline of this hobby. People never want to invest time into something anymore. They just want the information laid out right in front of them, this is why Reddit is so popular. Short, sharp pieces of information that give instant satisfaction, something this hobby has never had.

You could make this site a whole lot more popular by having step by step tutorials on the front page with immediate results. Of course this goes against a classic spudder's mindset though. A push for advertisment and virality on sites like reddit could kick-start the hobby again but I'm not sure.

[mobile chernobyl]

...You could make this site a whole lot more popular by having step by step tutorials on the front page with immediate results...

I think there was one time in this site's history that they tried to promote posts from the build log - sort of make a different project a 'featured' one every week.

Spudding isn't dead... Though when I turned down a position to work on the navy rail gun (plasma physics simulation around muzzle flash suppression events specifically) I questioned my involvement in it. Ultimately life goes on - Had I accepted that job my life would have been very different, and I've had ulterior motives in the outdoor and biking world my whole life - so I had to follow those passions.

Now I live in Colorado and regularly have the chance to do 500+ yard range days - well the range is pretty much anywhere we can 4x4 to. I still get the jollies that spudding gave me (delivering KE to a target), albeit with more 'boring' kinetic delivery devices if you ask me... Okay maybe being able to unload 10x 7.62x54r rounds into a 1930's mining truck's engine in under 3 seconds is pretty damn cool

[fenrir]

Well, it's been a year since I've been on here, because I've been too busy with school and work. Sadly I've lost interest in spudding because of the lack of space, time, and money. I'm going off to university soon. I mean in two months or so, I'll be old enough buy an actual firearm, so why bother making one? I've made a marble shooting QEV launcher based on copperhead prime a year ago, I just never showed it to you guys. And I've put on my college application that I build potato guns and airsoft guns for fun. (still got accepted) So farewell, everyone. I might return someday when I have enough money, time, and land. In the meantime, I'll be lurking here every now and then.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

I mean in two months or so, I'll be old enough buy an actual firearm, so why bother making one?

This is a relevant point, for many people this hobby is indeed a way to shoot things when you're too young to own a "proper" gun, or otherwise prevented from doing so legally.

[farcticox1]

Strange or not I mostly build them because I can, very rarely shoot them, I have 3 hanging on my workshop wall and building another (possibly another after that). It's more of an art for me.

[mobile chernobyl]

This is a relevant point, for many people this hobby is indeed a way to shoot things when you're too young to own a "proper" gun, or otherwise prevented from doing so legally.

I'm definitely in both realms. It is certainly nice to be able to buy off the shelf stuff and put holes in stuff up to 1/2" diameter... but the feeling of putting a 1.5" diameter hole in something - whether by means of accelerating a starch bullet, a golf ball, or something else... is so much more pleasing lol

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Definitely. Making a 7.62mm hole in this 12oz CO2 bottle with a Mosin was fun, but I still want to make something that uses 12 oz bottles as projectiles

[D_Hall]

I mean in two months or so, I'll be old enough buy an actual firearm, so why bother making one?

This is a relevant point, for many people this hobby is indeed a way to shoot things when you're too young to own a "proper" gun, or otherwise prevented from doing so legally.

That one makes me sad.... I've been shooting firearms since before I can remember; certainly before age 5. Didn't build my first spud gun until I was probably in my early 30s. What attracted me to spudding wasn't simply sending KE downrange, but rather, the ability to design a gun from the get-go...something you rarely get to do with firearms.

[Skywalker]

Hey guys! It's been ages since I logged on [edit: almost 4 years!]. I still keep my cannons at my parent's garage, but I've lived in apartments in the city for the last 6+ years, so I haven't been able to build anything new. I don't foresee that changing for a long time either, unfortunately. It's a shame that the new generation isn't picking this hobby up. I agree with whoever said that it probably has something to do with nerdy kids finding an easier path into computer-oriented hobbies. Also in the US, what with terrorism fears and our propensity for lawsuits and calling the cops on anything suspicious, it's getting more risky to have this hobby it seems.

I'm really glad to hear about the guys in this thread who got inspired to go into engineering through spudgunning. That makes me happy.

It would be really interesting to have a meet-up in real life, or even on skype sometime, to see what you guys are like in person. I know that's probably impractical due to privacy concerns, but it's strange that I've 'known' you all for so long but only by your username and/or goofy profile pic (I'm looking at you especialy, JSR, with the cereal-man cartoons!).

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

I'm really glad to hear about the guys in this thread who got inspired to go into engineering through spudgunning. That makes me happy.

Same here!

It would be really interesting to have a meet-up in real life, or even on skype sometime, to see what you guys are like in person. I know that's probably impractical due to privacy concerns, but it's strange that I've 'known' you all for so long but only by your username and/or goofy profile pic (I'm looking at you especialy, JSR, with the cereal-man cartoons!).

I have ants in my eyes these days there is a bit of behind-the-scenes networking, I know many people connect on facebook and such.

[Biopyro]

I tried rifle shooting after I'd done spudding for a few years and really found it lacking a figurative "spark". I think both the personal significance of making your own cannon and the ability to send something downrange with a boom are important.

Maybe living in the UK affects how one sees guns, because the ones we have here are a little soulless for my tastes. It's moot though because I am another who's had to move to the city and sorely misses loud noises of all varieties.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Spudding is not dead across the border - and if we do get that wall built, expect lots of posts about "need to make a payload projectile for a 'school project' which goes at least 30 feet"

[Doodmens]

Haha that's pretty DOPE you could say!