How-to: paintball “tactical” anti-tank weapon.
Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:34 am
First take a look at my LAW,
that’s how NOT to do it. It’s too heavy, to slow, and overly complicated. I was going for looks, which is also important as I’ll explain later, and power, power is not necessary as most field limit the muzzle velocity to less than 300FPS.
Okay here are a few quotes that may sound random, but are good advice if you a paintball player and for making cannon:
“Rapidity is the essence of war” –Sun Tzu
“Fast is fine, but accurate is final, the trick is learning how to take your time when you're in a hurry.” - W. Earp
"All that is complex is not useful. All that is useful is simple." - Mikhail Kalashnikov
Now here are a few things that need to be considered when designing a “tactical” anti-tank weapon:
One, power is important, but too much power can make it illegal on some, if not most, fields.
Two, accuracy is essential, and the easiest way to improve accuracy is to lengthen the barrel, but if the barrel is to long it becomes unwieldy.
Three, everybody’s favorite ROF (Rate Of Fire) must be considered, an ultra complex automatic breach that yields a high ROF would be nice, until it brakes, which it will and at the least opportune time. And on the other end of this spectrum is muzzle loading, simple next to nothing to go wrong, but slow.
The very first thing you need to consider is how it will be used:
Will the cannon be used by a grenadier or an infantryman?
If used by a grenadier this will be his primary weapon and there for must have a high ROF.
If used by an infantryman it must be light and easy to carry, and allow him to use his main weapon easily, his life may depend on the cannon, or it may depend on the cannon being light.
I will tell you how to make both types
To begin we shall look at the barrel size:
I use caliber to denote the size of the barrel instead of ID or inside diameter, i.e. 150cal means one and a half inch inside diameter, to decide what size barrel to use we must first consider the projectile to be used, since most field require you to use NERF Pocket Vortex footballs (from here no out this will be referred to as “NERF rockets”) as ammo that’s what our cannon will be designed to shoot. Nerf rockets fit loosely in 200cal pipe, meaning they will require wadding, but fit tightly in 150cal pipe, eliminating the need for a wad. The grenadier’s arm should be 200cal so that he may also shoot small paint grenades. The infantryman’s arm should be 150 as it will only be used as anti-armor/anti-bunker and most likely only need one shot.
Let us now focus on the breach:
In order to be “tactical” our cannon must have a high ROF.
In order to achieve a high rate of fire we will use cartridges made from a piece of pipe of the same caliber as the barrel and at least seven inches long. You may consider breaches such as these:
Vern1’s paintball cannon
the BECC
Both of these use ammunition similar to what we will be using, and most importantly both of these are simple.
For the grenadier’s arm both of those are ideal.
For the infantryman’s arm the BECC’s breach would be ideal as it’s small, or for a really small arm extend the case to form the barrel and have the breach end thread into the valve.
Let us look at the overall shape of the cannon before we go on:
For the grenadier’s arm an over-and-under is ideal as it keeps the overall length short, which is important, the inevitable gap between the barrel and the pressure chamber can be a handy place to put Co2 tank for filling, although I recommend you go remote (I will get into this in more detail later). And remember that just because it’s an over-and-under doesn’t mean that it can’t be shouldered like a Bazooka or an RPG7.
For the infantryman’s arm you could also so an over-and-under for the same reasons as the grenadier’s arm. Or you could use and inline as it will be lighter due to less fittings, and if you use inline you can have a take down for easy carry.
Coaxial is not recommended for ether as it prevents breach loading.
We will be using the over-and-under layout fired like the Bazooka for the grenadier’s arm and the inline takedown for the infantryman’s arm.
Now on to the valve:
The valve must be efficient, must not leak, and must open reliably and quickly, also for the grenadier it should be easily repaired. A piston valve, provided it’s properly constructed, fits the all the above criteria but can be complex to make.
A modded sprinkler valve fits the “no-leak” and “reliability” category, plus they are usually easily acquired.
The valve is entirely up to you, I recommend a piston valve, I’ll explain why later on, if you chose to use a piston valve you might want to get a Mauler valve from Sgort.
Next let’s look at the barrel length:
For accuracy the barrel must be long, for ease of use the barrel must be short, depending on its use the balance will be different.
For the grenadier’s arm, the barrel should be as long as comfortable; the overall length of the gun should not exceed the height of the grenadier. For the grenadier’s barrel we will use a length of between 36 and 50 inches, depending on what’s comfortable for the grenadier.
For the infantryman’s arm the barrel must be as short as possible well still allowing sufficient accuracy and range. A preloaded barrel of about 20 inches would be about ideal.
Let’s look at the pressure chamber before we move on:
The pressure chamber should be large enough to give sufficient power, but small enough to allow for a quick fill. To figure up pressure chamber volume I suggest you use the GGDT, which may be acquired, for free, here: Hall consulting.
Lastly in the construction we will talk about fill:
We will run the grenadier’s arm off bulk Co2 or HPA (we’ll simpler refer to this as the bulk tank) you MUST regulate it down to a safe pressure of at least 125PSI. The bulk tank should be carried separately from the cannon to reduce the weight of the arm. I recommend a Schrader valve on the cannon, with a Schrader fill with a clip (that is, one that can be clipped on to the Schrader valve for continues supply) on the bulk tank, that way the arm may be filled and the bulk disconnected so there are no lose hose that could get snagged, but it still may be attached so that well it’ being filled loading can be done, and so that, when your defending an emplacement you could get multiple rounds off with out having to fool with the bulk tank. The bulk tank’s hose should be short enough to be easily managed but long enough to reach the gun easily.
For the infantryman’s arm 12 gram Co2 bicycle tire inflators should suffice, make sure you pressure chamber is small enough to be filled by the 12 gram cylinder.
Now on to tactics:
For the grenadier:
Nothing scares an infantry man more than seeing a tank roll over the hill, and nothing scares a tank crew more then a man portable anti-tank weapon. A tank, being large, and slow due to speed limitations, is an easy target for a skilled grenadier, were as the grenadier, being small, fast and nimble, makes for a hard target. Think of it as the difference between an elephant and a fox.
The grenadier’s biggest strength is psychological impact; the grenadier’s arm must be as intimidating as possible, consider things such as muzzle breaks, and barrel shrouds to make the barrel look bigger than it really is. Fancy optics look cool, but will only get in your way, instead stick with small iron sights that can’t snag on anything.
The grenadier must be able to move swiftly and quietly well in full battle gear. He must also be skilled with his armament and equipped with more than just the cannon, a small paintball sidearm is a must, and of course grenades.
The grenadier must stay calm in battle, his comrades will be watching him, if he’s scared and he’s got the big cannon, what hope have they with there small guns? To be truly effective the grenadier’s mere presence should strike fear in to the enemy, to achieve this you must look the part, guillie suites are nice for snipers, but for the grenadier you want to be seen, but only after it’s to late. Since the grenadier’s got his gear and cannon the guillie won’t help much, instead he must practice using natural camouflage.
For the infantryman:
The infantryman armed with an anti-armor device should be skilled with it of course, he should also relies, due to the smaller size compared to the grenadier’s cannon, he will not have much range and accuracy, and therefore must get close to his target, once again natural camouflage will serve you better than man made, so the infantryman must learn to use it.
In closing:
If there are any questions regarding basic construction, please use the wiki, the link to which is located in the top right corner of the page. All other questions I will happily answer. And any comments are welcome.
For those of you who play paintball I highly recommend you read Sun Tzu, and if you have any questions regarding strategy fell free to PM me.
To any of you have yet to do so please read the spud gun safety rules. Thanks!
I hope you found this How-to informative.
Note: it’s late here and I’m tired so there are probably a few mistakes, tomorrow I’ll run through it and fix any and all that I find.
that’s how NOT to do it. It’s too heavy, to slow, and overly complicated. I was going for looks, which is also important as I’ll explain later, and power, power is not necessary as most field limit the muzzle velocity to less than 300FPS.
Okay here are a few quotes that may sound random, but are good advice if you a paintball player and for making cannon:
“Rapidity is the essence of war” –Sun Tzu
“Fast is fine, but accurate is final, the trick is learning how to take your time when you're in a hurry.” - W. Earp
"All that is complex is not useful. All that is useful is simple." - Mikhail Kalashnikov
Now here are a few things that need to be considered when designing a “tactical” anti-tank weapon:
One, power is important, but too much power can make it illegal on some, if not most, fields.
Two, accuracy is essential, and the easiest way to improve accuracy is to lengthen the barrel, but if the barrel is to long it becomes unwieldy.
Three, everybody’s favorite ROF (Rate Of Fire) must be considered, an ultra complex automatic breach that yields a high ROF would be nice, until it brakes, which it will and at the least opportune time. And on the other end of this spectrum is muzzle loading, simple next to nothing to go wrong, but slow.
The very first thing you need to consider is how it will be used:
Will the cannon be used by a grenadier or an infantryman?
If used by a grenadier this will be his primary weapon and there for must have a high ROF.
If used by an infantryman it must be light and easy to carry, and allow him to use his main weapon easily, his life may depend on the cannon, or it may depend on the cannon being light.
I will tell you how to make both types
To begin we shall look at the barrel size:
I use caliber to denote the size of the barrel instead of ID or inside diameter, i.e. 150cal means one and a half inch inside diameter, to decide what size barrel to use we must first consider the projectile to be used, since most field require you to use NERF Pocket Vortex footballs (from here no out this will be referred to as “NERF rockets”) as ammo that’s what our cannon will be designed to shoot. Nerf rockets fit loosely in 200cal pipe, meaning they will require wadding, but fit tightly in 150cal pipe, eliminating the need for a wad. The grenadier’s arm should be 200cal so that he may also shoot small paint grenades. The infantryman’s arm should be 150 as it will only be used as anti-armor/anti-bunker and most likely only need one shot.
Let us now focus on the breach:
In order to be “tactical” our cannon must have a high ROF.
In order to achieve a high rate of fire we will use cartridges made from a piece of pipe of the same caliber as the barrel and at least seven inches long. You may consider breaches such as these:
Vern1’s paintball cannon
the BECC
Both of these use ammunition similar to what we will be using, and most importantly both of these are simple.
For the grenadier’s arm both of those are ideal.
For the infantryman’s arm the BECC’s breach would be ideal as it’s small, or for a really small arm extend the case to form the barrel and have the breach end thread into the valve.
Let us look at the overall shape of the cannon before we go on:
For the grenadier’s arm an over-and-under is ideal as it keeps the overall length short, which is important, the inevitable gap between the barrel and the pressure chamber can be a handy place to put Co2 tank for filling, although I recommend you go remote (I will get into this in more detail later). And remember that just because it’s an over-and-under doesn’t mean that it can’t be shouldered like a Bazooka or an RPG7.
For the infantryman’s arm you could also so an over-and-under for the same reasons as the grenadier’s arm. Or you could use and inline as it will be lighter due to less fittings, and if you use inline you can have a take down for easy carry.
Coaxial is not recommended for ether as it prevents breach loading.
We will be using the over-and-under layout fired like the Bazooka for the grenadier’s arm and the inline takedown for the infantryman’s arm.
Now on to the valve:
The valve must be efficient, must not leak, and must open reliably and quickly, also for the grenadier it should be easily repaired. A piston valve, provided it’s properly constructed, fits the all the above criteria but can be complex to make.
A modded sprinkler valve fits the “no-leak” and “reliability” category, plus they are usually easily acquired.
The valve is entirely up to you, I recommend a piston valve, I’ll explain why later on, if you chose to use a piston valve you might want to get a Mauler valve from Sgort.
Next let’s look at the barrel length:
For accuracy the barrel must be long, for ease of use the barrel must be short, depending on its use the balance will be different.
For the grenadier’s arm, the barrel should be as long as comfortable; the overall length of the gun should not exceed the height of the grenadier. For the grenadier’s barrel we will use a length of between 36 and 50 inches, depending on what’s comfortable for the grenadier.
For the infantryman’s arm the barrel must be as short as possible well still allowing sufficient accuracy and range. A preloaded barrel of about 20 inches would be about ideal.
Let’s look at the pressure chamber before we move on:
The pressure chamber should be large enough to give sufficient power, but small enough to allow for a quick fill. To figure up pressure chamber volume I suggest you use the GGDT, which may be acquired, for free, here: Hall consulting.
Lastly in the construction we will talk about fill:
We will run the grenadier’s arm off bulk Co2 or HPA (we’ll simpler refer to this as the bulk tank) you MUST regulate it down to a safe pressure of at least 125PSI. The bulk tank should be carried separately from the cannon to reduce the weight of the arm. I recommend a Schrader valve on the cannon, with a Schrader fill with a clip (that is, one that can be clipped on to the Schrader valve for continues supply) on the bulk tank, that way the arm may be filled and the bulk disconnected so there are no lose hose that could get snagged, but it still may be attached so that well it’ being filled loading can be done, and so that, when your defending an emplacement you could get multiple rounds off with out having to fool with the bulk tank. The bulk tank’s hose should be short enough to be easily managed but long enough to reach the gun easily.
For the infantryman’s arm 12 gram Co2 bicycle tire inflators should suffice, make sure you pressure chamber is small enough to be filled by the 12 gram cylinder.
Now on to tactics:
For the grenadier:
Nothing scares an infantry man more than seeing a tank roll over the hill, and nothing scares a tank crew more then a man portable anti-tank weapon. A tank, being large, and slow due to speed limitations, is an easy target for a skilled grenadier, were as the grenadier, being small, fast and nimble, makes for a hard target. Think of it as the difference between an elephant and a fox.
The grenadier’s biggest strength is psychological impact; the grenadier’s arm must be as intimidating as possible, consider things such as muzzle breaks, and barrel shrouds to make the barrel look bigger than it really is. Fancy optics look cool, but will only get in your way, instead stick with small iron sights that can’t snag on anything.
The grenadier must be able to move swiftly and quietly well in full battle gear. He must also be skilled with his armament and equipped with more than just the cannon, a small paintball sidearm is a must, and of course grenades.
The grenadier must stay calm in battle, his comrades will be watching him, if he’s scared and he’s got the big cannon, what hope have they with there small guns? To be truly effective the grenadier’s mere presence should strike fear in to the enemy, to achieve this you must look the part, guillie suites are nice for snipers, but for the grenadier you want to be seen, but only after it’s to late. Since the grenadier’s got his gear and cannon the guillie won’t help much, instead he must practice using natural camouflage.
For the infantryman:
The infantryman armed with an anti-armor device should be skilled with it of course, he should also relies, due to the smaller size compared to the grenadier’s cannon, he will not have much range and accuracy, and therefore must get close to his target, once again natural camouflage will serve you better than man made, so the infantryman must learn to use it.
In closing:
If there are any questions regarding basic construction, please use the wiki, the link to which is located in the top right corner of the page. All other questions I will happily answer. And any comments are welcome.
For those of you who play paintball I highly recommend you read Sun Tzu, and if you have any questions regarding strategy fell free to PM me.
To any of you have yet to do so please read the spud gun safety rules. Thanks!
I hope you found this How-to informative.
Note: it’s late here and I’m tired so there are probably a few mistakes, tomorrow I’ll run through it and fix any and all that I find.