Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
This would work fine, except in terms of success.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                 

Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register. Please log in or create an account.

Custard gun

For all manner of pointless whizbangery
  (+4, -2)
(+4, -2)
  [vote for,
against]

The custard gun has a two-part cartridge containing two gel like materials instead of a magazine. The gel in the front is a custard, while the gel in the back is a propellant that can be electrically ignited.

The gels are extruded one at a time into the sealed firing chamber of the gun itself, first the propellant in the back, and then the custard in the front. A small circular sliding block ensures that the gels fill the firing chamber in a relatively uniform manner, and when the weapon is ready to fire, a second sliding block pushes the original block out of the way, and permits an opening to the bore of the gun.

Pulling the trigger produces a spark, either by way of a piezo, or a battery pack and spark plug, depending on whether you trust piezo igniters, or batteries less. The spark ignites the charge, and the force of the explosion causes the custard to act like a solid, upon which it is fired out of the gun in a single mass.

The gun can then be reloaded by extruding more charge and custard. The problem of semiautomatic firing should prove rather tricky, and would probably involve several separate firing chambers arranged into something like a revolver.

Reload time, and accuracy are likely to suck, and the ammo would probably split into shot-like globules while in flight, but the gel nature of the ammo makes the magazines far more compact than regular ammo, and greatly reduces identifying markings on spent rounds.

Depending on the exact nature of the custard, the device could fire a number of nonlethal rounds. Air resistance is likely to reduce the velocity on impact so that the material might not harden when it hits, and most custards are lighter, and more rubbery than lead.

Chemical agents may also be possible, although for the assasins out there I'm sure there will be some very dense easy to harden type of custard, which continues to function like a solid throughout it's flight, and on into the deeper body cavities of the unfortunate target.

Undoubtedly, this will become the ideal weapon for cop-killing. Just stick a jelly doughtnut by the corpse, and the coroners are left to conclude that the victim was a dangerously messy eater... Not that I or anyone I know would ever want to assasinate an officer.

ye_river_xiv, Sep 05 2006

The idea and [DrCurry]'s splurge gun in a link are two weapons that are viable alternatives to this Maizechinegun
[normzone, Sep 05 2006]

[link]






       And this is not a splurge gun?
DrCurry, Sep 05 2006
  

       Having just match-lit yet another gas grill that had a defective piezo-igniter, there's no way in hell I'd build one of those wimpy devices into a weapon.
normzone, Sep 05 2006
  

       My mate's spud gun has been going great gun's for years. It incorporates a piezo igniter from a BBQ, but with replaceable electrodes. I suggest Tungsten, although we just use stainless steel. click click boom! Mine (much newer) seems to be on it's way to a long and faithful life as well.
Custardguts, Sep 05 2006
  

       Special magazines with an underpowered charge, and an over-flavored round might be possible, but I'd rather not cross the line between food and lethal force.   

       I don't think batteries are any more reliable than piezo. It's just that piezo is (currently) harder to replace.   

       Sigh... boned again... Well, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up on a weapon idea, even if it does use custard.
ye_river_xiv, Sep 05 2006
  

       I was about to post a Custard Gun, then it occurred to me that anything to do with custard must have been posted. Indeed so.   

       My modest proposal is for a pneumatic custard gun: a steady flow of deeply non-Newtonian custard is fed, via a corrugated rigid pipe, into one end of the barrel, from the side; the barrel itself is smooth (or gently rifled).   

       When sufficient custard is in place, compressed air is allowed into the barrel, behind the slug of custard. The sudden impulse causes the custard to solidify and be propelled, bulletwise, out of the barrel. At the same time, the custard which is in the corrugated feed- line will likewise solidify, effectively sealing the chamber and preventing blow-back. A moment later, the custard in the feedline relaxes and begins to flow again.
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 25 2007
  

       That too is workable. I suppose you might even use a CO2 cartridge, although I'd be interested to see which could hold the most ammunition.
ye_river_xiv, May 11 2008
  

       [+] Using a smoothbore, the edge of the custard blob will drag, pulling the mass into shape such that, by the time the projectile exits, it will actually be bullet shaped.   

       (Having just posted and removed 'Custard Bullet', I thought I'd toss my own 2c into the batter)
FlyingToaster, Mar 26 2011
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle