Range Day: Comparing Flat Shooting Distances of 4 Knex Guns

by TheRacker

1.1K625

Intro: Range Day: Comparing Flat Shooting Distances of 4 Knex Guns

So it has bothered me since I first started building Knex guns when people would just spout out ranges.  There are so many variables that come in to play that you can't definitively say for one gun how far it shoots.  

Lets look at all the basic ones that can affect how far the gun shoots:

- number of rubber bands
- how far the bands are stretched on the gun itself
- what type of rubber bands
- how worn out the bands are
- grey or black ramrod
- wind
- ammo type
- angle of the gun when firing(this is a big one)
- how tall the person is
- measuring first point of ground contact vs. where you end up finding the shot
- how well you constructed the gun itself.  Not every version of a gun will behave the same.  Case in point:  I built one MeZak, worked great.  I could not for the life of me get a second one to work nearly as well as my first one.  Same parts, same instructions, same person, same banding.  It just wouldn't work for me.

Now with that out of the way, I wanted to even the odds with the 4 guns I have constructed and test their ranges.  The conditions I set were:

- Each gun would fire flat.  I tried to make them as level as possible
- Each gun would fire from my shoulder height.  I'm 6' tall.
- the butt of the gun would be touching the fence at the 0' mark
- Each gun had only 2 #64 bands on it, and I stretched them as equal of a distance as possible.
- I and another person would look for the first place the shot hits the ground, and see the closest point on the measuring tape
-5 shots per gun, average of those shots would be the final range

Now lets get to the actual numbers.

The Racker Rifle - 32' 11"

My Modded ZKAR - 40' 10"

My Older design TR12 - 37' 2" (without 45' outlier that I got, 35' 1"f)

Knex Gun - 35' 5"

These are just the ranges I got with my guns with the previous stated conditions.  Does this make all of them look really weak compared to most guns?  Yes it does.  That's because I only used 2 bands and shot them FLAT and actually measured how far the shots go.  

Things to keep in mind:  

The Racker Rifle was crippled because its body does not allow for the bands to be stretched nearly as far as the other guns.
The TR12 is an older design, and I didn't build the front end entirely as KILLERK would have liked me to.  This means the ram hardly strikes the turret rod, and it doesn't shoot as well as the most recent version would.
The Knex Gun shoots inconsistently because blue rods are really terrible for shooting.  They are just too lightweight and fly around everywhere in the air.
All of these guns hit 50' or further easily with just a small amount of angle on them.  
You can always put on more rubber bands, and on some guns stretch the bands farther.

I hope this post is informative and helpful to anyone and everyone, and makes people reconsider guns when judging the range posted by people.

25 Comments

RandomCommenter 8 years ago

I got a range of 75 feet measured with Oblivitus' UP3.

But, I modded it a bit for more power and used 5 64s.

FireFighter112 10 years ago

Determining the range of a gun is very tricky. .. I like this method of comparing and measuring although I would have done it inside so the wind won't have any effect.

ooda 10 years ago

This is how it is done.

dr. richtofen 10 years ago

Well, you could at least give some arguments for why you dont't agree with Ooda, instead of simply saying 'meh'

The Red Book of Westmarch 10 years ago

Well, I don't really have any arguments, I am just saying that this is not the best way to do it. It is almost as if TheRacker took four obscurely modded guns, only gave them two size #64 bands, and then essentially told all of us that the guns we use don't get the range we say they do. XD, calling all of us fibbers.

TheRacker 10 years ago

This wasn't a max range test. And the only gun that lost performance would be the TR-12, because I screwed up with the front bit. This was comparing flat shooting distances between different guns. And most people usually don't put on more than 2-3 bands anyways except on the TR.

TheRacker 10 years ago

They bounce across the ground after they first hit. And those ranges aren't that amazing for a single shot gun. Seems normal to me.

The Red Book of Westmarch 10 years ago

Even though I claimed to have fired it at a 45 degree angel, it was really just barley elevated from the straight angle. Thus, with a barely elevated gun, you have AMAZING range.

The Red Book of Westmarch 10 years ago

Meh, this does not really change my opinion, but then again, you were only using #64s. I only use those for my triggers and stuff, NEVER for my pins. I generally use #117s for my pins, and they generally give me some really good range. If you want to see some range on a simple pin gun, you might check out my RHBR, as that has a video to show the range. I am not really telling you to check out my new gun, as it is not that good, but I just want you to see the video, to tell me what you think...

I admit that some rages seem far fetched, but then again, these are K'NEX, and are not to be taken too seriously.

ooda 10 years ago

Bro don't advertise your guns on other people's ibles!

DarkOwlProductions 10 years ago

I only have to say one thing to that comment, in all its sophistication and brilliance I'm sure you'll appreciate it.

It's just three letters:

LOL

DarkOwlProductions 10 years ago

I thought that after all this discussion you just look at this and are just like: pfffft... this changes nothing. Look at it from my perspective, and you'll see that it'd be pretty funny.

*sigh* No one understands that I'm insane... :I

Also, as Ooda said, you're kind of breaking your own rules. :I I hope I'm not coming across as mean, but it helps to realize that I'm sort of insane. Like, I don't know how else to put it, but I sometimes have like impulses to type stuff like that, and then I realize in hindsight that it probably wasn't a good idea, and...

Y'know I'm just going to stop talking now. >:L This is way too off topic.

dr. richtofen 10 years ago

I agree with DarkOwlKnex. Good thing that you made this guide, some ranges claimed in descriptions are outragious (60 feet with two old bands in a standard pin gun, while you got 35,5 with a bolt action gun...)
Favorited it, and I hope people will reconsider their 'ranges' before posting them.

TheRacker 10 years ago

With just a bit of angle they all hit 50' or more though. It's amazing how much shorter a gun will shoot when perfectly flat.

dr. richtofen 10 years ago

Yeah, I see. Though the guns in this guide all have the benefit (I couldn't find the right word, so I hope you know what I mean) of having no friction from other bullets.
As for the range, it's amazing indeed, but at the same time also very logical.
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