While such a research organization probably has access to better resources than most punkin chunkin teams, I'll take your word that it can be done.

So assuming you've got a captive piston, couldn't you make something like a springloaded "pumpkin cushion" to act as a shock absorber and allow greater acceleration of the sabot at launch? The spring would probably also extend when the sabot is caught, returning a good portion of its energy to the pumpkin...

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saefroch wrote:So assuming you've got a captive piston, couldn't you make something like a springloaded "pumpkin cushion" to act as a shock absorber and allow greater acceleration of the sabot at launch? The spring would probably also extend when the sabot is caught, returning a good portion of its energy to the pumpkin...

Tech wrote:My piston (sabot) was not captive, but the results are impressive. AA batteries launched from a 1/2 inch barrel on a 1 inch valve vs a sabot and 2.5 inch barrel on a two inch valve show the potential.

While it can be a pain to put together, the advantages of using a sabot can be condensed into the following:

- low sectional density in the barrel, meaning that much higher acceleration is possible than a full bore projectile

As you can see, the discarding sabot projectile weight is significantly lower, however the velocity at the muzzle is over 1000 fps higher and there is a corresponding increase in penetration, to the extent that at 2000 yards it penetrates better than the full bore at 500 yards. The rounds being compared are the bottom two in this diagram: