Rifle Grenade Prototype

Following my last post about rifle grenades I thought I would show the prototype in a bit more detail.

The power plant for this system is a 40mm CO2 grenade. I have used the S-thunder mini grenades for this build but there is no reason the design couldn’t be used with a different grenade.

So, how to use! Open the chamber by pulling out the barrel.

Insert your loaded grenade:

Insert the barrel. Have the barrel face downwards to stop premature firing of the grenade. The grenade is locked securely in place when the polished steel is no longer visible.

And bang, you’re ready to go!

This prototype is for my M14, though I would love to make some more of these for other rifles. You can see the video with the initial test firing below:

 

Let us know what you think in the comments, on Facebook or email us on  enquiries.vintageairsoft@gmail.com. We will develop these for other rifles as they are requested so let us know if you want one!

 

UPDATE: Since this post was made initially, I have also started development of a rocket to go on it. The rocket in the attached video is only an initial prototype and improvements will be made as time goes on.

Rifle grenades-Introduction

Firstly, apologies that it has once again been an age since I last posted. I’ll be updating what I have been up to over the last month this week.

A slight diversion from the usual this time, the rifle grenade was developed in the early 20th century to allow soldiers to launch grenades further than they could throw. This technology would fill the gap between hand-thrown projectiles and small bore mortars until the 1970s, when dedicated grenade launchers became popular and the 1980s when underslung grenade launchers became widespread.

The rifle grenade first saw extensive use in the Great War where the high trajectory required to land a projectile in the enemy trench and short-medium ranges between opposing forces made them an ideal area-effect weapon where mortars were not available.

In airsoft, gas powered 40mm grenades are popular with modern players who are able to use them for room clearance and area-effect. However the M203-type launchers are entirely unsuitable for WWII and other pre-1970s era airsoft games. Anyway, this is my prototype answer to those who want to add a bit more ‘oomph’ to their semi-auto or bolt-action. More to come on this concept.

 

I’d really like to build these for WWII airsoft rifles, if you would like to be a test subject let me know! Our email is: enquiries.vintageairsoft@gmail.com or you can contact us through our Facebook page!