When will we see non roatry magazines for airguns?

[oldpro]

 With slugs becoming close to or even cheaper than some pellets I think we will see a shift to guns shooting mainly slugs and when that happens having magazines fitted from all directions with bullets stacked up and not in a circle will be the norm. JMHO

[Jim Holmgren]

The projectiles mostly do not lend themselves to "box" magazines.

If the owner is all about how many magazines can be emptied which often seems the case,
there is this belt-feed:

It doesn't have to be a belt, the "Real Action Marker" type paintball guns for example use the same system of putting the projectile in a tube and eject it:



There was also a conversion kit that allowed it to fire pellets or BBs

Also worth mentioning is the "Gas Machine Gun" that also used ejectable casings, it does not seem to have made it to production but it seems the prototypes are still for sale.



While this can be made to work, the down side of course is that the system becomes more complex, and while ejectable shells add a "cool" factor, they are also an added consumable which also increases loading time.

What did happen to the GMG and the Ajax bb gun?
I throught they where going to release plans and sell parts for them, but seems like nothing came out of it?

Looks like they would be a lot of fun

Also there are the caselman open bolt airgun that use "normal" stick mags with slugs.

The problem is that airgun projectiles doesn't have any casing to hold it so the soft lead is easily damage especially with pellets which are quite thin.

The plastic casing is a great idea imo and can be used with darts, bb, pellets and slugs.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

What did happen to the GMG and the Ajax bb gun?
I throught they where going to release plans and sell parts for them, but seems like nothing came out of it?

I have a feeling the makers overestimated the market for the GMG vis a vis their pricing.

The Ajax website is still up but the last updates seem to have been in 2011.

The plastic casing is a great idea imo and can be used with darts, bb, pellets and slugs.

It also evokes the possibility of a shotgun repeater, the Farco shotgun for example already uses little brass "shells":

[Mod90]

Form follows function.
As Manny mentioned, most ags are designed with their reservoir and valve in front of the trigger. Only easy way I can see to have a bottom fed magazine would be to have a line that goes from the valve around the magazine and comes up behind it. This will lead to a lot of issues, reliability being one,  and unless you have a way to seal the gaps between the breech and the single pellet inside the magazine, you will have a real power problem. Because the air may push the pellet forward into the breech, but there's nothing there to make it continue pushing forward, so it will take the path of least resistance, down into the magazine. So it's quite likely you would probably  end up having a pellet stuck in your barrel, and a few damaged pellets in the magazine.

Now, a gun with the reservoir in the rear such as the AF lineup, it may be possible. Still would have the problem of how to completely seal the pellet in line with the tp sending air to push it forward into the breech and  not down into the magazine.

What we have works,  and works well. I don't see engineers looking for a way to do something like that. What's the use of aesthetics and added capacity if the reliability isn't there because the system is complicated and wrought with issues

[JuryRigger]

I have wondered if for a compact low-capacity mag, being built into the valve above the stem wouldn't work-
Example shown is 1" valve body, .125" stem, .22" slugs; and the bore centerline .375" above the top of the valve body. Just a thought,
Jesse

[Nomadic Pirate]

What's wrong with rotary magazines anyway ?

[oldpro]

What's wrong with rotary magazines anyway ?

One they are low capacity and two if they are higher capacity then you need really high scope rings to clear it. Last if you go on a long walk you have to have several extra expensive magazines in your pocket. I love how my Impact has the magazine under the gun true genius in my opinion but a magazine with 50 plus rounds isn’t out of the question with a powder burner style magazine

[Nomadic Pirate]

What's wrong with rotary magazines anyway ?

One they are low capacity and two if they are higher capacity then you need really high scope rings to clear it. Last if you go on a long walk you have to have several extra expensive magazines in your pocket. I love how my Impact has the magazine under the gun true genius in my opinion but a magazine with 50 plus rounds isn’t out of the question with a powder burner style magazine

I guess, if we where going into battle LOL

I bring pellets with me and just reload the magazine, no need to bring a bunch of expensive magazines

[CraigH]

Preparing for a rabid squirrel charge, I suppose.

[Ribbonstone]

Semi-autos.

Not thinking the original poster really cares HOW the mag. works as much as having it contain a large number of pellets.

Isn't wanting more shots in a mag endemic to semi-auto firearms.....seems logical that it would also be the urge in PCP's....and belt feed (perhaps contained in a detachable self-contined unit) for full auto.

Not that I agree with the need in an airgun....but folks want what they want,and someone out there will likely supply it.

[Fate]

I can see it now. 

[KnifeMaker]

What's wrong with rotary magazines anyway ?

One they are low capacity and two if they are higher capacity then you need really high scope rings to clear it. Last if you go on a long walk you have to have several extra expensive magazines in your pocket. I love how my Impact has the magazine under the gun true genius in my opinion but a magazine with 50 plus rounds isn’t out of the question with a powder burner style magazine

Yep, and oddly enough, the first successful modern pcp had a mag that was low in the  action and fed from the top of the rotary mag as well. The HW 100.


Always wondered why the industry went away from such a well thought out design.

[KnifeMaker]

I can see it now. 

Nope, that is a rotary mag. LOL

[Nomadic Pirate]

Here you go,...nice toy

https://www.pyramydair.com/product/sig-sauer-asp-mcx-virtus-pcp-air-rifle?m=5130

[Mod90]

What's wrong with rotary magazines anyway ?

One they are low capacity and two if they are higher capacity then you need really high scope rings to clear it. Last if you go on a long walk you have to have several extra expensive magazines in your pocket. I love how my Impact has the magazine under the gun true genius in my opinion but a magazine with 50 plus rounds isn’t out of the question with a powder burner style magazine

Capacity might be an issue for some, I get that, for the fun factor at least, and  if one might be shooting at multiple targets in an area in quick succession.
But many guns use rotary mags and clips that are for the most part relatively low cost and  easy to switch out quickly, and  some are almost impossible to jam or malfunction or break, so the option is there to simply load up multiple clips,  drop them into a pocket, and head out into the field, withas much ammo as one might want or think they'd need and reload. Sure, you still have to switch clips every 8-10 shots, but if a hunter in the field needs more shots than his clip can hold to drop an animal he shouldn't be using an airgun, maybe they shouldn't be in the field hunting animals either. Just my humble opinion.

Now, if a gun  were developed to use high capacity non rotary mag that functions flawlessly and reliably I'd be willing to give it a try. But as things are I'm content with what we've got so far.
You never know, what your thinking about might already be an idea rattling around in some distant engineers cranial cavity.

[Nomadic Pirate]

OK so lets look at a different design going away from the vast majority of PCPs on the market today.

AR style like the SIG but rather then a bottle the buttstock is made by a series of tubes like the Leshiy II ( much better to keep the cheek weld low )

Now a Firearm style magazine is possible in front of the trigger, the trick is to make it reliable.

[Stinger177]

Our Career 707s in the early 1990's had linear feed mags. Somehow the mechanism at the front of the stack grabbed the lead pellet and pulled it sideways into the breech...kinda like a Crosman 600? I don't recall, but they cycled smooth and everything, but the cocking lever effort was disproportionately humongous.

Also the Crosman 400 rifle with removable inline magazine.

The biggest issue I have with the Crosman 400 inline (or "stacked") style is that you can only use wadcutters. Otherwise the following pellet's nose will stick inside the leading pellet's skirt and prevent it from moving sideways.

I really wish I could have worded that differently.

 

[Nomadic Pirate]

Inline magazines like the Career ones required to re-tune the loading shuttle if you changed pellets length, also didn't hold any more pellets then the current circular ones.

I did like them tho, because you didn't need to cock the gun to insert the mag.