Stun projectile for a blow gun

A stun dart having a solid impact head with a conical shaped tail portion interconnected by a solid cylindrical elongated body. The impact head has a contoured front surface with intersecting grooves and a tapered trailing body surface to impart flight stability and maximum travel distance and impact delivery to the target.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention is directed to blow gun darts that are used for sport hunting. Such darts are launched from the blow gun by the force of air provided by the user.

2. Description of Prior Art

Prior art blow gun darts have been developed based on user requirements and sealing properties within the blow gun wherein an air pressure build-up is needed to propel the dart down the barrel of the blow gun and to traverse a substantially straight path to the target, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,457,921, 3,735,748 and 4,419,978.

In U.S. Pat. No. 3,457,921, an immobilizer dart can be seen having shaped tip end with a rubber cylinder on a wire support shaft. A notch is provided within the end for an immobilizer drug to be inserted.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,748 claims a combined blow gun and dart illustrating a blow gun dart having a shaft with a point on which is secured a dart body defined by the air seal within the blow gun.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,061 discloses a blow gun dart having a tapered shaft with a rearwardly positioned hollow impeller. A conical end tip is formed by the tapered shaft defining an angle of thirty degrees with respect to the center line of the shaft.

Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,978 illustrates a breath operated dart device shown as a typical dart with a wire shaft pointed end and a bulbous end member at the rear to seal same for propelling the dart.

Prior art includes well known darts used by indigenous native tribes and are typically defined by a sharpened shaft of natural material and a winding on the end of natural fibers sufficient to form a seal within the blow gun. Such darts may be dipped in naturally occurring poison to aid in hunting birds and small animals in their natural environments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A stun projectile dart for blow guns that provides for a non-lethal projectile used in hunting. The dart's configuration permits blowing of the dart out of the blow gun formed of a long hollow tube at a high velocity and maintaining a straight flight path. The stun dart has a contoured mass inducing weighted front impact end with a barrel sealing propellant enabling fusto conical hollow flight on the end of said body with an interconnecting support shaft therebetween. The stun dart head configuration therefore imparts the aerodynamic flight direction path for accurate range transition to the extended target.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now toFIGS. 1,2and3of the drawings, a stun dart10of the invention can be seen having a monolithic center body support shaft11with an enlarged head end12and a trailing propellant end13. The engagement head end12has an enlarged contoured striking surface14with intersecting right angularly axially aligning channels15A and15B formed therein. The cross channels15A and15B define multiple opposing surface impact sections16A and16B and17A and17B, best seen inFIG. 3of the drawings. The surface impart sections16A,16B,17A and17B are therefore contoured defining segmented cone surface18extending to a mid position annular transition surface band19. The respective depth of the channels15A and15B are equal and terminate in spaced relation to the so-defined annular transition surface band19, best seen inFIG. 1of the drawings.

An annular groove20is centrally formed within the surface band19dividing it circumferentially for airflow in-flight induced characteristics as will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter.

The engagement head end surface12is tapered rearwardly at21from the annular transition surface band19to engagement of the central support shaft11which is secured thereto by registering engagement within a mounting and received placement bore22axially aligned therewithin.

The center support shaft11is solid and has an area of reduced annular dimension at23extending inwardly from its oppositely disposed end24as best seen inFIG. 4of the drawings. The trailing propellant end13of the stun dart10has a hollow fusto conical portion25and an integrally extending shaft receiving tubular portion26extending centrally therefrom. The fusto conical portion25has a continuous annularly disposed sidewall25A defining an open end edge27tapering to a base end28from which the tubular portion26so extends.

The shaft receiving tubular portion26extends centrally from the base end28and is of an open interior dimension for a press fit registration on the hereinbefore described support shaft area of reduced annular dimension at23. It will therefore be seen that the outer surface dimension of the solid support shaft11is equal to that of the shaft receiving tubular portion26indicating by a co-planar transition area generally indicated annularly at29as seen inFIG. 4of the drawings.

The intrinsic mass of the engagement head portion12coupled with the aerodynamic surface configuration thereof imparts during flight a stable trajectory maintaining directional accuracy and transition to target illustrated generally by airflow surface impingement flow arrows AF.

The hollow fusto conical trailing projectile end13open end edge27is of the same diameter as that of the head portion12defines a seal within the blow gun36, shown in broken lines inFIG. 1of the drawings. The projectile end13allows for user induced air pressure indicated by arrow P to propel the dart10through and out of the blow gun.

It will thus be seen that a new and novel blow gun dart in the form of a stun dart10of the invention has been illustrated and described and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.