Abstract:
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.

Description:
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&#39;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. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of the stun dart of the invention within a blow gun shown in broken lines. 
         FIG. 2  is an end view thereon on lines  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an oppositely disposed end view thereof on line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged cross-sectional view on lines  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3  of the drawings, a stun dart  10  of the invention can be seen having a monolithic center body support shaft  11  with an enlarged head end  12  and a trailing propellant end  13 . The engagement head end  12  has an enlarged contoured striking surface  14  with intersecting right angularly axially aligning channels  15 A and  15 B formed therein. The cross channels  15 A and  15 B define multiple opposing surface impact sections  16 A and  16 B and  17 A and  17 B, best seen in  FIG. 3  of the drawings. The surface impart sections  16 A,  16 B,  17 A and  17 B are therefore contoured defining segmented cone surface  18  extending to a mid position annular transition surface band  19 . The respective depth of the channels  15 A and  15 B are equal and terminate in spaced relation to the so-defined annular transition surface band  19 , best seen in  FIG. 1  of the drawings. 
     An annular groove  20  is centrally formed within the surface band  19  dividing it circumferentially for airflow in-flight induced characteristics as will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter. 
     The engagement head end surface  12  is tapered rearwardly at  21  from the annular transition surface band  19  to engagement of the central support shaft  11  which is secured thereto by registering engagement within a mounting and received placement bore  22  axially aligned therewithin. 
     The center support shaft  11  is solid and has an area of reduced annular dimension at  23  extending inwardly from its oppositely disposed end  24  as best seen in  FIG. 4  of the drawings. The trailing propellant end  13  of the stun dart  10  has a hollow fusto conical portion  25  and an integrally extending shaft receiving tubular portion  26  extending centrally therefrom. The fusto conical portion  25  has a continuous annularly disposed sidewall  25 A defining an open end edge  27  tapering to a base end  28  from which the tubular portion  26  so extends. 
     The shaft receiving tubular portion  26  extends centrally from the base end  28  and is of an open interior dimension for a press fit registration on the hereinbefore described support shaft area of reduced annular dimension at  23 . It will therefore be seen that the outer surface dimension of the solid support shaft  11  is equal to that of the shaft receiving tubular portion  26  indicating by a co-planar transition area generally indicated annularly at  29  as seen in  FIG. 4  of the drawings. 
     The intrinsic mass of the engagement head portion  12  coupled 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 end  13  open end edge  27  is of the same diameter as that of the head portion  12  defines a seal within the blow gun  36 , shown in broken lines in  FIG. 1  of the drawings. The projectile end  13  allows for user induced air pressure indicated by arrow P to propel the dart  10  through 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 dart  10  of 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.