[goosta]

We are building a western themed shootin' gallery for our haunt. It will be setup in the garage. We are still early on in the project, but just thought I'd make a post for anyone who wanted to follow along.

If you're not familiar with them, it's based on the infrared shooting galleries they had in arcades in the 80s/90s, Disney has them in Frontierland, etc... I loved those things growing up (of course I still do)! So we decided to build one.

Here's a recent update video showing some prototypes for the electronics:

And here is an intro video I made talking about the project in general if anyone is interested in that:

I will keep updating with progress as the build goes on.

 

[DarkhavenManor]

LOVE this idea. Can't wait to follow this build!

 

[Michael Smith]

This looks fantastic. Where did you get the mini Ardies from?

 

[goosta]

I got them on eBay.

 

[Fright Theatre]

Very Cool!....Love it!

 

[Nicholas]

That's pretty nifty. I really look forward to seeing how the props react to "getting shot".

 

[Bruzilla]

Really cool idea, but I think you're going to have a tough time with your choice of gun. Replica guns have solid barrels, so it's going to be tough to install the emitter and wires. Also, there's not a lot of room inside a Colt Peacemaker for extra stuff, even in the grip area due to the mainspring that's in there. This is why most shooting galleries use rifles since there's plenty of room in the stock and receiver.

I think I would go with an Airsoft Electronic Gun (AEG) rifle. The trigger is already an electronic switch and they have a 6MM barrel that would be perfect for mounting the emitter.

 

[Screaming Demons]

Great idea! I like the ones Scarefactory makes.

 

[JennWakely]

Awesome.

 

[mikkojay]

I love shooting galleries & this concept.
The first thought of a target prop that popped into my head was a skeleton on a tricycle- with his feet wired to the pedals and a relay controlled DC motor driving the front wheel. The Pro Mini's are great, I buy them by the bushel!
-Mike

 

[goosta]

Okay guys...really hoping someone can help me out!

So I need to figure out how to connect a 1/4 air hose to the bottom of the gun. The idea is that it will anchor the gun to the counter and provide a place to route the wires.



My plan is to drill a small hole in the bottom of the gun (in the metal) to be able to route the wires into the gun. I need some way to attach a female 1/4" npt fitting to it so the air hose can screw on to that. I then need to do the same thing inside the counter to secure the hose.

Something like this would be awesome, but it's not the right thread size:
http://www.amazon.com/Hard---Find-F..._1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1424115267&sr=1-1

Anyone have an idea on what I could do to attach it?

 

[Fright Theatre]

Just an idea.....if you can't find the fitting, make it. Looks like you'll need a nut with the correct thread and a large washer. Drill the hole out of the washer in the diameter needed. Find a local tig welder and have him/her weld that nut on real fancy like.....should look pretty professional.

 

[Phantom Blue]

Can you make an extension, that would have your npt fitting, that fits on the bottom of the handle? I found a pic of something that might help spur some ideas?

 

[Phantom Blue]

another image coming of the back-side of the handle.

 

[goosta]

Thanks for the ideas. Hadn't thought of the welding idea... Sounds like a good route if I can find someone to weld it for me.

As far as an extension, I was thinking about that too. I found some fittings for gas tanks that have a lip on it, so I was thinking maybe I could recess it in a piece of wood added on the end of the gun handle there. Not sure how that would look though.

 

[goosta]

Haven't had much time to work on this lately, but finally got the gun figured out!

Here is a tutorial on that:

 

[Phantom Blue]

Thanks for sharing the tutorial Goosta! Looking forward to see how things turn out.

 

[DvlsToy]

If you hadn't run the air line, would tapping the metal itself be sufficient? You can buy a 1/4 npt tap at any hardware store.

 

[goosta]

DvlsToy - Yeah, I considered that but the metal on the bottom was a little too narrow. I was worried that making a complete gap in the metal on the bottom of the gun would mess with the integrity of the handle. Though, in reality it probably when have been okay.

 

[goosta]

Here are some pictures and more info for anyone interested...

I needed a really long bit to drill the barrel

Once I got it drilled, I was able to thread the wires through

Ended up taking a lot of testing to get the light from the IR led narrowed down enough

I tried heat shrink on the LED

But I ended up using a plastic part from the gun that came with the shooting gallery toy I found. A dowel rod with a center hole drilled out would work perfectly too. Added the electrical tape to give it a snug fit in the barrel.

Got the wires tidied up with zip ties. Also, the pushbutton is just held in place with hot glue. That and the cover holds it in place nicely.

I needed a new screw for the handle, so I was able to find this binding post screw at Home Depot

I used a hack saw and file to make both sides match. I then hit it with black spray paint, which I wiped off. Did that a few times to age it and make it match the rest of the gun finish