Gel balls.

4101 Views 27 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Pee_Drizzle, Mar 28, 2021

Pee_Drizzle

Discussion Starter · Mar 25, 2021 (Edited by Moderator)

Im sure most of you know about these newish gel blaster things, the kind that use expanding gel balls for ammo.

The ammunition is based off a of garden moisture retention ball.
They are insanely cheap, hard enough to shoot, blast apart on impact and melt down to nothing, biodegradable and safe for the environment.

The balls used in blasters are 7-8mm, but I've just found some on ebay that are 13-16mm, random colors or clear, 5000 of them for about $7. I think i might order some clear ones and just see how they go, why not?

In case anyone doesn't know of these things, I've attached an image of three different sized balls, before and after being expanded in water.

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Reactions: 5

1 - 20 of 28 Posts

Hoss

· #2 · Mar 25, 2021

That's the first time I've ever seen them, are they pretty firm after being soaked in water?

Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk

Reactions: 5

SLINGDUDE

· #3 · Mar 25, 2021

I've never used the dry ones as ammo, but I have used the expanded ones as targets. If you buy the clear ones, you can add food coloring to the water when you expand them and you can make them any color you'd like.

Reactions: 5

Winnie

· #4 · Mar 25, 2021

Water gel beads

Reactions: 5

StringSlap

· #5 · Mar 25, 2021

Sold as children's play things and commonly known as Orbies. I'm staring at a bucket filled with several thousand of them right now and not once did I ever think that I stumbled upon a treasure trove of slingshot ammo! In fact, I can't wait for my son to get tired of them so I can throw the whole mess away!

Reactions: 5

Pee_Drizzle

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 25, 2021

Hoss said:
That's the first time I've ever seen them, are they pretty firm after being soaked in water?

Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk

Well the gel blaster ammo certainly is, others tend to be very soft, but how long you soak them and let them soften can keep them pretty tough. Ive bought some cheap, small garden style ones. When they arrive ill let you know if they are remotely firm enough.

Reactions: 3

Pee_Drizzle

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 25, 2021

Hey Slingdude,

No i meant expanded.
Maybe only gels designed for gel air guns are tough enough, I intend to investigate.

Reactions: 4

Slide-Easy

· #8 · Mar 25, 2021

Gel Balls from a Pee_Drizzle ?

At first my mind went to all the silly spam we were inundated with lately and thought this was more of the same.

Reactions: 5

Pee_Drizzle

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 25, 2021

Don't feel bad, you just weren't ready for my nonsensical gangster monika.

Yo yo yo,

Pee Drizzle coming at ya

Better dodge

Better duck

Betta get an umbrella

Reactions: 3

Slide-Easy

· #10 · Mar 25, 2021

Pee_Drizzle said:
Don't feel bad, you just weren't ready for my nonsensical gangster monika.

Yo yo yo,

Pee Drizzle coming at ya

Better dodge

Better duck

Betta get an umbrella

Are you Pee_ing down my back and calling it rain? :uhoh: Or maybe, just maybe, Pee_ing in the wind. :thumbsup:

Reactions: 3

Pee_Drizzle

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 25, 2021

Definitely in the wind, though not into the wind.

Reactions: 3

SLINGDUDE

· #12 · Mar 25, 2021

Pee_Drizzle said:
Hey Slingdude,

No i meant expanded.
Maybe only gels designed for gel air guns are tough enough, I intend to investigate.

Gotcha!

Yeah, in my experience the ones that expand to golf ball size and larger get pretty soft and kind of fragile when expanded.

Reactions: 3

Pee_Drizzle

Discussion Starter · #13 · Mar 25, 2021

Oh yeah, for sure. Mostly I'm curious about marble sized gel balls. Possibly even under-expanded.

Reactions: 3

Tobor8Man

· #14 · Mar 25, 2021

"They are insanely cheap, hard enough to shoot, blast apart on impact and melt down to nothing, biodegradable and safe for the environment."

This generally describes clay ammo - the downside is that clay is often too light and inconsistent in size and weight. Also, the clay dust destroys your bands.

I have tried a lot of clay ammo - including homemade. The best clay ammo is Saunders' Clod Poppers. It is symmetrical, consistent in size and weight. Heavy enough to fly accurately. It is coated - so no clay dust. Reasonably priced. Highly recommended.

Reactions: 5

cromag

· #15 · Mar 25, 2021 (Edited by Moderator)

The weight may make them a perfect analog for steel , just a tad larger like marbles. Consistency in size could be a trick. Walmart sells some in the kids section that I may take a shot at. If they don't work out they will be good moisture retainers for the desert garden.

Reactions: 4

Slide-Easy

· #16 · Mar 25, 2021

Pee_Drizzle said:
Definitely in the wind, though not into the wind.

Reactions: 4

Cass

· #17 · Mar 25, 2021

Great, I ordered some today to try! Thanks for the idea.

Reactions: 4

Pee_Drizzle

Discussion Starter · #18 · Mar 25, 2021

Cass said:
Great, I ordered some today to try! Thanks for the idea.

Awesome sauce!
Let me know how it goes.

Reactions: 3

Tag

· #19 · Mar 25, 2021

Fun idea

Reactions: 3

Pee_Drizzle

Discussion Starter · #20 · Mar 25, 2021 (Edited by Moderator)

Tobor8Man said:
This generally describes clay ammo - the downside is that clay is often too light and inconsistent in size and weight. Also, the clay dust destroys your bands.

I have tried a lot of clay ammo - including homemade. The best clay ammo is Saunders' Clod Poppers.

Heck yeah! Ive got a big bag of clay balls from when i was growig some.hydeoponics years ago, they do indeed shoot quite well.
They are just cheap ones and incredibly inconsistant in size, fortunately, i made a dirt sorter a few years back, to sort good bonsai sized dirt chunks out of random soil. It can easilly be set up to divide my clay bas out by size.

Ill definately order some Sunders, cheers.

Reactions: 3

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