Earlier in the thread you mentioned that you were working on getting multiple shooting distances/forces. I toyed with the idea of a pneumatic cocking device for my spring-loaded kicker, but went with a motor driven winch instead so we could get multiple powers. How did you manage this with a pneumatic cylinder which only has two positions?
Also, this is what i'm using for my latch/release mechanism. The one I bought is rated to 200lbs.
http://www.destaco.com/products.asp?...ory_2=Standard