120mm's cratapult sounds way cool.

I am picking up a "Have-a-bath" animal trap this spring. It is like a "Hav-a-Hart" trap, except you throw it in the pond for a five minute bath for the crat. Just kidding, that would be cruel.

Actually I will live trap strays from the alley behind the clinic.

I was thinking about building an oversized "Potato Cannon" and shooting the crats out over a plowed field with my dogs waiting downrange to score for distance and in flight body position.

Does anybody know where I can get plans for that size cannon? I would use Dacron batting to keep from getting crat flambe.

Maybe we could have a postal match between the cratapult, the crat cannon and the trepootychet.

JCN

ToolMaker may have some info on CATguns, but one thing for sure, you need to let me set up down range with my Beretta first. You don't want to waste an opportunity like this for dog training. I'll yell "Pull!" fer ya.


Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.Merry.Christmas

LD,

KittySkeet
How nice of you to think of new ways to entertain, those lovely GSP girls of your.

Hog Killer

I believe it was the common concensus sometime back that 3.5 to 4 inches was the appropriate spud cannon bore diameter for cats and that starting fluid was a good propellant. The question however, of muzzleloading them head-first or butt-first was not unanswered at the time. I suggested head first, as it gives them a chance at some point in the trajectory to twist about somewhat and prepare for landing. Using a tazer for ignition would ensure uniform ignition, giving a lower standard deviation in velocity.

We (me and some outlaw friends looking for a rig to launch big baits for shark fishing from the surf) made a nice potato gun once that would work very well for crats...

2" heavy wall PVC pipe, 4' long at least
2" to 6" reducing fitting
6" heavy wall PVC pipe 2' long
6" cap with screw in end
gas grill electric starter

Assembly is pretty obvious, and boom, you have a breechloading bottlenecked spud gun. I would think that scaling the main bore to 2.5" or 3" would leave plenty of room for your projectile of choice.

Without some sort of sabot, I would think loading them head first would be preferable, unless you like fang marks in your hands/arms. I have one set of kitty tooth scars in my left arm...don't want another!

We got a solid 400' with a small water bottle (full) and starting fluid. The fun started when, trying to scare us, my buddy hit the starter indoors. Surely all the propellant has evaporated...after all we last shot it 2 days previously...BOOOOOOOM! They are hard on the eardrums inside!

Note to self: Long-Hair cats do NOT need a sabot. Self-explanatory.

Short haired ones don't need a sabot either if they are only .001 to .003 oversize for the bore. Use a short starter and a mallet for a good tight fit.

Ned, link us a video of your technique. PLEASE!

Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.Merry.Christmas

Dan, I usually wield the punch and mallet while an apprentice orients the cat properly to the bore! Sorta like loading a slug gun, except the false muzzle is on the cat.

I think I'll tie a long streamer to the crat's tail and point the gun up at a 45 degree angle.
JCN

My 2 cents here. Cat fur(Yuk) is some pretty one directional stuff. If they go head first down the barrel
there will be far to much gas leak by. No imagine tail first
all that expanding hair to trap said gas.May not ever singe the whiskers. Backwards may seem hard at first but think of this. Tie parachute type cord to cats tail. A little duct tape to hold to hind legs tight against the body.(No loss for wind resistance) A bit more tape for the front legs. See earlier note about wind resistance. Lay snarling beast on floor and with sootable rod,reach up through the breach through the barrel and pull tail rope back through just like a big ol fat boar swab.

Or ya just stuff em in an old panty hoes leg and poke em down with a stick.

Life's fun out in Bakersfield, huh Ted?

Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.Merry.Christmas

I was thinkin that if they are loaded Tailend first the they just might act a bit like a Mini-Ball. That cavity at the back end and all. derf

My Machinist sense instinctivly told me somebody was talking about shooting cats with compressed air.

Yeah, 4 inch sched 40 is about the right size and cheap to boot. As for Sabots/gasseals/loading directions, it really doesn't matter as when you suddenly apply 10 atmospheres of pressure on to the little furball, he'll obutreate and fill the bore.

Just remember, you need a BIG air tank - The one I'm considering is 240 gallon...


Toolmaker