Man builds gun to fire pumpkin a mile

A man in the US has built a cannon to fire a pumpkin a mile.

Jim Bristoe's invention has a 30 foot barrel and is powered by a 700 gallon air tank.

It's named "Ain't All There".

During a demonstration in Elletsville, Indiana the 42-year-old electrician and mechanic said: "You don't need to cover your ears, but you're going to know I shot it."

When Mr Bristoe fires the cannon, a 10 pound pumpkin is hit with 11,300 pounds of force.

He says the pumpkin projectile leaves the muzzle at about 900 mph, and during the test it fired a pumpkin through the rear of a Pontiac.

Mr Bristoe plans to take the two tonne pumpkin cannon to the first annual Pumpkin Propulsion Contest at Verizon Wireless Music Centre near Noblesville, on Saturday.

The contest is sponsored by Indianapolis radio station WRZX-FM and is the brainchild of morning show host Gonzo Greg and his colleagues.

"It's more of an exhibition than a competition, and we don't know what to expect in terms of entries," said Greg.

From the headline I expected something like a 16" Naval rifle or one of the Iraqi Superguns but this is hysterical! A pumpkin? A MILE? Whoa ...

I once met a gentleman at a gun show in Texas that had a propane powered "cannon" that could shoot a 16-oz size coffee can, filled with cement, over two miles. It's mounted on a trailer and he even has a custom license plate that reads "TX CANNON". I never saw it fired, but supposedly it shakes the ground for a good distance when it gets touched off! The barrel is made from steel pipe and it was fired electronically with an auto coil and spark plug.

shiflan

I saw some film footage a couple of years ago of these "pumpkin shooters" in action and they take it very seriously. The guns all look like monsters and although they aren't very accurate...they are mighty impressive. Fascinating to watch them shoot.

Hey Saeed,

they have a world champion ship pumpkin shoot every year in Delaware. This being a "world championship" and all, maybe you should work on something to represent the UAE.

http://www.worldchampionshippunkinchunkin.com/

[ 10-20-2002, 22:17: Message edited by: Curtis_Lemay ]

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.

I bet congress will want to "ballistic fingerprint" these pumpkin shooters.

Pumpkin pie! They show this every year on the travel channel.

An Ackley Improved version!

Ackley Improved!

Guys!
This is the most fun you can have.
I have done this but only with Pults . These monsters can put a pickup truck down for the count. They had to increase the range because this cannons were shooting into others fields. Not the best thing to get hit by a ten pound veggie.

If I can find some of the footage I'll post it. I have some great stuff and even pictures of birds getting hammered.
Turtle