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CNN on the Pumpkin Cannon
Pretty soon the Dianne Feinsteins of the world will be after these. He estimates the range could be up to 5 miles.
Ka-POW! goes the pumpkin
Mechanic develops grand gourd gun
NOBLESVILLE, Indiana (AP) --Jim Bristoe is getting a blast out of his pumpkin cannon.
Bristoe figures his 30-foot-long, two-ton contraption can fire the orange orbs up to five miles. On Saturday, he entered his launcher in the Pumpkin Propulsion Contest, where the cannon far outclassed the competition.
So Bristoe stepped aside and let the lesser rivals compete for top honors.
"I actually bowed out of the money race and let the guys with the catapults compete," Bristoe said. "I only shot at 20 pounds of pressure and a 10-degree angle, and still cleared their whole range."
Bristoe, a 42-year-old electrician and mechanic, estimates his cannon's range at about 5 miles. He's yet to fire the cannon at full power, although a pumpkin fired in a demonstration last week went through the rear of a Pontiac.
Bristoe wowed the crowd at Saturday's contest by using the cannon to launch toilet paper rolls.
"Everyone up there loved it. They let me shoot 36 rolls of toilet paper through the gun," he said. "That was impressive. They got about 200 feet in the air and then just unrolled."
Meanwhile, he is looking for better competition.
"I intend on shooting in competition, and I'm going to change my barrel size to regulation so I can compete with the other big guns," he said. "That'll be next year, when pumpkins are ripe again. This is way too much fun to stop."
Pretty soon the Dianne Feinsteins of the world will be after these. He estimates the range could be up to 5 miles.
Ka-POW! goes the pumpkin
Mechanic develops grand gourd gun
NOBLESVILLE, Indiana (AP) --Jim Bristoe is getting a blast out of his pumpkin cannon.
Bristoe figures his 30-foot-long, two-ton contraption can fire the orange orbs up to five miles. On Saturday, he entered his launcher in the Pumpkin Propulsion Contest, where the cannon far outclassed the competition.
So Bristoe stepped aside and let the lesser rivals compete for top honors.
"I actually bowed out of the money race and let the guys with the catapults compete," Bristoe said. "I only shot at 20 pounds of pressure and a 10-degree angle, and still cleared their whole range."
Bristoe, a 42-year-old electrician and mechanic, estimates his cannon's range at about 5 miles. He's yet to fire the cannon at full power, although a pumpkin fired in a demonstration last week went through the rear of a Pontiac.
Bristoe wowed the crowd at Saturday's contest by using the cannon to launch toilet paper rolls.
"Everyone up there loved it. They let me shoot 36 rolls of toilet paper through the gun," he said. "That was impressive. They got about 200 feet in the air and then just unrolled."
Meanwhile, he is looking for better competition.
"I intend on shooting in competition, and I'm going to change my barrel size to regulation so I can compete with the other big guns," he said. "That'll be next year, when pumpkins are ripe again. This is way too much fun to stop."
