I made an impact in my 'hood this weekend - inaugural shot

[North Nick]

I decided to touch off an inaugural shot on the Gunsmoke golf ball cannon yesterday.  The neighborhood is a subdivision with 2+ acre lots (mostly wooded).  I loaded it up two tablespoon of 2F black powder and a couple of sheets of newspaper for wadding. My wife was set up to take a picture (with ear plugs in).  I stuck a fuse in, lit it and ran

Damn! that was loud. I had flaming sheets of newspaper everywhere.  My wife flinched so much she took a picture of the tree tops.   I guess it made quite an impact on the neighbors as well.  Most of them came out of their houses to see what just exploded.  A neighbor down the block, who I work with, and his wife were just starting on their afternoon walk.  They were 100 yrds away, as the crow flies, when it went off.  It cause his wife to jump a foot off the ground.  He said he had to help her catch her balance.  He wondered what it was and then he saw the cloud of smoke hanging around my house and figured it was me.  Plus my buddy, Bob, and I were still hold our sides laughing.

I guess I won't be doing that in the neighborhood any more  Damn!

Quite weekend in your neighborhood?

North Nick

[jeeper1]

Independence Day isn't that far away. Celebrate it in style and volume.

[GGaskill]

Invite them all to a demo.  Well, maybe not the paranoid socialists.

[Preacher_of_Boom]

And, hand out free ear plugs! Put this sign at the start of your driveway.

[Graybeard]

In normal use would the golf ball fired from such a cannon have any evidence on it that it was fired from a cannon?

The reason I ask is we frequently hear what to us "sounds" like canno fire around here and we find golf balls all over our land. There is but one home close enough that it could possibily be a golfer knocking balls onto our property. We've found dozens of them here over the years. All the other neighbors close enough we are certain it is not. I seriously doubt that one other is a golfer but am not sure. So I'm wondering if someone is firing a golf ball cannon and causing the golf balls to land all over the area as the neighbors on both sides of us as well as the ones directly across the highway from us are also finding them.

I'm thinking that if it is someone firing them so indiscriminately from a cannon they really aren't being very responsible and one day someone or something is gonna be hurt by them resulting in a lawsuit. There is one floating in my pond now that was not there a week ago. The balls never have any blast residue on them and appear as if hit by a golf club.

Regardless of how they are getting there I'd really like the person to stop as sooner or later damage is gonna be done to someone or some equipment around here. But so far we've not figured out who is doing it or how.

[Preacher_of_Boom]

Is this guy your neighbor? FORE!

[Double D]

Bill,

All the golf balls I have fired have had black powder fouling on them.  Now if some was so irresponsible as blindly fire off golf balls from a cannon not knowing where they might land, they might also be ignorant enough to use smokeless powder as a propellant.  Pick one of the golf balls up an smell it you should be able to smell powder residue on it if fired from a gun.  


North Nick,

I can only guess how much powder 2 tables spoons is, some where around 200 grs. maybe. Bet it was 2F also.  With two sheets of newspaper tamped on top it might be a good idea to issue flack jacket to spectators.  Think of it this way, if you spread burning embers all over and you have to run to get away from the gun before it fires, you might have an overload.

[Artilleryman]

Would golf balls fired from a cannon with a cloth patch have powder residue on them?

[Santa Dave]

Because where I shoot it's windy I made some (not so)scientific tests:
I measured with common stainless measuring spoons on my electronic scale 10 spoonfuls of ffg and then averaged it
i came out with a tsp = 105.9 grs
so then a tablespoon = 317.7
SO , 2 tablespoons =635.4 GRAINS!!!!! WOW!
Your mileage may vary!
I use 175 gs for Blanks (no Wadding)
But then IIntend to die at the hands of an envious husband at 90+!
Dave

[Preacher_of_Boom]

SO , 2 tablespoons =635.4 GRAINS!!!!! WOW!

I bet that might leave some residue, even with a patch. But, I only watch CSI and I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[Don Krag]

.....
I'm thinking that if it is someone firing them so indiscriminately from a cannon they really aren't being very responsible and one day someone or something is gonna be hurt by them resulting in a lawsuit. .....

Texas recently passed several laws regarding in-discriminant shooting. Firing a weapon in a manner that causes a projectile to cross a property line without the consent of the owner is now a felony. It was aimed at idiots like my neighbors who fire pistols and such into the air on new years and claim that we are unrestricted therefore they "didn't do anything wrong" and persons firing long-range weapons on small lots with houses nearby. I'm guessing it would apply to golfballs from a cannon also. Many other states adopted similar laws over the last few years.