Pumpkin Cannon Set to Squash the Competition
Oct. 18, 2002

(Ellettsville, Ind) - When Jim Bristoe told his wife he wanted to build a cannon that would shoot a pumpkin a mile, she told him he wasn't all there.

But he built one anyway, with a 30-foot-long barrel. It is powered by a 700-gallon air tank and is appropriately named "Ain't All There." It looks much like a mobile anti-aircraft gun.

"You don't need to cover your ears, but you're going to know I shot it," the 42-year-old electrician and mechanic said during a demonstration on Wednesday.

When Bristoe fires the cannon, a 10-pound pumpkin is hit with 11,300 pounds of force. The pumpkin projectile leaves the muzzle at about 900 miles per hour, he said.

Bristoe plans to take the 2-ton pumpkin cannon to the first annual Pumpkin Propulsion Contest at Verizon Wireless Music Center near Noblesville on Saturday.

The contest is sponsored by Indianapolis radio station WRZX-FM. It's 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. He added that it sounds like Bristoe will probably win.

During the test, the cannon fired a pumpkin through the rear of a Pontiac.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

How would the pumpkin survive that much force?? [img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img] It seems to me that before it even left the barrel of the cannon it would be squashed like a p... er, nevermind. ;)

Yeah... Beats me too Saz [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] Even my high-school science can't come up with an idea. :rolleyes:

I want one of those! :D And a pumpkin-field worth of ammunition.

I used to have a car like that...

This guy needs to change channels once in a while -- he's seen to many A-Team reruns...

so will they be playing smashing pumpkins music at this contest???

Lol! That would be my guess. How bored do you have to be to build something like this anyway?

I seen a bit on the Ripleys believe it or not about amonth ago all about the pumpkin launching contest and some of the machines they had were MASSIVE!!! And the pumpkins do stay semi-whole, that is until they land. :D