Howell pumpkin hurler loses title (Nine ton pumpkin gun -"Second Amendment")

Ann Arbor News ^ | 11-8-04

[Dan from Michigan]

Good try, but too bad they didn't retain the title. Besides rooting for the homers, any pumpkin gun called the "Second Amendment" deserves our support.

[pipecorp]

Maybe next year they squash their competition?

[SoDak]

It's great to be an American.

[OhMike]

Hey, our flag and my boat are both "Old Glory." I was rooting for them. It's okay that "Second Amendment" came in second, though.

[WoodstockCat]

I saw this covered on Discovery Channel I believe last year, there was just something so cool about watching pumkins explode after being chunked that far.

[GSlob]

Well, they might be getting close to the limit - what is the maximum air speed a pumpkin can withstand without disintegration?

[Cicero]

A picture from the 2002 contest:

[Ralph the Hun]

what is the maximum air speed a pumpkin can withstand without disintegration?

African or European?

[Grim]

Looks like fun.

[Callahan]

Delaware bump.

[AndyJackson]

I thought we just busted Sadam for having a few of those things.

[southernerwithanattitude]

4500 ft. they have to be getting close. I bet they have to use some kind of sabot around the pumpkin. Man I would love to build one of those! I like the one on the dump truck {great idea!}

[GSlob]

I'd think the maximum speed would be more dependent on the state of pumpkin ripeness than on pumpkin origin. But still - once you have a maximum possible speed, then you have the maximum possible distance, with correction for ballistic coefficient of the given pumpkin. Maybe they should start growing a hollow point boat-tail shaped pumpkin variety.

[southernerwithanattitude]

A pumpkin is the for sure a "soft" point huh?

[Hot Tabasco]

Maybe they should start growing a hollow point boat-tail shaped pumpkin variety.

I read on a thread yesterday that one of the guys was shooting a home grown hybrid that was mostly shell and thus harder....

[GSlob]

He'd do better then by injecting it with something - well, anything - to add weight and thus increase sectional density and ballistic coefficient. But that might be cheating.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Delaware's a blue state, but Sussex is a red county ... this despite the fact that it's home to Rehoboth Beach; affectionately referred to by the locals as "Rehomo Beach."

[hophead]

"Well, they might be getting close to the limit - what is the maximum air speed a pumpkin can withstand without disintegration?"

These guys grow their own engineered pumpkins in secret patches. They are really into it. I went last year and had a great time. Its hard to find people like these chunkers having a better time with life.

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

They deducted points from Second Amendment's score when they discovered that the 10-pound "pumpkin" it launched was actually Teddy Kennedy's head.