Shooting Bowling Balls!
Added 2022-09-12 04:17:25 +0000 UTCI got invited along with a small get-together, mainly just for fun, kind of an "end of summer" thing. Good hot-dogs (actually brats and reindeer sausage) some even better chili, a whole pile of old bowling balls, and a bucket of FG Pyrodex. :)
Cinematography wasn't great, but I didn't bring a tripod, or the extra GoPros I could have put up front, etc. I was just trying to stay out of the way.
Apparently one other fellow that was supposed to bring a couple other Class III's wasn't able to make it for whatever reason, but I still had a chance to fling a couple magazines through that Uzi. Another fellow brought out a Benelli pump shotgun with a 28" ribbed barrel, and an electric trap launcher. Despite the fact I haven't shot trap literally since I was a teenager, I did what I considered very good, getting maybe a bit more than two-thirds of them.
I'm given to understand that today was the first day that Japanese fellow toward the end of the video, had even been in the same room as a real firearm, let alone shot one. (They started him out on a scoped semiauto .22 LR and then a mild AR build- they didn't just hand him a machine gun and say "go nuts". :)
Overall, had a blast and I hope we can do it again before too long.
Doc.
Comments
When fiction meets reality.
Cyrus Williams
2022-09-20 01:09:16 +0000 UTCThe fish I think were shocked by the whistling and shooting) Looks like a lot of fun! I'm glad you liked it there
NakedSunFlower
2022-09-12 23:30:39 +0000 UTCI know a couple of GunTubers that would get a kick out of this, Demolition Ranch and Kentucky Ballistics...
Andrew Diseker
2022-09-12 21:58:06 +0000 UTCI was on a monitor, but my old man eyes were the limiting factor, I'm afraid. Not casting any aspersions on your camera skills, Doc. :D
2022-09-12 20:18:46 +0000 UTCSee it in high resolution on a proper monitor, rather than a phone. I wish I could have zoomed in further (and, now that I think about it, I probably could have in the editor) but that was the limit of the lens I had with me.
Doc Nickel
2022-09-12 20:10:36 +0000 UTCYes. Each shot had a minimum 10-12 second hang time, but time and distance did vary noticeably, as the balls are different weights (often by pounds) and charge weight. (Which was more consistent than you think, but probably still varied by 5-10% each time.)
Doc Nickel
2022-09-12 20:08:36 +0000 UTCDude, the bowling ball mortar had a fifteen second hang time with the first volley! Was that consistent, or did it vary based on ball weight and unconventional weighing of propellant?
RivCA
2022-09-12 19:44:31 +0000 UTCIt was pretty hard to see, that's for certain! And I'm assuming that Doc's friends would be far more accurate than me watching a tiny video. ;) So 5/8 mile = ~3300 feet or 1100 yards. I guess I was fairly close under the circumstances. ;)
2022-09-12 15:56:02 +0000 UTCYou have great eyes if you saw that splash.
JD2.0
2022-09-12 15:40:05 +0000 UTCTheir motto is "Hold this for me!" :D
2022-09-12 13:45:08 +0000 UTCTheir walls are built of bowling balls;
2022-09-12 13:44:33 +0000 UTCThe property owner said that, judging roughly by things like tide lines and buoy markers (not seen there, but used during fishing seasons) they estimated 5/8th of a mile- plus or minus 1100 feet. But due to different ball weights and... well, unmeasured powder charges :) I also guessed there was an easy 300+ feet variation in distance.
Doc Nickel
2022-09-12 06:58:38 +0000 UTCWell, technically, Pyrodex (modern black powder replacement) is not considered a "high' explosive, but considering what it can do, I'm fine with that. :)
Doc Nickel
2022-09-12 06:56:15 +0000 UTCThey need to add some wadding to those bowling balls. They lost way too much pressure because of the loose fit.
Trygve Henriksen
2022-09-12 06:04:22 +0000 UTCLooks like everyone had a fun time. Might we see some bowling ball mortars showing up in The Whiteboard in the near future? The first firearm I bought was an Uzi. By the time the paperwork came back and I could actually pick it up I'd found a few friends for it so it wouldn't be lonely. It hasn't been out of the safe for years, I should do something about that.
Lee Spiesman
2022-09-12 05:56:30 +0000 UTCLife is good.
Major Matt Mason
2022-09-12 05:44:02 +0000 UTCLooked like that mortar was tossing bowling balls about 1200 yards.
2022-09-12 05:41:10 +0000 UTCFull autos and high explosives. Doesn't get any better than this.
Lord Chaos
2022-09-12 05:01:41 +0000 UTC
