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« A great Glock ad | Main | CBS news picks up on internal emails -- using Fast & Furious to promote regulations »

Mythbusters shells homes in CA

Posted by David Hardy · 7 December 2011 01:32 PM

Story here, and check out the video. The report is that they were trying to ascertain the cannon projectile's velocity (which can easily be found from charts), but it sounds more as if they were trying to measure its penetration, and aimed way too high. (A 5 degree elevation is all it takes to bring the ball down around a mile away). It must have been one heck of a big gun -- the holes are said to be 8", which might be consistent with a 32 pounder (bore diameter 6.41").

9 Comments | Leave a comment

Chuck | December 7, 2011 2:01 PM | Reply

I've been telling my friends that cannons should not be used for home defense due to the possibility of over-penetration. Now I have proof.

AvgJoe | December 7, 2011 2:25 PM | Reply

LOL! What goofballs those two are.

Jim D. | December 7, 2011 3:15 PM | Reply

Canons are still legal to own privately, right? Well, you gotta practice somewhere...

NevadaSteve | December 8, 2011 7:33 AM | Reply

These guys always have a disclaimer at the beginning of each show telling the audience they shouldn't try the stunts at home because the Mythbusters are 'experts'. As my father used to say - an expert is merely a former drip under pressure.

MajorMike | December 8, 2011 9:34 AM | Reply

Interesting to see the re-discovery of the fact that cannonballs 'skip' (a fact know to many artillerists in the line-of-sight artillery days).

Isn't there some "gun-lobby shill" rule about backstops?

Like: Know your target and what is beyond.
Be absolutely sure you have identified your target beyond any doubt. Equally important, be aware of the area beyond your target. This means observing your prospective area of fire before you shoot. Never fire in a direction in which there are people or any other potential for mishap. Think first. Shoot second.

Or: RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

Know what it is, what is in line with it, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything you have not positively identified. Be aware of your surroundings, whether on the range or in a fight. Do not assume anything. Know what you are doing.

Guess I'm not nuanced enough.

MajorMike | December 8, 2011 9:39 AM | Reply

Chuck said "cannons should not be used for home defense due to the possibility of over-penetration."

It's about ammunition choices. Double canister is an excellent choice - solid shot, not so much.

Shells are good, but you have to cut your fuze appropriately - long enough to keep you out of the bursting radius, short enough not to get the neighbor's Civic.

jdberger | December 8, 2011 4:25 PM | Reply

Pretty amazing. The ball skipped off the ground, entered the home through the front door, exited on an upward trajectory through the floor of the second story and out the wall (hooray for stucco). Then it proceeded to skip off someone's roof, het the ground again and expend itself in a minivan.

I wonder how something like that would work against zombies....?

Woody W Woodward | December 11, 2011 5:43 PM | Reply

Does anyone know if the ATF has visited Mythbusters lately. When a Lubbock, Texas golf ball chunkin' spud gun blew up a while back they were talking about filing on the two men responsible for NFA violations. Seems it qualified as am explosive device.
[W3]

Montieth | December 12, 2011 10:08 AM | Reply

The ranges at Fort Indiantown Gap had an issue a few years ago with APDS (aka sabot) projectiles skipping off the backstop (a rather tall ridge-line) and taking a high arc over the ridge and into the next valley and into DeHart Resovoir. It was discovered by a man fishing in the lake and the sudden rain of odd material

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