Build Your Own Mortar

Ant sends this link about a home-made mortar. Now all he needs is explosive shells and a good tripod...

Comments

BOOM!

[Enraged_jawa]

I bet that thing is pretty freakin loud!

Re:BOOM!

[Anonymous Coward]

I bet that thing is pretty freakin loud! WOW Man, (Score:5, Insightful)

Re:BOOM!

[Tuxinatorium]

It's basically the same thing as an old 1700's cannon. 10 pound shell with about a 700yd range? I can do better. Get some 2 foot sewer pipe and shoot som friggin huge metal balls

Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[l810c]

I remember building tennis ball cannons years ago. A lot of fun. But this thing could be lethal in more ways than one.

Are these things legal? In every state?

Slashdot effect + 'Build Your Own Motor', we may have just set off Echelon alarms

Anyone want to bet how long until he

[Anonymous Coward]

ends up in Gitmo?

Mini-me can do the job!

[celorfin]

Don't know about explosive shells, but I'm sure Mini-Me can be a good tripod.

Uhh!! Editors...

[antdude]

"Now all he needs is explosive shells and a good tripod..."

Uh, I do NOT need those items. Maybe the guy who built the mortar does! ;)

Re:Uhh!! Editors...

[Anonymous Coward]

big deal, so what dude, i mean , what is up, man, come on, get with the time, what is this going in inside the in the inside go it when its inside, man

Oww, my own mortar!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not supposed to get jigs in it!

Build mortar?

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought you made it by mixing cement, sand and lime.

Only four ounces of powder

[Caractacus Potts]

Wow. That doesn't seem like much. They must have had a lot of self control. I would have poured a lot more than that into a pipe that big.

Re:Only four ounces of powder

[DoraLives]

I would have poured a lot more than that into a pipe that big.

But only one time.

Re:Only four ounces of powder

[glenebob]

And you would have likely just wasted it. 4 ounces is quite a bit when you're talking about black powder (or a synthetic thereof), and that barrel is pretty short.

That said... I probably would try more too :-)

Re:Only four ounces of powder

[imsabbel]

Most people SERIOUSLY underestimate the power of gunpowder and explosives. I guess this comes from too many movies showing the hero surviving handgranates detonatin 5 feet away act.

"a few ounces" is around the payload of a normal offensive hand granate. A AIM-9J missile has less then a pound of explosives in the warhead and can destroy a jet fighter.

I once tried what happened if you take about 5 grams of nitrocellusoses and fire it closely enough confined that a deflagration to detonation transition happened. I couldnt really hear the initial blast (dont know why, perhaps ear overload), but 5 seconds later the sound returned from the other side of the valley i live in like a thunderclap.

At that moment i was REALLY happy that i was smart enough to burry a hole 2 feet deep and insert a bigger metal tube to stop fragmentation.

Re:Only four ounces of powder

[imsabbel]

well i could say it is spelled Handgranate. Dort wo beim bund war hat man einen Arsch wie dich zum Kloputzen mit der Zunge eingeteilt.

John Ashcroft wants to know

[ralphus]

Has someone submitted this thread to the department of homeland defense yet?

Re:John Ashcroft wants to know

[Ohreally_factor]

They have a forum there, too? Kewl!!!!!!!!! Is John Ashcroft the mod over there? Funny. I thought it would be Tom Ridge.

I love the second photo...

[OneOver137]

"Hey man, I think there's still some powder down there"

Yeah, right

[worst_name_ever]

Oh sure, you'll think you're all smart, saving money by making your own mortar... until your bricks stop sticking together and your fancy new house falls apart!

(who needs to RTFA when misreading the article subject is more fun?)

Re:Yeah, right

[glenebob]

Maybe the guy is a ... get ready for it ... a mortician!

Re:Yeah, right

[John Harrison]

I knew a family in Brazil that was adding a room to their house. The had enough money for the bricks, but the were running out on the mortar mix. Adding extra sand to the mix seemed to make one bag of mix last longer, so they did that. The next big rainstorm (about a week later) caused the walls of the addition to collapse. That same night I helped pull a VW Beetle out of a 4 foot deep mud hole that opened up in the road.

Re:Yeah, right

[FuzzyBad-Mofo]

In Soviet Rush, today's Tom Sawyer gets high on you.

Shouldn't that be: In Soviet Rus(h|sia), today's Tom Sawyer gets you high?

Re:Yeah, right

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope, it should be "you get high on today's Tom Sawyer." I always wondered about that sig too.

Re:Yeah, right

[daeley]

You think that's bad? When I saw the headline, I immediately thought "What about the pestle?"

Cool!

[NanoGator]

Hey McBride! Catch!

You have been reported.

[Anonymous Coward]

This Website has been reported to the United States Federal Government for transmitting information which could be used to create terror. The website and links to it have all been saved into a cache.

Re:You have been reported.

[thedillybar]

Oh, not to mention the httpd log with all of our IPs :)

"If you build it, he will come."
Who wouldn't want to see that?

Re:You have been reported.

[TheCrazyFinn]

You want terror? Look at Doc Nickel's Car.

FYI: That's Doc's main website that the mortar is fixed on.

Re:You have been reported.

[placeclicker]

The website and links to it have all been saved into a cache.

You mean This one?

Big Pipe...

[c_oflynn]

So pretty much, all you need is a heafty pipe and a slight dose of insanity?

Reminds me of a story one of my friends told me. Around where I live they have a few of those old cannons, that have been sealed up, I assumed so people didn't put garbage in them.

Anyway this guy when he was a teen found some gunpowder (this was before the cannons were sealed), put it down the cannon, and put a hunk of metal on it... the result was the metal flew through a [empty] train-car! Hmm...

Re:Big Pipe...

[qubex]

So pretty much, all you need is a heafty pipe and a slight dose of insanity?

You need a hefty pipe that has been welded shut on one end and a hefty dose of insanity. Barrel-testing is an intricate form of engineering and if that thing were to fragment the shrapnel would sever your torso as if it were paper.

Re:Big Pipe...

[s0l0m0n]

You also need a damn good welder, which can be hard to find.

A friend and I played around with a 1" diameter cannon a couple of years ago. He's a shipwright and pipe welder by trade. He built and welded the thing, and despite being very comfortable welding pipe for high pressure applications.. this still made him nervous, even though it was built using 3/4" wall pipe, and a 2" thick butt plate.

We mostly stopped using it after a kid blew his hand off with a similar device a few miles away on the 4th of july. Shortly there after, we fired it off one last time (in the fornt yard, no less), with a nice light load of powder and a plastic bag for wadding, no actual projectile. For some reason we got a much louder detonation that ussual, and the cannon jumped much farther than normal. At this point, we realized that it was unpredictable, and quite possibly a danger to the operator.

I wouldn't feel comfortable with such a toy unless I could have it ultrasonically tested at least semireglarly.

Re:Big Pipe...

[Chelloveck]

You need a hefty pipe that has been welded shut on one end and a hefty dose of insanity. Barrel-testing is an intricate form of engineering and if that thing were to fragment the shrapnel would sever your torso as if it were paper.

My friends and I get together once a year and do this sort of thing. I would highly recommend burying the mortar tube! Catastrophic failure of the tube is no fun if shrapnel perforates the onlookers. We tend to get about a 17-second flight time on bowling balls, and have indeed had at least one tube failure.

We also tend to get at least one visit each year from the local sheriff. They're cool with it (and like to watch!) as long as we stop the booms by nightfall. The neighbors, 3 miles away, tend to complain.

Oh, and 400 pounds of burning thermite is a truly beautiful sight...

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Erick the Red]

Assuming the site is from the US, I don't see why it would or should be illegal. What is more dangerous to the public, a psycho with a homemade mortar or a psycho with a semi-automatic handgun. I guess the mortar would be able to do some serious structural damage, but I can do some serious damage with my car, and more idiots drive than build their own cannons.

Ah technological advancements...

[twoslice]

I remember fondly making spud cannons and now this. Soon we will have backyard nukes!

WMD

[Stalyx]

So that's where Saddam was hiding those Weapons of Mass Destruction...........

Re:WMD

[kzinti]

I guess Saddam got tired of trying to pick up the spare on those 7-10 splits.

Re:WMD

[Anonymous Coward]

no... here they are!

deathcow

bf1942

[Lord_Dweomer]

God, I can see the people who play bf1942 having WAY too much fun with this one.

"Hey!!! Stop base-camping you bastard!"

*THWUMP* *whistle*

"Heh...doubt he'll respawn after that one."

Re:bf1942

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, like anyone is going to actually call artillery...

Dept of Homeland Security

[dlur]

The fine folks from the Dept. of Homeland Security and various other government agencies will be breaking down your door in about 2.4 minutes for posting this information. Enjoy life as an "enemy combatent".

"I, for one, welcome our new Insect Overlords." - Kent Brockman

Re:Dept of Homeland Security

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought that was "illegal combatants"

Re:Dept of Homeland Security

[Anonymous Coward]

It is, but the motivation of the parent was to use the old "welcome our blah blah" joke coupled with a Simpson's quote. He could have left out the first part and gotten the same results.

Re:Dept of Homeland Security

[beamin]

Does this mean that bowling balls will no longer be allowed on airplanes?

Poll?

[Anonymous Coward]

mortar?

Dangerous Deadly Disasterous.
I much prefer nuclear bombs.
I live in a country where this isn't a problem.
Nice toy for disposing of various things
I live in the middle east, you insensitive clod!
CowboyNeal lays my bricks

Arrr!!!

[Lobsang]

All he needs know is a copy of Napster, a Boat and a parrot to be a perfect pirate! Arrrrrr!!! Ahoy me men! Remember to pillage BEFORE you burn! Arrr!

Re:Arrr!!!

[Bunji X]

Nah, he will also need a wooden leg, a hook instead of a hand or at least an eye patch to become a full fledged pirate.

But then, playing with toys like these, that problem will be solved in a not-so-distant future...

Re:Arrr!!!

[Rich0]

And one heck of a reinforced hull! Did you see what that thing did to 6" of dirt?

Better be careful...

[FrankieBoy]

...or George will classify it as a 'Weapon of Mass Destruction' and send the stealths.

Wow...

[Zzootnik]

Okay- Sure, It's a Darwin award waiting to happen, but WOW... There's just something about explosives and that much kinetic energy... I used to shoot off the BIG July 4 fireworks...the normal "dinky" 3 inch shells are pretty pounding, but the bigger 10"+ shells were just pure Concussion.( And that's just from the launch-) Lotsa material there to feed your inner pyromaniac...

I'd still be pretty spooked about flying metal shards here, though. I've seen the aftermath of firing tubes that have ruptured, and you really can't imagine how steel can twist and rip like paper until you've seen it. There was a REASON we buried those tubes....

What? No gratuitous damage shots?!?

[Cid Highwind]

Am I the only one disappointed that the reporter didn't go downrange and photograph the craters those bowling balls made on impact? I bet it would be a lot more impressive than the divots the cannon dug in the firing line...

BATFE

[Anonymous Coward]

Will probably be harassing this guy until the day he dies now that the whole world knows about it.

TERRORISTS

[napsterposter]

I'm just waiting for John Ashcroft to put this guy in jail for life because this could be used as a terrorist weapon.

Okay, I've built the mortar...

[Illbay]

...but what good is it without the pestle?

Any instructions for that in the works?

Re:Okay, I've built the mortar...

[magores]

this isn't off-topic. Redundant, probably. + .5 funny, maybe. But not off-topic.

Just my opinion.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[irving47]

Heh. Good points. But are you implying the legal system of any state (or federal level) could withstand that level of common sense?

Oh man!

[infonick]

this type of experiment would have been ultra fun for the projectiles unit in Physics 12. we did something of this sort, we built lego catupults (my teams being the most acurate). But this... even just to have a shot put or some smaller object... man. that would have been fun physics!

Reminds me of powerlabs cannon

[ron_ivi]

Reminds me of this cannon

But still neither are quite as cool as this Trebuchet from the which launched a piano and a cow.

Re:Reminds me of powerlabs cannon

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a mirror of the Trebuchet.

Missing the cow picture, though.

Re:Reminds me of powerlabs cannon

[echucker]

I'd love to see that kid's living room, seeing as he says his sister's door was 50 meters away from the muzzle of the spud gun.

Re:Reminds me of powerlabs cannon

[EinarH]

Looks like that user limit from Geocities filled up...

Don't worry.
Here is high bandwith mirror.
And that cow-shot is really bad-taste but funny as hell.

Re:Reminds me of powerlabs cannon

[chgros]

fetchez la vache!

Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

News for nerds*. *and terrorists

anyone who uses units like this is a know nothing

[treat]

how lame is this "What's the Hatcher's Index of a projectile weighing fifty-thousand grains moving at 400 fps?"

Who uses units like that?

"Yes, I'd like to send this letter to the Prussian consulate in Siam by aeromail. Am I too late for the 4:30 autogyro?"

Well...

[Anonymous Coward]

This should exponentially increase the slashdot effect on servers. (and possibly misc things that slashdotters don't like... not to name any examples...)

I like how

[dangerweasel]

he used his gun as a reference point for the diameter of the bore. That kinda makes it even creepier.

Re:I like how

[fucksl4shd0t]

he used his gun as a reference point for the diameter of the bore. That kinda makes it even creepier.

Chances are, his dick would have been the only other thing he brought with him that he could measure with, but it wouldn't have told us anything we didn't already know.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[glenebob]

As of about 10 years ago, federal law stated that a person could own a breach loader no more than .50 cal without a special license. HOWEVER, there were no restrictions that I could find on muzzle loaders. Want a cannon with an 8-foot bore? Go for it, just as long as the projectile and charge go in the same way they come out. Technically, that thing is 50-state legal.

Don't Try This At Home

[Detritus]

The BATF has no sense of humor. They have a long history of harassing, arresting and prosecuting people for "minor" violations of the law. You could end up the subject of a search warrant, your house torn apart, and facing felony charges in a federal court.

Re:Don't Try This At Home

[Anonymous Coward]

While I totally agree with you on your opinion of the BATF, black powder muzzleloaders (whether rifles or cannons) are not regulated like more modern firearms.

Re:Don't Try This At Home

[Anonymous Coward]

Even modern cannons and mortars are legal if you follow the law. The BATF could care less in most respects about them. Now if this was a sub machine gun or other fully automatic firearm they would be a worry.

Re:Don't Try This At Home

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah and the BATF would never mis-apply the law, right?

There are MANY people sitting in jail right now for possession of benign chemicals, large fireworks, or hunks of metals that the BATF was vaguely able to classify as a 'destruct device' or 'firearm receiver'.

The assassinations at Ruby Ridge began over a single shot gun barrel arguably 0.25" too short. The Waco Massacre was over a ~$20,000 tax violation. (And that's if you accept that the government is telling the truth!)

So if you're gonna play with anything more then a roman candle...don't post it on the internet, eh?

BTW: Black Powder is a Class A explosive like C4. Unlike C4 it's exempted from licencing in small quantities for certain applications. Otherwise black powder is FULLY regulated.

Re:Don't Try This At Home

[Big G]

They also have a history of harassing people who aren't breaking the law.

Re:Don't Try This At Home

[Anonymous Coward]

Why? Muzzleloaders are perfectly legal and anybody without a felony conviction can build one. I'm sure there are local juristictions in pseudo-fascist states like Massachusetts and California with laws that might get the cannon builder in trouble, but there aren't any federal laws on the books which would make it a crime.

You can build muzzleloaders as big as you desire and launch projectiles from them of any sort so long as said projectiles don't contain explosive charges. One might have to buy a black powder vendor license in order to have a proper supply on hand for absurdly large cannons, but that is the only legal issue I can think of right off the top of my head.

Why not just upgrade to a nuke?

[Ars-Fartsica]

If a college student or the nation of North Korea can do it, so can you.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[RevMike]

Are these things legal?

Black powder muzzle loaders tend to be far less restricted than other fire arms. I'm not sure how this would stand, though.

gun ownership

[Anonymous Coward]

See people like that I don't mind having guns.

The reason city liberals don't like guns is because in the city it's always some gang banger ne'er do well who is using it for no good.

But next time you feel the need to say all gund should be banned see what responsible people do with them?

Come on, you know that looked like fun!

(Actually I'd love to blast that badboy off in an urban setting, "Oh you think that hummer is pretty slick huh?" ...which is why i don't own any firearms. I am not a responsible person!)

Re:A good way...

[Anonymous Coward]

How is that a troll?

I agree that wasn't a insightful peice of wisdom but hardly a troll...

Well actually maybe it was sort of insightful, I mean don't you think that is just a TAD dangerous?

like a spud gun

[The Tyro]

We used to build smaller variants of this idea out of pvc.

Big piece of PVC pipe (capped on one end, natch). Spray some hair spray in, stuff a potatoe into the end, and connect a battery to a model-rocket solar igniter you have in the bottom (get behind something in case the PVC fails).

Kaboom!

We found, after much experimentation, that there was quite a difference in the potential energy of various hair-spray products (which we had, of course, five-finger discounted from our mothers). "The Dry Look" turned out to be the most energetic brand.

Re:like a spud gun

[luphus]

Those are a lot of fun... We always used aqua net (I think it's on the order of 90% propane), but I had good results with WD-40 as well, without the stickyness that you get with hairspray.

The most flamable aerosol type substance I ever personally witnessed was 3M Super 77. Don't get me wrong - I like to play with fire as much as the next guy, but I got uneasy when my friends lit that stuff.

Oooh, and rubber cement is pretty good too!

Ahh, memories...

Re:like a spud gun

[Robber Baron]

and connect a battery to a model-rocket solar igniter

Forget lugging a battery around and wasting rocket igniters...I'll go you one better! Go to a hardware store and get a gas barbecue igniter (the kind with the pushbutton that you click and it sparks) and drill a hole in the side and screw the igniter in.

I also use a 2" pipe for the barell and a 2" to 6 or 8" adapter with a short length of the large diameter and a cap. Works real good!

Re:like a spud gun

[Davorama]

Spray some hair spray in, stuff a potatoe...

Thanks Dan! Your legacy lives on...

Re:like a spud gun

[littlerubberfeet]

If you are gonna go for a spud gun, go with compressed air. Make a pressure chamber and a barrel, and connect the two with a sprinkler solinoid. We got about a metre per pound of pressure, yeilding 120 meters in range. The solonoid was only rated for 150. And wrap your pipe with duct tape to prevent shrapnel.

Next on the list is a steam-pipe system that can handle more then 1200 pounds of pressure...

This guy is nuts. I hope he finds a better mounting system.

Re:like a spud gun

[Cpt_Kirks]

connect a battery to a model-rocket solar igniter

I've seen these pre-made for sale at gun shows. They had a clean out plug you could screw out to inject the ligher fluid. The center of the plug had been drilled and long butane lighter, the kind used to light charcoal, hot glued into it.

Great christmas presents for nephews you want to get rid of...

Re:like a spud gun

[BigFootApe]

We did this sort of thing in high school physics. We found Lysol spray worked quite satisfactory - much better than hairspray. We'd throw a screw or a nut into the breach and set off the propellant with a small Tesla coil. Great fun.

Re:like a spud gun

[p4ul13]

The ol' potato gun!!

My buddy made a similar setup. It's PVC pipe with a screw cap on one end with a grill lighter epoxied into it. Spray some gas, point shoot.

It makes me nervous every time he fires it off, but I'll be damned if I'm not amused. (He's got it to go almost halfway across one of the wider sections of the Hudson river)

Re:like a spud gun

[TubeSteak]

a high pressure rated pipe won't make a difference. The weak point is your solenoid. I've actually got a massive spud cannon using about 5 ft of 4inch PVC as the chamber and 5 ft of 2inch pvc for a barrel. I've split the flow using a Y from the chamber so that i'm running 2 sprinkler valves in parallel and then connecting them to the barrel with another Y. The PVC itself is (under)rated at 180~200 PSI, but the valves won't be able to go that high. Its kindof scary how quite it is compared to a combustion spudder. Just a light thump compared to the massive *KABOOM* from a hairspray powered spud gun.

If you noticed, i called the air powered spudder a cannon and the combustion version a gun.
Now here is a video some kids made. Amuse yourselves.

"What do you get with a college degree?
A well-engineered Potato Gun"

Re:like a spud gun

[pla]

I also use a 2" pipe for the barell and a 2" to 6 or 8" adapter with a short length of the large diameter and a cap. Works real good!

Same here, though I use a 6" T coupling as the actual chamber... Spark-plug through a screw-on top cap, fired by a BBQ igniter on about 20 meters of HV wire, and about 10 reducing couplings for the back plug, so that hopefully it would blow that cleanly rather than explode if something "bad" happens (like the potato jamming somehow).

Also, a point on Fuel... forget the hairspray, it will gum-up the inside something awful. Get a butane lighter refil bottle (like $3) and a 60cc irrigation syringe (no needle, they have around a half-centimeter opening at the tip). Fill it once per liter of chamber for a perfect air:fuel ratio.

Re:like a spud gun

[ross axe]

Well, mine was a just a piece of darin pipe with a tin of beans sellotaped over the one end. The propellant was butane (as in lighter refills). Stick a piece of cardboard over the bottom of an empty can so it *just* fits down the pipe, quick squirt of gas through a hole in the bean tin and light it with a lighter. It was surprisingly accurate over a range of a couple of dozen feet. :-) Add an iron weight to the top end of the can for more destructive power (managed to dispose of an old (I'm talking inch thick glass) TV this way), remove the cardboard for a bigger bang... :-) What must the neightbours have thought of us? We tried to modify it to fire eggs and other stuff, but it was never quite the same as the cans. The initial design was quite annoying because we had to hoover out the exhaust after every shot, and it only actally fired every 5 shots or so. Solution - 1: bayonet style fitting on the bean tin and rear load the thing so get fresh air in the back end and 2: spark it using an old camera flash :-) This was, of course, the successor to the milk bottle rocket (butane powered as well) and the water barrel driven by methane from the cooker with just a quick squirt of deodorant.

Re:anyone who uses units like this is a know nothi

[kfg]

Who uses units like that?

Oh sure. Weeks of people complaining that "bowling balls" isn't a unit of measurement, and now. . .

You just can't make some people happy.

KFG

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[mlyle]

BS.

12301. (a) The term "destructive device," as used in this chapter, shall include any of the following weapons:
(1) Any projectile containing any explosive or incendiary material or any other chemical substance, including, but not limited to, that which is commonly known as tracer or incendiary ammunition, except tracer ammunition manufactured for use in shotguns.
(2) Any bomb, grenade, explosive missile, or similar device or any launching device therefor.
(3) Any weapon of a caliber greater than 0.60 caliber which fires fixed ammunition, or any ammunition therefor, other than a shotgun (smooth or rifled bore) conforming to the definition of a "destructive device" found in subsection (b) of Section 179.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, shotgun ammunition (single projectile or shot), antique rifle, or an antique cannon. For purposes of this section, the term "antique cannon" means any cannon manufactured before January 1, 1899, which has been rendered incapable of firing or for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. The term "antique rifle" means a firearm conforming to the definition of an "antique firearm" in Section 179.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(4) Any rocket, rocket-propelled projectile, or similar device of a diameter greater than 0.60 inch, or any launching device therefor, and any rocket, rocket-propelled projectile, or similar device containing any explosive or incendiary material or any other chemical substance, other than the propellant for such device, except such devices as are designed primarily for emergency or distress signaling purposes.
(5) Any breakable container which contains a flammable liquid with a flashpoint of 150 degrees Fahrenheit or less and has a wick or similar device capable of being ignited, other than a device which is commercially manufactured primarily for the purpose of illumination.
(6) Any sealed device containing dry ice (CO2) or other chemically reactive substances assembled for the purpose of causing an explosion by a chemical reaction.
(b) The term "explosive," as used in this chapter, shall mean any explosive defined in Section 12000 of the Health and Safety Code.

12303. Any person, firm, or corporation who, within this state, possesses any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber, except as provided by this chapter, is guilty of a public offense and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or in state prison, or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or by both such fine and imprisonment

And no, it's not considered a shotgun. And this has been the law for a -long- time.

Re:anyone who uses units like this is a know nothi

[datadood]

>Who uses units like that?

Anyone who deals with firearms and reloading.

Re:What? No gratuitous damage shots?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

Thats a great idea. Lets walk out into the rifle range, back into the bushes where shooters cant see us.

Re:What? No gratuitous damage shots?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

They could have at least grabbed the moose at brought *it* to the cannon, and they shot it point blank.

That would be fun.

Just great...

[dstillz]

The last thing we need is high school kids building this type of thing. I'd make a joke about Columbine in the context of bowling, but I'm too tired.

Re:Just great...

[dreadnougat]

Oh, come on. They could make it many times more deadly by using a slightly thinner pipe and much more gunpowder (and no bowling ball). Or they could steal a gun from their parents night table. -easier by several orders of magnitude to conceal -potential to reload before you get gunned down by police -less likely to kill yourself when it goes off, or else, more likely to hit someone because you don't have to drop it on the ground pointing in a the right direction and run if you want to live Things like columbine are bound to happen, unfortunately, but that's just going too far with the paranoia.

Re:Just great...

[dstillz]

I wasn't entirely serious.

Seen Bowling for Columbine ?

I simply made a play on words, with regards to the whole bowling thing. No tinfoil hat involved.

Re:Just great...

[dreadnougat]

Oops. Thought the last sentence was seperate from the first :)

Re:Just great...

[dstillz]

Understandable. My paragraphing comes and goes. And my clauses take longer to get to the good parts than certain other things named "Clause" do.

Dreadnougat? You'll have to have them all pulled out, after the Savoy truffle. :-)

Re:Just great...

[dreadnougat]

D'oh, that took me too long to get, even with my lack of beatles lyric knowledge :(

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[adamy]

County Jail. Is this County Law or Federal?

gives a new meaning to...

[Jeff DeMaagd]

brick and mortar!

I Love it.

[Simple-Simmian]

This is cool. The guy who built this knows what he is doing. Most of you don't. Don't try this at home.

Cannons and Mortars are legal to own. My Brother in Law owns a cannon they use at civil war re-enactments so who ever posted that the BATF will get you is full of it. At charge of 3 oz Pyrodex a shot this is not cheap to fire but this is not a toy even though it's used like one. Last time I bought FFFG Pyrodex it was aprox $14.00 for 16 ounces. That was a while back. ( I have several black powder firearms.)

Do the math of a 8 lb bowling ball traveling 400 FPS for 600 yards. You don't want to be on end it lands on.

Looks like loads of fun if you have the room/safe place to do this. Lots of noise and smoke.

Re:I Love it.

[Bunji X]

Do the math of a 8 lb bowling ball traveling 400 FPS for 600 yards.

Ok, a quick example. I'll use SI-units.

Wk = mv^2/2 (kinetic energy)
m = 8 lb ~= 4 kg
v = 400FPS = 400/3,22 = 124 m/s
Wk = 4*124^2/2 = <b>30752 J</b>

Ok, how much is that then? Well, if we consider a .44 bullet weighing in at 240g, we get:

v = sqrt(2Wk/m)
v = sqrt(2*30752/0,240) = 506 m/s

Ok, being hit by the flying bowling ball would be like taking a .44 magnum bullet flying at ~500 m/s. Normally, a magnum bullet when fired has the velocity of ~300 - 350 m/s. Taking into account that speed (v) is squared, when counting kinetic energy, crossing the path of the ball in flight, would not be recommended. (doh)

Re:I Love it.

[Simple-Simmian]

I have read where people actually tried to catch cannon balls during the US civil war.. Ouch.

solid design

[pheared]

Smart? Who needs smart when you setup your mortar on an upside down chair and a block of wood?

5 pounder

[TheHawke]

One local nut built one complete with a gun carrage and took it to the local rifle range. The resulting blast brought the local, county and state troopers to see who was blowing crap up. Turned out when they found out, hung around for two more salvos from the monster! I saw the photos of the cannon going off and it had a impressive muzzle flash. Using Pyrodex will do wonders for your complexion and add that special aroma to your cologne.

Re:5 pounder

[sharkey]

Using Pyrodex will do wonders for your complexion and add that special aroma to your cologne.

Ahh, yes, Eau de Loaded Shorts

Stop it you're helping the terrorists

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't post stuff like this, you might help out the terrorists do something to us. Gee, doesn't slashdot have any common sense? Stop giving the terrorists information. Last thing we need right now is for terrorists to get hold of WMDs

Re:Stop it you're helping the terrorists

[bninja_penguin]

Last thing we need right now is for terrorists to get hold of WMDs

First off, quit being a chicken-shit. Terrorists are not the ones you should be worrying about at this point. The Federal government is currently detroying the American way of life 10 times faster than every terrorist in the world could even dream of. Besides, depending on how you look at the situation, a terrorist could be considered a freedom fighter. Consider the American Revolution. The Colonists wanted freedom from the world's established Super Power of the time (England), but knew they could not win against them using the conventional war tactics of the time. So, they fought in ways considered by the British to be without honor, and without proper military tactics, terrorist tactics if you will. The Colonists attacked the British food supplies, burned houses containing British families, hid behind things while they shot at the British soldiers, all things that were considered to be terrorist tactics at the time. Good thing for us George Washington used those tactics.

Now, that being said, I don't care for the current "Terror regime", and figure the best way to get rid of "terrorists" in the U.S. is, rather than restrict the freedoms of U.S. citizens, the government should issue every last one of us assault rifles, and invite Osama over here for a little game of cat-and-mouse.

Also, if you consider a mortar that chucks a bowling ball a Weapon of Mass Destruction, you'ld better go running to your mommy, and hide sniveling and crying behind her skirts, because you obviously have no concept of anything. Anyone, anywhere in the world can get weapons with way more destructive power than bowling balls.

I think the article was a "blast", and the links throughout to other projects like it. Get a grip, punk, the terrorists don't give a shit about these projects.

Re:Stop it you're helping the terrorists

[grozzie2]

Don't post stuff like this, you might help out the terrorists do something to us.

I really cant help but just laugh when I see a post like this. It just goes to show, the mass fear campaign that the Bush government is running right now works, and works well. From www.dictionary.com:-

terrorist adj : characteristic of someone who employs terrorism (especially as a political weapon);

The Bush government has policy based totally on terrorism as a political weapon. It's been used to justify a war, and is in the process of being used to strip americans of all the freedoms they so blatantly _think_ they enjoy. They are using terror as a political agenda, so, by it's own definition, that makes the bush administration terrorists. Based on your reaction to this /. article, it's working, they sure have put the fear into you.

I look at the article about the bowling ball cannon, and it looks cool, somebody having fun. As for giving folks ideas, well, I suspect if you look back in history just a bit, you will notice that simple cannons of this sort have been in existence and in use for most of the last 500 years. I'm sure there are many in the USA that would like to believe preventing articles like this from showing up on the internet is some kind of 'safety against terrorism'. It's not, there is a signifcant amount of 'prior art' throughout history to show, the concepts of a cannon are well known, well understood, and have been in use as weapons since ancient times.

The concept of using a piece of pipe and some powder as a cannon is not:-
a) unique
b) new
c) complicated

The internet is the last bastion of freedom for the free world. With freedom comes responsibility. That responsibility is not to make some misguided attempt to live with head stuck in the sand and 'sanitize' all the information in the world, the responsibility is to make all information freely available.

Knowledge is power. To control it or sanitize it, that's the work of corrupt regimes trying to keep a population in line. To have a population _asking_ for knowledge to be controlled and sanitized, that's just a sign of the overall intelligence level of the population itself. Some populations WANT to be dictated to, makes life a lot easier, you dont have to make decisions on your own behalf, and dont have to take responsibility for those decisions.

November of 2004 is when we will find out for sure what the american population really wants. If they want freedom, they will say so at the ballot box. If they want a dictatorial regime that is stripping america of all its freedoms thru the guise of 'Homeland Security', they will put a big X in the box beside dubya's name.

Time will tell, but, the more posts like the parent to this I see, the more of a sinking feeling i get. Terrorism has been an issue throughout most of the world for the last 50 years. It took the policies of GW to bring terrorism to North America as a way of life. We'll find out in 2004 if it's the way of life that americans really want.

It'll be a sad day when a fun post like the home made cannon cant show up on /. because it doesn't pass the 'sanitized' test. Current politics in the USA are rapidly heading in that direction. It has a lot of overtones similar to the McCarthy years.

Re:Stop it you're helping the terrorists

[Anonymous Coward]

OMG, I can't believe you thought I was being serious. I was being SARCASTIC! I couldn't care less if /. posts this sort of stuff, all a so called terrorist needs is google and to be able to search for shit.

I was actually waiting to get a few Funny mod points but boy did it fly over everyone's heads. All the posts thought I was being serious, geez, now that is scary. I don't live in the U.S but there must be alot of smart people (like the people who replied to my post) who believe there _are alot of dumb people out there that are actually buying this WMD bullshit.

When you think of the fear and panic that Bush and friends are creating, think of the 50's, when conservatism was at it's golden age and people were building basements (taping their houses with plastic), because that is where Bush and friends want to take us and the world. Here in Australia John Howard (prime minister) is doing the exact same thing.

Yes indeed

[The Tyro]

For my money, there was no finer way to spend a saturday afternoon than shooting potatoes into the woods with the other neighborhood kids (of course, these days you'd probably be arrested as a terrorist and interrogated by the FBI).

Between that and bottle-rocket wars, it's a wonder one of us didn't lose an eye.

Re:Yes indeed

[krray]

In my firecracker youth I can vividly remember a friend lighting the too-short wick of one and it blowing off in his hand. Slight burns, of course, and funny as hell to watch.

Laughing so hard I forgot about the lit cracker in my hand. BOOM! Hurts like hell. One minute laughing, the next you're crying. Such is life sometimes.

Of course I am thankful we didn't do any real damage when growing up and further blowing up objects (read: mailboxes). In those days a neighbor always saw you do it, called your mother and you had to go apologize and buy/install any mailbox they chose.

M80's, then 500's, and the sticks of dynamite were always a treat. Today the FBI would be showing up for some of the shit we pulled way back when. In those days we didn't have the Internet to figure how to not blow ourselves up or make nuclear bombs.

I guess the FBI will be making a few more house calls shortly...

Re:Yes indeed

[bigberk]

Between that and bottle-rocket wars, it's a wonder one of us didn't lose an eye.

We've got a friend (we call him bottle rocket Brian) who had a bottle rocket go off in a beer bottle he was holding at the time. The explosive fell inside the bottle and went off in his hand, cutting his face rather badly. He has scars, but is fine. Don't drink and fire off explosives!

Okay now, here's the deal...

[mnmlst]

Buddy, you are way off on this one. If you REALLY want to build a fine mortar, you need to get hold of a copy of "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson. In that book, he describes the marvelous and impressively destructive engineering the Soviets were capable of mustering when it came to killing Germans. In contrast, "a pair of Soviet-made shoes were about as flattering and comfortable as the box they came in, but their mortars were a man-killing wonder." ...or something to this effect. On the other hand, have a good time in Guantanamo.

FREE KEVIN!!! Oops. Done. Nevermind...

DOJ?

[utlemming]

I'm suprised someone at the DOJ hasn't already filed Patriot act charges against him...

Re:DOJ?

[GodSpiral]

I'm suprised someone at the DOJ hasn't already filed Patriot act charges against him...

Because he's a white christian, and likely only to use the weapon to harm enemies of the DOJ?

Re:DOJ?

[utlemming]

Damn...the KKK isn't a terrorist organization? I could have sworm they were terrorist type that have exclusive "white christian" only membership rules.

Why is this on Slashdot?

[Anonymous Coward]

How is this link newsworthy? It seems to me little more than a "look-at-my-home-made-weapon" web page of which the net is full of. Is slashdot that starved for news?

Re:Why is this on Slashdot?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey! Be quiet. The great and mighty CmdrTaco appears to have taken the day off. Notice how much more news we have? Heck, this is a fun link.

Anybody else sense that the Overseer, CmdrTaco doesn't let didly in?

This was a great link

[sakusha]

...when I first saw it on FARK about two weeks ago. They had a cool link to a Civil War reenactment supplier that will sell you a modern-manufacture cannon just like the ones they used back in the olden days. Only $7000, powder and shot not included.

Anyway, I am reminded of a story I read a while ago. Some curators (Art Institute of Chicago or The Smithsonian or someplace like that) were examining an antique gun and found out it was loaded, and had been on display for decades with a full charge. The gunpowder charge was so old, they feared it was unstable and could detonate at any moment, so they decided to investigate all their other weapons. They found out that about 20% of their collection was fully loaded and nobody ever knew about it. They're desperately trying to defuse all these old weapons, which includes everything from relatively modern antique guns to old cannons. And they can't just pour water down the barrels because some of them have bullets in the way, some of the weapons would disintegrate if you got them wet, so they're in a real quandary. Now I wonder about the safety of all those cannons on public display in parks etc.

Re:This was a great link

[Anonymous Coward]

wouldn't pouring water on ancient unstable explosives be a bad idea anyway?

Re:This was a great link

[Tintivilus]

Looks like it was the Field Museum in Chicago [ref]

Re:This was a great link

[erik umenhofer]

Well how many people die each year from antique armerment explosions? If n>1, panic. else, not worry :)

Re:This was a great link

[0x0d0a]

I don't get it.

How is gunpower supposed to go "unstable" to the point where water will make it detonate?

Re:This was a great link

[Anonymous Coward]

No no, the water would not reach the powder because the bullet would stop it too early in the barrel, it would not cause it to detonate.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Migrant Programmer]

You know, I have mod points, but there is no "Stupid" category. So here is my write-in moderation.

-1, Stupid.

Bowling Ball Loft

[c1ay]

We like having bowling ball contests at rocket meets. Check out the 2003 results at http://www.ahpra.org/BBL03results.htm The best shot this year was 6416 feet with a 16 pound ball :-)

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Quintin Stone]

I'm having a hard time figuring out what this is quoted from.

It doesn't match Title 18 section 921 of the U.S. Code, which is the standard for federal weapon definitions (though they technically only apply to Chapter 44 of Title 18).

Your text also refers to Section 179 of Title 27, which I can't even find (Title 27 covers intoxicating liquids and nearly all of it was repealed).

You can view Title 18 secion 921 here: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/htm_hl?DB=usco de18&STEMMER=en&URL=/uscode/18/921.html

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[EinarH]

I'm not sure.
But a quick Google search on "12301. (a) The term "destructive device" gives six .ca links like for example caag.state.ca.us that could indicate that he is talking about a law in California.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[mlyle]

California state law. There are similar provisions in federal law, under the National Firearms Act.

It is possible to pay a large tax, undergo a background check, etc, to posess NFA weapons in a few states. But most states prohibit private ownership of NFA weapons; and everywhere else it's a big hassle. It's not like buying a handgun.

Hope you know people at the BATF

[NeoSkandranon]

While posting that account isn't strictly illegal, (neither is posting plans for a potato gun) it's a good thing he didn't mention any names. Cannons like that have been illegal for ages. I know a friend who had a smaller one like that confiscated, along with all his firearms and knives after he (stupidly) shot off a powder cannon inside city limits.

Some cops might be lenient on the ol spud shooters, but this thing could deliver serious destructive power if it had a mind to

My potato gun...

[Aardpig]

A few years back, I built myself a potato gun. A 3-inch calibre potato gun. The "King Edward Howitzer" (as I liked to call it) was constructed from various pieces of PVC drainage piping. A short length of large (8" dia) bossed pipe connector was closed off at one end with a screwable inspection cap, and at the other end with a diameter reducer, going into a 4-foot length of 3" dia piping (the barrel). The bossed pipe connector served as a combustion chamber; to permit firing, a small hole was drilled in the side of the chamber.

Operation procedure was as follows:

1. Take 1 large King Edward or Maris Piper potato (these varieties are good, being waxy in texture), and ram it into the barrel, creating a plug of potato
2. Using a hospital crutch, push the plug down the barrel until it sits just above the junction with the combustion chamber
3. Unscrew the inspection cap and squirt about 3 seconds worth of hairspray into the combustion chamber. Replace the cap firmly when done
4. Point the howitzer in the desired direction, and hold a lit match at the hole in the side of the combustion chamber. Voila!

It made a hell of a whoop when it fired, and from time/distance measurements, we estimated a muzzle velocity of well over 100 mph.

Re:My potato gun...

[mamba-mamba]

FYI,

There is no gaurantee that a pvc pipe won't blow up under those conditions.

It would be much safer to devise a remote detonation scheme.

MM
--

Re:My potato gun...

[Shadwell]

You could also use the starter switch from a gas grill.

Re:My potato gun...

[Aardpig]

There is no gaurantee that a pvc pipe won't blow up under those conditions.

Ah, but that's what made it really exciting!

Re:My potato gun...

[GrBear]

A friend of mine built one like that too.. however he put a piezoelectric BBQ starter in the end.. tap tap BOOM!

On a much smaller scale....

[echucker]

We made a 60mm mortar for use during WWII reenactments. No projectiles, just a shell made out of an empty 35mm film container. The fuse was passed through a hole drilled in the cap. A small pyrodex charge propelled the canister out of the tube, and gave us a little smokey airburst about 50 yards downrange, and 20 yards up. Tiny yes, but still fun.

Slashdot spams itself... AGAIN.

[Mulletproof]

Build Your Own Mortar

It's a freakin cylinder with one end closed off!!! How much of a guide do you possibly need!?!?!?

WHY..
IS...
THIS...
NEWS!!?!?

Re:Slashdot spams itself... AGAIN.

[Disco Stew]

It's NOT news. This is "Stuff that matters."

Re:Slashdot spams itself... AGAIN.

[Daniel_Staal]

Because we all wish we had the guts/pure stupidity to build one ourselves...

Re:Slashdot spams itself... AGAIN.

[Mulletproof]

...But you can't install Linux on it. How could it possibly matter? ^_^

Re:Slashdot spams itself... AGAIN.

[Disco Stew]

....touche.

Re:Slashdot spams itself... AGAIN.

[Anonymous Coward]

Alright *fine*. You win. Here it comes:

Imagine a Beowulf cluster these...

Re:Slashdot spams itself... AGAIN.

[The FooMiester]

I went to the article to hopefully get more details. Nothing about how the breechblock was welded on(what process/electrodes used), or even what it was MADE of!

I realize that /. is largely a computer geek website, but there are other forms of geekery.

Or maybe a rocket .....

[taniwha]

like these

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Anonymous Coward]

It seems to me that pro-gun activists should be arguing for Mortars to be legalised, otherwise they can't justify protesting about automatic firearms being made illegal. Making automatic firearms illegal would just an extension of the classification of "destructive weapons", not any constitutional violation.

Kalifornia Law?

[Avihson]

In what jurisdiction?
The reproduction Brown Bess Musket is legal in all Free states, and is .68 cal

I own a .62 Jaeger flintlock, a .70 Charleville, and have a 1.25 cal blunderbuss under construction.
Disclaimer: I am a free citizen of Penna!

Re:Kalifornia Law?

[glenebob]

Those would, I believe, fall under the antique firearms clause, so they are non-restricted. Anything made before 1898 that doesn't use 'fixed ammunition' is considered antique, as is any replica of said firearms (the blunderbuss is a replica?)

Re:Kalifornia Law?

[fearlessrogue]

Any links for the 125 caliber rifle? My 54 caliber just does not bruise my shoulder quite fast enough...

Re:Kalifornia Law?

[Anonymous Coward]

If it's muzzleloading and uses black powder (IE, doesn't use self-contained cartridges), the federal legal restrictions are much more relaxed than modern breech-loading firearms that fire self-contained cartridges. For example, you can buy them inter-state without going through a dealer in your state. (Assuming no additional state laws) You can order some here, for example.

Re:Kalifornia Law?

[RadioTV]

A blunderbuss is more like a shotgun.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Anonymous Coward]

Cool, so it looks like railguns are still fair game.

Don't laugh too soon.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nukes are a lot easier to build than you'd expect.

Re:Don't laugh too soon.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah. Did you notice that Best Buy has started to sell pairs of half spherical 1.2critical mass lumps of HE U235? Man, what are they thinking?

Nice!

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe we could use it on Microsoft.

Next up...

[Disco Stew]

Post a vid of this bad-boy pointed at ten pins.

Now THAT'S entertainment!

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[cyrax777]

its legal becouse the key word is FIXED Ammuntion. its not Fixed ammuntion becouse its not a self contained cartridge

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[plsuh]

(3) Any weapon of a caliber greater than 0.60 caliber which fires fixed ammunition, or any ammunition therefor, other than a shotgun (smooth or rifled bore)

"Fixed ammunition" is ammunition that contains both the propellant charge and the projectile in a single unit, like a rifle cartridge. The mortar in this article uses separate-loading ammunition, with the propellant charge and the projectile loaded separately, and is not covered by this clause. (That's not to say that it might not be covered under some other clause, like 12302 which is not quoted. But it doesn't appear to be covered by 12301.)

the term "antique cannon" means any cannon manufactured before January 1, 1899, which has been rendered incapable of firing or for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.

This subclause makes me really question the truth of the whole post. Why on earth would a cannon that is "rendered incapable of firing" be considered a destructive device? I suppose you could use it as a battering ram, but then it's functionally no different from a big steel I-beam.

--Paul

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[cybermace5]

If anyone asks him, it's a big metal flowerpot. See? Even has the little drainage hole so the dirt doesn't get waterlogged.

What part of

[Anonymous Coward]

the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed do you not understand?

Re:What part of

[mabhatter654]

yeah really, If the govt has mortars and bazookas, why can't I. The point of the amendment was to allow citizens self defence against invaders. At the time, the Brits were rounding up all the guns and forcing colonists to WAIT for the British Army if they were attacked. That did a lot of good? Without guns you didn't stand a chance against a band of Indians [sorry, nonPC] trying to scalp you. For a matter of fact, this whole "war on terrorism" thing flys directly against the framers intentions for the second amendment. The people are SUPPOSED to defend themselves. It's not a RIGHT, it's a RESPONSIBLITY!

Re:What part of

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah, hevean forbid that I try to defend myself against a mugger or my wife against a would-be rapist when she goes out jogging

remember, we wouldn't want to use some old antiquated right guaranteed in our constitution. While we are at it, we really don't need the 1st Amendment either.. It was only designed to allow American citizens to voice their opinion during the first couple of presidential elections. Now that we have Bush and Ashcroft in office doing all the work for us, we couldn't possibly need those rights anymore, now could we?

you mean Guantanamo

[Anonymous Coward]

id10t

Re:you mean Guantanamo

[itwerx]

"Gitmo" is US military slang for "Guantanamo".

Rifling,

[wardomon]

the barrel needs to be rifled for greater accuracy.

It's Better to Post Nothing..

[Avihson]

and be thought a fool,
Than to Post and remove all doubt!

Check out dillonprecision.com
Or
reloadammo.com

Try a google on reloading... Try educating yourself , But Wait, this is /.

Re:It's Better to Post Nothing..

[treat]

OK, I googled for "hatcher's index". the only hit besides this page states:

This quote will probably only make sense to my gun-nut brother, but I thought it was cool:

What's the Hatcher's Index of a projectile weighing fifty-thousand grains moving at 400 fps?

Well Jeff? How does that compare with, oh, say, that wackball .50 you got?

I'm really convinced that these are legitimate units sanctioned by an international body.

What an excellent way

[Anonymous Coward]

to take back the country! Of course, I'm happy, since I have a job and 'Friends' is on for another season, but there might be those who aren't so happy.

I guess they have something to occupy themselves with now....

What about my trebuchet?

[wardomon]

I guess I'll have to buy .55 calibur pumpkins, then.

Re:What about my trebuchet?

[Anonymous Coward]

sgalaxy.com
unit quality of 50....

Na!

[mabhatter654]

Everybody should have one, it weeds out stupid people! All this talk of terrorists is overrated. The only thing that can stop terrorists is PEOPLE. The citizens have to be prepared...unless they want "Big Brother" to save them all the time. Most terrorists don't stand a chance against an angry mob...we really need more of them! [angry mobs]

As far as terrorists using this, WHY, they typically have access to the Classified US Army hardware already. It's just like "gun control" For a matter of fact, pretty much anybody that wants RPGs, Stingers, land mines, etc can get older model US ones on the black market. Only honest US citizens can't.

A few years back..

[njan]

..we made something similar with the help of a friend of mine who's a metalsmith. A fairly hefty metal pipe of the type mentioned, a metal disk with a hole in the center welded onto the bottom, and a spark plug through the hole. Pour a small amount of petrol into the bottom of the pipe, drop in an empty (or full) tin can.. run off to hide, and touch the wires attached to the spark plug to a 12v car battery. Poof. ;)

Re:A few years back..

[radoni]

Is 12 volts really 'nough to create a spark on an automotive plug? Aren't we missing, say, 19988 volts from the ignition coil?

*sigh*

Re:A few years back..

[the_brat_king]

Ever see flaming exhaust pipes?

They are made by putting a spark plug, propane tank and ignition switch on the vehicle (or in some cases just a plug and ignition switch); mine runs on 12 volts... and I get flames about 8 feet out (Big Motor/Big Exhaust, only fires when tacking over 3000 AND the button is pushed).

Anyway, a 12v charge is plenty to get a spark -- just not enough to get a "hot" spark, like the one you would get from an HEI or points ignition.

Re:A few years back..

[gujo-odori]

That's the easy way out. When my dad was a young man (the 1950s), guys with perhaps more guts than common sense would get flaming exhausts the he-man way: a plug in each tail pipe, a rich mixture on the carb, pull the choke on hard and floor it. Then hit the switch. This was in the day when carburetors normally had manual chokes. You couldn't do it with any more modern (1960s and up) carb.

More high ammo fun

[Creedo]

This guy here is selling off a mint Gatling Gun replica. It sits next to his office. Very nice, and would definitely worry the neighbors.

Remember the guy that shattered spinning CDs?

[rgoer]

At least he was kind enough to provide movies--with audio--of his "darwin award waiting to happen" misadventures. I mean, this article mentions more than once how the bowling balls "whistled," "screamed," and "howled" down the range... I'd love to see and hear that for myself--without actually risking my life, that is.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll metamoderate it stupid to confirm it stupid too...

Ah HAH!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Build Your Own Mortar

I KNEEEEW /. was nothing but a haven for terrorists, I just KNEW it!!! Thanks for giving me the ammunition (pardon the pun) I need to continue my opening argument...

Your Honor, Slashdot.org is a nothing but a subversive site dedicated to lawlessness and terrorism. I mean, what else can be said about a site boasting such headlines as "Build Your Own Mortar"?

Safety reasons

[The Tyro]

The reason we used the ignitors and some long wires was so that we could get behind something before firing it up. Young as we were, we weren't totally stupid (and we'd had some close calls).

In fact, some of the heavier ordinance we built required detonation by remote control (we had an almost unlimited supply of gunpowder, and thus got into plenty of mischief). Not that we were that bright, we had just watched enough old war movies to realize that we didn't want any shrapnel in us, and understood that sometimes things fragment violently when exposed to high pressures. We cannibalized circuit boards out of an old remote-control car (plus some RadioShack project boxes)... it kept our precious little hides out of the Emergency Room.

Those were the days.

Re:Safety reasons

[Jace of Fuse!]

I always used twist-flint ignitors, also found at Hardware stores. The flints are replacable and they tend to last longer than the sparking push-button grill ignitors.

I never really feared a PVC rupture while launching potatoes. It just wasn't ever an issue I considered probably, even if there was always that slight risk.

One thing you may want to try if you ever do that again is to avoid hairspray. It makes the inside a bit sticky over time, plus the residue that builds up in the barrel can actually slow down the potato.

Try WD-40. :) Not only does it leave the barrel slick, but it makes a wonderful propellant.

As my name suggests, I did a whole lot of this crap in my youth.

Re:Safety reasons

[focitrixilous P]

Yeah, I've messed around with potato guns before. I live in the city, so I shoot empty yogurt cups pretty far. There's some leftover carborateur (yes, spelled wrong) cleaner in the garage, and that stuff burns. Remote detonation is key, get some real long clamps or a lot of wire and a BBQ sparker, and don't let the cops see you do it.
The barrel is 2 inches wide, but I don't think paper and yogurt cups could really destroy anything.
And this needs to be said, forgive me.

Imagine a Beowulf cluter of homemade mortars...

Re:Safety reasons

[FLEB]

-- Imagine a Beowulf cluter of homemade mortars...

IP-over-potato?

Re:Safety reasons

[EddieSam]

I never really feared a PVC rupture while launching potatoes

No need. Wrap the cannon in electrical tape or duct tape. If the PVC ruptures, the tape has enough flexibility to hold the shrapnel in place.

Re:What? No gratuitous damage shots?!?

[mamba-mamba]

Do you have any idea how heavy a life-sized moose made out of steel must be? ;-)

MM
--

hehe

[circletimessquare]

reminds me of the story last year about the compressed air pumpkin cannon with a 5 mile range... just look at that thing!

what is it with october and insane cannons?

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[sodak_man]

Not sure where all of you are located. Anyone know what a potatoe gun is? Anyway, I see nothing wrong with this. If a person can do this and have fun not destruction of others personal property than go for it!!! Now, lets think about this, if we are all worried about something that in m opinion is such a small factor and not worry about other things in our big pic than who are we really?

Infernal device

[SuperBanana]

Okay- Sure, It's a Darwin award waiting to happen

It's also an arrest waiting to happen, assuming you survived. At least in my state, that cannon would qualify not only as an explosive device and (probably) a firearm, but an "infernal device"(as are catapults, 'weapons of mass destruction').

Re:Infernal device

[TheCrazyFinn]

First off, they're up in Alaska, where the laws are kinda lax aout that sort of thing.

Second off, Doc specializes in wierd and wonderful stuff like this. I'm sure he gave it a once over before being anywhere near it when it went off. Doc Nickel is a pretty bright guy, and works around high-pressure devices all the time (He's one of the top airsmiths in Paintball, and somewhat legendary for his hacks).

Re:Infernal device

[Mistlefoot]

Paintball? So that's what he's up too!

Next paint ball game I play in Alaska I'll be watching for the mortared paint buckets!

Re:Infernal device

[TheCrazyFinn]

This wasn't one of Doc's toys. The guy who built it just goes to the same gun range as Doc.

Paint Mortars are old hat. Pretty much always done as a 'Chicken-Cannon' type job though

The SRL guys need to make something like this.

[sideshow]

Survival Research Labortories are a group of guys in the Bay Area that design and build crazy ass robots that destroy each other and other objects, like cars or perhaps buildings. These aren't battlebots.

My favorite is the Pitching Machine. It's a like a machine gun for 2x4's (the 8 foot long pieces of wood your house is made out of). It's powered by a 500hp Eldorado engine and it can drive around on it's own. It's contolled remotely like a R/C airplane. It can carry about 40 2x4's and fire them about 2 a sec.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Anonymous Coward]

"The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed"

Which part of infringed do you not understand, Mr. Ridge? Or have you no fear of foreswearing your oath?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Regarding Legality and Echelon

[alpert]

During the months after 9/11 my parent's house was for sale, and they were allowing potential buyers to wander around the house taking pictures to help them decide whether or not to buy. I was at college, but in the closet of my room, there was a potato cannon I had built some time earlier. One couple took several high-res digital photos of my closet and the cannon, and sent them off to the state police. Without informing my parents. Both the FBI and several state troopers knocked on the door a few days later, asking to see the "explosive device." I'm not sure how I feel about being invaded like that; after all, the cannon did indeed look pretty mean. If anything this story is more of a testament to the buyer's stupidity than to the Orwellian nature of the government investigators. Shortly thereafter I thought to myself what I would have done if I had gone into someone's house and noticed what I believed to be a genuine terror device; say, bricks of semtex stitched to a vest and attached to detonators. I came to the conclusion that I would act the same way those who turned ME in would; I would take pictures and report it, quietly getting the f out of the house. So, in the end the potential buyers acted rationally but just happened to be idiots. Thoughts?

Re:Regarding Legality and Echelon

[eadint]

i would find out who called that in and sue them for invation of privacy. youd have to be pretty stupid to confuse a potato cannon for a weapon. and i would report.

Both right and responsibility...

[TheRealStyro]

The people are SUPPOSED to defend themselves. It's not a RIGHT, it's a RESPONSIBLITY!

Actually, it is both. It is both a right and a responsibility to own and maintain arms against invaders (and possibly a hostile/corrupt government).

The only question is - too what limit? If I bought a SAM battery and stuck it on my front lawn and started targeting sheriff/coasty copters flying overhead I bet I would be locked up pretty quick. Maybe the same thing should happen to those who own assault rifles to go 'sport' hunting. A balance needs to be found...

Re:Both right and responsibility...

[iamblades]

IMO, the limit is what kind of weapons would an individual infantryman be using in the army. That is everything up to and including machineguns. Maybe grenades and stuff too. The supreme court even said as much in Miller vs. US, which is often trumpeted as a ruling against the 2nd amendment, but in reality all it said was that short barreled shotguns were not considered to be a valid weapon for normal military usage..

Re:Both right and responsibility...

[Anonymous Coward]

these so-called "assault rifles" are distinguishable, from what you seem to imply are "normal" hunting rifles, by their cosmetic appearance only - they are functionally the same. the term "assault rifle" was coined by anti-gun folks to demonize mean looking firearms.

and just for the record, the second amendment has nothing to do with "'sport' hunting."

Re:Both right and responsibility...

[paganizer]

You do know that an "assault rifle" under the current demonization laws is just a semi-automatic, right? pull the trigger once, fires once?
I run in to way too many people who think the assault weapon ban is about fully automatic weapons.

Re:Both right and responsibility...

[bninja_penguin]

A balance needs to be found...

Yep, and I feel the balance should be right about 155mm. If a person can handle the weapon responsibly, more power to them. Back home, at the army surplus store, there was a Vulcan chain gun for sale. The computer cards were missing (the 'firing mechanism', if you will), but otherwise fully functional. 20mm rounds, at 6000 rounds a minute full open. I would actually feel safer with a bunch of those around, and operational than I do now, where you can be arrested for not wearing a fucking seat belt.

I guarantee if the citizens given high-powered full-auto weapons like they are given welfare, crime would go down to nothing, Laws would actually be resonable and just, and no one, anywhere, would fuck with Americans.

Re:Both right and responsibility...

[mabhatter654]

Yes, but shooting people and govt agents [note seperation] is already illegal! All much of the laws right now do is make stuff "more" illegal. That clogs the courts with frivolous cases over technicalities [too close to a school, airport, car, etc.] by the cops instead of catching the people ACTUALLY COMMITTING CRIMES. Like I said above, if you want any of the "illegal" arms you can get them with enough $$/ patience. If you're planning on shooting the lawman, you don't really care that the gun is illegal, do you!

The balance is to repeal the stupid laws and hold people severly accountable for their own actions. This includes holding teens accountable that take dads gun out, not the dad. We also need to purge the court system of those who "game" it.

Re:Both right and responsibility...

[AlterTick]

IMO, the limit is what kind of weapons would an individual infantryman be using in the army. That is everything up to and including machineguns. Maybe grenades and stuff too. The supreme court even said as much in Miller vs. US, which is often trumpeted as a ruling against the 2nd amendment, but in reality all it said was that short barreled shotguns were not considered to be a valid weapon for normal military usage..

An "individual infantryman" isn't limited to machine guns and grenades. We got TOWs, Stingers, mortars, howitzers--- all those can be used by one man, even though they're usually served by 2+. On the flip side, a sniper generally has a spotter working with him, making it effectively a crew-served weapon. Should bolt action rifles with huge scopes be prohibitted then?

Personally, I think the line should be drawn at nuclear weapons...

Re:Both right and responsibility...

[TheRealStyro]

The balance is to repeal the stupid laws and hold people severly accountable for their own actions. This includes holding teens accountable that take dads gun out, not the dad.

I think here is a good place to disagree. If a teen takes out daddy's gun and goes target shooting in his school then the majority of the punishment should fall on the teen with the balance falling on the owner. Any arms owner that does not secure their weapons from, at least, the untrained and the mentally/emotionally unstable/immature deserves whatever punishment can be warranted for being irresponsible.

Examples from news - four year old grabs 45-cal and shots siblings. One dead the other critical. A 4-yo can't be held responsible. The gun owner must do some time for failure to secure the weapon and ammo. The gun manufacturer might also be responsible if the gun was manufactured so that a 4-yo can pull the trigger.

Parents that have guns in the house with children are playing a very nasty game. The guns and ammo need to be kept locked-up and out of areas the children will have access to. As soon as reasonable the children should be trained on handling (or not handling) the guns and more training as the children grow and prove themselves responsible. Baring training, the guns should stay locked-up and in off-limits area for children. Gun owners must take responsibility for their weapons.

If you want to build your own siege engine

[Anonymous Coward]

catapultkits.com

sells catapult kits, etc.

I feel sorry for this guy's hosting company.....

[k_hokanson]

Both Farked and Slashed in the span of a week!

yawn

[XO]

i saw this like a week ago on bluesnews... come on slashdot.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[OmnipotentEntity]

That's the section of exceptions. It would not be considered. However, if it were not rendered incapable it would still be a "destructive device."

__________

Building one yourself is so silly!

[LothDaddy]

You can easily PURCHASE a porcelain mortar made by Coors. They even sell matching pestles.

Yuk. Yuk. Yuk.

Hmm.

[DeVilla]

I don't need a mortar.
I don't need a mortar.

I don't need ... hmm

Well, I guess I could -- No!
No, I don't need a mortar.

I don't need a mortar.

OK, I'm good.

Automated Tracking Mortar Firing System

[PhiberKut]

This is the plan for the family farm.

1. Build a 200 foot tower in the center.
2. Add 7 outdoor webcams (power over ethernet) to cover 360 degrees (full farm). Aim to the ground at 45 degree angle.
3. Feed video into zoneminder(.com). Assign 300 zones per camera. Assign sensitivities to each zone. Assign GPS coords to each zone.
4. Build mortar that uses chain-fed shells. Mount on tripod that has tracking system capable of targeting certain GPS coords.

Instant homeland/farm security.

Reminds me of UCF's reflection pond competitions

[acidrain69]

Not sure if they do it every year, but at UCF they have races to get potatoes to the other side of the reflection pond. Using engineered stuff. You get lots of remote control boats, high-speed winches, and ziplines. It's a difficult competition because it is a semi-circular pond, you have to go out to the middle, around the fountain, and back to the other side (think of a line dissecting a circle, you start on one radius and end on the other). Check www.ucf.edu for pics of the fountain.

One group decided to use a cannon. Not quite as big as the one in the article, but close. Maybe 6-8". They stuff the potato in something (didnt' get a close look at it), shoved it down the tube with a string on one end, fired it off, and then reeled it back in with an electric motor. They let them fire it off a second time just to hear the boom :)

Another group had some wierd contraption with PVC tubes with holes drilled at intervals that sat in the water. They had a bunch of gasoline or kerosene or some flamable liquid that they poured in teh thing and lit it on fire. I asked them what it was supposed to do, they just said they wanted to see the pond on fire. They took some casualties in other people's projects :)

Totally cool when safe

[annisette]

This would be an experence to behold, there are actual cannon events held that include range and accuracy. In the few shows I have seen that exibit these cannons and mortars they do show homemade but most are civil war era (U.S.A.). One of the really neat mortars shot was a confederate bronze, probably 8-10 pounder, there was a very unique "chime" when it was fired. This was a big event. close to a hundred shooting and thousands watching. There is also a full auto shoot in Knobbcreek KY. very soon. for a fee you can shoot about any era full auto firearm. There are events where they shoot sticks of dynamite with full auto, from a safe distance. safty is a large concen and handled in both leagal and common sense manners....Don't do it if you do not want to.

Re:Reminds me of UCF's reflection pond competition

[acidrain69]

I just looked up some info, from the website:

"Last year students set the Reflecting Pond afire and accidentally launched a potato at the Library. That brings a ban on pyrotechnics this year. However, Eaglin expects the competition to be action-packed and full of surprises. "These are engineers. They come up with all sorts of things," he concludes."

http://www.news.ucf.edu/FY2001-02/020415a.html

Physics time...

[James McTavish]

They really don't comment on the stats in the article so I decided to figure them out for myself:

If you assume a flat field (from the pictures it isn't that bad of an assumption) and that they fired at 45 degrees, the vertial velocity would have been equal to the horizonal velocity:

Vh = Vv = V / sqrt(2)

The horizantal distance is about 600yards or 550m (according to google) so the horizontal motion is constant and described by:

D = Vv*t = 550

The vertical motion is described by:

y = Vv * t - 1/2 * g * t^2

At the end (the point we're interested in) y = 0 so:

Vv * t = 1/2 * g * t^2 or Vv = 1/2 * g * t

Substuting back in we can find that

550 = 1/2 * g * t^2

Solving for t gives us:

t = 10.5s

Pluggin that back in gives us

Vv = Vh = 51.9 m/s

Or the overall

V = 73.5 m/s or 264.6 km/h or 164.4 mph for you americans.

Given that I ignored air fiction and terminal velocity and all those non-ideal bits, the inital muzzel velocity would have actually been higher!

Re:Of course they are, after all God chose them!

[Anonymous Coward]

spacecowboy420 is dead.
-God

Okay, here's a clue

[HangingChad]

When loading a hot mortar one might suggest not looking down the barrel while reloading. Bad enough to have a hand in front of the tube if it cooked off, but your head would fly almost as far as the bowling ball.

Where I live it would be the cops out building the bowling ball mortar.

I see a Patriot Act secret subpoena in their future. They're definitely domestic terrorists in Ashcroft's book. You're all instructed not to destroy any information relevant to this investigation and you can't tell anyone the secret subpoenas are coming, not even your lawyer. Everybody got that? Okay, then. Without the Patriot Act rounding up people in secret and holding them without charges with no access to an attorney would not have been possible. Now we can go out and take these otherwise law abiding bastards to GITMO where they belong. Hey, if we don't nip this in the bud they'll be out torching Hummers before you know it! Bastards.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Simple-Simmian]

Black Powder Cannon that do not use fixed ammunition are legal in Califorina.

Now all we need ...

[phaetonic]

... are training camps for field ops to call artillery strikes

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Cpt_Kirks]

Actually, most states allow some form of NFA weapon ownership.

The "large tax" is $200.

Talk about your WMD's! WOW!

[Anonymous Coward]

Talk about your WMD's! WOW! I guess you will now be best friends with Bush and the Homeland Security Team!

Pretty impressive though. I must admit.

If you like that....

[pontifier]

Check out Metal Storm for videos of some guns and cannons that fire realy fast.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Cpt_Kirks]

Dammit, forgot the link!

.357

[pipingguy]

Firing a .357 Magnum at indoor pistol ranges has a similar effect. The sound and reverberation is so great that others on the rage cannot concentrate and have to wait until the magnum shooter is finished.

Re:.357

[modecx]

Not only that, but you don't want to stand next to a magnum shooter, for, um... Other reasons.

Getting sprayed with hot powder will make just about anyone get out of the way quickly. It's not very fun at all.

But, it is fun going to a range, and having all of the police officers stand behind you in amazement after a few magnum rounds.

Now, what was really amazing was the shop owner's new .454 Casul. I don't think he would have used it if he knew it was going to dent his backstop ;)

Re:.357

[Anonymous Coward]

In my experience, the cops are not "blown away" by magnum rounds, their typical bullets are 9mm or 38spl or +P rounds. I'm pretty sure that they know what a magnum round sounds like.

Plus P is pretty similar to magnum.

Re:.357

[Anonymous Coward]

Plenty of people at the range I shoot have rounds that make my .357 Mag Ruger sound puny. Then, this is the range that advertises that they can handle Desert Eagles and 460 Weatherbys. Indoor.

Re:.357

[bninja_penguin]

That's the truth. I've found that there are other pistols that make a louder boom, but so far, the .357 Magnum has the sharpest crack and most noticable shock wave I've ever experienced. I shot one with a 4 1/2" barrel while standing, and the resulting shockwave caused dust to jump 12 feet to either side of the barrel!(outside range, of course.)

That being said, I'd like to fire a .454 Casul, and a .460 Weatherby some day.
Also, where I'm from, there are a bunch of good ol' boys who have full-auto machine guns. Those are real fun. And yes, it IS legal to own them, it's just tons of paperwork to get them, and the cost is tremendous. I.e., an AR-15(semi-auto) at the time was running for about $700.00, and an M-16(full-auto) was running around $15,000.00!!

Re:.357

[pipingguy]

Not to mention the foot-long flame jumping out of the barrel (maybe I just had hot loads at the time. 6" barrel, King Cobra).

For me, anything boomier than a .357 as a hand-operated defense tool is way overkill. Firing one in the air would likely scare bad guys away with wet pants, however.

Regarding submachine guns and assault rifles, the HK MP5 is a very nice shooting machine. I've only ever fired the long barrel version.

The MP5 seems to be popular with movie-makers, as are the Glocks. For a while there (on TV and in films) it seemed that Sig-Sauer was "cool", and I wonder if Glock had to pay out huge dollars to become the handgun of choice for action movies.

Re:.357

[bninja_penguin]

I wonder if Glock had to pay out huge dollars to become the handgun of choice for action movies.

I don't know about Hollywood, but the only pistol I've found that shoots sweeter than my .40 Glock is the M1911A .45 that the military used to use (and probably still should, 9mm ain't that great.)

Re:.357

[modecx]

Well, perhaps most cops are not... But the ones as my local range were impressed. They were rather green, admittedly.

Of course, it might have been my custom 13" barrel, too...

Re:.357

[pipingguy]

I fired a 1911 once, it bites (by that I mean the loose skin between thumb and forefinger). But I was inexperienced with the weapon.

There is a Canadian company that manufactures high-capacity 1911-based .45 calibre pistols. http://www.paraord.com/pages/contact.html

It appears to me that military theory supports volume of fire as compared to effectiveness. Very useful when "other things" are going on during covering fire. Keep the bastards down!

On the other hand, punching great big holes is neat.

I wonder when the US military will realize the advantages of the bullpup layout and perfect it. Combine that with the Calico helical feed system, and...

Re:What? No gratuitous damage shots?!?

[kindbud]

You're not the only one. Other people who didn't RTFA are probably wondering the same thing.

I said "so there's already a few balls out there in the swamp, eh?"
"Oh, more than a few, yeah."

Random thoughts

[jgacad]

Perhaps he could bring it to a bowling alley? I'm sure it would do wonders for a 7-10 split :) Wonder if he's got a 'spare' one lying around...

Go to jail for possessing a bowling ball?

[gylle]

IANAL, but the story demonstrated that a bowling ball works great as a projectile. A bowling ball is so heavy that it certainly contains "any other chemical substance [...] not limited to [...]", I would guess some metal. Wouldn't that make a bowling ball a "destructive device" by the above 12301 (a) (1), and posession a public offence rendering max 1 year in jail + $10000.

Also google for "crazy laws".

Slashdot...

[DarthVeda]

News for Nerds... and Militia members.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Anonymous Coward]

Fixed ammunition (Mil.), a projectile and powder inclosed together in a case ready for loading.

They were not using fixed ammo

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[johndoesovich]

I do believe in California potato guns are illegal which would most likely rule this the same.

I'm reporting this to homeland security

[heff]

In fact, I think even posting a link to this story is a violation of the patriot act.

"Assault rifles"

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean those little .223 peashooters the US Army uses? You're right, they're pretty lame for hunting since they won't reliably knock down anything bigger than a coyote.

Your implied assumption that "military style" firearms are somehow more dangerous than grampaw's hunting rifle (or even my semi-souped up little "target" rifle) just shows your ignorance.

OMFG!!

[pair-a-noyd]

Can you say, "ILLEGAL" ???

Damn. But what I wouldn't give to get a live demonstration. I'd have a woody that would cut stainless steel and diamonds...

It's only cool if...

[YrWrstNtmr]

I remember building tennis ball cannons years ago

You have to soak the tennis ball in lighter fluid first. About 1/2 the time, it comes out of the tube aflame. Very cool, until it rolls under the neighbors car, still burning.

hmmm...run inside and hide, or run and get it, risking getting blown up in the earthshattering Kaboom...

Can we get this guy out to Utah?

[perlow]

Can we get the guy who built this to build, oh, a dozen more of these and like a hundred bowling balls and set them up in front of a certain exec's office at a certain corporate headquarters in Orem?

Pssshh...

[Anonymous Coward]

You can buy mortar at the hardware store. It sticks bricks together. Where have you /. people been all this time?

Use Tennis Balls Instead..

[R-2-RO]

This one is safer, but don't try it at home.

Back in the day when he played war-games, we would build 'mortars' or cannons with just the following items.. Soup cans, duct tape, lighter fluid, and tennis balls. It was a ton of fun to blast tennis balls at each other. It didn't hurt (too bad) :) Simple to make, takes 10 minutes once you have the cans. We would cut out both ends on all but 2 soup cans. Duct tape them together end to end.. (duh), then take one of the cans that only has one open end and using a nail or somethng, punch holes in it bottom.. lots of 'em, then duct tape that can to the others. the last can and be duct taped to the bottom end of the cannon, and using a can opener, create a small hole on the side of the last can. Done!
Tennis balls fits in the can perfectly, and rests in the next to last can, pour some lighter fluid in the last can in the small opening that u made and set it off with a match. :)

My description is pretty horrible, i know.. well, I said not to try it at home anyway.

Think Grandpas' old thirty-thirty is a kicker?

[sharkey]

No.

Oh great....

[tadd]

...now those geniuses in DC will be labeling every hunk-o-pipe in Iraq a Weapon Of Mass Destruction!!!!

ObOliverWendellJones

[sharkey]

Soon we will have backyard nukes!

Scraped the luminous stuff off of 15,000 watch dials.

Cool yer jets, I got the safety on.

Re:What? No gratuitous damage shots?!?

[Sparr0]

if the pipe weighs about the same as a bowling ball, and given that its about the same diameter, the divot should be about the same depth as the crater (more, given that the ball will lose speed in the air).

:0)

[TubeSteak]

Those big fireworks give me chills. I just love the massive boom that you can feel in your chest when they send up the big boys. It really puts a smile on your face. So... where does one get 10" firework shells? I'm guessing you had a friend or someone's dad who hooked you up?

heh

[mantera]

that dude in the pic running away looks hilarious...

eh... nothing beats the playfulness of the recently retired.

Re:anyone who uses units like this is a know nothi

[trg83]

Hey, I know you're getting bashed, but I just thought I'd say I found your last line quite amusing. Very humorous.

Gun Happy

[Anonymous Coward]

Typical gun happy Americans, look at them!

Re:Gun Happy

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought iraq was the ones with all the weapons

1) Most of them came from the USA
2) USA has more weapons than anyone

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Anonymous Coward]

You can do this LEGALLY.

It is possible to obtain liscences for destructive devices. Farmers used dinamite to blow up tree stumps for ages and ages. It's not really that hard to get a liscence either.

Take a couple classes, enough to pass a test to show that your smart enough so that you probably won't try to blow up your own arm or something.

Then it's just a matter of paying your taxes and learning a bit of engineering.

And don't forget that modern smokeless gunpowder isnt' classified as a EXPLOSIVE, like black gunpowder. It's a propellent.

Just because you haven't heard about people doing this stuff before doesn't mean it's illigal.

Hell, some fireworks are in the same catagory as "destructive devices", but people get liscences/permits and use those legally all the time.

this is a shame.

[eadint]

im reading these posts and im hearing about how the patriot act, will put these guys in jail. when i think about it. i realise that thats why inteligent people need to mobilize and take our cuntry back not by force but by elections and pettitions. make petitions to repeal the patriot act elece polititians who will protect and not prossecute their citizens. remember the first director of homeland security was joseph staling. and it looks like were heading down that road. and guess what, the geeks were the first ones stalin put in jail. read your history. because its happening again.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[fucksl4shd0t]

I presume that if he used acetylene instead of gunpowder, it would still not be legal, according to this code? We used to build acetylene cannons when I worked at a muffler shop. :) Those 3" pipes could shoot some shit...

X Prize?

[fucksl4shd0t]

Is he gonna compete for the X Prize?

Ridiculous

[Kirth]

Ha, thats just NOTHING

That guy behind the cannon built it too: Cannon And this Bombard as well: Bombard Yes, they're replica of medieval (1470) cannons.

Now, don't come with some stupid metal tube.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[SharpFang]

So... Say, under this term, say, a pillow is a destructive device.

I can throw it, so it's a projectile. It also contains "any other chemical substance." (EVERYTHING is made of certain chemical substances)

"or any launching device therefor." - say, like, your hands? You can throw stuff. Well, you can be accused of carrying your tool of rape all the time with you too.

"and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade." like ebay?

"Any rocket, rocket-propelled projectile, or similar device of a diameter greater than 0.60 inch" - hmm, tight restriction on firework. BTW, wooden sticks are forbidden by law.

"Any breakable container which contains a flammable liquid with a flashpoint of 150 degrees Fahrenheit or less and has a wick or similar device capable of being ignited." - wow. Say, a deodorant. The dispenser is rarely not flammable.

Any sealed device containing dry ice (CO2) or other chemically reactive substances assembled for the purpose of causing an explosion by a chemical reaction. Like your car engine in which gasoline explodes many times a second.

You live in a country of freedom and your government is very wise.

It must be said...

[mphase]

Imagine a beowulf cluster of these...

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[SharpFang]

And as such, it's outlawed. As mostly everything. (you can throw it - it's a projectile. It contains chemical substance - air.) Did you notice car engines are illegal?

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[mighty_xonc]

That's California law. Where in the article does it say the device was manufactured, possessed, or used in that state?

Okay so I'm nitpicking......but....

[reality-bytes]

A mortar wouldn't use a tripod as it would be a bit unstable. You'd be more likely to find them with bipods.

Nitpickers Anonymous........ :)

Easy, cheap mortar

[Anonymous Coward]

Use D size batteries as the projectiles. The mortar tube will be a 3' steel pipe with a diameter slightly larger than the D batteries.

Drive the pipe in the ground about a foot and at the proper angle. There should be a couple of feet of pipe sicking out of the ground.

Light an M-80, drop it doen the tube, drop in the battery, and BOOM, there goes the battery on its way across the valley!

We used to do this and the range is fantastic. If you do it, use your head and be careful. M-80's are serious shit.

I'd type this better, but it's really hard to do with so many fingers missing.

The way I read it...

[Kjella]

(...), other than a shotgun (...), shotgun ammunition (...), antique rifle, or an antique cannon.

In other words, antiqued weapons are excepted from this clause. Which makes sense since they're, as you say, no different from a big steel I-beam.

Kjella

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Anonymous Coward]

But it's not a weapon officer...

it's an experimental internal combustion engine.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[4r0g]

Assuming the site is from the US, I don't see why it would or should be illegal.

And if the site wasn't from the US, then it would be promoting terrorism and a serious threat to national security?

Close But No Cigar

[The Dobber]

"Damn, that looks like a weapon of mas destruction" muttered GW Bush "We'll take it"

Re:Close But No Cigar

[Eviscero]

I'll take it.

Where do i sign?

Ingredients ...

[BillsPetMonkey]

1. Home made mortar as seen on Slashdot
2. A bowling ball
3. A [insert chosen religion] fanatic
4. A crowded shopping mall

Some days, I like the idea of living in the USA, toher days, I just don't.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Anonymous Coward]

This subclause makes me really question the truth of the whole post. Why on earth would a cannon that is "rendered incapable of firing" be considered a destructive device?

The first step in making sense of gun/weapon laws is understanding that they rarely make sense.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[IAR80]

I was just wondering is anywere mentioned in the legal system that you cannot build a nuke?

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[saider]

Cool, Yes. Legal? No.

Since the bore is larger than 1/2" in diameter and is not a shotgun, it would be classified as a cannon and therefore is a "destructive device". BATF may be looking for him as we speak.

I got this lecture from a sheriff after terrorizing some cattle with a potato(e) gun.

Jeeesus Freekin Christ!

[tjensor]

Have you any idea how irresponsible this is. I was shocked, and showed it to my Irish co-worker just to check it wasnt just me. He too was shocked and said "whoever thinks that is cool should go live in Belfast for a while" which I think just about sums it up.

Im not sure which is most irresponsible. Making the thing, doing a website about the thing, or publicising the thing as being "cool".

Re:Jeeesus Freekin Christ!

[Anonymous Coward]

Sod off, you poodle-walking ninny.

Oh great.

[tietokone-olmi]

What slashdot really seems to need is a "GUN NUT" category, so that I can filter articles like these from my sight just like I filtered that Katz wanker all those years ago.

Build?

[alib001]

Build? Is everyone else just seeing a section pipe, some explosive charge and some bowling balls?

A couple of welds aside, what's to build? If it had a range finder then that'd be something to build. Or even some method of setting it off that doesn't involve the 'Darwin Award'-style approach of lighting the fuse and running away e.g. remote control.

My verdict: cool but stupid.

Now, imagine...

[Anonymous Coward]

A BEOWOLF CLUSTER OF THESE!

Mortar at Home

[Anonymous Coward]

If you really want to make mortar at home try this instead.

Re:What? No gratuitous damage shots?!?

[Upphew]

"This thing is huge! Probably weighing some 150 pounds, half-inch-nominal wall pipe with a massive two-inch-thick breechblock welded on one end. The touchhole or fuse passage leads to a small "chamber" in the center that holds the powder in a single spot, rather than letting it cover the whole 8.5" bore."

I for sure wont be borrowing your bowling ball!

Arr, 5 more a boat

[moankey]

and a Jolly Roger flag is all they need to become their very own Pirates of the Caribbean.

Re:anyone who uses units like this is a know nothi

[treat]

Anyone who deals with firearms and reloading.

I agree we should return to the olden days when every field of science or engineering had its own completely independent set of units. All this metric junk is part of a conspiracy to destroy our culture.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Glonoinha]

Close, but wrong. The guy actually made it himself which requires a Class II improvised munitions / weaponsbuilder license on top of a regular FFL (Federal Firearm License) - assuming he wanted to insure complete immunity against all legal persecution.

To upgrade a regular FFL to a Class III used to be $500, but I don't think that they are inclusive (ie just because you have a III doesn't automagically include all the benefits of being a II.) It has been a while and I forgot what it costs to upgrade to a II.

Or he could just do it in Texas or Montana where nobody cares.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Glonoinha]

This isn't a gun, and it isn't a firearm. It is a Bowling Ball for Columbine launcher.

Not even close...

[Anonymous Coward]

Heh, I'm an 11C (Mortarman) in the Army. This thing is very cool, simply because I do like explosions and shooting things (pretty base thought but hey... admit that we all love it, I just chose to make it a living) But compared to the cannons that I shoot this thing would need a lot more then some shells and a bipod to be dangerous. The largest mortar in our Army right now is 120mm and it's a track or trailer mounted beast that weighs more that 300 Lbs all assembled. We can shoot out to ranges of about 7400 Meters.

If someone was an idiot they could try to make cannon balls that explode but that would be stupid and illegal. The safety precautions and skill that it takes to build one of our shells certainly wouldn't be present in this case and unless these guys are old 11C's they probably aren't trained in proper misfire procedures or clearing procedures.

Have fun shooting pumpkins and bowling balls but let the pro's mess with the explosives. :)

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[louabill]

Hmm. The NRA's selective quoting at work, again. The second amendment reads:

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. "

Now, I'm not sure what part of "well regulated militia" this thing falls into.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Anonymous Coward]

What is more dangerous to the public, a psycho with a homemade mortar or a psycho with a semi-automatic handgun.

Well, this particular psycho seems to have both (see this picture, or his homepage, for instance), so the world would probably be a slightly better place if he was put away.

I'm a licensed pyrotechnician...

[Anonymous Coward]

... and seeing that makes my skin crawl. Steel fireworks mortars, even professionally-built ones, really suck. Their failure mode is to throw big chunks of sharp steel all over the place. In California (and other states, AFAIK) steel mortars have to be buried in sand or clean fill dirt up to 2/3 of their "legal length" so that when they blow up, they don't act like a contact-fused artillery shells. Unless those pictures were taken with a long lens or a remote release, the photographer was close enough to approach a 100% chance of death if the tube failed.

Everybody in the business is switching to HDPE mortars because when they fail, they just stretch and rupture instead of turning into shrapnel.

If you REALLY have to emulate this elaborate, slow form of russian roulette, at least have the sense to bury the tube so that you don't kill any bystanders.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Idarubicin]

From the other posts here, I gather that BATF categorizes these things as "destructive devices" and therefore a license is required to possess or manufacture them.

This might also be a general product safety issue. You're not allowed to use homemade propane cylinders, either--they have to have them inspected and tested. It's not because propane cylinders are inherently dangerous when used correctly, or even because you're expected to do something stupid with them. It's because if you screw up the manufacturing then they are extremely dangerous.

Similarly, a homemade cannon may be a source of amusement, you may have no intention of abusing it, and properly manufactured it can be quite safe. Nevertheless, the government may choose to regulate such devices just because if not manufactured and used very carefully, a cannon could conceivably be converted rapidly and efficiently into a whole pile of deadly shrapnel.

The government requires a lot of potentially dangerous products (automobiles, firearms, pharmaceuticals) to be be tested before they reach the hands of the public. You have to have a licence to use an automobile; you have to have formal training to dispense drugs. Why wouldn't there be paperwork for a cannon, too? It makes sense.

It's easier than that to make

[Deadstick]

A high-school classmate of mine made one with no fabrication whatsoever -- merely a little deceit.

We had a history teacher who had serious delusions of adequacy...you know the type. He invited us to bring in historical artifacts for Show & Tell, and a band member brought in a stand meant for a large musical instrument, a big shiny tubular brass thing on a tripod...which he described as a "Byzantine trench mortar."

Mr. Perkins was very impressed, especially by the kid's assurances that it had been carefully deactivated by a weapons technician.

rj

Get them both together!

[domsol]

Complete with pic and description:

Cast Iron Mortar and Pestle

cocks

[Anonymous Coward]

It was 1938 and Werner was full of himself, Hitler and Nazism. Eighteen years old and a poster boy for the Aryan ideal young man, 5?8? blonde, blue eyes and with just a touch of sadism in him that was willing to blame all of Germany?s problems on the undesirables.
He enlisted in the Army, more of a politician than a good soldier; he was soon transferred to the SS, because of his fervent belief in the Fuhrer.

He rose through the ranks quickly and by the end of four years was a first sergeant. It was a wonderful life, harassing the undesirables, confiscating their homes and businesses rooting out the real problems of Germany. The government was encouraging growth of the Aryan population, so the fraulein?s were encouraged to fuck as often as possible and become little Nazi making machines. Werner with his stereotypical Germanic looks had no end of little girls waiting for him every evening with their legs in the air and spread. It did not take him long to believe that he was irresistible to women.

Then in 1942 he was transferred to a prison camp in Eastern Germany. There he would head up the guard force under an aristocratic LtCol who had been wounded on the eastern front. Here his sadism came into full bloom, the LtCol allowed him to run the camp, get the slave labor parties ready and dispose of the workers that could no longer work.

You have heard that old saying: ?Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely?. Werner went round the bend, an occasional hint of 300 years of Lutheran conscious would kick in once in a while, Werner would push it to the back of his mind.

Then came the orders, dispose of the Juden, Gypsies, non Aryan Polish, Russians and homosexuals. Only those fit to work would be spared, others would be gassed, shot, what ever the most economical way was. Clothing and valuables were confiscated. Most of the clothing was used to make paper, since it consisted mostly of rags. Werner made an amazing discovery, sewn into hems and seams of the garments were rings, precious stones and gold. Most of this he turned over to his officers, but a small portion he set aside for his own future, as a good prudent German would do.

Then there was the sex. The women would do anything for him for a few more days on earth. He would pick out the best looking and cleanest and keep them for a week or so, before sending them out on work parties or to the ovens to be gassed. Werner developed a fondness for the homosexuals; this really fed his appetite for sadism. He would choose a young man, and tell him that if he performed well Werner would 1. Give him food, or 2. Spare him. Werner would then have the prisoner suck him. Werner was constantly amazed at how much he enjoyed this action; they were so accomplished at the art. When he came, would tell the prisoner to bend over so he could be fucked in the ass. Once the prisoner was in position and with Werner?s dick in his ass, Werner would draw the marvelous little weapon the SS had taught him how to use. It consisted of two hand-sized blocks of wood with a length of piano wire firmly attached to each block. He always got an erection even though he had just come, from anticipating what he was about to do. He would loop the wire, encircle the prisoner head and pull tight. He learned from sad experience not to jerk too hard on the wires as without too much difficulty the prisoner would be decapitated, what a mess. No sense in having any rumors floating about. Two years of this and he was so warped he would make a good case study for ?abnormal psych?.

Then things begin to go bad for the Fatherland. The Russians had a new tank and were over running the army on the Eastern Front, the Allies had landed in France and were approaching the German border. Werner?s survival instinct told him that the cause was lost. Then came the Battle of the Bulge, the last full German offensive of the war. All was lost it was only a matter of time now. Then the camp commander came to him and told him his services were need on the Eastern Front as a s

Rendered Incapable

[phorm]

This subclause makes me really question the truth of the whole post. Why on earth would a cannon that is "rendered incapable of firing" be considered a destructive device? I suppose you could use it as a battering ram, but then it's functionally no different from a big steel I-beam.

It's probably a clause to attempt preventing anyone from refurbishing an old cannon and rendering "re-capable" of firing.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Cpt_Kirks]

I was replying to the "NFA weapons illegal in most states" comment.

When I go back home, I hang out with a class II manufacturer sometimes. He has a shop full of goodies, full machine shop, furnace, etc.

One thing most have overlooked here is that it is muzzle loader using a black power substitute. IIRC, the thing would not even be considered a weapon, at the federal level.

Re::0) Where???

[Zzootnik]

Actually, it was all legit.
You have to go to one of the major fireworks distributors (There are people who make a pretty good living doing nothing but supplying and helping out with setup and shoot of fireworks. These are the people who supply the goods for every little podunk town that wants to shoot off fireworks for July4 or MadCow Days celebration or whatever watermelon-days type festival they throw...

They invite you to their place, teach you about safety, let you test fire a few, then show you some examples of what happens when things go horribly wrong (Just to put the fear -o- fire into you...)

These things really are pretty dangerous...As long as you take some basic precautions, though, the worst that happens is you lose a small percentage of your hearing. The fire dept, etc will also raise quite a fuss about getting permits, scheduling, insurance, etc...

Having said all that...Yeah- It's one of the most fun things I've ever had the pleasure of doing!

Consult Your Attorney

[ezraekman]

I think that's the *real* answer here. It sounds like paragraph 3 is basically saying "if the weapon is capable of firing ANYTHING"... though that depends on the definition of "ammunition". Does any projectile qualify as ammunition, or does it need to contain the charge and the projectile? (Such as a bullet.)

It also sounds like "rendered incapable of firing" is talking about a weapon that is being sold under the assumption that the buyer would keep in it's current condition (as an "antique/museum piece"), and not repair/modify it for use as a "weapon".

But then again, you have to wonder about the company mentioned above that sells fully funtional cannons. I, for one, have seen fully functional 3-inch cannons at boy scout camps, operated and owned by civilians. Companies that sell illegal weapons tend to get shut down. Civilians that publically display the use and firing of illegal weapons tend to get arrested... so I think there are some exceptions here to be found. But my advise? Go talk to your lawyer.

Oh, and a psychiatrist. Because you should have learned not to play with guns bigger than your head. Go get some heavy medication first, then do it. ;-)

Nit on B-52

[Mark of THE CITY]

B-52's: Taking the 'Fun' Out of 'Fundamentalism' since 1952

1956

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[VtWebWizard]

A militia is an armed civilian force that is not part of the standing army but available to help out as backup. The militia is also expected to supply their own weapons, so the NRA's shortening of the 2nd Amendment is correct.

You are biblically incorrect.

[zealotasd]

First of all, you say Jews are the "chosen people" without regard to scripture. The House of Israel allowed conversion into their law, despite what God said IIRC. Yet, getting to Jesus Christ, see accordingly for those without the House of Israel...

Romans 12:1;
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Accordingly, if Jesus Christ is accepted as the Saviour by non-Jews, you will be redeemed into God's Matrix! This is the Good Matrix, not the (bad) Matrix from Hollywood's Hellivision or the United States Corporation.

Secondly, if God granted us life to be "living soul" and thus give us conditions while we are "living soul", then that would mean God is living and we are the ones that were dead beforehand. Think about it.

God -> creates "living soul"
God granted "living soul"

This fits perfectly on why God (aka YHVH, aka Jehova, aka Lord of Hosts) is always referred to as the living God and even by "Jesus Christ." Compliant with...

Deuteronomy 5:26;
"For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?"

Psalm 42:2;
"My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?"

Jeremiah 10:10;
"But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation."

Matthew 16:16;
"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Matthew 22:32;
"I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."

Mark 12:27;
"He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err."

Luke 20:38;
"For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him."

John 6:69;
"And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

Romans 9:26;
"And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God."

Scripture was quoted from the Authorized Version (King James Bible; a public domain transcription), without the copyrighted willfully false bibles known as New International Version, American Standard, New American Standard, New King James Version, and Century New King James Version, and many more copyrighted and "...by our expression written permission..." works of evil art.

Re:You are biblically incorrect.

[spacecowboy420]

I agree with your post except:

God doesn't write books, #1
The old testament is transcription into hebrew from Armenian verbal accounts i.e. Hearsay at best #2
Jews Don't recognize the new testament #3
Paul wrote the new testament (mostly) #4

In conclusion, it's all bullshit and is nothing but a basis for war, inquisition, and Zionism - and - the cause of more deaths than all diseases combined. Stop war by first abolishing religion. Accept that a truly omnipotent god would not be involved in such petty ventures on such an insignificant planet. Kill to assert your god? Sounds like the ultimate oxymoron to me.
(although I do not believe this is what you were asserting)

Consider this.

[zealotasd]

The Old Testament transcribes preserved the tense the testament was given. Kill who, heathens that raped and pillaged their own or just kill innocent people? And so the first Words of God are preserved by Moses, and among those is "Though shalt not kill" and ammended by their purity-minded justification,

Numbers 25:6-8;
"6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel."

If you read through the Old Testament, specifically the "Pentateuch" (known as the first 5 books, through Moses), then you will know that the House of Israel was repeatedly disobeying the commandments given to them. I speak Biblicaly, whereas if I were like you and prejudicialy concluded the Old and New Testaments as fiction and there was not god that created them other than the lies of Isral, then it would be correct as any other fable that the House of Israel failed many times because it didn't adhere to the laws that they (or was it YHVH?) created. According to scripture, Israel was in slavery for a few hundred years in Egypt because they allegedly didn't keep their laws, and this was documented history of Israel! And what about the inquisition and conquest, besides the people that participated in such violated all that Jesus Christ spoke of? Just because Apostle Paul wrote a large ammount of the New Testament does not mean his words override Jesus Christ's. Many times does Paul speak of a father on Earth, despite Jesus Christ said (Matthew 23) to call no man on earth your father.

How many slashdotters acuse eachother of being trolls when the accused are actualy not trolls? You are at liberty to accept the true words of Jesus Christ and not those AnteChrist that acted repugnant to Jesus Christ's words (Ante=greek, in place of). When someone says they are a follower of Jesus and they act repugnant to Jesus Christ's commandments, then you bare witness of a liar or are in seek of rebuke, yet...

Ephesians 6: 12-13;
"12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

Zionism -- are you not aware of the prodacle Jews that secretly control every aspect of living today? They are cruel, they commit horrendous ussury as well as the other sinful deeds in complete violation of scripture. Given I have perceived your attitude, I'm somewhat assured you are aware of the truth in the insolvent nature of the United States corporation's bankruptcy at the hands of the international bankers Abraham Linoln strove to secretly establish financing from? Although I am drawn back to your words of horrendous transgressions committed by those before us that were against and acted in place of Jesus Christ... let me continue. Jesus Christ emphasized the first ten commandments in the ministry, in his following words:

Romans 13: 8,9;
"8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

And let me emphasize unto you what Jesus spoke of abou

Re:Consider this.

[spacecowboy420]

I am unsure as to whether or not your post is perfectly lucid to me, although we seem to agree. I did say God is dead. When I say this, I refer to the superhero in the bible - I am not atheist, just not religous. When I speak of killing, I speak of killing in regards to asserting your God - yes those that pillage and rape my community should endure the wrath of my community - I will not do it in God's name. You are already aware of my thoughts toward the bible, so quoting it, whether for or against my cause, has no value to me.

Your comments have been interesting and I now consider you a friend - at least here on /.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Glonoinha]

-I was replying to the "NFA weapons illegal in most states" comment.

Ah yes. That is the one I generally use to separate the men from the boys. Anybody holding the 'machine guns are illegal to own' line in a thread obviously has no clue and thus needs to have anything they say discounted heavily.

Know the coolest thing about having a Class II buddy? Take him your shotgun, let HIM saw off the barrel and put on a pistol grip, run the paperwork and pay your $5 transfer fee (for sawed off's it is only $5, not the $200 for Class III) and Voila! instant legal sawed off shotgun.

I remember watching footage when Reagan got shot, one of the SS troopers in a three piece suit reached into his pants pocket and pulled one of these out ... surely the pocket had been cut because it is still a pretty big piece of machinery but still - the effect was amazing.

Re:Reminds me of UCF's reflection pond competition

[Kazuko]

This year it was an orange; we aren't allowed to use Ziplines or anything that physically contacts the transport device while in the water. Remote control? Yes. Ziplines? No. The real crux of the issue is to try to get as close to your projected time as possible, so simply making the fastest won't work, (you have to know it's the fastest)

The potato cannon was across the RWC pool. Couple of years back they used something like a E model rocket to launch a tater across the pool lengthwise. Unfortunately, a reporter was covering this story and decided to stand directly across from said spud rocket. Well, the spud "fragmented" upon launch and the camera and reporter were served mash potatoes, airmail style.

Us Engineers are always launching things, last spring it was marshmallows in a housing development to the southern sector of campus (for the most part main campus is shaped circular.) and there were all sorts of weird inventions, air cannons made from beer kegs, slingshots attached to 2x4's, 14-ft long plunger-type air cannons (think old-school popgun) etc. Always a fun thing to attend, even for non-engineers.

Acid, you go to UCF?

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Cpt_Kirks]

No, the coolest thing about having a Class II buddy is cutting down trees with his M1917 water cooled Browning.

I hadn't thought of having him make me a shotgun. Good idea. I forget, can you go under 18" on the barrel if you file the paperwork? I would love a pocket 870!

When Reagan got shot, I just remember all the UZIs...

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Brandybuck]

I'm a bit confused as to why this was modded down. I answered the question that was put forth. To quote "What is more dangerous to the public, a psycho with a homemade mortar or a psycho with a semi-automatic handgun."

The answer seems obvious to me. The mortor in the story isn't going to be dangerous to large amounts of people, but a real mortor with real shells is going to cause a shitload of damage. Which is why armies are equipped with more mortors that semiautomatic handguns.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Glonoinha]

Wouldn't the 1917 be Class III? Then again anybody getting that far into it probably went for the gusto.

-Good idea. I forget, can you go under 18" on the barrel if you file the paperwork? I would love a pocket 870!

I don't know, and I'm not afraid to admit it when I don't know. However, if anybody could point you in the right direction it would by my buddies AltaVista and Google, they pointed me here :

http://www.keepshooting.com/pms12.htm

Mossberg 500 Action
* Laser Engraved Receiver
* Custom FOLDING "K" Grip
* 6.5" Barrel
* Sling Swivels
* Blade Front Sight
* Only $5 NFA Transfer Tax
* 2 3/4 or 3" Shells
* Price: $650

I imagine that if anybody can do this with a Remington they could or could recommend someone. Mossberg and Ithica are the names that keep popping up in my head.

Oh yea, and regardless of how legal it actually is, expect to get some major hassles just for having it. Remember that a short barrel shotgun was the catalyst behind Randy Weaver's wife getting shot and killed by the Feds while her children watched, in the comfort of her own home. Disclaimer : Randy's wasn't legal.

Come to think of it, those weren't pocket UZI's either - having held the full size units myself I am pretty amazed those guys were able to conceal them too.

learn to google!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes they are sanctioned! Too bad you never get away from your computer. Most real men know about drams equiv!

try these:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe =UTF-8&q=grain&btnG=Google+Search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe =UTF-8&q=Hatcher%27s+Index+of+a+projectile&btnG=Go ogle+Search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe =UTF-8&q=hatcher%27s+projectile&btnG=Google+Search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe =UTF-8&q=hatcher+ballistics&btnG=Google+Search
Learn to search!

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Cpt_Kirks]

Oh yeah, the 1917 is full auto. IIRC, you have to have a class III to do class II stuff. He builds and repairs guns for the Missouri Highway Patrol, so the whole deal is quite cool with the law (repaired guns have to be test fired).

I was attached to the Dutch Army when I was in the Army (U.S.) I got to fire their UZIs, FNs and MAGs every year.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Technician]

(5) Any breakable container which contains a flammable liquid with a flashpoint of 150 degrees Fahrenheit or less and has a wick or similar device capable of being ignited, other than a device which is commercially manufactured primarily for the purpose of illumination.
(6) Any sealed device containing dry ice (CO2) or other chemically reactive substances assembled for the purpose of causing an explosion by a chemical reaction.


Hmm. I guess I'm going to have to quit putting dry ice in pop bottles. I had no idea.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Glonoinha]

If you are ever in the area (Manchester NH, 03102) look for Wolf's or Brown's out by the airport. Excellent indoor range that suppliments his normal customer base by renting out his VAST assortment of Class III hardware for use on his range, using the ammo you buy from him naturally. $20 an hour for any Class III you can think - he has an M-60 up there but I didn't inquire (enough 9mm to last an hour is expensive enough, I don't want to try feeding an M60 for an hour.)

I spent an hour or two with an HK MP5-A3, it dispelled a lot of myths in my head about what a sub can and cannot do (can : make a lot of noise. can't : stay on target at 75 feet.) The first bullet out of the barrel from aimed fire is pretty accurate (ie, signif more accurate than my pistol shooting at the same range) but it goes down hill FAST. I wish I had taken the opportunity to spend an hour with one of his silenced weapons, I have a few myths in my head about those that need dispelling.

The tripod mounted hardware (like the 1917, IIRC) with T+E hand cranks - now those are a different story. Once you got your fields of fire dialed in they seemed real accurate (compared to the hand held sub's.) Not real agile, but if someone happens to waltz through your field of fire their destiny was thereupon decided by you. Milk jugs were my enemy of choice, followed closely by bowling pins.

That reminds me about the original topic : the bowling ball mortar. It is very, very cool but I will be about 5x as impressed the minute it gets a mounted T+E and some nerd with a hand calculator is actually delivering elevation recommendations for desired distance, and they actually HIT something (ie, land the bowling ball within a few feet of where it was intended.) Right now it is a proof of concept, more along the lines of fireworks (minus the rapport) than improvised munitions. The minute it gets some calculations and repeatedly hitting targets ... now THAT is when I will be really impressed.

Quite honestly it wouldn't surprise me if they were 'restricted' simply because of how much fun they are ... but a target has a lot more to fear from someone with a semi-auto rifle than someone that decides to spray-n-pray.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Cpt_Kirks]

We have a place that that in the Memphis area. It's an indoor range so nothing more powerfull than an AK-47. But you can shoot year round.

Full auto weapons are quite accurate if used correctly. Rambo and Chuck Norris movies are bullshit, of course (fun to watch, though).

The problem with the mortar is that it's smoothbore. With that much windage, the math is about half guess work. More of an area weapon.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[bluGill]

The word regulated has changed definition a little since the constitution was written. Today we would read that to mean regulated by rules. Back then it was read as regulated by having sufficant equipment (firearms) to protect the country.

I you are a male living in the US and between 16 and 45 you are a member of the milita, and you have no choice in the matter. (In these more enlightened times we would include females and extend the age to 70)

10" Firework Shells...

[novapyro]

are quite common in the proper circles. We shot a few dozen of them this past weekend, along with some 12 inchers and a 16 incher. We also shot a few thousand other shells and some concussion mortars, and strobe pots and mines and wheels... Come join us (or your local club) in a legal fireworks shoot. www.crackerjacks.org (Server upgrade in progress)

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Glonoinha]

I would think that if you could chrono it and get repeatable speeds with accurately measured powder loads, and if the repeatable speed was quite a bit below the terminal velocity for a bowling ball, and if the elevation was accurate (ie, mounted compass with a weighted string on it to get real accurate angle of inclination) I would hope you could get pretty good results. A rifled barrel is important in a flat shooting trajectory but I would imagine much less so using indirect fire (ie, a 45 degree angle) using 5kg bowling balls. I just can't imagine a gentle wind having much effect on a bowling ball.

Of course accuracy being a relative term, I am thinking of good results as being accurate to land in the same swimming pool on a recurring basis.

The big question of course is ... how well does it work with pumpkins :)

-

Mounted full auto weapons are very accurate.
Short bursts from a SMG are pretty accurate (particularly the first two or three rounds.)

At anything farther than 25 yards I would be amazed to see anybody with a shoulder fired (shooter standing with the weapon held up to his shoulder, not prone or kneeling, not tripod mounted) carbine or SMG hit a gallon milk jug more than twice in a full mag emptying burst (25 - 30 rounds). Hella fun to shoot, makes a lot of noise, but not exactly precision fire.

Did you ever see the video from the two bank robbers wearing dragon scales, carrying AK looking full autos in California from a few years ago? I think '44 Minutes' was a recent made for TV movie on the subject. Amazing to watch an actual firefight using SMGs / LMGs go down at close range.

Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Cpt_Kirks]

"Windage" actually means the space between the round and the barrel. This space is needed to allow the projectile to be pushed down the barrel.

Since you have no way to determine where the porjectile will hit the barrel on the way out, you can't say for sure where it will land. I think you can work out a pretty good circle of probability, though.

Re:Reminds me of UCF's reflection pond competition

[acidrain69]

Acid, you go to UCF?

Graduated class of '02 in Computer Science. Which is why I'm out of the loop on the changes to the competition.

Re:anyone who uses units like this is a know nothi

[Kirth]

Anyone who deals with firearms and reloading.

No, any American or Brit who deals with firearms and reloading. The rest of the world uses metric.
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Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart?

[Migrant Programmer]

It was the "topple an entire building" part. I mean, it's a mortar, not an artillery piece. Good for soft skinned targets, generally. Besides you didn't say a real mortar.