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Austin · 12-09-2011, 02:32 PM

I was raised around firearms, my Dad was a LEO as where all my "Uncles" and my Grandparent owned a gun store and where constantly on the road going to gun shows. A little history to set the mood.

In my Tenth year on Christmas my Grandparents came over and had a box five foot in length. My grandfather gave me a wink, letting me know this was mine. I was excited as big boxes were a rarity from grandparents, they liked to give me socks and underwear, but this time is was something different (a rubber band gun if you don't know where this is headed due to the title).

We got done with dinner and I anxiously awaited the box, being forced to open the lesser presents first, each with an exasperated sense of disappointment as they were socks and under wear.

Then came the big box, I tore that thing open like a ... like a... I got nothing but it was quick and lo and behold a five M16 rubber band gun that held 25 shots at one time. It had one of those spinning wheels that allowed multiple bands and it came with a "going to hurt someone" quality of rubber-bands you just don't get from newspapers any more (the only other source of rubber bands I know of to this day).

It clearly said on the gun "Not for use by persons under the age of 16, DO NOT POINT AT PEOPLE". It's unfortunate, at the time I didn't understand capslock equaled a direct command (Thanks internet!) so I loaded it up eagerly and started going to town on the boxes that where being discarded as my siblings continued to open their socks and underwear with sighs.

My siblings are much younger than me, and I was a jerk of a kid.

My Brother came into my site, knowing this was a rubber-band gun, and having already been taught gun safety and allowed to roam with the .22 I was given the year before, I took aim, this was something different in my mind, this was only a rubber band gun.

Tap, tap, tap. "Screeeeeeeeeaaaaam", my brother hit the floor. Lucky for me (and him I suppose) I was about the size of my gun and it had dropped hitting him in the legs and forcing him to drop.

It was a couple of years before I got that gun back, and a couple of months till I was allowed possession of a firearm.

The next year we all got marshmallow shooters.

My Brother is one of if not my best friend... now that we are adults.

Mapcinq · 12-09-2011, 05:55 PM

Great story. I had a wooden rubber band pistol when I was younger, loved the thing. I had bought it a local fair, where the seller had a large rubber band machine gun. I would have loved to have that when I was a kid.

Austin · 12-09-2011, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mapcinq

Great story. I had a wooden rubber band pistol when I was younger, loved the thing. I had bought it a local fair, where the seller had a large rubber band machine gun. I would have loved to have that when I was a kid.

I had a few of those too. They all ended up getting broken. When you are carrying them on you bicycle and fall they break.

jfirecops · 12-16-2011, 12:28 AM

I purchased my Dad a pistol version of those as a gag gift one Christmas, then I learned the gag was on me when he ignored the warning stickers and decided I was the only target he was willing to shoot.

rivalarrival · 12-16-2011, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin

The next year we all got marshmallow shooters.

A couple years back, my family passed out little PVC marshmallow shooters. Us bigger "kids" decided to get to work with spare plumbing parts in the basement to make big-kid versions of the little-kid blow guns they passed out.

We took a large "tank" made of 4" pvc, a short piece of pipe for a barrel, and installed 3 valves between the two. (elbowed over for compact-ness) The first valve was the breech-block - we drilled a hole in the side of it to load a mini marshmallow. The second valve was the firing valve; it sealed off the charge chamber - a 6" piece of barrel pipe - and released the charge to the barrel. The third valve separated the charge chamber from the reservoir, a large piece of 4" pipe. To fire, you'd load the marshmallow and close the breech block, close the firing valve, open and close the charge valve to fill the charge chamber, then open the firing valve. We were able to get about 15 shots before needing to recharge the reservoir.

But I digress... We also had a previously built "carrot" gun with an 8-foot barrel. Smaller than a potato cannon, the barrel was about perfect for a regular-sized marshmallow. I shot my brother in the leg from about 10 feet away; he showed me a fist-sized bruise a few days later, about 7 seconds before he lit me up with his paintball gun.

Austin · 12-20-2011, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfirecops

I purchased my Dad a pistol version of those as a gag gift one Christmas, then I learned the gag was on me when he ignored the warning stickers and decided I was the only target he was willing to shoot.

Sounds like my dad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rivalarrival

A couple years back, my family passed out little PVC marshmallow shooters. Us bigger "kids" decided to get to work with spare plumbing parts in the basement to make big-kid versions of the little-kid blow guns they passed out.

We took a large "tank" made of 4" pvc, a short piece of pipe for a barrel, and installed 3 valves between the two. (elbowed over for compact-ness) The first valve was the breech-block - we drilled a hole in the side of it to load a mini marshmallow. The second valve was the firing valve; it sealed off the charge chamber - a 6" piece of barrel pipe - and released the charge to the barrel. The third valve separated the charge chamber from the reservoir, a large piece of 4" pipe. To fire, you'd load the marshmallow and close the breech block, close the firing valve, open and close the charge valve to fill the charge chamber, then open the firing valve. We were able to get about 15 shots before needing to recharge the reservoir.

But I digress... We also had a previously built "carrot" gun with an 8-foot barrel. Smaller than a potato cannon, the barrel was about perfect for a regular-sized marshmallow. I shot my brother in the leg from about 10 feet away; he showed me a fist-sized bruise a few days later, about 7 seconds before he lit me up with his paintball gun.

A marshmallow did that or a carrot?

rivalarrival · 12-21-2011, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin

Sounds like my dad.

A marshmallow did that or a carrot?

Marshmallow. Regular-sized marshmallow, through an 8-foot barrel, charged from a 6-foot section of 4" PVC filled with air at ~140PSI... Yeah, air cannons are not to be trifled with. Our baseball gun lobbed baseballs on washcloth wadding almost 300 yards down range. Could easily shatter bones.

A carrot probably would have lodged in his leg.

Our mini cannons were much safer. You could feel the hit, but they didn't bruise or draw welts... unless you crammed the barrel full of marshmallows, "forgot" to close the middle valve and dumped the entire reservoir into the shot...

Austin · 12-21-2011, 04:15 PM

That's nuts. Was the marshmallow intact?

rivalarrival · 12-22-2011, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin

That's nuts. Was the marshmallow intact?

A little smooshed, but basically intact, yeah. It was at very close range, two or three feet from the barrel. I couldn't believe it - if I'd known how much energy it could impart, I wouldn't have shot him with it. Air cannons deserve a fair bit of respect.

Austin · 12-22-2011, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rivalarrival

A little smooshed, but basically intact, yeah. It was at very close range, two or three feet from the barrel. I couldn't believe it - if I'd known how much energy it could impart, I wouldn't have shot him with it. Air cannons deserve a fair bit of respect.

That they do, I'm sure that's one of the reasons they are illegal.