Punkin Chunkin

[Joe Pelonio]

if you get a chance turn to the Science Channel, it's on now, later, and probably will be repeated it. Big home made machines throwing pumpkins
close to a mile. Where do I sign up?

[John Fabre]

My boys and I have seen last years too, they want to build one. I don't think my shop is big enough.

[David Epperson]

Yeah. Watched it. First female teem took the Air Cannon division. I thought the Trebuchet machines to be the most interesting, design wise. The floating axle design entrant actually launched the entire arm in a machine failure.

I also noticed that the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet site actually mentions the Punkin Chunkin competition as a modern use. Although with the 2009 results.

[Chris Damm]

I have a friend that is (was) on the crew of 2nd Amendment. They have stepped back for economic reasons. They won the air cannon division a few times but with bad times in Michigan they quit competing. I think this was the 25th year for Punkin Chunkin! My buddy said it is one big party.

[Brian Elfert]

I watched both the pre show on Wednesday evening and the competition show last night.

One new air cannon entry for 2010 spent $100,000 on their machine! They went all out with a polished barrel and everything. All these new guys claim they have some great idea that will pummel the competition, but it rarely pans out. The $100,000 air cannon only got 4th place.

Last year there was a a new centrifigual entry that bragged about beating the guys who had won 14 years straight. Last year the new entry broke down and I think only shot one pumpkin. This year they got off a few shots, but were still well behind the guys who win every year. There was a new torsion entry last year that bragged they could outshoot the air cannons. They made I think one shot before breaking and didn't even win the torsion category. This year they won torsion, but still not near air cannons. The team that won torsion also won another category with an older machine of theirs.

[Brian Elfert]

How the heck have the cetrifigauls not injured someone? If one of those metal arms ever broke loose there would be mayhem.

[Joe Pelonio]

How the heck have the cetrifigauls not injured someone? If one of those metal arms ever broke loose there would be mayhem.
I thought that too, also wonder how they make the pumpkin exit at the right time to go into the field and not the crowd.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Watched it last night - thanks for the heads up Joe! Lot of the machines were just downright funny - but they worked!

I can see where this would be one heck of a large party! Definitely entertaining and will watch for the program from now on!

[Rick Moyer]

I thought that too, also wonder how they make the pumpkin exit at the right time to go into the field and not the crowd.

Womdered that too. Every year I think maybe I'll go to this next year but I haven't yet. Porbably 4 hrs or so away.

[Pat Germain]

The nearby town of Manitou Springs hosts a punkin chunkin. At least they have for many years. Didn't hear anything about it this year. But in the past, they've had some massive, impressive machines come out of the mountains to chunk punkins for very long distances.

And those machines can be dangerous. I saw an episode of "Little People, Big World" a couple of years ago where their punkin chucker injured one of their kids. It hit him in the head. He ended up being OK, but he could easily have been killed.

[Dave Lehnert]

The nearby town of Manitou Springs hosts a punkin chunkin. At least they have for many years. Didn't hear anything about it this year. But in the past, they've had some massive, impressive machines come out of the mountains to chunk punkins for very long distances.

And those machines can be dangerous. I saw an episode of "Little People, Big World" a couple of years ago where their punkin chucker injured one of their kids. It hit him in the head. He ended up being OK, but he could easily have been killed.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ul9PK6bzRU

[Matt Ranum]

I have/ had a neighbor kid who worked for us a lot over the years designed and built 2 of them. He is the first one featured in this vid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiXevGEIMdk

He would practice and fine tune in their back yard by chucking bowling balls a couple hundred yards. :p

[Ron Conlon]

I'm on a team that builds one for competition at the Delaware meet (the one shown on TV). We're in the kid's division, which means that the kids have to be active helpers in the building of the machine and also the sole people firing the machine in competition.

This year we threw a pumpkin 941 feet, beating last year by 100 feet.
The building is a good bonding time with my 7 year old daughter, but if my wife finds out that she ran a power miter saw, I'm history....:eek:

[Mike Cruz]

Great to watch on TV. Even cooler to watch in person! A local festival has one of those cannons. You pay something like $5 for a pumkin (or maybe its $5 for three...I don't remember). You get to chose your pumpkin, they load it up, you yell fire in the hole as loud as you can, and they pull the trigger! They have an old mobile home set up across a corn field (I'd guess at about 300-400 yards or so, and you see if it'll get hit! Honestly, the velocity of the pumkins is incredible. To watch 'em get shot at that distance, well, there is hardly any arc to the shot. It is a line drive and exciting as heck. The trailer rarely gets hit because their isn't any rifling to the barrel, or at least I don't think there is. With the odd shapes of the pumkins, it is a real crap shoot as to how true they will fly. Sometimes they come out and it is a total knuckleball, other times a serious hook or a slice. Really wild. Gives you an idea of the inaccuracy of musket balls back before "rifling" in guns...

[Van Huskey]

What I also think is cool is how much effort they put into growing the "correct" pumkins. A science within a science.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I'm on a team that builds one for competition....:eek:

OK - Ron - I have no interest in tossing large fruit or vegetables. But, I would like to toss, say, a softball or a tennis ball 50 - 100yds. I have looked around a bit, but haven't found any detailed designs [for free]. I have found some mind-numbing info on trebuchet math and a lot of discussions on theory.

Anyplace you know that would provide [free] designs? Also - I would ideally be able to make it, test it, break it down and ship it to a friend - just for the sheer delight of watching his wife's reaction when she sees what craziness I am up to this time............

[Chris Kennedy]

My neighbor knocked one together using PVC and bungee cords in a day. For throwing tennis balls, that should be more than enough.

Cheers,

Chris

[Todd Hyman]

I saw that over Thanksgiving and I couldn't believe it! It looks like a fun event to attend. Those people are crazy and so are the attendees.

[Jon McElwain]

Punkin Chunkin is pretty cool, but these guys launching anvils has got to be just as exiting if not more...

http://www.geekologie.com/2009/10/anvil_launching_the_worlds_man.php

[Charlie Reals]

if you get a chance turn to the Science Channel, it's on now, later, and probably will be repeated it. Big home made machines throwing pumpkins
close to a mile. Where do I sign up?
Joe, not confirmed yet butt this from the wikpedia info


In September 2010, the 'Big 10 Inch' team returned to Utah and fired a pumpkin 5,545.43 feet (1,690.247 meters) - this shot is still pending certification by Guinness World Records (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness_World_Records).
Big machines throwing over a mile now:eek:

[Chris Parks]

I like anvil shooting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhQ4dE_RGnQ

[Carl Carew]

I built a mini one last year for my wife's school class, it stood about 4 ft high, was the trebuche style had about 12 lbs of wt and could toss a gourd about 100 ft. The class loved it had their own contest and they brought it out again this year