One of my FAVORITE things to do is to take a bunch of pop cans(unopened and filled to the brim), shake 'em for a couple of seconds, set ‘em up on a stump or something else that is about shoulder level, and shoot at them with .22LR bullets. It’s totally awesome to watch one “explode”. BTW, you will get much more impressive results if you use a rifle and high velocity hollow points. Does anyone else enjoy foolin’ around with .22s and soda cans?
BTW, should anyone decide to try this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE know what is behind/around your target. Rimfire bullets (such as the 22 Long Rifle) can reach a velocity of 1,280 fps, which can make them dangerous for a 1.5 mile radius. But if you can manage to find a good wooded area to shoot, it’s loads of fun!!!
God bless,
jenkinsfan Well at least the topic wasn’t ‘Christian’
Bravo, jf. I’m proud of you. This is a genuinely interesting thread.
No, I’ve not tried this, but I used to take a can of Coke (Pepsi or Sprite more likely, 'cause I didn’t mind wasting them) and kick it back and forth with a friend until the thing exploded. Kinda like a weird version of “hot potato”.
BTW, I forgot to mention: If you’re using a rifle stand at least 40 ft. away. You can keep a safe distance at 30 ft. with a handgun as velocities are sacrificed with diminished barrel size.
If you’re interested in buying a handgun, I’ll personally recommend the Smith & Wesson 22A Sport Series pistol. It was designed with the soda can in mind.
Because soda cans get kinda expensive, I also like to blow away rotten vegetables. Although the smell is less than fragant, IT’S REALLY COOL! Tomatoes and peppers are the best for vegy huntin’.
Another fun thing to do is shake them up, stand in a road, and throw them as straight and hard as you can up. The run! When they land, they will usually explode up to waist level. Heh heh heh.
We used to use empty liter-sized plastic soda bottles for targets. If you fill them up with water and put the top back on, they will explode when the bullet hits them.
AND BOY DO I AGREE WITH YOU ON THE SODA ISSUE! I hate soda. I used to drink a couple of cans a day. Now that I’m a little more active physically I quit drinking the stuff. Needless fat IMHO. And diet cola is not exactly sweet, but it’s not exactly bitter. I think it’s the 11th plague that God was too merciful to send on Egypt!
If you want to go plinking, stop by the local supermarket & ask if they have some defunct vegetables (or go out back of the store & go dumpster-diving). Apples, oranges, tomatoes, melons – when they’ve outlived their usefulness as food, they’re still fun to “blow up”.
Another good target is a plastic milk jug filled with water. If there’s room in the freezer, put it in until it’s completely frozen. You can dump it in the cooler with the sodas to keep them cool on the way to the range. A block of ice makes a good target, since it lasts quite a while and all the chunks are biodegradeable.
One more thing: bring a garbage bag whenever you go shooting (especially if your range is not a formal shooting range) and clean up afterwards. If you find someone else’s trash, get it outta there, too. Leave it cleaner than you found it.
As far as pistols are concerned, I like the Ruger SP101 (in .22). I also enjoy black powder firearms – it’s like playing with fireworks, except you have to be (quite) a bit more careful. BP revolvers aren’t as loud as modern weapons, either, and that puff of smoke is pretty dramatic.
I’ve heard of the milk jug target. Does it explode as well?
Always!
Ruger makes quite a firearm. My cousin has a 10/22 that he’s fired at least 5,000 round through and it’s still just as good as new. BTW, is BP very expensive?
BP is not very expensive. The firearms themselves are often available as kits, and many replicas are available for around $125 or more. Sometimes you can find a used one at a pawn shop, but take it to a good gunsmith to be inspected for safety before firing it. The ammunition (round balls, powder, and “bear grease”) are cheap. Conical bullets cost more (and are difficult to load properly). You can substitute lard or vegetable shortening for the “bear grease”.
With BP, you burn up less ammunition than with cartridge firearms, because you have to load every shot you fire, but that’s part of the fun. They’re easy to clean, too. Just disassemble the thing and use hot, soapy water. Rinse thoroughly, then put it in the oven at about 200° until it’s dry. Oil it up (but not excessively) and reassemble it, and you’re done (you can even clean them in the dishwasher, but remove, dry, and lube them as soon as the wash cycle is over).
For propellant, you might want to use a “black powder substitute”. There are several on the market. They stil produce clouds of white smoke, but they don’t foul the weapon as quickly. Unlike real black powder, the residue doesn’t absorb water vapor from the air, and so it’s less critical to clean them as soon as possible after you’re done shooting.
Most Colts replicas (like the originals) tend to shoot several inches below the point of aim, so you have to either trim the front site or learn to aim high. Always load one less chamber than the cylinder has unless you intend to immediately discharge all chambers downrange. If you carry a loaded BP revolver, keep the hammer down on an empty chamber.
If you think of stuff folks throw out as jetsam, then by the law of the sea anything in a dumpster is fair game. Some companies, though, don’t think like that. They think their competitors care about their daily reports and such. In every industry I have ever worked everybody knew everybody, had worked with everybody, talked regularly with everybody, and were better informed about the competition than the employees were.
But that’s business and this thread is about more important stuff–shooting things. I’d say go ahead and dive. The good stuff has been donated to a pantry and all that’s left is good only to shoot at. And if you find that they are throwing out wholesome food, connect the store with a pantry and you’ve done something nice.
Bring along a CO2 pistol when you dive so you can turn your shopping trip into fun by plinking rats.
Take an M-80 firecracker (calling this thing a firecracker is laughable), and stand it up on end.
Take an unopened soft drink in a can, shake it up, and (keeping it upright) balance it on top of the M-80.
Light the fuse of the “firecracker”.
Run.
The results are quite impressive. Upon explosion of the “firecracker”, the top half (yes, half… the can almost always splits exactly in half horizontally) will launch 15-20 feet in the air, while the bottom half will only launch about 5 feet in the air. There will be a VERY fine mist that is roughly teardrop shaped. The point of the teardrop will be the highest point, and will usually be about 4 or 5 feet down from the top half of the can. The bottom half of the can will usually be at about the center of mass of the bulbous portion of the teardrop. Beautiful…
Upon examining the remains, there is no liquid ANYWHERE… not on the ground, and not even on the inside of the can. If you look at the bottom half of the can, there will be a hole in what was once the bottom of the can. This hole will be large enough to put your finger through, and will be very smooth when looking at it from the outside of the can.
Gotta try it. Love putting 1-1/2 inchers in eggs. The shell, the white, the yolk–all gone!
See, kids? We can play nice if we find that common ground. Shooting things and blowing up things are not pastimes limited to one faith or ideology. I am always irked by the assumption that only conservatives can find guns cool.
I can add from experience that shooting excess cheap beer in cans with a .177 pellet gun is satisfying. Sounds like I need to try it with a .22 pretty soon, though.
Since July 4th is coming, most of us will have an opportunity to lay hands on some sort of pyrotechnics (well, in the States, anyway). Aside from soda cans, what objects have people here blown up? I’m planning on a watermelon this year. I plan to slice a section of the rind off, making a flat spot, then scoop out a little of the flesh to make a hollow about an inch deep. The prepared melon will be placed, cavity down, over an M-80, which will then be detonated.
