[igrowone]

Originally Posted by moose eater

We also taped together soda cans, cut out both ends except for the bottom of the bottom can, and pierced the edge near the bottom of that can with an ice pick. We'd load it up with Zippo lighter fluid, after inserting a tennis ball (or suitably sized potato), and hold a match or lighter/flame source to the hole, resulting in the 'cannon' firing what ever projectile was placed into it.

Regrettably, today, cans are made of much thinner material.

After that, Estes model rockets, and a tripod for cameras, resulted in a small personal missile that could be loosely effectively aimed. ;^>)

These days, half of those relatively innocuous 'inventions' might well result in a federal charge or 3 of some sort. ;^>) Gotta' keep the Gestapo employed, right??

indeed, i refined the concept a bit
dry gas made a very good explosive, first time every time for ignition
now for ammo, back in the day there was this beer with 'chug a mug' type of bottle
fit very nice, basically a glass mortar shell

[Spaventa]

I always dreamt of making a gun that ran on diesel. It shouldn't need a primer, just a smack and off she'd go I imagine there would be plenty of energy to reload itself, too, if it stayed in one piece lol

[Phaeton]

Some person took that idea and ran with it for a small distance.
The gun was fired by using a spring powered compressor, the sudden increase in pressure would heat the air to where it would ignite the charge in the breech.
The design was manufactured but only for a short time.
Possibly the use of a sintered charge glued to the cartridgeless bullet factored into the equation as well.

[EasyGoing]

Originally Posted by moose eater

We also taped together soda cans, cut out both ends except for the bottom of the bottom can, and pierced the edge near the bottom of that can with an ice pick. We'd load it up with Zippo lighter fluid, after inserting a tennis ball (or suitably sized potato), and hold a match or lighter/flame source to the hole, resulting in the 'cannon' firing what ever projectile was placed into it.

Regrettably, today, cans are made of much thinner material.

After that, Estes model rockets, and a tripod for cameras, resulted in a small personal missile that could be loosely effectively aimed. ;^>)

These days, half of those relatively innocuous 'inventions' might well result in a federal charge or 3 of some sort. ;^>) Gotta' keep the Gestapo employed, right??

Loved Estes model rockets.

I would make my own with multi stage engines. I would get the biggest engine that an adult would have to buy. Those things would go so high no chance of ever catching them. One flight, but it was glorious.

[CaptainDankness]

Originally Posted by igrowone

i understand why some would love a fully automatic, the toy appeal cannot be denied
but is it the ultimate for self defense?
i do see a rather formidable load for shotguns, kind of scary actually
instead of pellets it has steel flechetes, basically aerodynamic steel spears
surviving a blast of that seems unlikely

Shotguns are only good if your enemy is not wearing armor. Now an AR-15 will do the trick, of course my go to will be my .308, works great for hunting too.

[igrowone]

Originally Posted by CaptainDankness

Shotguns are only good if your enemy is not wearing armor. Now an AR-15 will do the trick, of course my go to will be my .308, works great for hunting too.

this is a review of flechette ammo, kind of interesting with the .308 descriptions

Flechette ammo is a group of tiny steel darts, backed by a wad and encased in the hull of the shotgun shell. These were originally designed to penetrate jungle foliage and negate light cover that enemies may be hiding behind. In other words, the ammo is effective at penetrating intruders and any perceived cover. Making your shotgun equally as dangerous as firing a volley of .308 at the attacker. While certainly effective at stopping the intended target, you might want to consider your proximity to neighbors and how much you are willing to spend on house repairs.

[St. Phatty]

Originally Posted by Spaventa

I always dreamt of making a gun that ran on diesel. It shouldn't need a primer, just a smack and off she'd go I imagine there would be plenty of energy to reload itself, too, if it stayed in one piece lol

I'm dreaming of making a car that runs on gunpowder, or, what is called, smokeless powder.

Only problem is, the fuel tank would have to contain 1+ pound of smokeless powder.

On the other hand, they seem to have dealt with that hazard in cars. 20 gallons of gas is nothing to be trifled with.

[Pinball Wizard]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - The suspect in the Florida high school shooting that killed 17 is getting letters of support in jail including fan mail and pictures of scantily-clad women in addition to hundreds of dollars in contributions to his commissary account.

Teenage girls, women and men are sending letters and photographs of themselves and Facebook groups have been started to discuss how to help Nikolas Cruz, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

Cruz is charged in the killings of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and is being held in the Broward County Jail. Prosecutors said they are seeking the death penalty.

The newspaper obtained copies of letters, including one from a woman who called Cruz "beautiful" and others with suggestive photos.

Cruz, who is on suicide watch, has not seen any of the letters, which are opened by the jail.

On March 15, a teenager sent a letter from Texas inside an envelope with happy faces and hearts.

"I'm 18-years-old. I'm a senior in high school. When I saw your picture on the television, something attracted me to you," the letter stated. "Your eyes are beautiful and the freckles on your face make you so handsome."

Another letter told Cruz to "Hang in there and keep your head up" and another mailed six days after the shooting said "I reserve the right to care about you, Nikolas!"

[Bud Green Sr.]

Now there's one of the things that is really fucked up in this country, and the world...

[moose eater]

Though not new, I believe we've become more and more oriented toward worshipping fame. And if fame can't be had by persons directly, then there's this phenomenon wherein they want to "touch the robes of Jesus or Steven Tyler." My quote (*I know; probably not appropriate to quote one's self, but.. .there it is...)

Seeking notoriety or recognition in a world that, as it becomes more and more populated, persons want to be known, appreciated, whatever.

Couple that with the 'bad-boy' or 'outlaw' image and the adoration it sometimes receives, and it's no wonder that folks like Charles Manson, and other twisted murderers received the fan-fare they did.

In addition, and aside from the current extreme example, I think we (especially in the U.S., but elsewhere, too) tend to 'worship' folks whose contributions have been limited or transient, honoring them for their infamy, long after their (hopefully positive) influence has expired.

I've seen this in political actions where persons received favor based on status for what they did decades earlier, or other versions of this, where persons who've done horrendous things receive adoration for those acts.

I suspect there's a number of reasons for all of this. But the world getting really big, and persons feeling unknown, small,. etc., is a contributor (in my opinion). The ego can become toxic, as well as overtly destructive. Humility and humbleness are completely acceptable, in my opinion, but often under-rated in our world.

(*Adding that I did not see inherent evidence of these features in the last quoted note; "I reserve the right to care about you." -seems- to me to come from a sincere forgiving and caring view point. Not one of worshipping the evil acts this fellow committed, but letting him know that he's still a human being, and someone cares about that part of him).

Originally Posted by Pinball Wizard

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - The suspect in the Florida high school shooting that killed 17 is getting letters of support in jail including fan mail and pictures of scantily-clad women in addition to hundreds of dollars in contributions to his commissary account.

Teenage girls, women and men are sending letters and photographs of themselves and Facebook groups have been started to discuss how to help Nikolas Cruz, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

Cruz is charged in the killings of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and is being held in the Broward County Jail. Prosecutors said they are seeking the death penalty.

The newspaper obtained copies of letters, including one from a woman who called Cruz "beautiful" and others with suggestive photos.

Cruz, who is on suicide watch, has not seen any of the letters, which are opened by the jail.

On March 15, a teenager sent a letter from Texas inside an envelope with happy faces and hearts.

"I'm 18-years-old. I'm a senior in high school. When I saw your picture on the television, something attracted me to you," the letter stated. "Your eyes are beautiful and the freckles on your face make you so handsome."

Another letter told Cruz to "Hang in there and keep your head up" and another mailed six days after the shooting said "I reserve the right to care about you, Nikolas!"