Posted on 11/09/2004 5:09:45 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
Howell pumpkin hurler loses title
This year's winner of 'ugliest trophy in the world' shoots gourd 4,224 feet across field
Monday, November 8, 2004
By The Associated Press
HOWELL - A Howell businessman's effort to defend his mechanical pumpkin-hurling championship literally fell short.
Bruce Bradford and his nine-ton contraption, Second Amendment, held the World Championship Punkin Chunkin title for two years until Sunday. Old Glory claimed the crown by shooting a gourd that soared 4,224 feet before a crowd of about 40,000 in Sussex County, Del.
Second Amendment finished second in the field of 100, sending an 8- to 10-pound pumpkin 4,056 feet across a farmer's field with a blast of compressed air.
"Well, we're first-place losers, so we're not too happy about that," said Bradford, 57, owner of S&G Steel Erectors in Howell.
"But at least we don't have to haul that big ugly thing home," Bradford said of the winner's trophy, featuring a bearded, overall-clad Chunkineer hoisting a massive pumpkin over his head. It took a forklift to load it onto a trailer to bring it to the 18th annual competition.
"It's the ugliest trophy in the world," said Bradford, whose tournament record of 4,594 feet set in 2003 remained intact.
Each contestant is allowed to fire one shot a day over the course of the weekend, with the longest shot winning. Bradford and his team launched a few shots for the crowd's enjoyment after the competition ended Sunday afternoon. Then they had to disassemble Second Amendment, made of aluminum and with a 100-foot-long barrel, before heading back to Michigan.
Bradford vowed that he and his eight-man team would shoot to reclaim the championship: "For sure. We're gonna kick some pumpkin butt next year."
Maybe next year they squash their competition?
It's great to be an American.
Hey, our flag and my boat are both "Old Glory." I was rooting for them. It's okay that "Second Amendment" came in second, though.
I saw this covered on Discovery Channel I believe last year, there was just something so cool about watching pumkins explode after being chunked that far.
Well, they might be getting close to the limit - what is the maximum air speed a pumpkin can withstand without disintegration?
Looks like fun.
Delaware bump.
I thought we just busted Sadam for having a few of those things.
4500 ft. they have to be getting close. I bet they have to use some kind of sabot around the pumpkin. Man I would love to build one of those! I like the one on the dump truck {great idea!}
A pumpkin is the for sure a "soft" point huh?
I read on a thread yesterday that one of the guys was shooting a home grown hybrid that was mostly shell and thus harder....
He'd do better then by injecting it with something - well, anything - to add weight and thus increase sectional density and ballistic coefficient. But that might be cheating.
Delaware's a blue state, but Sussex is a red county ... this despite the fact that it's home to Rehoboth Beach; affectionately referred to by the locals as "Rehomo Beach."
"Well, they might be getting close to the limit - what is the maximum air speed a pumpkin can withstand without disintegration?"
These guys grow their own engineered pumpkins in secret patches. They are really into it. I went last year and had a great time. Its hard to find people like these chunkers having a better time with life.
They deducted points from Second Amendment's score when they discovered that the 10-pound "pumpkin" it launched was actually Teddy Kennedy's head.
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