Chalk Dispenser 3.0 Testing

Joe, Ry, and I braved the cold yesterday to go out to the Boomershoot site and do some testing.

We did numerous different tests trying to get different information.  While we learned a lot, we also discovered that many ideas we had to try and learn the information weren’t going to work as expected.  We learned things we weren’t setting out to learn

Here’s the full test video along with pictures and different things we learned.

There were numerous video cameras and stills take by Ry.  I had only my single video camera and SLR with me, so I’m sure a video will probably be coming soon from Ry correcting everything I messed up in my video.

Joe was doing all the shooting, for those of you familiar with the area, we were actually shooting from the road into the side of the berm.  The snow was too deep to easily do the tests in the field.  Ry was out there the day before and got the van momentarily detained for 20 minutes.

We attempted to launch softballs to measure time of flight to estimate launch velocity, however the ball was thrashed beyond maintaining a reasonably consistency for experiments.  We attempted to add a buffer to lessen the shock, and initially we thought it worked, till we saw that it was just in a slightly larger piece than before.

We then instead decided to attempt to launch a golf ball.  The ones we were using were bright pink.  However we think we placed them into LEO to never be seen again.  The last launch we did with 3 golf balls was quite impressive with the resulting smoke ring.

We learned a lot yesterday and the three of us had a long discussion trying to figure out what we learned, as well as how to deal with the newest piece of information we discovered.  While searching for the initial golf ball Ry saw a small hole that looked as if it was from the golf ball.  He reaches in, has to punch through snow to get it and then pulls it out.  While I did not get a picture of that exact extraction, I did get pictures of a extraction Joe did to a similar hole.

Initially that chalk was a powder when placed on the dispenser.  The explosion however compacted it back into a block, and you can even make out the grooves from the plastic baggie.  When Joe first picked the piece up there was still plastic embedded in it, but it fell off.

The compaction of the chalk results in there not being as much color, further all you get is raining chunks.  I ended up staying over at his place chatting… MUCH longer than initially expected, however the wife did have an idea to add to the conversation worth experimenting with.  Instead of chalk, what about colored glitter?  As Joe said, that’s only something a Woman would think of.

Another interesting discovery is the fact that each time we would set of the target, it would pound the stakes about another 3/4 of an inch to an inch into the ground.  When we noticed this and measured the target top to the ground below the snow.

In this picture the top of the target is about 32 inches off the ground, note this is when we first started measuring, we have already set off a couple boomers.  At the end of the day this is what it was at:

The chalk dispenser appeared to survive this test with nothing more than flaking paint.  Between the design changes and operating only using 100 grams of Boomerite (half charge relative to the previous test) it appeared to function quite well.  Also with the addition of the 1/4 in AR500 on the front Ry is reasonably sure the front plate can be made thinner which would help shed some weight.  For more details on the AR500 testing see here, here and here.

Overall though it was an absolutely beautiful day out there yesterday.

Can you see the berm?  With that, here is your friendly reminder that Registration for Boomershoot opens this week.

Death to Pumkins

I have been meaning for a while to put up this post but never had the time to get around to it until today. Instead of cleaning the shop I wasted my time editing pictures, writing this post and working on some others, and chatting on GBC.

A couple years ago we blew up some pumpkins as relief for the election of fearless leader. After rolling through the store and being able to walk away with 400 lbs of pumpkins for about 20 cents a pound I sent an email to Joe.

The results were quite wonderful.

And lastly, as I always try to do, here’s the video:

Boomershoot Private Party

Sorry for the light blogging lately, I’ve been taking care of another project for some friends. Joe asked last week if we could help out with a private party. More specifically he said he should be able to handle it on his own, however I know the help makes it much easier. Here’s a video of the day’s events followed by a detailed description and pictures.

So we showed up at the Breakfast Club Saturday morning and carpooled out to the Boomershoot site.

The site looks completely different when there is tall grass growing everywhere.

This is from on top of the berm at the 700 yard line. You can see the trees for the 380 yard line are in the middle on the left.

Joe gave a site tour to his guests, providing the history of Boomershoot and how it has grown over the years. From there we moved on to the Taj, and proceeded to provide them with another important life skill.

We had numerous long discussions about different things that have happened at Boomershoot, interesting occurrences, as well as the endless entertainment that is known as Ry. After mixing up the explosives (staff), guests only measured due to their lack of proper documentation, we ate lunch and continued the story telling.

After lunch came the setup for the main attraction.

We had some special setup due to some “Idaho Stress Tests” that were going to be conducted.

We sandwiched the drive between 2, 7 inch targets giving a total yield of around 4 lbs of Boomerite. The catch however was that the second target used was actually a left over from Boomershoot in April. The targets lose their sensitivity over time, most would complain, however like Joe, I prefer that to becoming more sensitive!

Note the circular object flying out to the Left, that’s a platter. Here’s what it looks like up close. Normally they are perfectly smooth and mirror quality. The blast changed that irreversibly.

The second stress test was a little more unusual; at first I thought it was a lie!

However it was obliterated into a cloud of dust to never be seen again.

As Tim seemed to escape from everyone’s camera… but MINE! Muwhahaha, I have your soul Tim and I’ll give it back for a cup of coffee.

Lastly, here are some different stills of everyone having a blast.

TMW

Joe and Priyanka

Tim

Joe and Hiep.

Joe and Sharath.

Lastly at the end of the day, Joe and I finished off the last two Boomers. For some reason I was off my game and missed, first time in a LONG time. I must say though, it was much better to happen then instead of during Boomershoot with a TV crew behind me.

Boomershoot Staff Cleanup 2010

I just finished uploading the 2010 Boomershoot staff cleanup video. It provides a few chuckles with different quips.

I didn’t get any video of the shoot down on the berm. We were in a rush because we did a special mini high-intensity event for Michael Bain and his film crew for The Shooting Gallery . I figured since they were filming it they’d probably get better footage anyway.

Private Boomershoot Party

Today I went out to the Boomershoot site to help Joe with a private party with some coworkers from Microsoft. We met up around 0800 at “The Breakfast Club” in Moscow. I had French toast which was extremely yummy, however what was totally awesome was the fact they had “Green Eggs and Ham”.

I would not eat green eggs and ham.

I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

If you don’t get it, well you need to go read more Dr. Seuss. From there we drove out to the Boomershoot site. Joe stopped off for a couple quick history lessons like showing the grade school he went to growing up, as well as stopping by the farm he grew up on as we left.

The weather for the event today was downright miserable, the Explorer said it was 36 degrees out. I’m extremely happy it didn’t happen last weekend. Winds were about equal to Saturday for the PRC, what was bad is the fact that it was raining, sleeting, and snowing most of the time. Everything was so moist as a matter of fact a new possible issue with manufacturing was discovered. The PC in the high humidity had a tendency to re-clump while sifting. This created issues in getting correct measurements. We had about 7-8 crates of left over targets from last weekend. Joe attempted to detonate some of the targets which provided an extreme disappointment.

Lesson learned: they will not store for a week.

TMW and Kim then proceeded to mix up targets for the private party. Only about 15 were mixed up, however while they mixed I burned. About 7-8 crates of targets were burned and I only lost the hair of the back of my left hand. That oxidizer lights up fast when it finally goes, and boy does it burn hot. After that we fully introduced Joe’s coworkers to the world of firearms and explosives. We pounded stakes, let the current squal pass, performed the saftey lecture and then got into it. I was going to destroy some harddrives for a friend however it appears I had left them at home. Another time do an Idaho Stress Test/data reduction method. For today it was going to be an extreme test as we were going to destroy them under the fireball as well.

The conditions continued to deteriorate; I was soaked through my Carhartts, inner layer, and base layer. What makes it worse was it was ice that was pelting us and quickly melting so it chilled to the bone.

Notice how my coat is glistening from being saturated.

Joe the ever vigilent instructor.

The productive results.


The happiness doesn’t fade either

The next shooter with Joe giving position instruction.

A successful hit.

As Joe says, people who complain are puritans.


Another happy customer. The white streaks are hail.


A smile attempting to hide.


Why Joe does it.


Proof that’s why Joe does it!


Satisfaction, He hit it… Finally. Where’s the grin, we assume just straight satisfaction!

After that everyone took a second boomer, some used my rifle instead, others used Joe’s. As a finale we attempted a fireball. Key word attempted. Unlike the blogger day the year before where we set the field on fire, it failed. It was too freaking wet and windy.

So after we finished up we then headed to the viewpoint overlooking Dworshak Dam. Joe gave us a short history lesson and thankfully we were able to stay out of the rain somewhat. After Dworshak we went to the Ponderosa for some dinner and conversation. Interestingly we discovered that Joe’s daughter, Kim, was married on the same day, same year, and same exact time as my wife and I. Amazing the little things you discover. Enjoy the pics from the dam.

Boomershoot 2010 Video and Report

Boomershoot 2010 was awesome and a lot of fun. I don’t know exactly why, but I ended up shooting the opening fireball for the shoot. Laurel from Politics Guns and Beer was there along with an entourage of help. I spent some time behind the rifle, but I spent more time educating and making sure others had a blast. And I’m glad to say, it appears they did have a great time.

The high intensity(video) shoots were fun as usual; feeling the boomers go off rattles your soul from head to toe always puts a smile on my face. The dinner though was a great social hour.

Oleg Volk

Oleg was there along with Laurel, Mike and Abigail.

Abigail

As well as some friends from my days back in scouts. I told them I was going to put this pic online and I’m a man of my word. For those who don’t know, yes I’m an Eagle Scout and the reason I carry is to “Be Prepared.”

Mike, Andy, and Robert

We had a wonderful dinner which raised $2000 in raffle tickets. Half of which went straight to Soldiers’ Angels. The other half is put into a raffle lottery split into 10%, 10%, and 30%. David won the $600 which he then stated that he was going to make a $1000 donation to Soldiers’ Angels when he got home. Thank you David.

Overall it was yet another awesome year at Boomershoot, with a great reminder of how great the people are who participate. I hope to see you all again next year.

B

Quote of the Day – Laurel Griffeath

“Do you really think a bunch of shooting bloggers lead by Joe Huffman is going to go anywhere without the internet Mike?”

Laurel Griffeath – 4/25/2010

[She said this while she was trying to get a WiFi signal at Boomershoot –B]

Friday High Intensity Video

Youtube has finished processing my uploaded video and my collaboration of the footage for the Friday High-Intensity is now up. Enjoy.

By the way, I’m working on a Boomershoot Video for 2010, but it appears it may just be 480p due to some unforeseen reason. Software is complaining and I can’t figure out why. I’ll work on uploading it in the morning.