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New Hampshire teen hurt in potato gun mishap
- Thread starter MaineCWPtraining
- Start date
First quote is from the newspaper
Second quote is analysis from a forum member.
As I'm just a dumb guy, could someone explain to me how a PVC failure would still launch the potato such that the POTATO would hit the kid rather than a shard of PVC ?
What he said...
Hope the kid recovers. We all did dumb things as kids, most of us got away with scrapes, bruises and a few broken bones. Perhaps with a little more familiarization with firearms, this might have been avoided...
Fixxah
NES Member
When we were roughing in the plumbing at a senior's assisted living complex in Weston, one of the guys took out the spud gun and we were firing at the plywood siding and it was breaking. This kid has some serios damage to his face to go along with the brain damage which he has had for a while apparently.
Hopefully he isn't on an exclusive Fox 25 segment. It will be a little bit worse than De's pinky I'm afraid.
Hopefully he isn't on an exclusive Fox 25 segment. It will be a little bit worse than De's pinky I'm afraid.
You can do some serious damage with a potato gun. I remember I shot mine at my Parents tool shed when I was younger and it pretty much turned the potato in to potato powder. ![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
That was with hairspray. I brought it to my old work one time and we were filling it with Maap gas and oxygen. holy SHIT, that makes a boom and a fireball.
That was with hairspray. I brought it to my old work one time and we were filling it with Maap gas and oxygen. holy SHIT, that makes a boom and a fireball.
I heard those sort of guns are dangerous.
A few years ago a kid was shooting frogs out of a potato gun.
One frog shot out and hit him in the eye and the kid lost sight in that eye.
I feel bad about the poor little guy. It is sad when frogs get killed like that.
A few years ago a kid was shooting frogs out of a potato gun.
One frog shot out and hit him in the eye and the kid lost sight in that eye.
I feel bad about the poor little guy. It is sad when frogs get killed like that.
Teen hurt in potato gun mishap
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By KATHRYN MARCHOCKI
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
Monday, Mar. 29, 2010
KEENE – A 14-year-old Keene boy suffered serious facial injuries yesterday when he was struck by a potato fired from a homemade gun, Alstead police said.
The child, whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile, was flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon after the 3:27 p.m. incident.
The boy was playing in a field off Griffin Hill Road in Alstead with Robert Guyette, 18, and Gibson Chase-Pinkney, 19, both of Keene, Lt. Marcello D'Alessandro said.
The potato gun malfunctioned, he said.
While the 14-year-old and Chase-Pinkney examined the gun, it went off, striking the boy in the face, he said.
The potato gun was made of PVC piping and used hairspray as the propellent, which the boys ignited with a spark, police said.
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By KATHRYN MARCHOCKI
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
Monday, Mar. 29, 2010
KEENE – A 14-year-old Keene boy suffered serious facial injuries yesterday when he was struck by a potato fired from a homemade gun, Alstead police said.
The child, whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile, was flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon after the 3:27 p.m. incident.
The boy was playing in a field off Griffin Hill Road in Alstead with Robert Guyette, 18, and Gibson Chase-Pinkney, 19, both of Keene, Lt. Marcello D'Alessandro said.
The potato gun malfunctioned, he said.
While the 14-year-old and Chase-Pinkney examined the gun, it went off, striking the boy in the face, he said.
The potato gun was made of PVC piping and used hairspray as the propellent, which the boys ignited with a spark, police said.
Friday
NES Member
I hope the kid will be OK. Some stupid Sh*t can happen. Had one kid when I was young get killed playing around with a tennis ball cannon they rigged up. You took either tennis ball tubes or a number of beer cans and taped them together. Seems they ran out of lighter fluid, and decided to use some gasoline out of the garage. Bad ending.
My favorite was one the old man rigged up. Took a driveshaft, cut an end off, and drilled a small hole at the opposite end. Drop in a baseball, stick the oxy-acetylene torch in the hole, and touch it off. We usually never found the baseballs.........
Of course, now that we've had our single incident of near-Darwinism, how much do you bet there will be legislation submitted to ban spud guns? Heck, I'll bet MA does it "just in case", regardless if this happened in NH...The more they try to capture every possibility, the tighter the laws and restrictions become.
My favorite was one the old man rigged up. Took a driveshaft, cut an end off, and drilled a small hole at the opposite end. Drop in a baseball, stick the oxy-acetylene torch in the hole, and touch it off. We usually never found the baseballs.........
Of course, now that we've had our single incident of near-Darwinism, how much do you bet there will be legislation submitted to ban spud guns? Heck, I'll bet MA does it "just in case", regardless if this happened in NH...The more they try to capture every possibility, the tighter the laws and restrictions become.
Did anyone notice the ignition switch is on the bottom of the thing? Tilt it up, set it off. Dangerous design.
Stupid hurts for a reason. If you're not going to be good, you better be tough.
Hope the kid recovers with only minor mementos and wises up.
Stupid hurts for a reason. If you're not going to be good, you better be tough.
Hope the kid recovers with only minor mementos and wises up.
I always thought "Infernal Machine", but the whole "endangering life or doing unusual damage to property, or both, by fire or explosion" was a fine line with these "Spud Guns"...
(Ch:266, S:102A1/2)
It's not dangerous unless you do something insanely stupid like look down the barrel while it is loaded. If the thing fails to go off, you unscrew the plug out of the end, and let the gas dissipate... it's that simple.
My bet is the victim was standing in front of it and the one of the other two were messing around with it when it went off.
-Mike
It's "breech" Scriv. Turn your spell check on..........
![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
Well, that's just MA redundency at work. Paraphrasing the law here, but a firearm is defined as a device that uses an explosive charge to propell a projectile out the barrel. This would fit the definition, and would scare the antis because there is very limited metal in it, meaning it can get through a metal detector.
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Why??? he has not commited a crime...he is a citizen of America...he made one dumb choice which led him to the hospital.... looks to me like he is human and just didnt think.... he has as much right to own a firearm as you and i (once i am of age)... he just needs the proper training.... and after making that one dumb mistake i think he has learned his lesson and he will never do it again.... im just saying this because if I made a stupid mistake like this (with a lack of proper knowledge) i would want someone to defend me too. im mean reaally, the kid got hit with a potatoe..lol... doesnt sound like a logical reason for him to NEVER own any type of firearm.
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LOL
rotflol![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
![[rofl2]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/035.gif "ROFL2 [rofl2]")
rotflol
Too bad about the kid, seriously.
Non-seriously: New licenses needed for starches capable of projectile use. "SPUD" - french fries only; "LTM-B" (license to mash, class B) - all potato products excepting raw; "LTM-A" - Raw potatoes allowed including those carried concealed. Naturally, all assault spud rules apply, including bans on exotic heirloom varieties.
Non-seriously: New licenses needed for starches capable of projectile use. "SPUD" - french fries only; "LTM-B" (license to mash, class B) - all potato products excepting raw; "LTM-A" - Raw potatoes allowed including those carried concealed. Naturally, all assault spud rules apply, including bans on exotic heirloom varieties.
You understand better than most adults do, reps to you!
I agree...my bad. Everyone makes mistakes. Hopefully he recovers without any permanent damage.
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Oh no!?! You did not just use the wookie "spell check didn't flag it" defense did you?
Overruled...
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
The spud is always(?) loaded and rammed down the barrel first (or airspray escapes before the spud is applied). And as the chamber has to be open to spray in the fuel, it is nonsensical to ram the spud agains the atmospheric pressure in the chamber (which would then be opened). so one removes the plug/ignighter before ramming the spud.
I really doubt this happened when loading the spud -- possibly when capturing the gass/starting the threads with the muzzle covering the kid.
HooVooLoo
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Oh no!?! You did not just use the wookie "spell check didn't flag it" defense did you?
Overruled...
Actually it is spelled "wookiee". LOL
Putting the ignition switch on the bottom where it is easily tripped is either poor design or laziness. It should really be on the side somewhere that normal handling won't trigger. I'm not saying that potato guns need to go, just that the design could have easily led to this mishap. Moving the ignition switch doesn't mean that you get rid of the threaded end piece.
