The potato gun- a Midwest thing, or not?

[LaraMN]

The items constructed of pvc and used to launch, traditionally, potatoes; are they a nationwide phenomenon? I hesitate to admit that I believe there is one in my garage, and it may have been used to launch barbies. Not by ME, however.

[matcom]

1. do those people look like East-Coast Liberal Elitests to YOU?

:P

[LaraMN]

Well,

the one gots a cell phone!

:P

[MrCoffee]

2. The potato gun was an essential part of the suburban Houston arsenal

when i was a wee lad.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

3. We built them in HS school in NJ.

I think they're illegal now though, because NJ is stupid.

[Bunny]

4. They were popular here in PA for a while, I'm not sure if they still are.

[HEyHEY]

5. Nah, we use em in B.C.

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. This Wisconsin girl has never seen one up close.

:hi:

[Deep13]

7. Who hunts potatoes with a gun?

There're pretty docile, aren't they?

[MrCoffee]

8. ya gotta get 'em right between the eyes...

:rofl:

dammit, i'm funny!

[trof]

20. We call that a "target rich environment".

[Downtown Hound]

9. No, they were quite popular at my college

Humboldt State University, one of the most liberal colleges in the U.S.A, located in Northern CA.

[deucemagnet]

10. Never made one of those - but as a kid I had a spud gun.

The spud gun works on a similar principle, except that you stick the end of the barrel into a potato to load it. You then squeeze the spud gun, launching a potato pellet at your hapless target. Hated by neatnik moms everywhere. :)

[Ariana Celeste]

11. Nah... my baby bro in WA loves those things

And his friends do, too...

[conscious evolution]

12. tennis ball cannons

We would tape two or three of the old style tennis ball cans together end to end.

We also learned that if you smeared vasoline on them you got flaming projectiles which would splatter like napolm when they hit the school bu....I mean target.

[Crazy Dave]

13. We used to make them when I was a teen

As long ago as that was you'd think you'd only be able to see the them in a museum.

[begin_within]

14. We use them out in the California desert now and then. It's not the main

reason we go out there, but usually someone brings one and some people have fun shooting potatoes out of them.

[ContraBass Black]

15. I knew of them being made and used in Northern Virginia.

[jobycom]

16. I've never seen one. I've heard the phrase, but thought it was a

cooking thing. So people choot potatoes out of a pipe? What do they propel the potato with? And why the hell would anyone want to do such a thing?

I guess where I grew up in Mississippi everyone had so many real guns that fake guns were just not worth thinking about.

[yellowcanine]

17. There was a big article in the Washington Post about them a while back -

they are very popular with Appalachian Americans (aka rednecks).

[Haole Girl]

18. Never heard of it

The things one learns on DU! :-)

[trof]

19. Got one down here in 'Bama.

It's mothballed now.
I got older AND wiser.
;-)

[underpants]

21. Where's his shoulder sling? Ameuteur!

A friend of mine's brother made one that was really outstanding. I launched at least 300 yards or so. Almost clear the creek....well it scared some boats.

They used to make them all the time out of beer cans and duct tape in one of the neighborhoods I used to live in. They didn't last long but neither did our attention.

These stories happened in two different parts of Virginia-Hampton Roads and Richmond respectively