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Thread: Bored Man Builds Hail Cannon.

  1. #1
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    Bored Man Builds Hail Cannon.

    The mysterious booming sound that's been rocking a New Jersey town is apparently the result of a homemade "hail cannon" designed by a vineyard owner to protect his crop from bad weather, he and police told The Post.

    Rob Butkowski of Hammonton said he's been firing off the sonically loud cone-shaped contraption — which blasts shock waves up to the sky — to break up cloud formations and scare away birds that nibble his grapes.

    "It sounds like a jet going by," said Butkowski, 34. "It's like the loudest thing you've ever heard just blew through your chest — it's amazing."

    Butkowski, who works in construction, said he made the 16-foot-long machine "from scratch" using scrap metal from street signs and other objects because he was "bored from all this COVID s–t."

    Using directions he found online, he rigged a mixture of acetylene and oxygen in a propane tank to create an explosion that blasts from the barrel to keep icy weather at bay.

    For weeks, he's been firing off the thunderous shock-waves — which travel 30,000 feet in a 1.5 mile radius — above his five-acre plot, he said.

    "You can see the split clouds apart," he said. "You can hear it rip."

    Hammonton Chief of Police Kevin Friel said the cannon is responsible for the mystery boom that has baffled and frustrated nearby residents — many of whom have reported the sound to local cops.

    "It doesn't fire projectiles, and it's not a firearm or an explosive," Friel said, adding there are no plans to stop him. "It uses gas — and that's it."

    The only possible legal issue would be a noise violation after 10 p.m., which is moot because Butkowski stops shooting the machine at around 8 p.m.

    But police in nearby Mullica Township — where cops were flooded with complaints about the noise — skeptical that the contraption could be heard from 10 miles away.

    Mullica Township Police Chief Brian Zeck said the boom may be coming from multiple sources.

    "We're looking into [Butkowski], and we are looking into all other possibilities," he said.

    Butkowski, for his part, has no plans to stop firing the cannon, he said. "I'm gonna do whatever I want as long as it's legal," he said.

    Meanwhile, neighbors are praying his boomer gets busted.

    "Every time it goes off, I think there's been an accident," said Shawn Guevara, 43-year-old mom, who lives next door. "It scares the poop out of us."
    Mystery of booming sound in New Jersey apparently solved

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  3. #2
    Senior Member Ezekiel 33's Avatar
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    The complainers should be glad they don't live around here when our military ranges are hot.

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  5. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Ezekiel 33 View Post
    The complainers should be glad they don't live around here when our military ranges are hot.
    My friends 30mi north in Gaylord hear the artillery barrages.

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  7. #4
    I like this guy. We are under winter storm warnings today. Hmmm. I need to check the guages on my torch setup.

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    Senior Member Highly Favoured's Avatar
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    I wouldn't want to live near that cannon.

  10. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Muriel View Post
    I wouldn't want to live near that cannon.
    Neighbors generally don't

  11. #7
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    Definitely in the running for a MacGyver Award.

    Bored Man Builds Hail Cannon.-eo-g8wzxyaikxo1-jpg

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  13. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by John View Post
    Definitely in the running for a MacGyver Award.

    Bored Man Builds Hail Cannon.-eo-g8wzxyaikxo1-jpg
    Oxy/Acet mix is the right stuff. He's probably rattling the windows on the space station.

  14. #9
    Senior Member Cardinal TT's Avatar
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    Can we shoot liberals out of that?


    Quote Originally Posted by John View Post

    Bored Man Builds Hail Cannon.-eo-g8wzxyaikxo1-jpg

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  16. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Cardinal TT View Post
    Can we shoot liberals out of that?
    Is he shooting Calvinists out of that?

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