Pumpkin Cannon

Pumpkin Chunkin - Our own world champion pumpkin cannon, Hormone Blaster, will be chunkin pumpkins most weekends.  Try your skill at launching a pumpkin and see if you hit the target!  Our cows will thank you as they get to eat whatever lands on the ground the following week.  Don't worry, the cows are in a separate field so they will be safe.

How does a Pumpkin Cannon Work

Our "punkin chunkin" machine uses compressed air to send the pumpkin across the field.  The large tank uses compressed air filled to about 25 psi for target shooting and when the valve is opened, all the air in the tank is expelled all at once.  So even though there isn't a lot of pressure, there is a lot of air for a small pumpkin.  For competitions, our cannon would be filled to around 150 psi which requires both a trailer-mounted air compressor as well as several air tanks filled to 400 psi.  The valve itself uses compressed air around 100-125 psi (similar to what an air tool uses) to quickly open the valve.  The faster the valve is open, the further the pumpkin will go.  The barrel will take a pumpkin up to 8" in diameter and we have a ring that we take into the field when looking for that "perfect" pumpkin for distance shots.  For shooting at the farm, we use "Cannonball" sized pumpkins.

Steps to shoot the Pumpkin Cannon

1. Pick the pumpkin to fire
2. Load the pumpkin in the barrel and make sure the opening is closed
3. Fill the big tank full of compressed air
4. Ring the air horn to tell everyone around that the cannon is about to be fired.
5. Call "Fire in the Hole"
6. Push the lever which sends air from the air compressor to open the air valve to let all the air from the tank
7. Watch the pumpkin hit the target!

How far can it go?

Our pumpkin cannon, Hormone Blaster, set world records for the Adult Female division in both 2010 and 2013 and was world champion in 2010.  2013’s shoot was 4,382.96 feet!