Roadrunner
07-20-2005, 08:32 PM
Didn't quite go as planned. OK, first I need to provide a bit of background. For years my Dad, brother and I have planned to prank someone by setting up a groundhog with a propane tank in it's chest, then having them shoot it. For some reason we never got it set up, until I saw Stabber's post about Tannerite explosive targets two weeks ago. Since my brother is working full time this summer, Dad and I decided to set him up. We ordered a case of Tannerite, then shot a small groundhog, field dressed it, cleaned it up, dried it off, and stuck it in the freezer. We got Keith, my brother, to come home tonight to go groundhog hunting. He was supposed to show up at 5:00 PM, but ended up getting in a half hour early, just as Dad and I were on the back porch preparing the groundhog. I threw it under the camper before he came back and we hid all of the equipment. Dad and I sat around and BSed with Keith for a few minutes, all the while trying to figure out how to set it up before we started hunting. Right about then our Chocolate Lab Ally found the groundhog underneath the camper and proceeded to try to kill it again. Keith saw it, but assumed it was one we had shown him two nights before (half of it's face was blown off and he appreciates such things). Dad covered it up by yelling at me for failing to dispose of it properly. Keith decided to go into the house to get some food, giving Dad and I a perfect opportunity to go 'dispose' of the dead groundhog across the road where the dogs couldn't get it. What we actually did was drive my Civic up into the field and impale the groundhog on a metal stake halfway up the hill with a 1 lb. bottle of Tannerite stuffed into it's gut, like so:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/301072/prepping_1.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/301072/prepping_2.jpg
When everything was ready, it looked pretty convincing (notice all of the grass around it):
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/301072/bait_is_set.jpg
At this point we had managed to cover up all of our mistakes and Keith still had no idea what was planned. We got back to the house, loaded up our rifles and set off for the fields. As soon as we stepped into the field, Keith saw the groundhog. The problem was that we had set it up about 300 yards away. Being the cocky little SOB that he is, Keith decided to take the shot with the help of a bipod. Dad and I crossed our fingers and hoped he hit the Tannerite bottle. He didn't. The bullet hit just to the right of the target. After the second shot he started to get suspicious that it hadn't moved, then he caught on. "That groundhog has a propane bottle in it's chest, doesn't it?" "No, no, no propane bottles here", we replied, but of course the gig was up. He still wanted to shoot it, so we moved a little closer and he took aim again. BOOM!!! This time he hit, and honest to God it shook the ground from 150 yards away. That thing sounded like a grenade going off and threw a cloud of dust 20 feet into the air. We all fell down laughing like loons of course. Once we recovered, we walked to the hole to see the damage. A picture really is worth 1000 words in this case:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/301072/ground_zero.jpg
The crater is about seven feet across. The holes in the middle were already there, the groundhogs dug them years ago. As for the groundhog itself and the stake we set it up on? We couldn't find anything but a single scrap of fur about an inch across. It was just vaporized. I can't believe the devestation that little bottle of stuff caused. We're in the process of choosing new victims as I type. :firedevi: Hope you guys enjoy the pictures.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/301072/prepping_1.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/301072/prepping_2.jpg
When everything was ready, it looked pretty convincing (notice all of the grass around it):
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/301072/bait_is_set.jpg
At this point we had managed to cover up all of our mistakes and Keith still had no idea what was planned. We got back to the house, loaded up our rifles and set off for the fields. As soon as we stepped into the field, Keith saw the groundhog. The problem was that we had set it up about 300 yards away. Being the cocky little SOB that he is, Keith decided to take the shot with the help of a bipod. Dad and I crossed our fingers and hoped he hit the Tannerite bottle. He didn't. The bullet hit just to the right of the target. After the second shot he started to get suspicious that it hadn't moved, then he caught on. "That groundhog has a propane bottle in it's chest, doesn't it?" "No, no, no propane bottles here", we replied, but of course the gig was up. He still wanted to shoot it, so we moved a little closer and he took aim again. BOOM!!! This time he hit, and honest to God it shook the ground from 150 yards away. That thing sounded like a grenade going off and threw a cloud of dust 20 feet into the air. We all fell down laughing like loons of course. Once we recovered, we walked to the hole to see the damage. A picture really is worth 1000 words in this case:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/301072/ground_zero.jpg
The crater is about seven feet across. The holes in the middle were already there, the groundhogs dug them years ago. As for the groundhog itself and the stake we set it up on? We couldn't find anything but a single scrap of fur about an inch across. It was just vaporized. I can't believe the devestation that little bottle of stuff caused. We're in the process of choosing new victims as I type. :firedevi: Hope you guys enjoy the pictures.