Anybody ever been to a Dynamite shoot ?

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dave b

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I stumbled upon this in Gateway Co. on a moto trip last week. It was the coolest shootin match I've ever seen. Distances were about 600-1000 yds with a rest. some were about 120 yds off hand. Target was TNT about the size of a beer can. Hell of a blast and smoke too
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I go through about 80,000 lbs of explosives a year. It's called explosive welding or bonding. Also called explosive forming where we form metal into unique shapes using prima cord or det-cord. Been blowing things up and together all my life starting as a young boy popping stumps.
 
Yes sir, I've attended the famed Gateway Dynamite Shoot on several occasions. It's a good time with good people.

Nothing better than the pancake breakfast the ladies put on in the morning. Flapjacks, maple syrup, coffee and ....BOOM! Another shooter hits his mark and the ground SHAKES.

This shoot has supported the local fire department since the 1960s. It's a cool system: You pay for three-shot tickets and get in line. The cash goes in the pot for your line. If you hit, you split the pot with the FD. They hold it twice a year.

Hitting is WAY harder than you might guess. When you hit you get an embroidered cap. The old timers wearing them from back in the day wear them like oak clusters.

Me at the 2006 shoot. Winchester Model 70 in .300 Win Mag. Pretty windy day. Didn't hit.

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Here's THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE
 
Gateway is in the middle of nowhere. I've been thru it a few times, coming across the LaSal's to get there.
 
Target was TNT
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Are you sure? TNT is strickly a military explosive and there is no civilian source for it. When I was a user, TNT in civilian hands was assumed to be stolen. Plus, TNT was designed not to be denotated by bullets. It can take a direct hit from a .30-06 (the military round of the day when TNT was first developed) without exploding. It is this stability that makes it so safe. I'd wager they were shooting at something other than TNT.
 
It's probably " tannerite "?

I've been to Knob Creek & they used to do the Friday Nite Shoot. Maybe they still do?

It was 55 gal drums partially full of K1 Kerosene/Methanol mix with a bullet excited charge on them. There were at least 15-20 of them down range. As they set them, the big lights were on. Then when ready...lights out.
Ready on the left? Ready on the right?...Commence firing.

As soon as one got hit, the tracers would home in on the rest of them. Of course this is a machine-gun shoot...something to see & hear for sure.

Have been to other shoots that use Tannerite...neat too.

It is mailable without hazmat fees (or it was?) as it comes as a 2 part powder...neither of which by itself is an explosive.


Neat stuff, but not cheap.
 
The site says they use UniGel which is a dynamite sold by DYNO and is sometimes used as a primer for ANFO.
 
In the past the one's I've read about use 40% commercial dynamite (hi-po). When in doubt, age it!
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Most dynamite is 20% nitro. If that doesn't make you happy, freeze and thaw it a dozen times....
 
that kind of good clean fun is not allowed out here in CA. It looks absolutely AWESOME though. Great idea for a fundraiser!
 
At one of our Civil War reenactments they drilled a series of holes in a utility pole. Stuck a stick of dynomite in the top hole and then backed off 50 yds or so. When the dynamite blew it would send a big chunk of the pole flying. Then they armed the next hole down and did it all over again.

The competition was between rifle teams to see which team could find the dynamite in the shortest time. We're talking one-inch target at 50 yds with 58 cal muzzleloaders.

I always wanted to try this with my submachine gun but never succeeded in finding anybody who had both, the dynamite license and the willingness to join me in this.
 
At AZ's Big Sandy Machine Gun Shoot they use sticks of dynamite with a lightstick taped on them, on stakes, as nighttime targets --- way cool to watch the MGs open up with extra tracers, and very satisfying when the dynamite is hit! I amuse myself and entertain friends with Tannerite...
 
Originally posted by jkc:
sticks of dynamite with a lightstick taped on them,
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Both items have so many uses, all unintended by the makers.

When a buddy had prostate cancer, he elected to have the radioactive seeds implanted. He was given strict orders that he couldn't even have his grandkids on his lap for more than a few seconds. When he actually started getting out, we had a campfire and some beer. When he had enough beer, he retreated behind a shed and took a leak. All like he'd done so many times in the past.

Except Dick had a plan. I just walked to my jeep as he was going behind the shed. I snapped the lightstick while still in the foil tube so it could start glowing but you couldn't see it. When he came back to the fire circle, I got up and walked behind the shed. No leak, just worked to get the green glow out of the package, then cut the end off it. I sprinkled the glow on the ground, and started yelling.

I told them I could see where Wes had gone. Of course only a couple got up, but when they saw the green glow, they yelled too. Soon everyone was examining the toxic nuclear waste site.
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It took him about 10 minutes to realize he'd been had.
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that is just to funny. got to remember that one to try one of these days at the right opportunity.
 
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