Any other crazy kids out there?

[Appowner]

I had a friend that was an eternal kid. When we were 12 or 13 the rest of us were trying to figure out the "girl" thing, he was building forts, elaborate forts that looked like a miniature of an army outpost out west complete with buildings. This is where we had our BB battles, we wore army helmet liners but no eye protection. I was defending the fort one time, peaked over the rampart and saw my friend Fletcher take aim and shoot at me. The BB appeared in slow motion as it left his gun and made a beeline for my eye, there was no time to duck. The BB hit me in the side of my nose about 1/8" from the corner of my eye and went in below the surface, I popped it out like a pimple.

There was a lot of blood, Fletcher said he was sorry but my wound scared the rest of the kids and we decided that we were done with BB battles for safety's sake. I told my mother I ran into a briar; she knew I was lying but didn't say anything.

When we were 13, I told this childish friend where babies came from, he said "my parents are decent people and wouldn't do such a thing". I guess he figured it out because he had 3 fine sons.

Had a HS friend like that. Girls scarred him to no end. Last I knew he now has seven children and 30 grand children. Guess he got over his fears.

 

[Appowner]

We had the full length muskets. My older brother figured we could put firecrackers down the barrel and stick the fuses out the vent hole and drop a marble down the barrel. Would shoot about 30-40 feet.

I delivered for Dominoes during college. One evening I went to a house with an empty lot next door. In the lot some kids were shooting what turned out to be a 410. The kids either got some blanks or they emptied the shot from the shells and replaced them with Gum Drops and were target shooting with them.

A couple hours later I took a second pizza to the same house. No kids this time and I asked the customer about it. He laughed and said one of the kids was checking the target when one of the others shot him in the arse with a gum drop. They had to take him to the hospital to remove the gum drop.

 

[Appowner]

Then there was that summer I hung out with my two older cousins, Tim and Terry. Terry had me by two years and Tim by four. The attraction that year were expired CO2 cartridges. Drill out the end of the cartridge, stuff the thing tight with match heads. Insert a fuse, drop down an appropriately sized chunk of water pipe. Light the fuse and darn if it didn't work! Wonder if they ever found out who blew out a window in City Hall that day?

 

[Old Grunt]

My best friend through HS was son of Sheriff,the Sheriff would sit at old gas station and watch everyone cruse mainstreet,break up fights,issue tickets for burnouts,get us drunks out of our vehicles before we got overly stupid, anyway his house was on same block the little gas station was on me and my buddy would get us a handful of eggs through them over gas station roof end egg his cruiser then run and hide in Sheriffs house while he was flying around that area with lights and sirens going trying to find whoever egged him.

I really miss that guy he was a great Small town Cop,we was good friends for years I dont think he ever found out it was his son and I who egged him 2 or 3 times a year for 3 or 4 years.

 

[sheriff john]

Put some carbide "rocks" in a soda bottle with a little water. Then, stretched a balloon over the mouth of the bottle. The balloon expanded to the point I feared it would pop, so I tied it off, sat the balloon on Dad's workbench, and admired my idea.

The carbide was starting to stink things up, so I emptied the bottle in the back yard. I knew carbide gas would burn, but had no idea how violently. A candle would work, so I got one of those little "votive candles", lit it, and set it in the garage beneath the family room.

In my mind's eye, I can still see that balloon floating through the air towards the candle....then, the BRIGHTEST LIGHT and LOUDEST BOOOOM! Couldn't see anything except white for what seemed like a long time and I had fallen backwards. Tiny strings of black rubbery ash were floating everywhere but nothing was afire. To say my Dad was shaken is an understatement. Oh well.

 

[shorthair]

Growing up on the farm we shot anvils for fun with a generous amount of 2f then one dumb day we got the idea that it would be even more fun to use a couple of 1/2 sticks of 60% Nobel. Sent one anvil up so high that we needed the tractor to dig it out and never did find all the pieces. Just dumb luck that we didn't kill ourselves.

 

[oldwood]

My Father came from a family of six boys. Naturally , the crazy one was the youngest. What made crazy uncle worse , he was on oil tankers during WW2 , and had two of them sunk in the Florida Straights. He was in the water the second sinking , two days , and one night. Fear of sharks , barracuda , etc. really changed crazy uncle for the negative. That said , a group of family including me , went up to my second oldest uncle's farm where he was constructing a new farm pond for all to use. the pond was funded by a govt. agency , and a pond inspecter said the 250 yr. old white oak stump in the pond had to go. The D- 7 dozer wouldn't budge the antique stump. Crazy Uncle was in charge of explosives. He put 2 sticks of dynamite under the stump , the stump shook , but still the D-7 Cat. was impotent. Uncle crazy put the whole rest of the case of dynamite under the stump . Dad pulled our dump truck back 200 yds. and Crazy Uncle lit the 20 ft fuse on the 18 sticks and ran. Biggest boom I ever experienced to date , Dad threw me under the truck , and dove in after me. Chunks of oak stump big as bushel baskets were incoming . The truck and us , escaped injury. Everyone was ok , and the huge stump was gone. I was six yrs. old , and thought that was crazy.

 

[Appowner]

Dad told me about those. All mine were synthetic apparently. Pop worked at Uniroyal for a bit part time in INDY before moving west to resume law enforcement career. Synthetic tubes won't even do for a sling shot.

You got the wrong stuff then. I used 1/4" surgical tubing to launch radio controlled gliders to 300 feet or more.

 

[azmntman]

Used/tried what we could find in small town USA in late 60's. I'm pretty sure none of it was real rubber like pop had when he was young.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

All the stupid things I did as a Kid shall to this Day remain under Seal.

 

[Wncman]

Ever seen one of these?

I got my first one at Disneyland in 1965 when I was ten.

Turns out the breech design is exactly like a real percussion gun, so I dumped the powder from a firecracker down the barrel, rammed down a lead sinker in a cloth patch, and promptly shot a hole in a wooden fence.

Kids had so much more fun back then…

View attachment 302538

Yep ! I had a little brass cannon. (Pistol & rifle) I shaved a .22 down poured the powder in and shot coke bottles . Crazy kids.

 

[shorthair]

My Father came from a family of six boys. Naturally , the crazy one was the youngest. What made crazy uncle worse , he was on oil tankers during WW2 , and had two of them sunk in the Florida Straights. He was in the water the second sinking , two days , and one night. Fear of sharks , barracuda , etc. really changed crazy uncle for the negative. That said , a group of family including me , went up to my second oldest uncle's farm where he was constructing a new farm pond for all to use. the pond was funded by a govt. agency , and a pond inspecter said the 250 yr. old white oak stump in the pond had to go. The D- 7 dozer wouldn't budge the antique stump. Crazy Uncle was in charge of explosives. He put 2 sticks of dynamite under the stump , the stump shook , but still the D-7 Cat. was impotent. Uncle crazy put the whole rest of the case of dynamite under the stump . Dad pulled our dump truck back 200 yds. and Crazy Uncle lit the 20 ft fuse on the 18 sticks and ran. Biggest boom I ever experienced to date , Dad threw me under the truck , and dove in after me. Chunks of oak stump big as bushel baskets were incoming . The truck and us , escaped injury. Everyone was ok , and the huge stump was gone. I was six yrs. old , and thought that was crazy.

Yep better living through explosives.

 

[Appowner]

Well, I'm still alive so I guess it couldn't have been all that stupid!

 

[shorthair]

I used to be young and dumb, but I am a lot older now.

I know that I am older but I often wonder how much wiser I am.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Fire Crackers were like cash money as a Kid....