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It's not classified as a firearm, but high-tech
versions shoot projectiles at the speed of sound.
And it's not hard to make. Many
teens are adept builders and responsible users.
Yet the potato gun -- or cannon or
spudzooka -- can lead to trouble, even for adults.
In one recent local case, Glenville police allege
that one of their officers used one to shoot out a
streetlight. He is charged with criminal mischief.
In the United States, where potato
guns are not classified as a firearm, the only laws
specific to potato guns appear at the local level.
Some towns and villages have ordinances banning the
devices, as do most cities. Potato cannons are
considered firearms in Australia and Germany,
however.
When asked if a potato cannon
could be fired in Washington Park, Albany Police
Chief James Tuffey smiled and said, "Not in our
city."
According to the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a potato
cannon is not a firearm because it does not use an
explosive such as gunpowder to hurl projectiles.
That does not mean penalties are
less severe for those who use a potato cannon rather
than a gun to commit a crime. Killing someone with a
potato instead of a bullet would not mean a lighter
sentence.
"Homicide is homicide," said ATF
spokesman Joe Greene.
Gun, knife or potato.
Backyard cannons hurl potatoes as
fast as a highway speed limit. Advanced versions can
break the sound barrier.
Dozens of videos on the Internet
show teenagers shooting their friends in the
stomach, back and groin. Some shooters have even
died using potato cannons after the devices,
illegally loaded with gunpowder, exploded.
But they can be used responsibly.
Take Tom Cardinal of Altamont, for instance.
Cardinal was 14 years old when he
built his first cannon. He found the instructions in
a children's science book.
It took him less than an hour to
build the device from PVC pipe using $30 worth of
supplies from a hardware store. When he finished,
Cardinal fired the cannon into the woods and at
targets near his home. His parents said they are
supportive.
"I love my potato cannon,"
Cardinal, now 17, said last week as he wrapped his
arms around the four-foot device in a mock hug.
"I've shot apples out of it. I've shot onions out
of. And I've also shot wads of taped-up newspaper
out of it, which I like, personally, because you can
run out and reuse it."
For Cardinal, launching potatoes
-- or onions, apples and balls of newspaper -- will
never become a business interest, although he does
view the activity through a different lens than most
others. The Voorheesville High School senior will
attend Northeastern University in the fall.
He's majoring in physics.
For most potato gunners, like
Cardinal, following the law and taking safety
precautions is automatic. That means loose
restrictions on usage and business for enthusiasts
like Tampa Bay resident Nicholas Benigni, who sells
potato cannons and accessories through the Internet.
Like many others who have turned
their potato cannon hobby into an income, Benigni
sells his devices to amateurs looking to see how far
they can shoot a potato and to arenas and sports
teams that load the cannons with T-shirts and other
souvenirs to shoot into the crowd.
"It's popular to different types
of people," said Benigni, whose grand creation is a
golf ball cannon that can shoot a golf ball more
than 600 yards. "Not just kids in rural areas with
lots of land and not much else to do."
David Filkins can be reached at
454-5456 or by e-mail at dfilkins@timesunion.com.
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