I need help with a prank

Noleball · 08-04-2003, 11:29 AM

Gentleman (and ladies if that is the case),

Several of us head down to the hunting camp every year to hunt the opening weekend of squirrel season here in Florida. The annual outing has been going on for over ten years now and it gets a little bigger every year. Also, every year, most of us do pretty well in the field the first morning and there is always one who has had a tough morning and did not bring as many squirrels home as the rest of us. For this person, we have started getting a trophy made every year and it is appropriately titled " The Tenth Annual Can' t Shoot $hit Award" .

We try to do it up nice and have a special trophy made about three feet tall and we have a special awards ceremony and everything. I know it sounds silly but it is alot of fun and we rag that individual for the entire year.

On with the story. Last year, my brother beat the rest of us for the first time in ... forever. Since last November, he calls (long distance) once a week to let me know he won and that he will be returning this season to beat everybody again. There is about ten of us or so and we are all quite tired of it.

Now, that said, he is not much of a computer guy. I told him I found a little ammo company on the web that makes special magnum loads in 12 guage in 4,5,and 6 shot sizes. I told him i was going to secretly order a case of them so that i could get more range this year and I was not going to tell the rest of the guys. Like a dummy, he fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

With that part of the plan in place, I have to find a company, or somebody that can give me a few pointers on what I can do to load him some dummies. I want something that fires rubber or something that maybe looks like a high brass shot but it is really a low power shot that just will clear the barrell.

That is why I am coming to you, the experts, for help. Please throw out a few ideas of ways to toy with his shot so that it is less than effective. I intend to mix it in with a few good shots so that he does not get suspicious.

Here, in the river swamps, we use 12 guage for squirrels because they are usually running and usually at a distance after opening morning.

Sorry about being so long but any ideas posted here would be helpful. I am going to get a couple of boxes of Kent hulls so that my brother does not recognize the make and try to have them loaded with whatever sounds like the best suggestion.

Thanks
Charles

stubblejumper · 08-04-2003, 11:39 AM

Never download ammunition to very low levels as it is possible that a wad or other material may remain in the barrel creating an obstruction.The next shot could resultin a barrel rupture causing damage and or injury.If you really want to mess with the guy get someone to reload very coarse pellets such as BB in a hull marked as your normal squirrel load(or buy some BB' s and re label them)They will feel normal but your friend will miss a lot due to the very sparse pattern.We did this to a local skeet shooter that was famous for practical jokes and he never caught on until we told him months later.He normally broke 23 or 24 out of 25 with normal skeet loads but he only broke 11 with the BB' s.

Noleball · 08-04-2003, 11:47 AM

Thank you for the first idea. I am aware that one would not want to bring loads down too low due to barrell jam. That is why I suggested putting a low brass load into a high-brass hull. The problem with that is that low brass stuff often does not eject properly in an 1100 which is what he shoots.

That said, i will look into the BB thing but I am still open for suggestions.

Thanks

Noleball · 08-04-2003, 11:50 AM

Stubblejumper,

Another thing, this guy is not my friend, he is my younger brother. That said, the stakes are a little higher and I would like to embarrass him a little more. You may lose a friend but you will never lose a brother.

Thanks

frizzellr · 08-04-2003, 12:11 PM

Hmm, pranks and firearms. That goes together about as well as Hillary in the Whitehouse.

doubleA · 08-04-2003, 09:24 PM

Yeah, could be a recipe to disaster. On another note, brass height ie, low/high brass has nothing to do with the speed or shot charge. It' s a marketing scam the companies learned years ago, folks see the higher brass so they think they are getting better/faster shells....when in reality a low brass such as a Win AA or Rem STS could be loaded to the same level.
Just like the belted magnum case....it has sold lots of shooters on em, only the original H&H' s needed them to head space on.

Marketing is everything.........
AA

8mm/06 · 08-05-2003, 07:31 AM

I think you' d be better of mixing blanks in with the regular stuff. That way he' ll still get a few squirrels, won' t risk injuring himself or the squirrels, and you guys will still be able to " rag" on him later.
Loading down the shot or the charge puts the squirrels at risk of being wounded rather than killed and the possible problems for your brother with " doctored" loads puts the stakes much higher.
I' d try to get him some great laods and some blanks that look the same and give hime a 7 to 1 ratio of blanks to real charged shells. If they look the same he' ll be fooled visually....but they will definitely feel different so he may catch on.

Noleball · 08-05-2003, 10:45 AM

Thanks for the good ideas. I was hoping to get a few non-lethal ideas so that no critters would be wounded. The idea with the blanks will probably work just fine.

I understand guns and pranks do not bode well together Frizzell. Understand, however, that we have all been hunting since a very young age and we learned gun safety since we could walk just about. We are very careful and the pranks I was intending will not affect anyone or anything physically. It is not like I want to shoot at him with a blank or something.

Fact is, we get off of the boat in the middel of the swamp and everyone goes their own way and we do not see each other again until we come back to the boats. That is why I wanted something that fired but was not accurate or lethal.

Again, thanks for the ideas. I' ll try to get blanks and mix in with his regular shells.

Danny45 · 08-05-2003, 11:22 AM

Couldn' t you load up some with those plastic " soft air" ammo? Not sure if they' d melt, don' t think they would. He could shoot all day and not hit anything with those. You could even glue one onto the trophy for him.

Noleball · 08-05-2003, 12:33 PM

Nice. Soft air is a good idea. If a gun can safely fire a blank, it should fire soft air as well. I will load one up and see what it does. I am hoping that it makes enough speed that you do not see it fly. Dark lead is invisible but bright yellow and blue is not.