Quarter Mile Cannon 1/4 Mile Potato Gun Cannon - City Slicker

I got this for my younger cousins as a Christmas gift and it worked great once we figured out the correct amount of hairspray to use. Once we got it dialed in we were launching potatoes pretty far down the block. Follow the directions on how to use it and watch some videos on YouTube if you arent getting great performance. Our igniter ended up going bad and I swapped it out with a $8 bbq one and it works fine. Just make sure that when you are done using it, you dont store it with the cap screwed on. There will most likely be hairspray residue in the threads which will make it really hard to unscrew it next time you go to use it. Also, make sure you clean it out every once and a while for better performance.

Had this cannon and the tennis ball attachment shipped to me at my family vacation spot. It arrived early and we were excited to use it. Cannon itself is sturdy and well constructed. It comes in a few pieces that fit together well. First problem is the instructions are poor. I am very mechanical and assembled hundreds of things but these instructions left me scratching my head. Confusing at best. Second problem is that you need tools! The flint comes with two nuts that have to be separated and they are very tight. Even after we got the pieces separated, we had to assemble the flint stock into a tiny hole way into the cannon. Not sure why it had to be placed there but you need tiny hands or a long-nosed pliers to get it into the hole. After we we fairly sure we got it right, we didn't know how to use it (those darn instructions left us guessing) so I turned to a couple YouTube reviews to see. After all that work, we loaded it up, sprayed in the hairspray - you can ONLY use hairspray as an accelerant - closed the lid and twisted the flint. Nothing. We retested, tried, adjusted, tightened the nuts, NOTHING. We were SO disappointed.The big issue with this product is the flint. It uses a mechanical, friction based flint to create a spark. Problem is that when you spray stuff in the chamber it can get wet and cause it not to work! Other products use an electronic or push-button flint that I think would work better. The product definitely needs better instructions and a note that you need tools. The manufacturer can and should pre-assemble the flint mechanism for you to end the assembly madness and consider a better design. It is well built but needs a better design before I would consider buying it again.

OK, I'm sorry, but I might have to rant a little here, first off, these are not "too dangerous"! I have built these since I was practically a toddler. If you can't trust your 10 year old with a kitchen knife, then maybe you're right, maybe you can't trust him with a potato gun. If you are the parent that won't let your kid climb a tree or requires your child to wear a helmet whenever he rides his bicycle, then this product is not for you!!! Thank God, that is not the future of America. Back yard tinkering built America. There is almost nothing more cool than a potato gun!Want proof? At a BBQ this past weekend, 10-15 guys in their 30-40s, and 10-15 kids from 5-13 years old, it was a battle between the men and the kids. I'm actually not sure which group was the kids. I guess it's true what they say, the only difference between the men and the boys are the size of their toys. But this thing was a total hit. I wish I had 5 at the BBQ. It was actually educational. The kids were learning about combustion and fuel/air mixtures. Come on!I have to tell you, this little guy was surprising. It was a hell of a lot of fun. This absolutely obliterates the potato when it hits a tree or fence. When the 30-40 year olds are having as much fun as the 8-10 year olds, you know you're on to something.As far as "it doesn't work" goes, super genius obviously doesn't understand how it works. It's not a gun. You don't pull the trigger and it goes bang. It's a science project. It takes some finesse and fun trial and error. You have to figure out how to properly mix the proportions of air and hairspray/fuel. If you are too stupid to know that it takes a propellent, then you are too stupid to own one. Look at it like a carburetor, too much fuel and it will flood, not enough fuel and it won't fire. Sometimes it's a 2 second spray, sometimes it's a 10 second spray. My buddy has the big eliminator and it actually takes more like 20 seconds. And he says it goes way over a quarter mile, which brings me to my next rant.Of course you don't want it to go a quarter mile if you live in the city. You'll end up in jail! If you want it to go a quarter mile, don't buy the "city slicker" model, thus the name, right? I'll tell you what, if it went a quarter mile this weekend, we would have all been in jail.I can't think of more fun for $30.Chef Jake

This is a great little canon that will perform like the ones with very long barrels provided you use the correct fuel.So what's the best fuel? But before I give my recommendations, I'll tell you what doesn't work well. Hairspray (gums up the innards) WD-40 (propellant changed to C02)and most spray deodorants (unless they list butane or isobutane as an ingredient--Old Spice is one that will work.)Spray cans of Static Free will also work.But the hands down best and cleanest burning is propane fuel from one of those little green bottles. I use my propane torch attachment which gets inserted up into the gun's chamber and turned on for about one second. As you should know, it takes a little experimentation to find the right load. You can expect 200 yards or more once you find the right mix. Quarter mile? Not gonna happen. The force needed to send the spud pellet that far would turn it into mashed potatoes. HINT: cut the potato in half length-wise so you can get two pellets per spud.After a while the barrel chamber may get coated with spud goo. Just remove it and rinse it clean. Make sure it's dry before using. If it's hard to remove the barrel, use a hair dryer to heat the large ring the barrel fits into. You only have to get it warm to be able to wiggle out the barrel.This a well made and compact little critter that uses a flint spark for ignition which in my experience is far superior to the piezo electric buttons. You'll also get a pleasant cooked potato smell after a few rounds.Have fun and be safe!