World Anvil Shooting Society National Anvil Shooting Contest

Perhaps it's going too far to call anvil shooting a sport, but Gene Mulloy, an old-time blacksmithing buff and co-founder of the World Anvil Shooting Society definitely disagrees. You see, in 1994 he organized the first anvil shooting competition in the nation, which has become an annual event at Laurel's Wood Expo held every April in Mississippi. "Anvil shooting dates back to the Civil War," he says, "when all them damn Yanks came through the South destroying all of our metal-working capabilities. They'd put powder underneath the anvils and try to blow them up. And up they went, up in the air." Now a small group of explosion enthusiasts from Mississippi and area states gather to compete for bragging rights in the South.

The rules are simple: shooters' anvils must be made of steel, weigh at least 100 pounds and no more than 2 pounds of black powder can be used to send that thing soaring. Two classes exist, those who shoot Traditional and those who shoot Super Modified. In the Traditional class, shooters use real, antique anvils. At the base of every anvil there is a hollow spot, where powder and a 90-second cannon fuse are packed. Then a second anvil is placed on top of the first. Once the fuse is ignited, the shooter has to haul ass to make it out of the 300-foot danger zone. "The first time I shot it went about two feet high," Mulloy admits. While anvils shot the traditional way now reach heights up to 100 feet, for some that just wasn't high enough -- hence the humble beginnings of the Super-Modified category. Not only can shooters in this class smith their own specialty anvils, but they are shot from heavy base plates that enhance height and accuracy.

At the beginning, Mulloy had trouble deciding how to measure height. "The first year, we tried tying a fishing line from a rod and reel to the anvil," he says. "But it just blew that thing all to heck." Then he got a little more sophisticated, had some local mathematicians clock the airtime. But that wasn't very accurate. Now he uses surveying equipment that offers precise readings. Then there's accuracy, which is measured by how far away from the launch pad the anvil lands. As odd as it seems, no one has ever been crushed by a falling anvil and no one has ever lost an arm to explosives.

While Mulloy calls himself the #1 anvil shooter in America, he doesn't hold the world record. You can say it's a sore spot. The world record is just over 400 feet and held by rival Mike Stringer. In fact, the competition is so heated between these two that Mulloy recently played a cruel trick on Stringer. He built an illegal aluminum alloy anvil that he shot over 800 feet. "His reaction was gorgeous," Mulloy says. "It was priceless. And we got it all on video. It still rubs him raw when I tell him I have the world record." Admission to the Expo is $2.

 

 

April 7-8

LAUREL

MISSISSIPPI FORESTRY AND WOOD PRODUCTS EXPO

Enjoy two full days of equipment demonstrations, exhibits, lumberjack 
contests, arts and crafts, food, an anvil-shooting contest. Included is the 
MSU Wood Magic Science Fair. Laurel Fairgrounds. Admission. 
Contact: Economic Development Authority of Jones County, P.O. Box 
527, Laurel, MS 39441 (601) 649-3031

 

That looks fun

Move over punkin chunkin.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Almost as much fun as Henry's Cannon!

My anvil was like $1300. Not something I will be rushing to do to it!

That guy looks kinda like Frank from NJ2AS

That looks like fun.  I know where I can get a couple of big anvils.....

Ken

I got spare 1f and 3f

that is awesome

NJKen, if you can get big anvils, check with me first, I might buy them from you! I need a heavy op anvil.

I'm all for good fun, but jesus christ that looks dangerous. 

It's about as RED NECK as you're ever gonna see as far as a competition goes, lol!  Some farmers still use the holy black to help with "stump removal".  I consider THAT requiring more BALLS than anvils, since pieces of stump tend to go in all directions.  Anvils is the ultimate "shaped charge school of HIGHER learning"!

 

Dave

NJKen, if you can get big anvils, check with me first, I might buy them from you! I need a heavy op anvil.

Will do.  A buddy of mine is closing his fathers steel fabrication business.  I know there are several very old ancient anvils over there.

Ken

This is also done as a wedding tradition for hillfolk.  I've been to one in Georgia and it was a blast. 

it didn't look like the truck was very far away from the launch area