![\"IMG_2199\"](\"http:\/\/www.jamcclure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_2199.jpg\")
<\/a>Pumpkin chunking under the New Mexico sky<\/p><\/div>\n
I stumbled across the World Championship Punkin Chunkin<\/em> on cable TV a few years ago and was immediately fascinated by this odd sport’s<\/a> \u00a0geek\/redneck eccentricity: Big Bang Theory<\/em> meets Dukes of Hazzard<\/em>. So when I heard about the annual pumpkin chunking festiva<\/a>l in Estancia, NM, I just had to be there.<\/p>\n Estancia<\/a> is a small town about an hour\u2019s drive over the mountains from Albuquerque, down a straight road through billiard-table flatlands of farms and ranches. The pumpkin chunking contest was started by local farmers 20 years ago and evolved into a full-blown local festival. I missed the town parade and by the time I arrived, Estancia\u2019s main street was eerily empty. As I approached the field on the outskirts of town, I saw the chunking machines towering over most of the population of Estancia. I parked in a dusty field, trudged past the kiddie carnival, funnel cake and green-chile cheeseburger vendors, and found a seat in the bleachers.<\/p>\n An air cannon fires<\/p><\/div>\n The machines, about 10 of them lined up at the edge of the field, had colorful names such as Chunk Wagon<\/em>, Patriot<\/em>, The Judge<\/em> and (with an all-female crew) Bea Dazzled<\/em>. Most were air cannons that use compressed air to propel an eight to 10-lb pumpkin through a gun barrel up to 100 feet long. Chunking enthusiasts spend tens of thousands of dollars to build these behemoths and tow them on trailers to places like Estancia and, if they succeed, to the world championship in Delaware.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a fast-paced competition. An air horn sounds and a pumpkin is launched with a loud whoosh<\/em>. You have to look hard to see the pumpkin flying through the air: I missed it most of the time. Then there\u2019s a wait for the ground crew to locate the pumpkin and record the distance of the shot. That\u2019s a little easier in New Mexico because the pumpkin kicks up a cloud of dust when it hits the ground. The ground crew, sheltering from errant pumpkins in a horse trailer downrange, races to the point of impact in an ATV and radios the distance to the referees. Some of the air cannons recorded shots of more than 2,000 feet, nowhere near the world record of more than a mile but still impressive.<\/p>\n A muzzle-loader<\/p><\/div>\n Using produce as cannonballs is an inexact science. Some pumpkins disintegrate upon leaving the cannon barrel in a phenomenon known as pie<\/em>. \u201cThere\u2019s more pie on the field,\u201d the announcer said.<\/p>\n Impressive as the air cannons were, I wish I\u2019d seen more trebuchets<\/a>: modern versions of medieval siege engines that use a counterweight, long lever and sling to fling projectiles. It\u2019s fascinating to watch the ungainly contraptions (and wonder whether they\u2019ll fall apart).<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure who won because I didn\u2019t stick around. The winner didn\u2019t much matter to me because I got such a kick out of watching the pointless but satisfying spectacle of big machines\u2026 chunking pumpkins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pumpkin chunking! Elaborate, home-made machines hurl ripe pumpkins high into the air to smash down hundreds of yards away. What\u2019s not to like? I stumbled across the World Championship Punkin Chunkin on cable TV a few years ago and was … Continue reading <\/a><\/a>