Mythbusters: Shoot Em' Up Merry-Go-Round Myth

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They did in fact end up using a shotgun and deer slugs to spin a merry-go-round of their own construction, which they built with low friction bearing and steel plates for aiming points.

I must say, this was the worst example of gun mis-information I've seen from MythBusters. Generally, they get it more or less "correct"..... When they brought out the shotgun, they specified 12ga and "deer slugs" and then said it produces "5000 ft/lbs of energy". There is not a normal deer slug on planet earth that produces that much energy. Most are under 2,500 ft/lbs and the most powerful typically found barely exceed 3,000 on a good day.

I have no idea what they were doing with 1911, but there's really no justification for it being a "step up" from a 44mag, no matter what sort of conversion one might hypothesize.

They did a good job with the build but if they really wanted energy transfer, more accurately momentum transfer, they should have used wood block of something similar that would capture the bullet rather than steel plates that waste energy splattering the bullet and scattering momentum.
 
You mean they didn't do the:


Can you REALLY kill an assailant hiding out of sight by catching a USP Expert on a carrot with your broken hand and shooting a dying man's inner wrist forcing him to fire the weapon in his lifeless hand with pinpoint accuracy across the crowded restaurant and into his head?
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Or the, can you REALLY fire 8 9mm rounds at a guy by putting 4 cartridges between your broken fingers and waving your hand in front of a fireplace?
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Honestly. The appeal of this movie is that it's blatantly ridiculous and it doesn't care. It's a "Turn your brain off" kind of movie that you laugh through. I own it for just this reason. It's not serious. It's a farce. Thus negating it's entire classification of a "myth" who's identity has to have an insinuation of truth, at least through rumor or common belief.

They really must be running out of ideas. And I have yet to be impressed when they include firearms in their shows. I can count on my grandfather's three-fingered hand how many times they've supplied correct and accurate firearm or ballistic information.

~LT
 
people were talking about this in other forums and i just saw the part were they said glock. i assumed to myself that they can just use a similar sized barrel 9mm. they even said they are using the 9mm just like in the movie. but they also said earlier that the gun is a glock.
 
I was just watching the latest episode of Mythbusters, and one of the myth's the team put to the test was that of the merry-go-round scene from the movie Shoot Em' Up
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annnnnd that was as far as I made it.


Anything to do with that movie is automatically wrong.

It was as though Time Warner, Bloomberg, HCI, Levi's and Ben and Jerry got together to produce a movie ordered by a congressional committee of Boxer, Feinstein, Schumer, Lugar and Castle. It was directed by Sarah Brady, cast by Paul Helmke, with technical direction and special effects by Josh Sugarmann. The Mayor's Against Illegal Guns's then reviewed it, declared that it was the gospel and said that puppies would be drowned in Lake Michigan if people didn't go see it.
 
Yeah another one that I would bust them on would be the archer vs the QB. I can gaurantee you I can shoot my bow more accurate than drew brees can throw a football.
Thats a reason right there I usally only watch sports and the occasionl movie on tv.
 
Anyone remember laughing when Daffy Duck would shoot himself in the face and his bill would be full of holes and on the side of his head BUT he could straighten it, mutter something to Elmer Fudd or Bug Bunny AND be just fine in the next scene?

Do you recall how cool it was the first time you saw Jesse Ventura brokeout the minigun in Predator and blasted thousands of more rounds than he was possibly able to carry on his back?

It's just FICTIONAL entertainment. Relax and enjoy it. If it was INTENDED to be historically accurate like a "Private Ryan" movie, worry and comment about it. Otherwise, just quitely WISH you had magical 30rd magazine that held NO LESS THAN 80rounds of ammo. It would go great with your SAA that can fire 19 rounds before reloading.

However, I will AGREE sometimes things are just TOO cheesy. This merry-go-round scene is definitely one of them.

What really bothers me is that there people who ACTUALLY think some of these things are REALL possible.
 
If the recoil is enough to push a 200lb man back a couple of inches, or even an inch, it might have enough momentum to push a merry-go-round just a bit.
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So stand on the merry go round and fire the gun.

Let us know how far it moves.

It did not push it a "bit", it made the thing spin.

And weight is only part of rotational moment of inertia.
 
Reminds me of the picture I saw on msnbc of Libyan rebels loading rockets into a rocket pod that came off a Russian HIND that was mounted to the back of a pickup truck.

Below the picture they had written, "Libyan Rebels load ARTILLARY into a Helicopter MACHINE GUN."
 
brickeyee...

... I can't think of a place that has a merry-go-round, where I could fire a weapon. There may be such places, but they probably aren't much more numerous than unicorns.

However, in answer to your suggestion, back in the mid-80's, Guns and Ammo did an article on the .460 Weatherby Magnum. They did an interesting recoil comparison test, where they put shooters on an old Radio Flyer red wagon, and had them shoot the .460, and a couple other heavy rifles. They then measured the distance the wagon and shooter moved.

IIRC, the distances traveled ranged from several inches to around a foot-and-a-half (for the smallest shooter, a female I think).

So, using your criteria, a couple hundred pounds of shooter, rifle, and wagon did get moved by the direct recoil. Granted, it was linear motion, but rotational motion could have been imparted if the setup were different.

(Note also, that rotational motion has other inertial factors, but that rotational movement also allows the bullet the possibility of a leverage/torque advantange.)
 
I like the show, it's entertaining, but the "science" behind many of their exploits is kind of suspect, it's almost as if they pick which myths to "bust" or not.
 
The should have test fired the "Noisy Cricket", I bet that would spin it around. Look how far it launched Will Smith in MIB.
 
Well, I'm still amazed at the monster .45 ACP they got hold of. To quote Will Smith in Independence Day, "I wanna get me one of these!" (But, I would be afraid to fire it.)

I expect a small correction statement will be forthcoming from them on that one. They generally try to be as accurate as possible with their firearms data, but they surely "messed" with the pooch on that one.
 
Wow! Two Will Smith references back to back! What are the odds? :D

We were simulposting so it truly was a coincidence.
 
break time

Ok- on the merry go round myth, does the specific type of gun matter? they used stand-ins and similar shots and it didn't spin. i doubt going to the exact type of gun would make a difference. if the deer slug didn't spin it, a .9mm won't either- no matter the brand.

and on the total fps- they rounded. do you really want to say the exact fps for people who won't understand anyway? the majority of viewers probably don't understand. give them a break.
 
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