{"id":36697,"date":"2015-05-10T09:20:43","date_gmt":"2015-05-10T13:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=36697"},"modified":"2015-05-10T09:20:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T17:02:57","slug":"best-fun-gun-ever-the-can-cannon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/best-fun-gun-ever-the-can-cannon\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Fun-Gun Ever. The Can Cannon – Mounts on AR-15"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Can Cannon<\/strong>: https:\/\/www.xproducts.com\/ar-15-soda-can-launcher-accessories-launcher<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Though<\/a>

Though it look intimidating, it is the best fun-gun ever.<\/p><\/div>\n

Awesome has arrived. That’s the slogan emblazoned on the side of the inconspicuous tube in which the Can Cannon ships. And X Products–specialists in all things awesome–have nailed this one. I’ve never had more fun on the range than I did with the Can Cannon. Never. Not once.<\/p>\n

What is the Can Cannon? It is exactly what it sounds like. This is a highly modified AR upper designed to shoot 12oz cans. Coke cans. Beer cans. Whatever. And full cans, not empties. And, coincidentally, it also shoot tennis balls and other items similar in diameter. Simply pop off your upper, transfer over the bolt carrier group and charging handle, load a mag full of blanks and get to a range with a lot of open spaces. Wide open spaces.<\/p>\n

And brace yourself. The Can Cannon kicks–but odds are you won’t notice. You’ll be laughing too hard.<\/p>\n

[full_width][\/full_width]<\/p>\n

How does it work?<\/h2>\n

The concept is simple enough. Replace your AR-15 upper with the Can Cannon. It uses the same bolt and everything. Instead of loading live rounds into the magazine, fill it with blanks. Any .223 or 5.56 blank should work. They won’t cycle the action, but they’ll launch the hell out of a can of Coca-Cola.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The cannon tube screws directly to this tube, which extends from the upper.<\/p><\/div>\n

The tube itself is a beefy piece of steel that threads over a device designed to use the pressure from a blank to push a can out the end of the tube. X Products calls it a gas ported barrel.<\/p>\n

The launching tube screws directly onto the upper, and sits flush with the upper’s rail section. It is stepped inside, so that a can sits in the optimal position (bottom end in first).<\/p>\n

Load in a can, cycle the bolt, aim in a VERY safe direction, and pull the trigger. Don’t get this order mixed up and load it, then stick your hand in front of the barrel. That’s not safe.<\/p>\n

[one_half]<\/p>\n

\"Gas<\/a>

Gas vents though this ported gas-tube type extension on the chamber.<\/p><\/div>\n

[\/one_half][one_half_last]<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The tube is blocked on this end. This is the small detail that would make shooting a live round dangerous\/deadly.<\/p><\/div>\n

[\/one_half_last]<\/p>\n

Potential dangers<\/h2>\n

Let’s get this out of the way now. Before I wax poetic about how much fun I have had with this thing, I want to talk about the very real dangers it poses. This device shoots projectiles. It is built on a rifle platform, uses blanks, and propels objects at potentially deadly speeds.<\/p>\n

\"Blanks.<\/a>

Blanks. With the amount of 5.56 I go through, I’m going to have to find a couple of dedicated blank mags.<\/p><\/div>\n

When I first heard about the Can Cannon, I’d envisioned a video opening that went something like this: I would set up the camera on a long range and holler to someone down range–“Throw me a beer!” The shooter would then lob a can of beer my way and I’d catch it, crack it open, etc.<\/p>\n

Um. This is why you should always test out guns and such in a very safe place. When we first pulled the trigger on a can of Coke Zero, it launched the can so fast and so far that we barely saw it go. There’s no way I am going to try to catch a can shot out of this thing. It is a stupid idea.<\/p>\n

That is only one of the stupid things one might do with it. There’s little to prevent you from loading a live round into this. And if you pulled the trigger on a live round in the Can Cannon, it would fire. If I had two, I’d test what happens.\u00a0 But I’m not willing to destroy this one for something I know is a stupid idea. The round would conceivably blow through the end of the gas tube, then whatever object you’d placed in the Cannon itself. It could also generate enough pressure to rupture the whole thing, though I doubt it. Regardless, don’t do it.<\/p>\n

And don’t shoot at anyone with it. We played around with some tennis balls, but only from a really long distance. And I wouldn’t recommend that. Those fuzzy balls are moving very fast.<\/p>\n

How fast is fast?<\/h2>\n

We did chronograph this thing, with cans and balls.<\/p>\n

Let’s begin with a point of reference: a baseball, which weighs 5.25oz, traveling at 95mph has 99 foot pounds of force.<\/strong><\/p>\n