Holy Shit

I knew a guy when I worked at Office Max whose brother-in-law had what I then thought might be the coolest little-boy-grown-up job in the world. He tested weapons for the Army. He went into the Nevada desert and would test (on cardboard targets) rifles, machine guns, anti-tank weaponry, shoulder launched missiles, etc. Basically he got to use all the crazy shit we buy from other countries and test it. Seemed pretty cool when I was 17.

Here is basically the same thing, but on video. It's a strange mix of "wow, that's pretty cool" with "holy shit, this is designed to kill people, this shouldn't be funny, or cool in the least." So I'm torn, it looks impressive but then you realize it has only one true function, and it's not entertainment---it's destruction. The video of a bullet, a winchester 300 ripping through a potroast is awesome in the true sense of the word--I am left in AWE of the power of this weapon. But it's still kind of sickening.

Some of the accompanying text with the video tries to couch the use in humorus tones:

"When firing the 76mm High Impulse Weapon System, remember to keep your weight on your FRONT foot." Shows a man firing a gun the size of a bridge abuttment.

So I don't know what to make of it. gut reaction is whoa, I wish I could do that, but that seems pretty divorced from the object's true use.

Nate M had the link that set off this strange little journey. He has a blog too. It's well written. Yeah writing.