Tim Shoppa wrote:
On May 19, 1:06 pm, wrote:

On Fri, 16 May 2008 10:39:11 -0700 (PDT), TimShoppa

wrote:

snip...........




The tennis ball cannon I use is very very similar to the CSV19 at
http://www.antennalaunchers.com/and I am very very happy with it.
It's not so much a "point above a crotch in the tree and hope the ball
goes through" but "just shoot the ball and line over the tree".

Tim.

I built the QE-19 from the same site Tim mentioned. The "air valve"
for it is off-the-shelf so it's a plug-n-play project. It beats every
fishing rod, bow & arrow, sling shot..... anything I've ever tried
before. Beats them hands down. It'll easily clear a 100 foot height
and is accurate after you shoot it a couple times. It's a little
pricey but that could be spread out if it were to become a club
project.


My impression is that the CSV19, with its modified sprinkler valve,
has a higher muzzle velocity than the QE-19. But overall, I agree
100%, that for me the tennis ball launcher was far and away the best
choice.

I have some friends who are very good with crossbows and they tell me
that I'm wrong, that the crossbow will do the job more reliably and
accurately than my tennis ball cannon, but I don't have a crossbow and
don't really intend to learn how to use one. I don't really want to
shoot arrows into my neighbor's property either.

A very important point. In many areas, firing a crossbow (which is
generally perceived as a lethal weapon) at anything other than a
designated target would set you up for a lot of hassles with the local
constabulary, or worse. The tennis ball launcher (avoid the "cannon"
term..) looks less "weapon-y"