HOWELL, Mich. - Most people prefer them baked in pies or decoratively carved. But for Bruce Bradford, the preferred method of serving up pumpkin is to have it shot out of an air cannon. That is, after all, how he became the world champion of Punkin Chunkin — a sport where winning is a matter of distance, not taste.
This Halloween, Bradford will defend his title at the Punkin Chunkin World Championship in Delaware's Sussex County. His team triumphed in the air cannon division last year after the pumpkin they shot out of their cannon sailed 4,594 feet.
"It's something to do," Bradford told The Daily Oakland Press. "It looked interesting. It was a challenge."
The sport began in the late 1990s in Delaware. The objective is to see who can shoot, propel or fling a pumpkin weighing between seven to 10 pounds the farthest.
Bradford, who is president of S&G Erectors in Howell, became interested in Punkin Chunkin in 1998 after reading a magazine article about the sport. That year, he and a few friends went to watch the competition in Sussex County.
"We couldn't see the shots and they wouldn't let us in the pits," he said. "We told them we were reporters...and they gave us press passes."
They came back the following year, armed with the aptly named Second Amendment — an 18,000 pound compressed air cannon which Bradford built. It sports a 100-foot long barrel.
Their first year in the competition, the group took fifth. In 2000 and 2001, they finished third.
The big win came in the 2002 championship, which was televised as part of a Discovery Channel documentary.
But the win was not without controversy. One of their pumpkins overshot the field and the judges refused to count it.
It was a decision Bradford dismisses as politics since most punkin chunkers are from Delaware and weren't eager to be shown up by a group from Michigan.
"They'll drink beer with you and compete with you, but they don't want you winning."
In preparation for this year's championship, Bradford and his team have been making adjustments to the cannon. To fine-tune it, they fired 15 pumpkins at a dilapidated van about 150 yards away.
"We did a number on a van," said Bradford.
This Halloween, Bradford will defend his title at the Punkin Chunkin World Championship in Delaware's Sussex County. His team triumphed in the air cannon division last year after the pumpkin they shot out of their cannon sailed 4,594 feet.
"It's something to do," Bradford told The Daily Oakland Press. "It looked interesting. It was a challenge."
The sport began in the late 1990s in Delaware. The objective is to see who can shoot, propel or fling a pumpkin weighing between seven to 10 pounds the farthest.
Bradford, who is president of S&G Erectors in Howell, became interested in Punkin Chunkin in 1998 after reading a magazine article about the sport. That year, he and a few friends went to watch the competition in Sussex County.
"We couldn't see the shots and they wouldn't let us in the pits," he said. "We told them we were reporters...and they gave us press passes."
They came back the following year, armed with the aptly named Second Amendment — an 18,000 pound compressed air cannon which Bradford built. It sports a 100-foot long barrel.
Their first year in the competition, the group took fifth. In 2000 and 2001, they finished third.
The big win came in the 2002 championship, which was televised as part of a Discovery Channel documentary.
But the win was not without controversy. One of their pumpkins overshot the field and the judges refused to count it.
It was a decision Bradford dismisses as politics since most punkin chunkers are from Delaware and weren't eager to be shown up by a group from Michigan.
"They'll drink beer with you and compete with you, but they don't want you winning."
In preparation for this year's championship, Bradford and his team have been making adjustments to the cannon. To fine-tune it, they fired 15 pumpkins at a dilapidated van about 150 yards away.
"We did a number on a van," said Bradford.
