Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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rifle billards

  (+15, -1)(+15, -1)
(+15, -1)
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Pool sticks replaced by sniper rifles. Players will spend some time traveling between positions. Players need to be far enough away to not destroy the pool balls. I believe the table and balls will need to be made a little larger and out of stronger stuff.
vfrackis, Jan 26 2013

Riffle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riffle
Stream related [DenholmRicshaw, Jan 26 2013]

Billard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billard
A type of French train [DenholmRicshaw, Jan 26 2013]

they baked my idea whilst I searched it... http://billiards.ab...Billiard-Game_3.htm
[xandram, Jan 28 2013]

[link]






       I hate guns.
blissmiss, Jan 26 2013
  

       I don't, bun, but the bullets laying on the table will mess up any balls that roll over them.
FlyingToaster, Jan 26 2013
  

       (+) I hate murder... I kinda like guns.   

       Ricochet should keep the table free of bullets and there's no need to spend travel time between locations, Just slowly rotate the table to line up your shot.   

       HESH rounds and solid tungsten balls ought to do the trick, although the playing surface may need to be enlarged.   

       Sp: 'rifles'   

       P.S. Comp shooters sometimes play a target game called ".308 billiards" (or .223 billiards, or whatever caliber happens to be on the range that day), which involves a 3'x3' square target with five 3-4" dia. 'pockets' (TL, TR, BL, BR, & center, like an archery target). The shooter must call his or her shot; a hit scores 1 point, a miss scores -1, and hitting a pocket other than the called pocket scores - 5. It's something to do on a sunny day when the match is over but nobody wants to go home; I'm not aware of any formal organization or rules.
Alterother, Jan 26 2013
  

       I'll check it out.
Alterother, Jan 26 2013
  

       There should also be a sniper raffle so that the less skilled snipers will still have a chance at winning something.
swimswim, Jan 26 2013
  

       I would prefer archery billiards I think.
pocmloc, Jan 26 2013
  

       sp. snipper riffle
pocmloc, Jan 26 2013
  

       Sp. snapper raffles   

       [bliss], may I respectfully suggest that your hatred is actually for the things that people choose to do with guns? Hating guns is something like hating ball-point pens or dutch ovens.   

       Not trying to start an argument here (nor am I advocating), but firearms have been getting a lot misdirected bad press, and I've always thought of you as very open-minded. Such a strong blanket statement struck me as out of character.
Alterother, Jan 26 2013
  

       No, I've always hated guns. And knives made to kill people, and anything to do with murderous weapons. I hate war. All wars. There is no gun in the world that I find pretty, or attractive, or worth a rotten nickel. Just me. Sorry. Closed minded as it is. I don't blame them for the seemingly recent, rash of assaults on the innocent, I just hate guns. They make me want to run and cry. Don't know why.
blissmiss, Jan 26 2013
  

       Interesting. Thank you.
Alterother, Jan 26 2013
  

       I have it spelled right now.   

       A rotating table is genius 2fries
vfrackis, Jan 26 2013
  

       I get both points of view.   

       Guns are one of the only tools that have a single purpose.
Even if the firearm has never launched a bullet that broke flesh, it's original and only actual use is to do so.
  

       That said, they are a beautifully simplistic invention. If I needed to kill to feed my kin I could. If I needed to defend myself I would be able to. There's no sense bringing a knife to a gun fight unless that's your only option so, like it of not, guns exist and I think that teaching safe handling of them at a young age should be encouraged if for no other reason than you'll more easily determine which kids get off on destruction a bit more than they should.   

       A short experiment with an air rifle and the second- best billiards table revealed a few potential snags. First, ivory dents. Second, baize is not pellet-proof.   

       However, it did provide several moments of amusement, so [+]
MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 26 2013
  

       //       I have it spelled right now.    //   

       No you haven't.
Alterother, Jan 27 2013
  

       Guns were originally invented as weapons of war, and for centuries remained as weapons for the military.   

       The other uses (hunting, defense, sport/recreational target shooting) came later, but nearly all technological advances in firearms design have had a military purpose, and that purpose is to kill people.   

       So it is true that its original purpose was to kill people. However, it is no longer the only actual use.
whlanteigne, Jan 27 2013
  

       //Guns were originally invented as weapons of war//   

       Well, you could say that about practically anything, from the Sherman tank to the orbital ion cannon. Even the rock was invented because some chimp needed some way to bash some other chimp over the head and take his berries.
ytk, Jan 27 2013
  

       //military ... that purpose is to kill people// tsk.
FlyingToaster, Jan 27 2013
  

       Here's hoping that the French train stays in the title
DenholmRicshaw, Jan 27 2013
  

       // Guns were originally invented as weapons of war, //   

       Actually, the rudimentary hand-held brass and iron mortars that slowly evolved into firearms (which European explorers who returned from the Far East called arquebuses) were invented as launching mechanisms for fireworks. Later on, as people with a better understanding of metallurgy got in on the game, firearms were indeed developed for the armament of soldiers, but the evolution of sporting arms (i.e. for hunting) and combat arms occurred more or less simultaneously. This is evident in the numerous examples of flintlock muskets which have no integral ramrod or tamping device, requiring such items to be carried separately and considerably lengthening the reload time. These firearms were manufactured in the same era as those including such expedient features, often in the same workshops.   

       The simple truth is that firearms serve many roles today, and have done for the entirety of their existence. To say that guns were invented as weapons of war and subsequently adapted to other purposes is akin to saying the same thing about knives, axes, or wheels.
Alterother, Jan 27 2013
  

       //If you're going to claim that target shooting is not a legitimate sport in its own right //   

       Of course not, that's what I use mine for, but they were still designed as instruments of death so I can understand how people can hate them even though they are inanimate objects.   

       //we may be one or two bow & arrow rampages away from a ban on archery//   

       shhhhhhh! they'll hear you...   

       You know I never mentioned banning guns, I just said I personally hate them. I'm not against others having them, if they must. I just don't get any yahooos when I see one. It makes me want to cry instead. Just to clarify.
blissmiss, Jan 27 2013
  

       I love nuclear bombs. It's the things people do with them I disapprove of.
sqeaketh the wheel, Jan 27 2013
  

       Orion...
normzone, Jan 27 2013
  

       //Orion// nuclear pulse propulsion is one of the dumber things we could try...But you make a good point [norm]; there might be a peaceful use for such bombs (meteor deflection?)
sqeaketh the wheel, Jan 27 2013
  

       Perhaps feminizing weapons by giving them stripey ruffles?
AusCan531, Jan 28 2013
  

       I dare you. We'll meet at the bar. We'll wear lacy collars, cuffs, and hats with feathers in them. Of course, we'll have flintlock pistols, and have to drink flat ale, but what price fashion. Drinks are on me.
normzone, Jan 28 2013
  

       I think this could be played with cannonballs on an icehockey rink. Cannonballs (or possibly shottputs?) are dense and durable, and the rink can be regenerated between games. One could hybridize with golf by allowing more than one "cue"; sniper riffles are fine but confer an invariable amount of kinetic energy. The caddy could have a rack of different weapons, chosen according to requirements of the shot.   

       To make even more golfflike the game could be played on a frozen lake, with snowmobbiles for golf carts. This would allow water hazards, snow bunkers etc. I think this scenario would be more forgiving of the large energies involved. There would be less danger from ricochets as well.
bungston, Jan 28 2013
  

       // A short experiment with an air rifle and the sec revealed a few potential snags. //   

       A short experiment with a Pains-Wessex 38mm flare pistol and a set of 38mm snooker balls revealed a few potential snags.   

       Firstly, even with a reduced charge, the recoil is fierce.   

       Secondly, despite poor obturation due to mismatched bore/ projectile diameter and improvised wadding, the kinetic energy of the balls is considerable.   

       Thirdly (this is one of the most important points), when the ball hits a rigid surface, for example a sheet of chipboard, at low angle of incidence, the colision is almost perfectly elastic, and the ball rebounds with very little diminution of velocity but with an unpredictable trajectory. Subsequent impacts with other objects in the vicinty occur in very rapid succession giving little or no opportunity to take avoiding action.   

       Fourthly, apparently all breakages must be paid for.   

       Fifthly, the ventilation systems in a typical squash court are not really very good at clearing large amounts of powder smoke.   

       Sixthly, if a large-calibre firearm is repeatedly discharged indoors, even on a Sunday when nobody else is supposed to be on site, eventually someone is going to come and ask what all the noise is, and even if their reaction is "Oh no, not you again. I might have known it" it is best to have a convincing explanation prepared.
8th of 7, Jan 28 2013
  

       I think if you just stuck a pool cue into the end of the rifle, it would work like one handed pool.
xandram, Jan 28 2013
  

       Pretty certain you could use a spud gun, removing the necessity to move back several miles from the table.
DrCurry, Jan 28 2013
  

       /stuck a pool cue into the end of the rifle/   

       Remember obturation!
bungston, Jan 28 2013
  

       Could a pool cue be fired from a spear gun?
lurch, Jan 28 2013
  

       Probably. If a two-part pool cue is separated at the joint and the front part placed on a crossbow, it can be propelled with considerable force but relatively poor accuracy.   

       Since most spear guns are in essence crossbows, if the cue can be loaded into the unit then it's likely it can be shot from it.
8th of 7, Jan 28 2013
  

       I think if you just stuck a pool que into the end of a rifle, the overpressure would strip the barrel like a banana peel and blast the receiver into shrapnel. A crossbow might be better. Never handled a speargun, so I dunno about that one.   

       But that's just what I think. Go ahead and test your idea. Just use your own rifle, and don't stand near me when you fire.
Alterother, Jan 28 2013
  

       In the video game Timesplitters 2, on the Chicago level, there's a pool table in the night club which can be played using your rifle. It's very difficult not to have the balls ricochet off the table though.
mitxela, Jan 28 2013
  

       "most spear guns are in essence crossbows"   

       Actually most spear guns are in essence rubber band rifles. I've shot my share.   

       This would be slightly difficult, unless the shot was performed underwater, since the guns are designed to be held floating in front of you with one hand on the trigger/handle and the other on the butt of the gun to prevent the recoil from driving the gun butt into your teeth.   

       Guys still get overambitious and build big guns with multiple bands, then fire them and dislocate fingers and teeth.
normzone, Jan 28 2013
  

       This might actually work with very light loads and wax bullets.
whlanteigne, Jan 31 2013
  

       It doesn't work with 5.56mm soft point factory loads. That is to say, early experimentation did not yield promising results. Further experimentation has subsequently been banned by spousal mandate.   

       One fragment flew almost 35 feet.
Alterother, Jan 31 2013
  

       Define 'hole'.
Alterother, Jan 31 2013
  

       If I gathered and reconstructed the target, the area of impact might be loosely defined as a hole, then. The amount of powder still coating the chopping block where I set the ball would suggest the creation of some form of crater.   

       How fortunate for the Halfbakery that my my family owns an incomplete set of billiard balls--now somewhat more incomplete. And to think my wife classifies these things as 'useless junk'.
Alterother, Jan 31 2013
  

       Somewhere along the way, we need to make a journal of test results. The International Journal of Unrepeatable Studies for which Common Sense would have Prevented the Initial Trial, or some such.
lurch, Jan 31 2013
  

       To quote Thomas Dolby, "SCIENCE!"
normzone, Jan 31 2013
  

       I tried another one from a bit further off. I saw it go spinning away in one piece, but watching through the scope it was hard to tell where it landed and I couldn't find it before dark set in. I may not find it until spring.
Alterother, Feb 01 2013
  
      
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