# what shotgun shell will destroy a watermelon and a cantaloup



## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

so we have had a melon and a cantalope in the garage and now they are no good and i want to go shoot them with a shotgun. so what shell would make the melon explode best? i have some slugs (but dont know if they will mess my guns barrel up), have some magnum turkey shells, then have some nitro magnum shells that i dont know much about becuase they dont have the original box...then have either some 2/3/4 steel shot and some 3 inch steel bb shot.

so what do you think would do the most close range one shot damage to a melon? the cantalope im not worried about may just shoot that with a rifle but the melon is tricky


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

haha wow i think i spelled cantalope like 4 different ways in that paragraph..lol srry


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

I shot this watermelon from about 20 yards away with an itty-bitty .17 HMR. It pretty much ended up in itty-bitty chunks. Kinda hard to see, but in the second picture you can see some red mist and little particles. It was good timing with the camera..

[attachment=1:1m6coeqh]rsz_watermelon_before.jpg[/attachment:1m6coeqh]
[attachment=0:1m6coeqh]rsz_watermelon_after.jpg[/attachment:1m6coeqh]

Either shot shell will blow that melon to smitherines....

Be safe.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

> I shot this watermelon from about 20 yards away with an itty-bitty .17 HMR.


.17 HMR ?!?!?!?!? :shock:

That's a little girls gun, why not shoot a mans gun !!! _O\

:wink:


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

.45 said:


> > .17 HMR ?!?!?!?!? :shock:
> >
> > That's a little girls gun, why not shoot a mans gun !!!


If I said it was my daughters I'd be lying. My man guns ammo is too expensive to be shootin melons with. Come to think of it.. that melon was too expensive to be shootin with the HMR! :|


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

sawsman said:


> I shot this watermelon from about 20 yards away with an itty-bitty .17 HMR. It pretty much ended up in itty-bitty chunks. Kinda hard to see, but in the second picture you can see some red mist and little particles. It was good timing with the camera..
> 
> [attachment=1:1r2cgx7e]rsz_watermelon_before.jpg[/attachment:1r2cgx7e]
> [attachment=0:1r2cgx7e]rsz_watermelon_after.jpg[/attachment:1r2cgx7e]
> ...


 :shock: was that a sugar baby melon? hmm maybe ill just take a few of the mysterious nitro mags..


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

> was that a sugar baby melon?


Just a regular/medium sized melon.. Those "girly" little V-MAX rounds are pretty wicked for their size.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

A full choke at <20 yards with just about any high brass load will destroy those melons. If you have ever seen Tom Knapp and his shooting, he has been known to shoot melons and cabbage and such with his Benelli. He just tosses them into the air above him and hammers them. The key is to have as tight a pattern as possible. If the pattern is about the size of the fruit, its gonna mess it up pretty good!


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

THANK YOU all i decided to take a .243 and the shotgun so i split the melon open with the .243 then took a 3inch steel bb shot and shot the cantalope it turned into mush. then shot the mush with a 2/3/4 steel duck load and soaked myself in juice. then piled all the melon chunks up and shot the pile with another 3 inch steel bb and it rained giant chunks of melon, one almost landed on my brother. then restacked the melon (what was left of it) threw some cantalope skin on the pile and shot it again with my final 2/3/4 shell and blew chunks at least 30 feet in the air and 40 to 50 yards left and right.

found my new sport. melon hunting :lol:


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## TCSSPRO204 (Sep 27, 2008)

32gr Vmax @ over 4000fps will make mush out of it as well!!!!! :mrgreen:


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## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

TCSSPRO204 said:


> 32gr Vmax @ over 4000fps will make mush out of it as well!!!!! :mrgreen:


That's what I'd have shot it with. I love my .204!


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

You thought it was fun shooting melons? Try taking out some expired cans of food and shoot them with your .243 from 100-200 yards. Fun stuff! Makes a heck of a mess to clean up, but it is so worth it!


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

Chaser said:


> You thought it was fun shooting melons? Try taking out some expired cans of food and shoot them with your .243 from 100-200 yards. Fun stuff! Makes a heck of a mess to clean up, but it is so worth it!


hmmm i dont think anyone will notice of theres a can or two of tomato soup missing.. :wink: 
gonna have to try that now


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## Artoxx (Nov 12, 2008)

I think that may be the most elaborate and time consuming method of getting rid of a couple of melons that I have ever heard of. Glad you had fun doing it.

I shot a watermelon from about 100 yards away with a 100Gr. Ballistic tip out of my 25.06 one time, and I swear I felt the spray. It utterly destroyed it.


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

Artoxx said:


> I think that may be the most elaborate and time consuming method of getting rid of a couple of melons that I have ever heard of. Glad you had fun doing it.
> 
> I shot a watermelon from about 100 yards away with a 100Gr. Ballistic tip out of my 25.06 one time, and I swear I felt the spray. It utterly destroyed it.


oh it was very fun


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