Category Archives: Boomershoot 2026

Boomershoot 2026 Opening Fireball Frame-by-Frame

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I have another frame-by-frame view of the opening fireball for Boomershoot 2026. This shows something I could not find in the previous set.

As a reminder, this is the assembled fireball target:

The vertical target at the bottom is for the shooter to initiate the chain reaction. The rubber bands hold the targets close together to ensure the explosion propagates from target to target. Rubber bands also hold the jugs of gasoline in a single unit and make it less susceptible to wind.

Here is the frame-by-frame evolution of the fireball:

Twenty road flares on ten pieces of rebar help ignite the gasoline vapor. The explosion alone will not ignite the gasoline. The gasoline must be turned into a vapor and mixed with air before it will ignite. The heat of the explosion is all gone by the time this happens. There must be another ignition source.

The frame above is very cool. The front facing target has detonated, but nothing else has moved. Below is a close up:

The shockwave moving through the earth from ground zero and creating the dust is always fascinating to me.

The frame above is what I wanted to see. The close up is below. You can see one of the origins of the flame which is far away from all the flares. You can also see what I believe are sparks flying through the cloud. We used particles of titanium sponge in the mix to create the sparks and help ignite the gasoline vapor. The flares alone are not always enough. There were about 2-3/4 cups of the titanium in the targets. You can get the titanium here and here. The exact product we used this year was this, but that is currently sold out. Titanium sponge is used in fireworks:

Titanium is a highly energetic fuel used to make bright white, long hang fireballs with good branching and very good crackle in fountains, rockets, stars, comets, saxons and drivers.

Nearly $450 turned into fire, noise, smoke, and a lifetime of memories in about four seconds.

Boomershoot Personal Fireball

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Not mentioned are the rebar with road flares attached to ignite the gasoline, but you seen them in the video.

This is the Fireball Target for the beginning of the Long-Range event:

More explosives, more gasoline, more thump, and more fiery delightfulness:

Added 5/16/2026 to help answer the question in the comments about the cost:

Each of those targets are 2.8 pounds of Boomerite. There is also another target out of sight under the visible layer (we had an extra target). The materials cost for each target is just under $13.00. That gives us $143 in explosives cost. There are 20 road flares at $2.81 each. That is $56.25. There are probably about 15 surveyors’ stakes. Each stake is about $0.60. So that adds about $9.00. Throw in the rubber bands and old cardboard for free and we end up with $208.25 for the base. There were 26 gallons of gasoline. It is ethanol free (from my brother’s 500-gallon tank on the farm) which cost $5.00/gallon. That is $130.00.

Total materials cost $338.25.

The sand has to be replaced every couple of years and costs about $200 (including delivery) each time. That adds another $100. Hence, each of those fireballs is about $440 just in materials.

Boomershoot Opening Fireball

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This was published in on X less than 30 minutes after the fireball went up.

Boomershoot 2026 Could be the Best Ever

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Quote of the Day

I really like it here. I waited all year for this.

Reina Taheri
May 3, 2026

This was at Boomershoot yesterday. And it was after she went to the hospital for a Boomershoot injury on Saturday. A hot shell casing from an AR-15 went down her boot and she was unable to get it out before getting a second-degree burn. That was the worst injury we have had in many years.

This was Reina’s second Boomershoot. Here is a video of her from last year:

I took pictures of Reina with her personal fireball from this year. But my camera was in daughter Kim’s car. Here she is at the shooting line:

The best pictures I have of the event on my phone are the ones below.

Each cloud of “smoke” is a different explosion. We had about 500 targets for the Sunday shooters.

This following is Team Fireball. I did the basic design and a lot of the work. But the people below all contributed to the success.

This is a close up of our most reactive target (23 gallons of gasoline over 30.8 pounds of Fireball Boomerite with road flares for added “visibility” on the rebar in the background:

We have sometimes said, “Boomershoot runs on rubberbands.” We came close to using 1,000 rubber bands this year. In the picture above you can see them holding the flares to the rebar, holding the jugs of gasoline together, and holding the Boomerite boxes in place.

Here is a frame-by-frame sequence of the opening fireball (video by Tim S.):

I think the dust forming in the field furrows from the shockwave is really cool!

There was a little more, but you get the idea.

Just kidding. You don’t have any idea of what the real thing is like. No video or pictures can do it justice. The heat is intense. The ground shakes. You feel a large thump in your chest. The crowd cheers and claps. The Boomershoot opening fireball is incredible.

The weather was fantastic. The target production went ahead of schedule. The personal fireballs (Reina and her dad each had one) successfully detonated and ignited. The Boomers went boom with almost no duds. There were still a few targets left at the end of the day. I consider it a good thing when the shooters run out of ammo before they run out of boomers.

Other than the one minor injury, everything went really well. I can not recall a better Boomershoot.

Greener Pastures

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Quote of the Day

On Dec. 1, 2025, Washington reported 706,046 active CPLs. On April 1, that number had plummeted to 696,015. The alarming decline has been explained by many gun owners, saying they’ve either left Washington for more Second Amendment-friendly environs in Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma and elsewhere, while others have decided to carry without a CPL because they refuse to pay the state to exercise their right to bear arms, which is specifically protected by both the state and federal constitutions.

Dave Workman
April 3, 2026
Wash. CPL Numbers Decline; Gun Owners Flee, Others Refuse to Renew – TheGunMag

I think the Washington state gun laws will be straightened out by the Federal courts in less than five years. But the taxes and crime situation will probably continue to deteriorate. So, with that in mind I am working on an escape plan. I can’t leave right now because I need to save up money for retirement. Underground bunkers in Idaho are expensive.

The underground bunker be completed soon (only a few more days of work). I will then start counting the days until I can retire and have the option to leave Washington state as well.

Are you thinking of fleeing the tyranny of your state too? I’m giving free tours of my underground bunk to people attending Boomershoot this year (the first weekend of May). It would give you something to think about…

Boomershoot Chemicals

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Today, I moved 2,000 pounds of chemicals from my brother’s shed to the Boomershoot explosives production facility:

There are some chemicals left over from 2025 so there will be plenty of targets this year.

I also inventoried other supplies, checked the functioning of the mixers, scales, and timers. I’m going to have to purchase two new heat guns. They are used to heat the shrink wrap plastic used to keep the targets (cardboard boxes) closed and dry. The last heat gun has reached it’s end of life.

It is going to be another great event. Boomershoot is the first weekend of May and is only four weeks away.

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