When Pigs Fly

by Frank Pauc

This first appeared in Frank’s blog on April 24, 2017, as “Flying Pigs.” It is republished here with the author’s permission.

We were down in Texas visiting with family, and I asked Hans if he had heard about the guy in Georgia who had filled up a riding mower with Tannerite and then blown it up with a rifle bullet. The shrapnel from the explosion had taken the man’s leg off.

Hans shook his head and said, “That guy was an idiot.”

I asked Hans, “Have you ever used Tannerite to blow up things?”

He said, “Yeah, but now the government won’t let you buy the explosive in bulk. It takes a while to get enough to make a boom.”

“What did you blow up?”

“Well, me and a friend went hunting feral hogs. We filled up a metal drum with Tannerite. We lured in the pigs with sweet corn, and then we shot at the barrel with a rifle. But, we took cover behind the pickup truck. We weren’t out in the open.”

“What happened?”

“The barrel blew up. I went looking for the hogs. They were all over the place. There was one fifty feet away.”

Hans thought for a moment, and said, “Yeah, it was kind of a mess.”