flying anvils

Anvil Tossing
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What is Anvil Tossing?

For more than two-hundred years anvil shooting has been an American custom, but this centuries old tradition is being transformed into a 21st century fire fight- Welcome to Flying Anvils!

Historians believe anvil shooting in the United States dates back to the 1700's, when people fired anvils to celebrate holidays or big events. However, ask a Southerner and they'll tell you anvil shooting started during the Civil War when "When Yankees came through the South destroying all the metal-working capabilities. They'd put powder underneath the anvils and try to blow them up. And up they went, up in the air."

The practice of anvil shooting is carried on today by a small group of die-hards. Men like:

Gay Wilkinson. Gay has been shooting anvils for almost two decades. But he doesn't just shoot anvils- he lives them! His house is a shrine to all things anvil, including an anvil on his roof, one in the bedroom, and the anvil he plans on using as a tombstone.
Mark Bollinger. By day he's a mechanical engineer, but in his free time he's an anvil engineer. From using computer programs to improve his fires to building a one-of-a-kind base, Mark relies on science and engineering to take his anvils to new heights.

Now the greats of the sport are gathering to compete for titles in two divisions.

The marquee event is the Traditional division; contestants in this class fire a 100 lb. anvil off another anvil using one pound of gunpowder. Teams receive points for each fire — one point for every foot of height the anvil reaches, minus three points for every foot away from the shooting base that it lands. The top three teams will advance to the final round.

The second classification is the Super Modified, which will feature teams using specially engineered bases and two pounds of gunpowder to send anvils to dizzying heights of over 500 feet.