Viral YouTubers Turn Montana Pasture into a War Zone

Once in a while, something happens out here that just seems … so Montana. This is one of those times.

A group of Australian YouTubers called How Ridiculous also stopped by an old friend's ranch to film a couple of videos near Billings. If you’re not familiar with these dudes, they’ve made a name for themselves by creating insane devices and destroying stuff in the most outrageously imaginative ways possible. They have millions of subscribers, and this time, they chose my friend Dave Morton’s property to play around on.

And what did they bring? A bowling ball cannon. Not a potato gun. Not a t-shirt launcher. A cannon that can shoot a 16-pound bowling ball over one mile. There are a lot of crazy things you see on wide-open Montana ranch land, but this might be one of the best.

Bowling Balls, Trampolines, and a Humvee

The How Ridiculous boys put targets in place, thousands of feet away, bowling pins, bulletproof glass, and even a line of trampolines. But the headliner was a custom-built armored Humvee.

They drove that Humvee out like it was being sent into a cartoon war. The Aussies pointed their cannon, took a shot, and proceeded to go full Wile E. Coyote on it. The first hit cracked it on the logo. Bowling ball one, Humvee zero.

Team Bowling Ball vs. The Humvee

Every shot got a little crazier. The hooting and the hollering, you could hear them in the next county. The other bowling ball went through like a hot knife through butter. Another took off a plate. The Humvee persevered and then finally gave up.

And the best part? They never made it into a big, serious test. It was just pure, stupid fun. A bunch of dudes in the Montana sun, tossing cannonballs at an old military truck like they were defending the Alamo.

The Montana Way

This is what it’s like to live here, and I love that. Where but here would you get a bunch of Australians turning a Montana pasture into a live-action cartoon?

The next time they return, I might have to pay a visit and haul a few targets along myself.