There are normal ways to celebrate a birthday. Cake. Balloons. Maybe somebody takes you out for a nice dinner. Then there’s Fat Man’s way. For the big mid-50s birthday celebration, Fat Man packed up the crew — Smoke Show, her sister, and the Mailman — and headed to the range for a little birthday therapy. And naturally, Fat Man couldn’t just bring a plain old .22. The Rossi .22 showed up wearing a little Fat Man’s Cans attitude, including a 3D-printed stock and forward grip, because apparently leaving anything factory-original around Fat Man for too long is becoming impossible. But the star of this particular little range experiment was the 3D-printed “Cigar” test suppressor, printed from PPS-CF10. Yep… the Cigar. Because when Fat Man starts designing something in CAD, names it after something that belongs beside a glass of bourbon, prints it out of carbon-fiber-reinforced material and then takes it to the range on his birthday… you pretty much have to see what happens next. This trip was about exactly what Fat Man’s Cans has been about from the beginning: designing, testing, learning and having a little fun along the way. There’s a big difference between staring at something on a computer screen and finally getting to see a concept out in the real world. And judging by the smiles, everybody enjoyed being part of the experiment. Smoke Show was there keeping Fat Man somewhat civilized. Her sister joined the festivities. And the Mailman came along too — although we’re still not sure whether he was officially invited or just finally delivering all those parts Fat Man keeps ordering. Either way, fun was had by all. For Fat Man, there probably wasn’t a much better way to spend a birthday: family, friends, a range day, a Rossi .22 and another homegrown Fat Man’s Cans project getting some real-world testing. The mid-50s have officially arrived. The beard may be getting grayer. Getting out of the truck may require an extra sound effect or two. And recovery from a full range day might take considerably longer than it did 25 years ago. But the ideas? Those are just getting started. We’ve got more material in the shop, more CAD work happening, more machining ahead and plenty more testing and experimenting to come. So keep following Fat Man’s Cans. Because apparently getting older hasn’t convinced Fat Man to slow down. It’s just convinced him he needs better toys. — Fat Man’s Cans