A
shotgun. The term originates from
Sam Raimi's 1993 film
Army of Darkness. In the movie, the character of Ash, played by
Bruce Campbell, fires his
weapon to get a crowds attention, and into the shocked silence that follows says:
Alright you primitive screwheads, listen up. See this? This is my boomstick! It's a twelve gauge double
barreled Remington, S-Mart's top-of-the-line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about $109.95. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt
blue steel and a hair trigger. That's right. Shop Smart. Shop S-mart. Ya got that?! Now I swear, the next one of you primates, even touches me...
The
premise of the film is that a modern day man, Ash, is trapped in
medieval times. Given that firearms are unknown in this
milieu (as are most of the things that Ash refers to in his quest), he creates this
portmanteau by combining an
onomatopeia (
boom) with the shape of the object (
stick).
The Boomstick™ is the most common barrel used by professional paintball players worldwide. Manufactured by the Dye Precision company of San Diego, California, it is built from gun drilled surgical grade 303 stainless steel and an aircraft grade 6061 T6 aluminum.