A large male giant eland can weigh over a ton. That’s bigger than an elk and well into bull moose territory. You need a powerful round and a heavy bullet to take down such an animal.
While Jeff’s melon is plenty heavy, it isn’t appropriate for the job.
Could this be the pun they’re going for? Seems like a long shot, but maybe.
I notice that Mutt stays comfortably seated, knowing that Jeff is going to bring back something ridiculous and there is no point encouraging him.
Here’s some silliness on a more refined plane
(from Walt Kelly’s “Deck us all with Boston Charlie“):
Bark us all bow-wows of folly,
Polly wolly cracker ‘n’ too-da-loo!
Donkey Bonny brays a carol,
Antelope Cantaloupe, ‘lope with you!
Possibly it’s the meta setup for a punchline the strip spares us from? The joke is supposed to be antelope/cantaloupe but the joke is that the punchline is avoided?
Perhaps Jeff was suggesting that it could be used as the bullet, or the cannon ball.
“Perhaps Jeff was suggesting that it could be used as the bullet, or the cannon ball.”
I don’t see how he could be suggesting anything but that…. But why is that a joke?
Can’t elope?
This is one of the few M&J to appear here that even mildly amused me. Mutt asks for something heavy, so Jeff brings him something heavy.
Note that Mutt had to ask using awkward phrasing to make the joke work; normally you’d ask for something to shoot them with, not shoot at them.
Comics I Don't Understand 
A large male giant eland can weigh over a ton. That’s bigger than an elk and well into bull moose territory. You need a powerful round and a heavy bullet to take down such an animal.
While Jeff’s melon is plenty heavy, it isn’t appropriate for the job.
There’s an antique type of hunting rifle called a “Mylonas” (details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylonas_rifle)
Could this be the pun they’re going for? Seems like a long shot, but maybe.
I notice that Mutt stays comfortably seated, knowing that Jeff is going to bring back something ridiculous and there is no point encouraging him.
Here’s some silliness on a more refined plane
(from Walt Kelly’s “Deck us all with Boston Charlie“):
Bark us all bow-wows of folly,
Polly wolly cracker ‘n’ too-da-loo!
Donkey Bonny brays a carol,
Antelope Cantaloupe, ‘lope with you!
Possibly it’s the meta setup for a punchline the strip spares us from? The joke is supposed to be antelope/cantaloupe but the joke is that the punchline is avoided?
Perhaps Jeff was suggesting that it could be used as the bullet, or the cannon ball.
“Perhaps Jeff was suggesting that it could be used as the bullet, or the cannon ball.”
I don’t see how he could be suggesting anything but that…. But why is that a joke?
Can’t elope?
This is one of the few M&J to appear here that even mildly amused me. Mutt asks for something heavy, so Jeff brings him something heavy.
Note that Mutt had to ask using awkward phrasing to make the joke work; normally you’d ask for something to shoot them with, not shoot at them.