[desidog]

I've been looking for a while at golf-ball firing BP cannons- i like them, but nice ones are a lot of loot; and hard to maneuver around the golf course. I haven't seen a swivel cannon i like the price of either. So when this little cannon-igniting flint-pistol http://www.militaryheritage.com/artillery.htm caught my eye the other day, it got me to thinking - could i screw on a 6"or 8" barrel, ala the golfball launchers for modern rifles with threaded barrels that i've seen around? like this overpriced one: http://www.bloomautomatic.com/

Were i to go to the trouble of getting a barrel like that made up and threaded for this pistol-igniter, would it have enough charge to lob a golfball 50-100yds? is this pistol-igniter any good on its own? strong? etc....

Anyone tried this? Or something like it? If this path turns out not to work, i'd still like to build up a golfball blunderbuss. What are your thoughts?

[Macmac]

If you try that with the cannon igniter it will work once and you will be missing a hand.... In BP there SHALL be No Air gap between the powder and the projectile!

[arcticap]

http://www.therifleshoppe.com/The%20Rifle%20Shoppe,%20Inc%20Catalog%20Front%20Cover%202007-2008%20for%20Web%20Site%20Resized%20With%20Border.jpg

The Rifle Shoppe sells a parts kit for this hand mortar which is designed to shoot tennis balls a really loooong way. They probably also sell the finished gun.

Here's a parts list for the kit showing that the price of the barrel is $185.

http://www.therifleshoppe.com/(819).htm

The earliest known Hand Mortars (grenade launchers) were Wheellocks of the 1580’s. The grenades were lit separately then the gun was fired to launch it. Ben Coogle shoots tennis balls from his and says it will send them two to three hundred yards.

There are also conventional mortars designed to shoot golf balls.

[desidog]

I do like the look of that one, arcticap, but the 800 pricetag on the full kit takes that into the serious project category from the fun/aversion category. At that price, i might as well go for the golfball swivelgun that i've had my eye on for a shade under a grand. But it begs the question of tennisball launching for trap-shooting purpose? ...that might be fun.

My current thinking is to shelf the golfball idea and do a colonial fowler from sitting fox...and maybe get a golfball-launcher for one of my modern rifles.

So many great project ideas, so little loot to see them through....but plenty of time since i can't find a job!

[arcticap]

Look at the reasonably priced golf ball mortars and cannons that this outfit has, plus many others.
One golf ball mortar without trunions is $115 delivered, and another with trunions is $159 delivered.
Plus there's "booming" videos of some of these.

http://www.cannonthunder.com/services.html

Click around this site to learn more:

http://www.cannonthunder.com/index.html

[desidog]

Many thanks for the links. I'd like to get their 36" Mountain Howitzer. Perhaps building a carriage for one will be my next project.