Beer/Soda Can Mortars?

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whats the legal stuff? this sounds fascinating but what are the rules that
will keep you out of trouble?
 
I once saw an interesting program that showed a mortar like this that ran off of gasoline; the user would tip a teaspoon of gas into the tube, slide a beer can down after it, and he had a spark-plug fitting welded into the bottom of the tube, hooked to a car battery, so all he had to do was press a button, and that can would GO.
 
damoc said:
whats the legal stuff? this sounds fascinating but what are the rules that
will keep you out of trouble?
Click to expand...

The fact that they are muzzleloaders. If they were breech-loading guns/cannons using cartridges, they would be under extremely tight BATFE control.

Common untruths regarding such mortars/cannons:

* It's not because they use black powder. So long as they are muzzleloaders they can use smokeless gunpowder without causing any legal issues (just make sure the gun/cannon/mortar is designed to use smokeless!!)

* It's not because they are under a certain size. Somewhere, there's a barrel of a 5" naval gun floating around that's been converted into a muzzleloader and it requires no special licensing that I'm aware of.

* The guns/cannons/mortars do not have to be antiques to be legal.

* They also don't have to be replicas of antiques.

* They don't have to be smoothbores.
 
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Thx, ya
Solid steel 9" or so round, cut to mimic a dominator. Weight is 80lbs or so. The 2oz charge was with 3f too. It was impressive to say the least.

One oz isn't bad. Cans are filled with concrete. They go up a couple hundred feet, easy to see with streamers attached
 
Plastikosmd said:
Thx, ya
Solid steel 9" or so round, cut to mimic a dominator. Weight is 80lbs or so. The 2oz charge was with 3f too. It was impressive to say the least.

One oz isn't bad. Cans are filled with concrete. They go up a couple hundred feet, easy to see with streamers attached
Click to expand...

Concrete filled beer cans will go up 200' with less than 100g (less than 1/4 ounce.)

I suspect the very short barrel of your mortar has some effect...
 
I fail at life.

I brought the mortar to the range today. I had powder, I had beer cans filled with plaster, I had fuse. I had no lighter. No one did. :(

I fail at life.
 
I fail at life.

I brought the mortar to the range today. I had powder, I had beer cans filled with plaster, I had fuse. I had no lighter. No one did.

I fail at life.
Click to expand...

I build and fly RC model airplanes as well as far too many other hobbies.

One time many years ago I got to the field with a newly finished model that I was super keen on doing the first flights and learning how it handled. I got the stuff all out only to find that I'd forgot my transmitter at home.

So I too feel your pain...:D
 
Thx, ya
Solid steel 9" or so round, cut to mimic a dominator. Weight is 80lbs or so. The 2oz charge was with 3f too. It was impressive to say the least
Click to expand...

Plastikosmd, that is one heck of a mortar!

Have you ever thought about taking one of those 9-inch steel billets and turning it into a six-pounder (3.6" bore) barrel?
 
Someone I know was stranded in the Canadian bush in the winter.
With no matches, pulled a string from something soaked it in snowmobile gas then removed the spark plug and turned the engine and lit the string to build a fire.
 
There is a website, "Hunting Feral Cats with a Coehorn Mortar". It details the construction, operation and hunting strategies used to reduce the local feral feline population utilizing a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon. Besides, it is funny!
 
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