Building a Mountain Howitzer

[v8stang289]

I just wanted to share with you a build my Grandpa has been working on. He has been building a replica of a 1800's Mountain Howitzer. He purchased the barrel and the elevating screw (not yet installed), And had a carpenter friend make the wheels and help with some other parts. He has been doing blacksmithing for a few years now so he made all the strapping and most of the metal pieces on this cannon. It is not quite done yet as you can see in the pictures, but it will be soon.








-Matt

 

[Iggy]

Looking good.

That is one fun gun to shoot.

 

[jojo200517]

At the price of powder what will it cost to light this beast off? I'm just curious.

 

[v8stang289]

Honestly I'm not sure what it costs, I'll have to ask him next time we visit.

 

[JohnnyK]

dude... that is SWEET! I want one!!! don't know where i could shoot it... but that would be nice to have! where do you get the cannon balls to shoot it?

 

[v8stang289]

For him it will be mainly ceremonial and used for making big booms on special occasions. He doesn't plan to shoot projectiles, just powder charges.

 

[Oxide]

Bear in mind that a functional cannon has to get some sort of stamp, I think.

IANAL (I love that acronym) and I could be wrong.

 

[Strykervet]

That is pretty cool, I'd like some for the front yard! Old artillery as decorations are popular in the south... I bet some I've seen decorating yards are worth a small fortune too.

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

Ahh... getting ready for deer season I see.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

An 1841 Mountain Howitzer! One of the two loves of my life (the other being the M1917 water-cooled machine gun.)

There used to be two of them at the entrance of the Robinson Barracks, the Artillery Officer Candidate School, in the early '60s. I probably used a gallon of Brasso polishing those guns.

When I was at Fort Sill in the '90s on a project, I was shocked to find the guns replaced by plastic replicas! (The Robinson Barracks itself, of course, is long gone, as is the Artillery OCS.)

I found the real guns in the Artillery Museum. One of them is correctly outfitted, with cards and string identifying all the parts of the carriage and equipment. The other is in a replica bell tower, representing the one Lieutenant US Grant hauled up into a bell tower to blow down the gates of Mexico City during the War with Mexico.

I remarked to the Curator, "Those are my guns," and explained why.

His response was, "Yeah, that's what all you *********s say."

 

[Cosmoline]

I love those things.

I want to get a sized-down firing model to tow behind my bike.

 

[ball3006]

Very nice. I want a scaled down one with a golf ball sized bore......chris3