Nock Volley Gun

[4v50 Gary]

The NRA Curator's corner has a short entry on the Nock seven barrel volley gun that was used shipboard during the days of tall sails, wooden ships and iron men. Apparently the men weren't of iron as the simultaneous recoil from all seven .52 caliber barrels broke many a shoulders. I didn't know that about the Nock until I read it at the NRA Curator's Corner. Link

If you can't get to Fairfax, Virginia, to see a Nock Volley gun, there's one in the Charleston (SC) City Museum.

 

[Zombiphobia]

Something about firing seven .52 caliber rifle barrels simultaneously seems to lack a certain amount of common sense.

But people have been known to do some silly tings.

 

[Curator]

I have had the pleasure of handiling one of the original Nock Volly guns. It was very heavy--probably going 14 to 15 pounds. Assuming the powder charge of 65-70 grains and 180 grain round balls per each of the 7 barrels, the recoil should have been respectable. 500 grains of powder and 1260 grains of lead is a bit daunting.

Bernard Cornwall's "Sharpe's Rifles" series has Sergeant Harper, Sharpe's companion, carrying the Nock gun. Great books made into a TV movie series by the BBC. You can't get any better than that for us gun/history buffs. Patrick Harper makes good use of the Nock gun on many an instance. If you have neither read or seen the series, I can also recommend the "books on tape" edition. You can enjoy history and adventure on your trip to and from work.

 

[armoredman]

Hmm, pintle mounted that would have been a lot more effective...

 

[Pyro]

Hmm, pintle mounted that would have been a lot more effective...

With heavy shot or buckshot you could probably clear half a deck with one of em'.

 

[DutchmanDick]

According to information in The Rifle Shoppe's catalog (worth the $15 just for the information alone!), the per-barrel service charge was actually only 40 grains, for a total of 280 grains. Still a substantial recoil, with 7 .50-caliber balls going downrange at once, but not shoulder-breaking if loaded according to spec. The Rifle Shoppe sells a complete set of parts, including the barrel cluster, to build your own, but it's well over $1,000 (cheaper than an original, though!)

 

[ofitg]

Quote:

Bernard Cornwall's "Sharpe's Rifles" series has Sergeant Harper, Sharpe's companion, carrying the Nock gun. Great books made into a TV movie series by the BBC. You can't get any better than that for us gun/history buffs. Patrick Harper makes good use of the Nock gun on many an instance. If you have neither read or seen the series, I can also recommend the "books on tape" edition. You can enjoy history and adventure on your trip to and from work.

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If I'm not mistaken, Richard Widmark carried one in "The Alamo" (the old John Wayne version).

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Yep, he sure did...Not sure if he shoots it in the movie though.
Most folks thought that was a made up gun. I saw an original at a musum in Calgary some years back. Neat piece of history

 

[Al LaVodka]

Late in the series he shoots it often. Real Hollywood action though.

I got to play with a real one in a course I took at The Armouries in Leeds, UK, on Napoleonic weapons. I was the only fellow without an accent and had no idea what everyone was talking about re: Sharpe's (vs. Sharps') Rifles at the time, not having watched BBC. These chaps all seemed to have been inspired by the show. I'd only done dopey things like studied arms and read non-fiction such as The Recollections of Rifleman Harris. He was actually in the 95th and portrayed-in-name-only in the (I should say, since I've seen it since, cool and well done) series. Interestingly, my Mother watched the series religiously when I was young.

The Nock was hefty, front-heavy, and I think manageable. And one heck of a piece of gun especially for the time this was taking place -- amazing. But, no, I'm not sure I'd want to be behind one any-more than I would a 12 ga. pump with 3-1/2" Mag. 00 Buckshot or a .577 Tyranosaur. Intact retinas as well as unbruised if not unbroken shoulders are a good thing...

Al