Shot My Cannon

[ThomasT]

Thanks Clem. The earlier mentioned golf ball shooters would be nice. Lots of cheap ammo. I am not about to mold up any 2" lead balls and shoot. I have a big pile of lead but that much shot away at once would break my heart.

I really like to get a swivel gun that would shoot golf balls.

 

[NMGonzo]

I want a cannon.

Just to annoy the neighbor dogs.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I have a bronze cannon with a 1.5 inch bore and 34 inch tube. The breech is almost 5 inches thick. Last time I fired it, I loaded 250 grains of 1f cannon powder and 3 - half inch thick homosote wads. The bang shattered windows a third of a mile away. Why in the world would you load almost 900 grains just to make noise??

Back in about 2002 at a 4th of July picnic, near Gettysburg, PA a fellow was shooting a home made cannon, just for noise. After about 12 shots, the thing blew up killing a bystander that was 25 ft away. The fellow is getting out of jail in a couple months. Charged him with Negligent Homicide.

Cannon accidents are bad enough, accidental cannon injuries and fatalities lead to the illustrious leaders thinking the average joe isn't smart enough to be trusted with a spit ball. Be careful. Be over cautious. Don't give the anti's any reason to take away the fun from responsible folk.

 

[sonier]

yea i wouldnt hestate to do the charge you did, long as it was only loaded with wadding a soda can with concrete would be extremely dangerous with that load. But sounds fun

 

[Iggy]

Here is a SBR Cohorne


80 grains of 1Fg cannon powder will fling the cement filled V-8 juice can a couple of hundred yards.

I also have a Sea Service Cannon with a 75 pound barrel. I use a 12 gauge shotgun case of 1Fg to send plastic 35mm film cans of cement far enough to never find them.

I have also used 1/2 pound lead semiwadcutters to go to completely penetrate an old pickup body at 100 yards with the same powder load. The gun does not have wheels on the carriage and it will still recoil over a foot.


These rascals ain't toys.

 

[ThomasT]

Thanks Sonier. Iggy you mortar is cool. There is a site you can google and the guy uses a mortar to whack wild cats, I think he scares a lot more than he kills. Still fun to read about.

I was surprised about the harsh comments I got on this thread. After all I just shot lightweight paper with almost no resistance to moving down a STEEL barrel. Its not like I was trying to blow a 3 pound ball down the bore. I don't mind saying in a way I regret ever posting this at all. Especially when someone who is clueless as to what I have calls my cannon a POS. I suppose that is one of the hazzards of dealing with internet experts.

 

[Bluehawk]

Especially when someone who is clueless as to what I have calls my cannon a POS.

Somebody get a rope! Let's string'em up!!!!!!!

 

[arcticap]

Jeff Tanner will make any size round ball mold for cannons. He even makes some to cast hollow 1/2 spheres that can be glued together to make lower pressure cannon ammo.

http://www.jt-bullet-moulds.co.uk/moulds.htm

 

[hawkeye74]

Ratshooter,

I wish you the best with your cannon. I also will pray you do not hurt yourself. What you are doing is very dangerous. You describe it as steam pipe or rolled pipe. I will not call it a POS because I don't know anything about it. I will caution you to not do what you have described. You are risking your life and others around you. . Most steel pipe WILL NOT stand up to cannon preasures, particularly after repeated use. It takes special steel to make cannons for live fire, even for regular blank fire. Normal pipe and welding will not hold for cannon firing under repeated use.

If you must have a cannon, there are folks that make cannon for competitions and re-enacting. They are very good at what they do and know what they are doing. These guys have a good reputation.

Paulson Brothers Ordanance www.pbocorp.biz

You should not take ordinary steel pipe and make a cannon out of it. When it blows up and hurts someone, you will be doing real prison time for not doing your homework.

 

[arcticap]

I Google searched "2 inch balls" and among the results were solid rubber balls for pet toys that are available from a lot of pet stores. However racketball balls measure 2 1/4 inches in diameter.

http://www.cheappetproducts.net/SOLID_RUBBER_BALL_2_-P62880.html

http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBwQ8wIwAA#

Then I Googled "2 inch wood balls" and found that they're available in size increments with lower prices if purchased in bulk:

http://www.caseyswood.com/shoppingc...Path=159_157&gclid=CMnmwKKL2qICFSI55QodNkzmyg

http://www.kempwood.com/productcart...&pageStyle=L&gclid=CJOVvq-L2qICFUJx5Qodmm06xA

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...balls&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

 

[ThomasT]

Thanks for the suggestions on balls, moulds and factory made cannons. I think I will pass on the cannon. Thats way more than I want to spend. You need to know I have had my little cannon for at least 5 years and just now fired it. I don't see cannon shooting of any sort being a big (or small) part of my life.

Shooting it was fun but I think my buddy got a bigger kick out of it than I did. He didn't provide the powder. I am sort of hoarding my powder and using up 2/3rds of a can (not sure if it was full) of BP was a big waste to me for 3 shots. Even if it was Elephant brand that I paid $6 a pound for.

 

[Al LaVodka]

Rat;
You don't have a cannon. I maintain you have a homemade POS. You can't even i.d. what that thin-walled tube is made of! Don't know how it was treated in the past: overloaded, quenched with cold water... On top of that you are using fast large-musket powder and have no clue how much you were even using. Why, you can't even intuitively connect a flying, flipping, carriage that has to be tied down with a danger condition. You have no knowledge or skill in using such a "gun" and your "ain't no big thang" attitude is going to get someone hurt or killed -- I pray it doesn't but if and when it happens I hope it is just you.

Tough love brother, but maybe you aughta stick to carbide cannons. But read the instructions first. Carefully. Twice.

Al

 

[ThomasT]

Al, first off I am NOT your brother. Second I don't know who died and made you the resident "Expert". I understood your opinion the first time you posted it.

If I really wanted your snide, Arrogant opinions I would ask for them. I didn't. I hope you are not to lonely on my ignore list because you are the only one on it.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Thread is going downhill. Nap time.