Blackpowder cannons
- Thread starter Qball
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
I had one till I traded it. A full-scale replica of a Woodruff (Civil war era). 2-1/8" x 36" bore. 42" wooden spoke wheels.
It was modern steel and capable of firing a projo but I only fired salutes.
info links:
Lovett Artillery - Woodruff Gun (2 Pounder) American Civil War
The Turner Brigade: The Woodruff Gun
It was modern steel and capable of firing a projo but I only fired salutes.
info links:
Lovett Artillery - Woodruff Gun (2 Pounder) American Civil War
The Turner Brigade: The Woodruff Gun
kamloops67
Member
always wanted one, a friend had a small cannon .he said it was expensive to shoot ,1/2 pound of bp per shot or something like that. dont know what he used for a projectile
jlrhiner
US Veteran
I've always considered it to be a character flaw my not owning one. One day......
I sometimes think it's a flaw in mine by getting rid of it.
I now have nothing sitting in front of my flag pole in the yard.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
A friend of mine worked at a historical center gun shop. At the shop they made a bullet mold for a 3" repo ordanince riffle, the owner had a junk yard and cast his bullets from Mag car rims. The gun would hit a refridgerator at 2000 yards+/-, the neat thing was the Mag/alum projectils; about 1/3 of the would ignight, that's a tracer that would burn for a long time! I was told the range on the cannon was 3 miles. I wonder if it legal for Deer muzzel loader saeson? If hit I dont think he'd wander far! Ivan
A friend of a friend living way up in the hills around Steamboat had built one that fired bowling balls.I think he told me he was using 1-1 1/2 lbs of bp per shot.Wish I had seen it.
Can't remember where I saw it but there was some pics floating around the net that showed where a guy hunted deer with canister (grape shot). Even showed pics sfter skinning. I can't remember the shot size but some good size wounds on that critter.
I had a couple. A Coehorn that fired V-8 juice cans filled with cement. 90 grns of FFg powder would fling the cans a couple hundred yards.
A 1/3 scale sea service gun.. reduced size main gun on Old Ironsides.
The barrel weighed 75 pounds.
Fired 35mm plastic film cans of cement or 1/2 pound lead wadcutters.
12 guage shell full of FFg powder would put that lead wadcutter through a pickup body at a 100 yards.
Fun to play with but not comfortable when carried IWB.
A 1/3 scale sea service gun.. reduced size main gun on Old Ironsides.
The barrel weighed 75 pounds.
Fired 35mm plastic film cans of cement or 1/2 pound lead wadcutters.
12 guage shell full of FFg powder would put that lead wadcutter through a pickup body at a 100 yards.
Fun to play with but not comfortable when carried IWB.
Cpo1944
Member
I have one my Sweet Wife had made for me for one of our anniversaries .It is a beauty solid bronze about 24 inches long . I made a civil war era carriage for it and I don`t mind saying
"it aint such a dog"
but unfortunately it`s at my beach house so I can`t photograph it, but ..it was made by a very talented machinist, Jim Bircher in Moorehead City NC and I believe he has a web site .
It is a breech loader and shoots 10 gauge blanks,which I reload myself, but I bet it would have no trouble with a live round.
"it aint such a dog"
but unfortunately it`s at my beach house so I can`t photograph it, but ..it was made by a very talented machinist, Jim Bircher in Moorehead City NC and I believe he has a web site .
It is a breech loader and shoots 10 gauge blanks,which I reload myself, but I bet it would have no trouble with a live round.
Cpo1944
Member
I just went on line and I found his site he also has a site called
Beaufort Naval Arms the photos are very good
Kinda makes me want another one.
Beaufort Naval Arms the photos are very good
Kinda makes me want another one.
Almost 40 years ago a cemetery in my home town had a cannon that used to be on display, but they put it in a shed. My Dad asked if they wanted to sell it and they said sure. He got a bunch of friends and they loaded it into the truck and took it to my Grandparents house. Dad went to the local library and searched through old newspapers until he found out about it. It was a Confederate Parrot Rifle. Why it was in Iowa, nobody knows. The carriage was rotted away and the barrel was full of stuff that people had stuck in there over about 100 years. He was always going to restore it but never got around to it. Finally sold it for a couple thousand dollars to somebody who would restore it.
It was really cool. I was the only kid I knew who's Dad had a cannon.
I really miss him.
Jim
It was really cool. I was the only kid I knew who's Dad had a cannon.
I really miss him.
Jim
Mike McLellan
Member
When cannons are outlawed, only...
My cannon is not an assault cannon. There is no pistol grip, bayonet lug, high cap black powder and ball with musket cap magazine and it darn sure doesn’t have a flash hider. It's just a hunting cannon for sporting purposes and such.
Last edited:
medxam
US Veteran
I have a small, somewhat pitiful signal canon that fires 10 gauge blank black powder shotgun shells. It makes a hell of a racket and puts out a very nice smoke ring. The big problem these days is finding and being able to afford the ammo.
medxam
medxam
Terry C
Member
Cannon be great fun, but ye gots to watch yer artillery crew, lest they gits into the rum again . . .
ringo1597
SWCA Member
rburg
Member
Hey, I've got one of them. The one on the far left the stick figure is looking down the bore of. Mine's bored golf ball. Be aware all golf balls aren't the same diameter. Mine is Titleist. Ammo is where you find it.
The load the guy gave us was 2 or 3 caps of black powder. The seller said that load will send the golf ball through a car door. But then he suggested we not stand directly behind it. If it doesn't penetrate, you don't want to be where it comes back at you!
First day we had it over at the gravel pit. We went up on a hill top (big pile of gravel) and fired it a few times, at the elevation the carriage gave. A lot of smoke, no one saw the ball go. Even standing off to one side. Finally one of the guys (he was less inebriated) suggested we use one of the colored golf balls, only use one capfull of black powder, and then kick some pea gravel under the carriage so it would shoot level. We had plenty of fuse, powder and golf balls. Nothing to lose so we did.
Our expectation was for it to barely come out, then bunce a few times as it went for the Great Miami River. We heard the blast, and for once saw the ball going out. Great line drive, maybe 500 yards straight out. Went into the trees by the river and probably into the play ground on the other side. Whoops. Then we stopped, figuring the first few shots hit the rich subdivision up on top of the next hill.
And I've got another built out in Phoenix. Its got a 1" bore, and even came with a bullet mold, 1" round ball. That's 4 ounces, or a quarter pounder, just like McDonalds. Haven't fired it but I've owned it for probably 15 or so years.
