The Right To Keep And Bear Cannon

[Red James Cash]

A quick video of the 4 pounder cannon that my brother built getting off a shot.Sorry I dont know how to rotate it 90 degrees.

 

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[gunsil]

Pretty nice!! Actually, under the Gun Control Act of 1968 muzzle loading cannons are not considered firearms!! Couldn't see the details of the cannon, did he buy a barrel or make his own?? Please, let's see some pics of the beast just sitting there!! Dang, I love a good bang and the smell of burning black powder!!

 

[Red James Cash]

Pretty nice!! Actually, under the Gun Control Act of 1968 muzzle loading cannons are not considered firearms!! Couldn't see the details of the cannon, did he buy a barrel or make his own?? Please, let's see some pics of the beast just sitting there!! Dang, I love a good bang and the smell of burning black powder!!

I know theyre legal lol.He made the whole thing,barrel and carriage and all except for the wheels.He found the wheels at a yard sale,they came off of an old carriage(horse drawn buggy).I'll get some better video and pictures next time I'm up there.It wasnt my cell phone taking it so I had no control over how it came out.I meant to bring a camera but I forgot it.The bore is 3 1/8 inches across,I believe the powder charge for that shot was a 1/2 pound,the ball was made out of hydraulic cement( a mold is being worked on for lead balls).The target was a solid core door with a piece of 1/4 inch diamond plate on it,the door leaning against a truck engine hood.The ball turned to dust but folded the diamond plate in half and blew it through the door and the truck hood.The target for the next july 4th is going to be a old water heater filled with water.I promised this video a while ago and just finally got it in the email.

 

[Peyton Manning]

your brother built a cannon? cool (remind me not to tick off your family)

 

[Red James Cash]

Yup Jeff,the guy can build just about anything.

 

[Peyton Manning]

I used to be a machinest. Does a cannon require close tolerances?

 

[Peyton Manning]

that would be cool to fire at trees and such ( maybe not a deer)

 

[Red James Cash]

I used to be a machinest. Does a cannon require close tolerances?

A smooth bore field piece,not really,there cant be any slop where the trunnions mate with the carriage though.If theyre not a tight fit the recoil could send the barrel off of the carriage.This gun is smooth bore.The hardest part is making sure the balls are perfectly round otherwise they could jam up going in or coming out,bad news if it happens when theyre coming out.Boom,no more gun,no more gun crew.After a few shots we had to reenforce the carriage,the recoil started to split the axel.

 

[Peyton Manning]

bet it makes a hellofa sound

 

[NHBandit]

Very cool ! I have seen them where the barrel was made from an old Oxygen cylinder and they fired bowling balls.

 

[Red James Cash]

bet it makes a hellofa sound

That you can believe,imagine 50,10 gauge shotguns going off at once

 

[Red James Cash]

Very cool ! I have seen them where the barrel was made from an old Oxygen cylinder and they fired bowling balls.

Thats next on the list.He use to be the fire chief.So he has some older respirator tanks when the fire dept replaced them with newer models.We're going to use one to either make a mortar or a smaller cannon mounted on a naval carriage.

 

[smokeythecat]

My dad built a civil war type cannon back in the 60's. He made a lot of noise with it and did Civil War reenactments with it also.

 

[Plumbata]

Badazz! Hope to make me one of those someday. Back in 5th grade I tinkered around and made a considerably smaller cannon. Ended up blowing a hole through my parent's fence so that was the end of that, hehe.

 

[gunsil]

that would be cool to fire at trees and such ( maybe not a deer)

Trees aren't such good targets since projectiles tend to bounce or ricochet off them if not a direct hit in the center. Know this from experience.

 

[gunsil]

Hey Red, look into molds for downrigger weights for fishing. there are different ones available, I don't know if there will be one in your needed diameter, but I do know folks who have used them to cast lead balls for their cannons and they worked well. Did you cast your cement projectile in a can?? Many modern cannoneers use cement cast in cans and leave the can on as it doesn't abrade the barrel as much as non-encased concrete. Cheap ammo, and shoot well. I have a lot of smaller bore muzzle loading cannons, and once I found that pennies in the roll fit the bore perfectly on one of them. I fired half rolls at a concrete wall and they left little impressions of Lincoln in the concrete where they impacted flat. I'm sure some future MDer will come along and wonder what the hell went on there!!

 

[Red James Cash]

Of all things,a christmas tree ornament was used to make a mold for the cement balls.We found one in his basement that was a perfect fit.Cans were thought of but theyre just either a little to big or a little to small in diameter,lots of blow by with the smaller ones and they tended to tumble.We tried to sabot them but it didnt work out to well.The ball are greased up with bore butter before loading to help against the abrasive effect on the barrel.I'll check into the downrigger weight molds.Thanks.

I fired half rolls at a concrete wall and they left little impressions of Lincoln in the concrete where they impacted flat. I'm sure some future MDer will come along and wonder what the hell went on there!!

 

[CoilyGirl]

I wanna see the bear cannon but it won't load for me.Ya'll have a lot of bears up there in Massachusets?

 

[Red James Cash]

Ya'll have a lot of bears up there in Massachusets?

That I'm not sure of(in MA).Where the gun is(NH)yup there are lots of bears.

 

[CoilyGirl]

I'll see if I can view it on my PC later,really am interested in the ingenuity behind building something like that,smart guy.