First day of shooting with the Spanish mortar

[cannonmn]

We finally found a place to shoot it, in Prince William County VA. Here are the ranges we got with a 93 lb. ball. We used two patches made from moving blankets since the bore is about 9.5 in. and the ball is 9.1 inches. A number of people told us we didn't need any patches but with that much windage, we were worried about denting the bore of the weapon, since we're using a steel ball.

Ranges achieved with 93 lb. steel ball, Goex FG black powder, friction primer ignition, tube at 45 degree elevation:


Shot.........Charge, Oz........Approx. Range, Yards*

1.....................4...........................25

2.....................6...........................43

3.....................8...........................66

4....................10..........................92

5....................12.........................137

*converted from paces


Video, about 10 min.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVj-3Rzsu8M

[opatriot]

SWEEEEET  !! Thanx for posting video always love watching your live fire vid,s .... educational for me ................davey

[Double D]

John,

Great work!!! We love it.

The other great video would have been you guys wrestling that beast into position.

[Will Bison]

Really neato. Good video. I sure heard the ring on shot two.

Oh, just a question, what is Rain

Bill

[Terry C.]

Great video!

It took a couple of plays for me to follow the path of the ball to impact on shot four, and I never did see the ball on shot five (but I did see the impact).

Can you imagine the power with a full chamber? 




I need to find a way to convince them at work that we need a bigger lathe.

A MUCH bigger lathe.

[GGaskill]

So you're firing a solid shot instead of a hollow shell?  A full charge with that doesn't sound like a good idea.

[Terry C.]

Can you imagine the power with a full chamber?

I was only speaking hypothetically.

John has stated repeatedly that he has no intention of every filling up that cavernous chamber, or even approaching a full charge.

[lance]

 THANK YOU!!! cannonmn, you've made my day!

[KABAR2]

As always a great video, of a historic weapons system,
Cannonmn has quite a collection of videos to his credit
all of them well done & with good technical detail.

Thanks again,

Allen <><

[dominick]

Great video as always Cannonmn! Thanks.

[cannonmn]

The other great video would have been you guys wrestling that beast into position.

I moved it into place with one hand, and that's not a lie!

I pointed to where I wanted the forklift operator to put it down.

Since this thing is very bulky, heavy, and has no wheels, one of the major factors we put into selecting a place to shoot it was "do they have heavy equipment to offload it?"  The whole operation from trailer to "in battery" was about five minutes.  I found out you need some real hardwood handspikes to maneuver it, too.  The 2x4's we've gotten away with before just snap like toothpicks if you try to lever this piece around with them.  Pressure treated 2x4's work for a little while if you're really careful.
s

[Terry C.]

Did you lift it from underneath, or did you use slings and lift it from above?

[cannonmn]

We use two nylon lifting straps, each 10' long.  One loops around the bed horns on the front, the other likewise on the rear.  The eyes at the end of the straps thread directly onto the forks of the forklift.  That way there's no steel from the forklift touching the bronze parts of the mortar.  You may have to pay $100. or more for a decent set of lifting straps these days, but they're indispensable if you are going to be moving cannons around.

[dominick]

Cannonmn, Would you possibly be planning to display this mortar at the Forks show in Allentown any time in the future?  I suppose it might be a logistical nightmare to get it inside the building, but I thought I would ask anyway.    Dom 

[cannonmn]

logistical nightmare to get it inside the building,

I thought about doing that, for maybe 2 or 3 seconds.  If I thought I'd be eligible for the big prize, some $1000. plus, I'd consider it more.  But the people who win the big awards tend to bring a number of small guns that all look alike, maybe only have different year of production or something.  That's what small arms collecting is all about these days.

I do think it would be tough to get it inside that hall.