Traditions Old Ironsides .69 Caliber Naval Cannon

[John N]

I recently picked up a Spanish made black powder cannon distributed in the US by Traditions. The little hardwood naval carriage is nothing to write home about but is free of any defects:



It features a nice 12.25” machined steel barrel:



The bore is 0.70”:



Here are 3 action shots:







Not a bad little cannon. ItÂ’s readily available for $200 or less and would a good beginnersÂ’ (store bought) cannon.

[Cat Whisperer]

Cool cannon!

Does it recoil much?  It's almost 12ga.  I'll bet the Lyman slug would fit it.

[CAV Trooper]

John,

Sweet little cannon. Those are getting hard to find these days. Traditions used to show them on their web site but I can't find any reference to them now.

Dixie Gun Works has a Napoleon with a 14.5" nickel plated .69 caliber barrel  on a field carriage for $570. That's a tad bit pricy though when you can get a full size Daniel King Howitzer from SBR for less than that.

In your first picture, it looks like there's some writing on the tube in the breech area. Is that right and if so, what's it say?

[Robert]

Cool.  Very good action pics of the blast.  I have a few little cannons...one looks similar, however smaller and made of brass.  I need a new base for it though.  A few years back on 4th of July we turned the wood carrige into toothpicks, so I need to make another one.  How do you keep that thing down when you fire it?  Does it attach to the platform that you are firing it on?

[John N]

The manufacturer recommends a .69 cal ball and patch with a max load of 85 grains. Lacking any balls of that size, I used 1" pieces of a 5/8" diameter dowel and a patch. The cannon recoiled about 1 foot (with lots of squeaking from the wood wheels and axels).

The barrel is marked: Traditions Spain .69 Cal
                                 Black Powder Only
                                 (serial number)

Traditions still has this cannon on their website with a $204 list price. http://traditionsfirearms.com/eShop/10Browse.asp?Category=Accessories%3ABlackpowder+Cannons

I'm going to try some of those Lyman slugs next.

[CAV Trooper]

John,

Thanks for the link. Don't know why I couldn't find it on their site. It should probably be added to the "where to buy" sticky reference. at the top of the forum. Anyway, the "Nickel Napoleon III" is the one that Dixie Gun Works has for sale.

If you decide to try a patched ball, you'll need to use a .675 or .680 ball depending on the thickness of the patch. A slug of the appropriate size should be cool too. Start with a light load and work up. If it recoils a foot when you shoot a piece of wooden dowel, it will come back a whole bunch more with a chunk of lead.  :grin:

BTW, could you post another photo of the gun with a can of BP beside it for size reference?

[John N]

Here's a picture of the cannon next to a can of BP.

[CAV Trooper]

John,

Thanks. You should have a lot of fun with it. I may have to get one just for grins. Let us know how patched ball/slug live fire goes.