Golf-ball mortar contest range report(s)

[Cat Whisperer]

SHAZZAMMMM!!

Took the golf-ball caliber mortar (made from 1144sp DOM and sollid & DD's special white oak to the range this afternoon to the range.

This is a preliminary report, more details in a day or so.

Started with 50 grains of FFFg - powder chamber holds about that.  Figured I'd start long and work back.  WELL PAST the 100 yard end of the range - 150 or better.  OK, throttle back to 30 grains.  Just over 100 yards. Hmmmmm.  Cut back to 10 grains  (TEN grains - which I'll weigh out later when I'm done cleaning the mortars.)  All the golf balls hit past the 50 yard line but one!  SO, NO ONE has to worry about placing LAST (furthest from the pin).  My average is over 25 yards past.  ( I just couldn't bear cutting back under 10 grains of FFFg. )

A couple of other learning experiences as well (pictures and explainations later) that will change my practices in taking pictures and loading/re-loading practices.

[Dictator]

I need to get a golf ball mortar. When I put 130gr into the cannon I'm lucky to see it in flight.  180gr & it really goes.

[Cat Whisperer]

Cool pix -  if I had a cannon like that and a pond like that, I'd try low angle and try skipping a few on the far side to come up into a target on the far shore!  But then, I've always pushed the envelope.

WELL, I WEIGHED the two powder charge settings on my VOLUMETRIC gauge that was marked 10 and 50 (actually every 10 units).

The 10 weighed 30 grains (FFFg) and the 50 weighed 73 grains!


So much for that ASSUMPTION.

[Dictator]

I've actually tried that. It doesn't skip across, it bounces hard and goes quite a ways away. It really is amazing how far a golf ball will bounce once it hits something. When I hit that rock wall on the far side of the pond, the golf balls will bounce a hundred yards in any direction. I've had them bounce almost straight up to were I thought they had landed out of sight & sound only to have them drop out of nowhere several seconds later. If I could get low enough, they would probably skip. It's fun to chase the carp around. You get quite a ploom at 20 yards into the water.
 I now what you mean on measuring by volume. You can get wide swings just by the shaking or vibration when dispensing. When we measure for the big guns, we always measure by exact weight.

Joe

[CU_Cannon]

I had the same problem with mine.  I used 60 grains of Fg for the first shot and missed the pin by about 200 yds.  At around 10 grains it was better but it was hard to get any consistency with such little powder.  It is amazing how much distance you can get out of so little.

[Double D]

You guys must be using FFFg or FFg.

23 grs of Cannon grade drop the ball on the 30 yard peg...but being a golf ball it bounced and bounced and rolled and rolled.  Furthest from the pin  62 feet 2 in.  Five shoot aggregate, 103 ft 1 3/4 inch.