What are your most used cannons/mortars?

[Victor3]

 I'm wondering what you guys take out and fire frequently.

 What features/qualities of your 'working guns' do you like, and why?

[Terry C.]

Hands-down, my ¼-scale 1857 Napoleon 12-pounder.

But it fires a LOT of blanks and very few live rounds.

It's the type of gun most people want to see. They have an image in their mind of what a cannon should look like and that's what they expect. In fact I'm about to leave and set all of my stuff up for display, but I'll only bring home one dirty barrel.

The golfball mortar has easily launched the most projectiles (often several dozen in a session).

[BoomLover]

Good question, and on a purely informational level, should entice some interesting responses. I'd be interested, as BP C&M is a truely unique subject in this country today. I fear that the response may be muted, however, due to the results of the latest election, and folks wondering if our "hobby" will survive "Regulations & Rules" sure to follow. That said, I'm building a soda can mortar using  Double D's plans in his K.I.S.S. Mortar, plus have developed an interest in handegonnes, got a tube ready for one, and a 1/2 scale Mt Howitzer looks good in my shop! Just working on the mount now, but I'm lacking in woodworking skills! BoomLover

[rays89]

This is an interesting topic. I have a Golfball dictator made by Dominick which is sweet  But it would shoot a Golfball into the next county. And several of the Irishman's brass master pieces. I am in the proccess of building a brass parrot gun with one of the Irishman's barrelsBut the Cannons I shoot the most is one of the Irishman's M-BPFC cannons on a custom carraige Because I get a kick of launching firecrackers with it and one of Armor77's Golfball mortars because it is light  safe and sane and keeps the Golfballs in the impact area. And I have plenty of Golf balls.

[GGaskill]

I seem to have fired my golf ball mountain howitzer the most.  It's not a pain to lift, you can watch the golf balls, doesn't use too much powder, easily shot at my local range.  The bowling ball mortar is more fun but much more of an effort to use.

[Victor3]

I seem to have fired my golf ball mountain howitzer the most.  It's not a pain to lift, you can watch the golf balls, doesn't use too much powder, easily shot at my local range.  The bowling ball mortar is more fun but much more of an effort to use.

 A golf ball cannon is on my list. I have a 1" mountain howitzer that's half-way finished. 1" for a cannon is a good size. Not too big, but still impressive when fired with a ball. I've fired my current 1" cannon more than any other.

 Just sold off two of the small cannons today, including my CVA "Old Ironsides." I had to think about that one; it was my first cannon.

 I have a 3" 220 lb mortar that has to go. Haven't fired it in years. Anything I get from now on will be one-man portable...

[jeeper1]

Golf ball mortar.

[Cannoneer]

 

Just sold off two of the small cannons today, including my CVA "Old Ironsides." I had to think about that one; it was my first cannon.

Victor,

 I can't believe you sold your little "Ironsides": This was my first firing cannon, and I've been reminiscing since reading your post; my father bought my CVA "Old Ironsides" from a gun shop, and I remember the owner telling us this thing was just sitting there collecting dust so give me X dollars and it's yours. I haven't fired it in a long time and maybe never will again, but I don't think I could part with it.

[Victor3]

Victor,

 I can't believe you sold your little "Ironsides"

 I know Boom, but I've hung onto so many things for sentimental reasons, I feel I'm in danger of transforming into a woman (still only have 4 pair of shoes though) 

 I've got far too much stuff I'll probably never use. I want to be able to get at the things that add value to my life instead of tripping over things that don't.

[Cannoneer]

Victor,

 I can't believe you sold your little "Ironsides"

 I know Boom, but I've hung onto so many things for sentimental reasons, I feel I'm in danger of transforming into a woman (still only have 4 pair of shoes though) 

 I've got far too much stuff I'll probably never use. I want to be able to get at the things that add value to my life instead of tripping over things that don't.

 Yeah, but the thing about the .45 (.440 ball) rifled cannon is that it's of such a size that I'll never have to trip over it; compared to some of the junk (I'm an inveterate pack rat) I've got stored in my garage and basement this thing is almost unnoticeable.
Another member had one of these CVA naval guns and he said he was looking on eBay to buy one or two more so he could make a multiple gun diorama, and I think he gave up on the idea because of the high prices these things were reaching on auction, I remember he mentioned that one he was looking at ended up selling for over $300.00. Now I know that 300 is a fluke but the price these guns are going for is on a steady rise so I figure in 15 years, maybe its sale will bring in enough to convince me to part with it.

[GGaskill]

... in 15 years ...

But the dollars will be worth 10 cents of today's money which is only worth 10 cents of 1960's money.  And that's ignoring the socialist dictatorship problem.

[Victor3]

... in 15 years ...

But the dollars will be worth 10 cents of today's money which is only worth 10 cents of 1960's money.  And that's ignoring the socialist dictatorship problem.

 Yup.

 IIRC, I paid ~$20 for the kit in around 1980. It sold for $162. Not bad, but it took up a small percentage of the square footage of my home for the past ~30 years along with 1000's of other unused items; space I pay a mortgage, insurance, etc on. I packed and moved it three times. I had to dust and oil it on the shelf occasionally. I also had to store and keep track of the balls and patches for it that I have no other use for, and I lost the loading tools/quoin at some point .

 Sometimes "less is more" I've heard; having too much stuff has its hidden costs.

 Anyway, I think I've hijacked my own thread here. My original intent was to get a picture of what others like as far as their practical shooters go.

 Please continue......

[Cannoneer]

... in 15 years ...

But the dollars will be worth 10 cents of today's money which is only worth 10 cents of 1960's money.  And that's ignoring the socialist dictatorship problem.

 The first sentence of your post simply describes a depressing truth, your second sentence is unfortunately an insightful prediction that may in time become a frightening reality. It won't happen right away, (patience is, after all, still considered a virtue, and in this case also a pragmatic necessity) but in about 5 years, with a couple of handpicked replacements warming the bench of the highest court in the land, this whole conversation may be nothing more than a fond remembrance of things past, because by that time, owning a metal tube that fires a projectile by the ignition of an explosive powder will probably be considered an entirely outmoded legal right, that has at last, finally been taken away from Neanderthals like us.

I'm sorry Victor; lets get get your original train of thought back on the tracks, even though by your own admission you're the one that caused the first derailment.

The most fired cannon I have is a Jukar (CVA) steel 15-inch long M1857 Napoleon that fires a .75 cal. ball (actually .690 dia.). I have one unopened 15 count package of the "CVA .75 Caliber (.690 dia.) Pure Lead Balls" left. My dad and I got this from the same gun shop that we got the CVA "Old Ironsides" from. I think the owner of the shop sold us the balls for two bucks a package so we took all that he had on the rack which may have numbered 12-14 packs, I'm not sure. The simple reason this is my most fired cannon is because this, and the rifled naval gun, were for many years the only cannons I had.

[Victor3]

The most fired cannon I have is a Jukar (CVA) steel 15-inch long M1857 Napoleon that fires a .75 cal. ball (actually .690 dia.).

 Those are cool. I should have bought one when I got my Old Ironsides. The place I got it from had the Napoleon kit too.

 I was about to bid $150 on one a while back, but I blinked and it was bid up to over $400! The small Spanish kit cannons often go for big $$$ for some reason; I recently sold a 50 cal Mountain Howitzer one for just over $200.

 How does your Napoleon handle recoil when its fired with a ball? Do you have to tie it down? They seem like they might be a bit more user-friendly than the tiny ones, and are certainly out of the 'toy' category with that bore.

[Cannoneer]

 

How does your Napoleon handle recoil when its fired with a ball? Do you have to tie it down? They seem like they might be a bit more user-friendly than the tiny ones, and are certainly out of the 'toy' category with that bore.

Victor,

 The recoil isn't all that violent, as a matter of fact I fire it with a patched ball from the bench with no problems; I don't use any tie-downs, I just clamp a wood back stop to the bench so the gun doesn't roll off the rear of the bench.

[Ex 49'er]

I love shooting all of my mortarz and cannon. The gb mortar is fun; but, not very accurate.  I guess my alltime favorite would have
to be my beercan mortar. Projo's are easy to get and it is always a crowd pleaser as the can is going downrange towards the
target.

[Tropico]

What features/qualities of your 'working guns' do you like, and why?

I am tossed as to which of my cannon is my favorite shooter? Each has its own unique qualities. I shoot my Swivel cannon and my Beer-Can mortar more than the others.
They are much easier to pack .
They are much easier clean.
They are much more economical with powder.
Projectiles are cheap and easy to manufacture.
They cant rust.

Choices ., Choices ., Tsk Tsk.
Too many cannon and too little time.

[Victor3]

They are much easier to pack .
They are much easier clean.
They are much more economical with powder.
Projectiles are cheap and easy to manufacture.
They cant rust.

 Tropico,

 Those are all qualities I'm looking at for my collection. The "can't rust" is hard to come by in today's economy... Seems only pirates can get hold of the gold (bronze) nowadays

 I'll probably end up with mostly 1", golf ball and soda can bore guns on smallish mounts when I get through simplifying the collection.

 I also want to have at least a couple of accurate rifled cannons. Fire and smoke is always good, but being able to hit a small distant target along with it will be nice for a change.

[GGaskill]

Stainless doesn't rust (very fast, at least.)  And copper alloys are not without their kinds of corrosion.  They still should be cleaned.

[Victor3]

Stainless doesn't rust (very fast, at least.)

 Two cannon barrels I made are 304 stainless. I forgot to clean my 1" one for at least a month once. The bore was coated with white feathery stuff and I figured it was going to be bad. I cleaned it out and it still looked as new.

 I won't tempt fate by leaving it dirty again though...

[broadarrow]

Hi All, this is my most used cannon/mortar, it is a .75cal 18in. iron barrelled field gun built from the Muller drawings, Regards, Broadarrow
       

       

[Cannoneer]

Broadarrow,

 I see you've won an award; it's well deserved, thats a fine looking Revolutionary War Period gun. Does the barrel have a steel liner?

[RocklockI]

Most used is easy . My Brooke firecracker cohorn . I also own a SB mortar 2.25" (pool Ball) it is @55lbs and drags pretty easily . Pool balls are great ammo .

I'd go 2.25 for any mortar and 1.75 (golf ball) for direct fire types .

[broadarrow]

Hi Boom J, yes the barrel has a seamless steel liner with a threaded and welded breech cast in, and thanks for the compliments and "award"  Regards, Broadarrow

[Webleys]

Over the last two and a half years it'd be the Bowling Ball mortar, it's what I get the most requests for and it's a lot more portable since I put wheels on it. Luckily I can store it where I shoot it the most and I don't have to load it in the truck.

It does look like Wile E Coyote owns it though.

[dynomike]

I shoot pool balls for dircet fire to. cheap as they are.

[Victor3]

I shoot pool balls for dircet fire to. cheap as they are.

 Where do you find cheap ones? I did find a few on ebay for about $1 each once, but most usually go for quite a bit more over there...

[cannonmn]

Seems only pirates can get hold of the gold (bronze) nowadays

Arrrrrgh!












Sorry mateys, no powderkeg in the portrait, we had so much plunder about the deck of late, we had to give the keg to Davey Jones.  The piece is one we use on swivel, or take ashore for raids on little towns and the like, a one-pounder under two hundredweight.  Scares the excrement out o' the lubbers.

[dan610324]

hi broadarrow
do you have any drawings for that cannon and carriage ??
or do you know where I can get them from ??

[RocklockI]

 I asked the owner of a pool hall that I frequent if he had any used one's . He gave me a set 16 balls for a beer  !

For my mortar I can retrive them . I think any pool hall would have them as they "go bad" ,except for a couple w/ little chips I have no clue how a pool ball "goes bad ".....

Also they on on E bay for as little as 10 bucks a set so there that .

Good Luck rocklockI

I shoot pool balls for dircet fire to. cheap as they are.

 Where do you find cheap ones? I did find a few on ebay for about $1 each once, but most usually go for quite a bit more over there...