Author Topic: Organized cannon shoots in Europe...... (Read 3423 times)

Double D · « **Reply #30 on:** October 22, 2009, 02:15:38 AM »

Seems to be any number of women on the line at Ft. Shenadoah.

thelionspaw · « **Reply #31 on:** October 22, 2009, 02:43:49 AM »

I believe it is a basic cultural interest. Europeans have been bashed repeatedly for thousands of years, whereas America has not.....except for the occasional European incursion and short-sighted home-grown assaults.

It's tantamount to being a tribal instinct in Europe with the close cluster of competing tribes/countries, each with their own bloody histories. There is a natural interest in survival and in some cases, weaponry.

Here we don't have countries but we do have comparable states with the bewildering civil war reenactments. Although, here in the mountains of New York, we are assaulted by New Jersey every weekend.

In Europe, when they read history, it IS their history and their immediate family history for generations. Whereas the average American's personal family history was in Europe.

Consequently, European men, WOMEN and children are more liable to be in-tune with pagentry.

I cannot help but notice the physical contrast, between participants on both sides of the pond. Europeans are younger and more physically fit. They gather by the thousands and participate in their own history. They are, whom they have read about in their school books.

European and American women have differing core values. It's genetic. It's inbred.

It would be a cold day in Hell when my wife would come home to clean a dirty cannon along with dirty dishes.

Sociology 101

Zulu · « **Reply #32 on:** October 22, 2009, 10:33:08 AM »

I guess I am very fortunate in the wife department. My lovely bride dresses as a "vivandiere". She wears a long side saddle skirt, a blouse with a shell jacket, riding boots, and a kepi. She packs an 1860 Colt and a bowie knife. She mans the Parrott Rifle with the best of them and looks very tough. Believe me when I say no one mistakes her for a man.
She allows all my wooden creations to live all over the house and supports me in one of the funnest hobbies I have ever had.
Zulu

Cannoneer · « **Reply #33 on:** October 22, 2009, 07:27:16 PM »

Quote from: Frank46 on October 21, 2009, 04:58:20 PM

Hey, they may have introduced a new sport cannons off the bench for bech rest shooting......Frank

Frank46,
This isn't a new thing, I've been doing it for a few years now, but I sure would like to have long single benches like they have at that European range. The pic I posted is of the pistol range where I usually fire my cannons; this one shows a small .50 caliber, but by clamping a ¾'' piece of plywood down to the bench that extends a couple feet outward I can fire up to a 1'' bore 19'' long parrott with enough room to handle the recoil. The rifle ranges have single benches made of concrete that are around 4' long but the're shaped with a recess on the left side to accomodate your body when you fire (lefties have to make do) your gun, so they're not really all that conducive to firing cannons.

Quote from: Double D on October 21, 2009, 05:59:38 PM

Boomj, care to share the website where you found those pictuires?

This link was posted by Barebower last month, and the pics I posted on this thread are in there somewhere, but I'm not going to try to find them again (it'll take me another month).
http://www.boellerverein-nussdorf.de/html/kanonenboller.html

Ex 49'er · « **Reply #34 on:** October 22, 2009, 08:49:58 PM »

Here they is: http://www.boellerverein-nussdorf.de/html/kanonenschiessen.html

Cannoneer · « **Reply #35 on:** October 23, 2009, 04:24:03 AM »

Thanks, Ex 49'er; I was too tired/lazy to look last night.

These are pics of a low tech dispart bore sight I put together for the .50 caliber that's shown in the range photo. The sight is made with an oak dowel rod, a copper washer, and another copper thingage that's attached to the washer with epoxy. I filed a channel in the top of the base ring of the tube to have a sight line; it works pretty good, if you hold the carriage down firmly when the sight is removed, so as not to change the point of aim.

Double D · « **Reply #36 on:** October 23, 2009, 04:52:40 AM »

Thanks gents!

Double D · « **Reply #37 on:** October 23, 2009, 01:23:27 PM »

Clever, BoomJ!!! How do you assure it is perfectly vertical!

Did you notice the Germans are not using sights

Cannoneer · « **Reply #38 on:** October 24, 2009, 09:22:44 AM »

I noticed that there's no sighting devices showing on the barrels, but look at the guy's eye wear; it looks like he's wearing one of those fancy shooting eyepiece gadgets that have an opaque lens that covers the subordinant eye, which is then supposed to allow the dominant eye to get a truer sight picture etc.. I wonder if they had some type of removable sights that they had already taken off their tubes?

The truth is, that on my simple bore sight I'm not getting it exactly vertical; I was going to divide the muzzle face, and then scribe a line down the center of the top half of the face which could then be aligned with a mark that would be filed on the top center of the copper washer. I still might do it this way, but for now I decided not to mark the barrell, so for the time being I've been using some auto painting pin-stripe tape that's about 1/8'' wide, which I put on the center of the muzzle face, (eyeballing the center) and do the same to the front of the washer, then the mark on the washer is aligned with the mark on the muzzle to aim the gun.

Double D · « **Reply #39 on:** October 24, 2009, 12:28:11 PM »

No sights and one of the guys in SA wore eypatch to sight his cannon.

Cannoneer · « **Reply #40 on:** October 24, 2009, 01:36:20 PM »

Roger that!

Cannoneer · « **Reply #41 on:** October 25, 2009, 09:33:22 PM »

Quote from: Victor3 on October 21, 2009, 10:50:58 PM

Quote from: Boom J on October 21, 2009, 09:45:27 AM
Victor; While I think that you're probably right in your assessments; I'm still curious if it could be differences in our cultures that might account for European women being more attracted to this hobby?

It could be because the Europeans have a longer history of using BP cannons than we do in the US. More variety in the weapons, periods of history, countries, wars, cultures, etc. might attract more women (or just more people in general, I suppose).

They can reenact "Whatever blows their skirt (or kilt) up" over there and be historically (and hopefully politically ) correct, covering a few centuries.

Quote from: thelionspaw on October 22, 2009, 02:43:49 AM

I believe it is a basic cultural interest. Europeans have been bashed repeatedly for thousands of years, whereas America has not.....except for the occasional European incursion and short-sighted home-grown assaults.

It's tantamount to being a tribal instinct in Europe with the close cluster of competing tribes/countries, each with their own bloody histories. There is a natural interest in survival and in some cases, weaponry.

Here we don't have countries but we do have comparable states with the bewildering civil war reenactments. Although, here in the mountains of New York, we are assaulted by New Jersey every weekend.

In Europe, when they read history, it IS their history and their immediate family history for generations. Whereas the average American's personal family history was in Europe.

Consequently, European men, WOMEN and children are more liable to be in-tune with pagentry.

I cannot help but notice the physical contrast, between participants on both sides of the pond. Europeans are younger and more physically fit. They gather by the thousands and participate in their own history. They are, whom they have read about in their school books.

European and American women have differing core values. It's genetic. It's inbred.

It would be a cold day in Hell when my wife would come home to clean a dirty cannon along with dirty dishes.

Sociology 101

Victor; I personally cannot believe that those vulgar kiltsmen parade around like that in public, let alone in front of the Queen; it's downright barbaric!

I think that both you, and Richard both share some keen insights in regard to Europeans (including women) probably feeling a stronger passion for, and perhaps a greater pride in their history (maybe a sense of being closer to past history). Richard, "The Professor," really put on his sociologist's cap, and got down to brass tacks on this subject. There are without question (IMO) some large segments of our society (including many of our institutions of higher education) that would have us take a completely revised view of North American history. That revised history put in a nutshell basically states that we should be ashamed of everything from Columbus to our current mission in Afghanistan, and unfortunately I think many of our young people are buying into this nonsense.

Victor3 · « **Reply #42 on:** October 26, 2009, 12:20:20 AM »

Quote from: Boom J on October 25, 2009, 09:33:22 PM

Victor; I personally cannot believe that those vulgar kiltsmen parade around like that in public, let alone in front of the Queen; it's downright barbaric!

Maybe so, but I understand they're quite comfy on a hot, humid day. A dusting of baby powder down there and you're good to go. Talk about freedom...

thelionspaw · « **Reply #43 on:** October 26, 2009, 05:42:01 AM »

It's "thrift", being carried to an extreme?

Hoot mun!

MikeR C · « **Reply #44 on:** October 27, 2009, 08:07:56 AM »

When the guys I shoot with complain about wives/girl friends having no interest in shooting, I always get a little smile. "Be carefull what you wish for, it may come true"

MikeR C

Cannoneer · « **Reply #45 on:** October 30, 2009, 01:03:44 AM »

Quote from: MikeR C on October 27, 2009, 08:07:56 AM

When the guys I shoot with complain about wives/girl friends having no interest in shooting, I always get a little smile. "Be carefull what you wish for, it may come true"

MikeR C

MikeR C,
I think that a lot of the guys that I know (talking more of shooting firearms here) probably really don't want there wives involved; I get the impression that many of them feel this is a good way (or at least an added benifit) of getting a little time away from their better halves, even though they say the opposite. I'm not one of them, I really would like mine to join in the fun, but she just doesn't have any interest in it. In the long run you may be right, ("Be carefull what you wish for, it may come true") maybe this is the way nature intended things to be.

Ex 49'er · « **Reply #46 on:** October 30, 2009, 06:50:29 PM »

My girlfriend told me that when my Dom built cannon arrives that she would like to go to the range with me when I testfire it. We've been
together for 10 years and this will be the first time she will have gone to the range with me. Things are looking up. Maybe I'll have to take the
GB mortar, too.

Sunrise · « **Reply #47 on:** October 31, 2009, 12:02:47 PM »

Quote from: carronader on October 04, 2009, 01:31:07 AM

most people here look at this as a strange hobby and dressing up as weird.

Well, it is! But I'm not ashamed of indulging my inner Walter Mitty. "Guilty as charged, Your Honour!"

Quote from: carronader on October 04, 2009, 01:31:07 AM

To get married in a kilt was almost expected for men.

I know I did.

Quote from: carronader on October 04, 2009, 01:31:07 AM

He was with a group putting on a show for some obscure English holiday.

Morris dancer, I guess?

Cannoneer · « **Reply #48 on:** November 15, 2011, 08:34:22 AM »

Douglas,

Is this the thread you're refering to? Unfortunately the photos of the German range aren't there anymore, but open the link that "oyvind" posted.

Double D · « **Reply #49 on:** November 15, 2011, 03:07:05 PM »

John,

Not exactly what I was looking for, but I bet it is buried in the German language website.

The flicker links show the the style shooting I am looking for.

Thanks for looking.

Cannoneer · « **Reply #50 on:** November 16, 2011, 05:43:34 AM »

DD,
I know there's at least one other thread that contained photos (and YT video) of Europeans firing miniature cannon from benches at a gun range, but I couldn't find it.

Double D · « **Reply #51 on:** November 16, 2011, 06:18:06 AM »

Quote from: Cannoneer on November 16, 2011, 05:43:34 AM

DD,
I know there's at least one other thread that contained photos (and YT video) of Europeans firing miniature cannon from benches at a gun range, but I couldn't find it.

Yeah, John I think you are right. I also think I exchanged email with them...but its been a while...oh well. I was going to include a link to there website on my website.