New SAMCC barrel

[Double D]

The South African Miniature Cannon Club cannon from Brooks USA

Well I was hoping to get out to the range this weekend and shoot.  We have had 2 inches of rain since Wednesday and another 1/2 inch predicted by morning.  No big deal for a lot of you, but for us with an average annual rainfall of 14 inches it is significant.

Good thing I built this carriage in the naval pattern, my ark will be armed!

[xo18thfa]

Another dumb question:  How do you load these smaller cannons?  Tip them up and pour in the powder?  Make a cartridge?

[armorer77]

Yes or Yes , depends on your patience , I have some charges pre-measured in cans & some in tin foil . With bare powder a wait of 5 minutes is good . With pre loaded powder bags a worm & sponge are necessany . Armorer77

[Double D]

Load just like you would load a muzzle loading pistol.

Clean vent, wet swab bore, dry bore,  tip barrel up and away from you, pour powder down bore.  Place patch over muzzle, set ball on patch and seat on charge.  Yes patch on these small guns.  Prick charge with vent prick. Insert fuse aim and fire. Repeat.

.50 calliber is a bit small for using made up foil cartridges.  I have some small tubes made up for loads and preweigh the charges.  I pour the loose powder from the containers.  These charges are much smaller that big cannon loads- 40-90 grains or so, but still hazardous and due care must still be used.

[Ex 49'er]

tip barrel up and away from you, pour powder down bore.   Prick charge with vent prick.

If you are pouring loose powder down the bore, there is nothing to prick with the vent pick.

[Double D]

tip barrel up and away from you, pour powder down bore.   Prick charge with vent prick.

If you are pouring loose powder down the bore, there is nothing to prick with the vent pick.

You are putting hole in the loose packed charge for the fuse to go into the charge, other wise the fuse only goes down the vent and stops when it hits the charge.  I was told a long time ago the theory is if the fuse doesn't go into charge and only sits on top the fuse is loose and the burning can make the fuse move and  back out and the gun misfire.  It was demonstrated that the fuse was loose in the vent when pushed in.  But when the vent prick was used and the fuse was pushed down into the powder, you can feel resistance to its movement.   At the time it sounded reasonable, logical and the rules.  It's something I have done as second nature ever since.

In South Africa they had no fuse.  They used a priming charge of fine grained smokeless powder. The main charge of course was black powder.  When they taught me to shoot, they told me to prick the charge so the priming charge would get into the main charge.  In fact several of the fellows told me to pour a small amount of priming power in the vent and push it down into charge with the prick, then charge the full vent.

The SAMCC club gun that Brooks-USA makes has a vent the accepts a number 41 drill (.096") refuses a number 40 drill (.098").  The cannon I brought back from South Africa that was used in in there shooting has a vent of that accepts a number 30 drill (.1285") refuses number 29 drill (.136)  I am going to open up my SAMCC vent so I can use priming powder to shoot targets.

[irishman]

DD,

     Had I know that part of the history, I would have cut a larger diameter hole. I do tend to cut on the small side to maximize the blast out the muzzel and to minimize the energy out the vent hole.

     I have been looking for 2 pics I have somewhere of two identical barrels with different diameter vent holes taken at night. Since then, I been cuttin a bit small.

     I do work hard to please the Customer. I will provide hole size that is desired.

     Douglas, When are you going to fire this? I am dying to see the Smoke and Fire.
If you want, send back the barrel, I'll enlarge the hole, light and send back the pics.

                                                      Michael

[Double D]

Michael,

I think you should continue to drill the vent just as you have been, no change, unless requested by the customer.

No need to send this back.  I have a very nice brand new drill press that drilled its first hole yesterday and my vent is now #30 drill size. I want this modification so I can shoot this cannon like they shoot in South Africa, using the barrel to aim.  Using a fuse in the vent blocks the sight picture.

This larger vent size allows vent priming to shoot as well as the ability to use standard fuse.  I have shot the other SAMCC cannon that I brought back with and with out fuse with the larger vent hole and I don't see a significant difference.  I don't think I would go larger than this.   

We get  about 14 inches a year annual rain fall.  We have had 2.25 inches over the past 7 days.  You do not drive on dirt roads in Montana when the are muddy. 

We had a nice afternoon, and I am hoping to get to the range this week.  Before I can do that, beside waiting for the roads to dry, I have to install a new toilet in the down stairs bath room, make 5 .468 kake cutters, reassemble a 10-22 with a broken trigger spring, reassemble a ZAR Martini  and plant the tomatoes, winter squash and zucchini. SWMBO insists.
 

[irishman]

To the Global Moderator: Warning, this may be off topic.

My SWMBO wants to talk to your SWMBO.

[Double D]

To the Global Moderator: Warning, this may be off topic.

My SWMBO wants to talk to your SWMBO.

That is scary...I don't want them to talk about...they will conspire..

I can in convoluted way accept this as on topic.  Here's how.  The topic is the South African Miniature Club in Durban SA. H. Rider Haggard was in Durban SA and wrote the book SHE.  In Haggard's book, SHE was referred to as SWMBO...and if you didn't the consequences were dire. 

[irishman]

OMG! could that possibly have been the SHE circa 1890?

[Double D]

OMG! could that possibly have been the SHE circa 1890?

The Very Same!

[GGaskill]

This sounds threatening.

[Double D]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_%28novel%29 with history of SWMBO

[1Southpaw]

The Wiki link must be on topic , there just has to be a cannon some where in the story .

[Double D]

The weather seemed nice enough for a shooting session to find aim points and loads for the gun.

Here the sight picture I used today. Center mass hold.



First thing I found is my shooting platform is built for a field gun.  When I lay on my belly and look down the barrel of the field gun the barrel is eye level.  The top of the field gun's barrel is 9 inches from platform deck.    The SAMCC barrel is much lower, the top of the barrel is only 4 inches from the deck.  I wasn't able to to get low enough to look down the SAMCC barrel.  I need to extend the platforms legs.

I did manage to get the gun aimed and fired anyway.

 



Here's the action video's!! Click on the picture!







Results



Load:

Hornady .490 50 cal. lead round ball.
Ox-yoke .017-.018 dry patch
45 grains by weight Goex Fg
vent primed with Goex FFFFg.


The platform I shoot from has an indoor/outdoor carpeting deck.  It looks like the carpeting dampens the recoil roll back well enough that the breech rope is not needed.   I sure would want breech rope for shooting on a hard surface.

[GGaskill]

Strange sound.  Did it sound normal in person?

[thelionspaw]

Listen DoubleD.....instead of raising the bridge.....why not lower the water?

Richard

[Double D]

Strange sound.  Did it sound normal in person?

George  you hear three sounds; the wind blowing across the built in mic, the ignition of the priming powder and the firing the gun.  The sound captured, is the sound heard.

The priming powder is FFFFG and the main charge is Fg.  If I used FFg I probably would get a little more crack.

Listen DoubleD.....instead of raising the bridge.....why not lower the water?

Richard

Yep I could have lowered the target and that was considered and explored and wouldn't have worked in this set up, the platform was still to low.

So if you can't raise the front sight,  lower the rear---my body.  Well it took 62 years to develop this beautiful streamlined physique and it isn't adjustable...

When I lay flat on the ground the top of the barrel needs to be as close as possible to the same height from the ground as the the center of my eye with out strain on the neck.  Like shooting a rifle prone, I need a spot weld.  In this case my spot weld is my folded hands under my chin.  That puts my head in a solid consistent repeatable position every time.  

When I got home I got the legs fixed and I'll head back to the range later this week.

[thelionspaw]

Uhhh!? Listen Charles Atlas....were talking girth; not targets.  I'm significantly older than you are and I lost almost 30 pound in less than  4 months by simply eliminating bread.  Believe me; you are "adjustable".  Stay healthy, stick around or the forum won't be the same.  Did you eat one or two sangwiches while you were fixing the legs?

rc

[Double D]

Bottle of water...to fix the legs

[seacoastartillery]

     I like your pictures, Double D.  I was expecting a lot more recoil, but the carpet does explain why you didn't get 'tight breeching' on every shot.  My question goes back to the concept and, most particularly, the use of center mass sighting techniques.  Looking at your very first photo in this series, I can see how you sight in on the bull using the arc of the muzzle flair and the arc of the breech ring, but please explain how you see through the trunnion to see top-dead-center on the muzzle flair when you are sighting for left and right deflection or windage?  Wouldn't the trunnion blot out the entire bull?

     Never mind; I just figured out what you're doing.  Your using a pair of those 3-D glasses so popular for movies like Avatar these days.  I must be dense.  I can't believe it took me that long to figure that out!

Tracy

[Double D]

 
I think I know what you are thinking.  If the the arc of the muzzle and the arc of the rear ring are aligned at 6 o'clock  then there is no way to align the arc of the muzzle and the arc of the ring with the center line over the trunnion and your right.  It will align slightly to right of center.  If you are having difficulty with this, then others are also and I will change it.  Give me a bit to fix it.
 

[Double D]

Here is the revision.

Placing your target. First you should have the barrel on your gun about level.  Place your gun on your shooting platform.  Then place your target so that it is in your line of sight while laying behind the gun. If you have to strain to look down the barrel you won't get a consistent sight picture.



Then of course sighting. We've covered this before, but I am going to do it again.

Pick a sighting point.  6 o'clock is a good place to start.

For elevation align the top of the cascabel with the muzzle ring at 6 o'clock on target.  



Next for windage note where and how far to the right of the vertical center line the 3 o'clock of the cascabel and muzzle ring align.



Fire and adjust.



To adjust for elevation move your point of aim from 6 o'clock  the distance the shot is above or below the desire point of impact.



Adjust for windage by moving the 3 o'clock position away from the first vertical reference point equidistance in the opposite direction the shot is right or left of the of the reference point.



Fire

[seacoastartillery]

     Thanks, now I see.

Tracy

[Double D]

Ran up to Southpaws this afternoon and shot the cannon.  Got the legs extended on the platform and things are good.

I started by placing an aiming dot on the target, the same distance below the center of the target as the shots hit about center from Sunday's shooting.

I haven't used this aiming dot method before, but will from now on.  The small dot allowed me to align the cascabel and muzzle swell and center them on the aiming dot.

So I got every thing lined up and fired.



Reloaded and fired again.  You can see the aiming dot in this picture.



Looking pretty good, so reloaded and fired again....Ernie says I jerked the trigger?  



Right jerked the trigger...reload fire again.  Oops watch your sight alignment!!!



Reload, B-R-A-S-S, fire!!



Final shot, Reload, fire!



That's better.

Been a while since i did this, but the results are pretty darn good.  This little Brooks-USA gun can shoot!

[1Southpaw]

DD's trigger finger is 4' long  so easy to twitch  

[Double D]

BTT to remind you all that the dead line is approaching for the postal shoot!!!!

[Double D]

Southpaw and I shot our Postal shot targets today.

It takes a lot of stuff to shoot cannons.



Southpaw fired the first shots ever from his SAMCC cannon from Brooks USA.
 


I hit one dead center.



Click on the pictures above to see the video.

[Double D]

Well this project is about wrapped up. Southpaw and I shot our postal targets yesterday and these little guns shot real well, real well.

Here's Southpaws gun and  his two targets

 


T-1


T-2



Here is my targets with Soutpaw serving as firing officer.
 


T-1


T-2


Michael,

Thanks for taking on this project.  It is a neat little cannon and I hope it sells well for you. 

Guys if you are looking for cannon that shoots good and looks good, consider Michael's South African Miniature Cannon Club cannon.  Remember he is a sponsor and helps make this board possible, support him.