Hernando cannon shoot pics and vid

[carmy53]

I went to the Hernando cannon shoot today. There wasn't much of a turnout. Just me and a group of guys that brought a couple of WWII pieces.
We were shooting at some plastic barrels set on a berm at 200 yards.
The only hit on the targets was by me shooting my stainless steel mortar/cannon made for me by MikeH.
I couldn't figure out how to insert the YouTube vid so I just put a link to it.
 

[intoodeep]

carmy53,

 Sorry to hear about the turn out.  It looked like it was a perfect day for the shoot.

[Mike H.]

You actually hit something with that ~4" bore?  That is amazing.  I suppose it was sort of a "wall" of barrels, but still seems improbable at 200 yards.  How did you sight it?

Was it recoiling like that with the rubber feet on it, or did they come off?

What load did you use?

[carmy53]

Mike,
You mean 3/4" bore, right?
The "wall" of barrels was a pyramid of 6 barrels. Each barrel was about 2' across so the pyramid was about 6' wide at the bottom and 2' wide at the top. The pyramid was about 9' high. Not a small target but still hard to hit at 200 yards.
I sighted by looking down the barrel. My first shot landed short so I put a small wedge under the front of the base. The wedge probably raised the barrel about a 1/4". Then I was dead on target.
The recoil was with the rubber feet on. All of my cannons seemed to have extra recoil today because of the wood platform I was shooting off.
The load was 75 grains of FFg.
I hope you enjoyed hearing the applause for a cannon you built.
Dave

[jamesfrom180]

I drove down to this shoot.  About what I expected was hoping for alittle more. 
 
The shot that hit was quite entertaining.  Round skipped about ten yard out from the barrel and made a most satifying thud when it hit. 
 
I hope the crew maning the clubs guns will drill with the piece a little bit more.  The hang fires made for a very unpleasant feeling.  Basic cannon saftey was a bit laxs.  But was a very enjoyable trip for me.  I hope they continue to have this event. 

[Mike H.]

Mike,
You mean 3/4" bore, right?

No, I meant the length.  A .75 caliber with 3.5" bore length is like shooting at the barrels with a 2" snub nose revolver with no sights whatsoever.  It would take a few shots to get on target.  Good shooting.  Sounded good too.