Gatling gun shoot photos (Lot of photos)

[dominick]

I went to the annual south central PA gatling gun shoot yesterday.  On the line was ten Gatling guns, two Gardner guns, one 1.65" bore Hotchkiss mountain gun, and one Hotchkiss revolving cannon. There were also other Civil war era field cannons and mortars that I will post in another topic. Here are the photo highlights.  Dom
 

[armorer77]

Thanks Dom , I love Gatlings . 

[seacoastartillery]

     Great pics, Dom.  Sure wish they had this shoot about a month ago!  Someday I would love to see it.  One question I have is this:  What is that gun on the haze grey cone mount?  Can't quite make it out.  Love that big bad Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon.  Were you there when they fired that?  Tell us about it if you were, speed of firing, sound, effect on target, etc.

Thanks for posting!

Tracy

[cannonmn]

Here's a "playlist" of 8 videos I made at the same event in 2011:
 
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU90SZmWDH_BVKQcBxvSfk_nhKtAdkkHP&feature=view_all

[Frank46]

On the gatling with the armored shield, what were the wooden scupper things at the bottom on the right and left? Forgive the navy term just couldn't figure out what to call them. Frank

[onegreatshot]

Great Photo's Dom. Thanks for sharing

[Doc Brown.]

On the gatling with the armored shield, what were the wooden scupper things at the bottom on the right and left? Forgive the navy term just couldn't figure out what to call them. Frank

They look like seats but they don't look to comfy.
Was there any of your guns there Dom? Did they fire them Gatling guns wheres the smoke and fire?  Looked like lots of fun. Nice pics.

[cannonmn]

On the gatling with the armored shield, what were the wooden scupper things at the bottom on the right and left? Forgive the navy term just couldn't figure out what to call them. Frank

The weapon is a 37mm Hotchkiss revolving cannon, quite different from a Gatling gun in the way the mechanism works.  The two wooden "V" shaped things are footrests for the gunners when the carriage is rigged for transport and both top and bottom shields folded (down and up respectively.)  The gunner's seat pad is missing from this carriage.

[dominick]

     Great pics, Dom.  Sure wish they had this shoot about a month ago!  Someday I would love to see it.  One question I have is this:  What is that gun on the haze grey cone mount?  Can't quite make it out.  Love that big bad Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon.  Were you there when they fired that?  Tell us about it if you were, speed of firing, sound, effect on target, etc.

Thanks for posting!

Tracy

The gun on the cone mount and the one on the black tripod are Model 1881 twin barrel Gardner guns originally manufactured by Pratt & Whitney and currently being produced by US Armament.  The shiney brass Gatling guns are model 1877 Bulldog Gatlings produced by US Armament under license and sold by Colt Firearms.  Dom

[cabledad]

You know if this kind of a show was put on any where down here I would drive a long way to see these priceless antiques.You guys keep up the good work.

[dominick]

On the gatling with the armored shield, what were the wooden scupper things at the bottom on the right and left? Forgive the navy term just couldn't figure out what to call them. Frank

They look like seats but they don't look to comfy.
Was there any of your guns there Dom? Did they fire them Gatling guns wheres the smoke and fire?  Looked like lots of fun. Nice pics.

Frank,  I did not have any guns on the line. I did video of some of the guns firing that I'll post as soon as I upload and edit.  Dom

[Cannoneer]

Thanks for the photos Dom; some good stuff!

The two wooden "V" shaped things are footrests for the gunners when the carriage is rigged for transport and both top and bottom shields folded (down and up respectively.)  The gunner's seat pad is missing from this carriage.

The carriage and armor plate of this Hotchkiss cannon grabbed my attention right away. I would guess that the top plate would remain up for any riding crewmen to utelize the hand-holds, and I also assume that the two black cleats seen on the middle plate are where the seats attach. It seems like the gunners would be riding pretty high off the ground; I'd love to see an illustration of this.

[KABAR2]

This is an item I have wanted since I got a good look at one at Numeric Arms Co.... as a 7 year old.... they had one on a cone mount... I believe they donated it to the West Point Museum...... then in the same year we moved to Blue Point N.Y. the last place Bannerman's had their business at.... when I walked into their shop down by the beach I was greeted by a large carraige mounted Gatling.... I guess they made quite an impression on a 7 year old ..I've wanted on ever since...... Some day..... it's on my bucket list.......

[dominick]

  ...Love that big bad Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon.  Were you there when they fired that?  Tell us about it if you were, speed of firing, sound, effect on target, etc.

Thanks for posting!

Tracy

I did watch him fire it.  He brought along only 25 rounds with him.  Early in the day, he was feeding one round through it at a time.  Then I caught a three round burst on video.  After the battery went dead on the camera and as I was loading the car and getting ready to head home, I heard a 5 round burst from it.  I missed that.     This was a half hour before the close of the shoot.  The 37 mm shells had about one ounce of FFg black powder in them and it was quite accurate at what looked like 75 yards.  For noise it's about as loud as a 1" bore cannon.      Dom

[cannonmn]

I would guess that the top plate would remain up for any riding crewmen to utelize the hand-holds, and I also assume that the two black cleats seen on the middle plate are where the seats attach. It seems like the gunners would be riding pretty high off the ground; I'd love to see an illustration of this.

As mentioned earlier, the top armor folds down, the bottom armor folds up, making a Z if viewed from the right side of the gun.
 
 

[Cannoneer]

Okay, now I get it; that makes more sense than the picture my imagination conjured up. Thanks for providing the illustration.