Anyone use spray paint cans for motar ammo??

[HogSniper]

Years ago my friends and I built a mortar like cannon out of a Hydro cylinder off of a Dump Truck Snow Plow. It has a about a 3 1/4 inch bore. What sparked this whole idea is that once the cylinder was apart we looked inside and saw that it already had a built in powder chamber...This thing is heavy..Anyway, we broke it back out last weekend and shot spray paint cans out of it..They flew like an arrow out of this thing with 300 grains of powder..The trick to the paint cans was to take duck tape and make two bands around the can. One on the bottom one on the top to act as a gas seal..It was cheap and worked great.

[jeeper1]

I don't use spray paint cans as ammo, I do spray paint golf balls fluorescent orange for better visibility.

[Double D]

SAFETY Question     SAFETY Question     SAFETY Question     SAFETY Question     SAFETY Question     SAFETY Question What are you filling the cans with and how to you get the cans open without rupturing them?

[HogSniper]

I'm not filling them with anything..Just the weight of the can,paint, and the tape I put around it. The bottom of the can has a  nice dome on it..They fly really nice.

[Double D]

As some of us have found shooting cans of soda, the container can and will rupture just as it leaves the bore, covering every one in the area with soda pop and sending pieces of can flying all over.   Your paint can is even more hazardous as it is a flamable liquid uder pressure.  A rupture of that can as it comes out the bore could disasterous. 

So let's se if we find something  better for you to shoot. First the diameter we are looking for. The rule of thumb is 1/40 of bore diameter isneed for windage. so 3.25/40= 0.08125 windage.  The size of projectile you need is  0.18125x39= 3.16875.

Okay guys find him somthing safe to shoot 3.168 in diameter.

Now tell us somethning about the gun you built.  How did you make the breech plug, how thick are the walls over the breech?

[Story]

Now tell us somethning about the gun you built.  How did you make the breech plug, how thick are the walls over the breech?

And don't forget the pictures.