Among other fun toys he has, a fellow I know has a functional 37MM cannon. I regret I can't remember what model it is but it is US WWII vintage.

We have a golf ball cannon and a bowling ball cannon.

This is the second shot with it. My Nephew volunteered to set it off.




Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6AdQJUaWJg

And the BB gun.




Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdC0HVpOy6g

Mine is on back order ...
Damnit :/

My B-I-L has a friend whose father works at National Forge, and designed and built one there. I have not seen it, but apparently it is very impressive.

Here’s an interesting view of receiving fire from a civil war cannon. Try not to duck. Link

Many years ago at a shoot, a guy had a small mortar. It fired shot which was about tennis ball-size, I guess. I said to him "Man that's cool! how much powder do you use for a charge? A pound?"

His eyes got big and he said "No, man, about an ounce."

Laughing, I said "Oh, well, I guess I can't fire it, huh?"

"Oh, no," he said with a smile. "You can fire it."

"You just can't load it."

I am not allowed to have such things. I'm not mature enough to use them responsibly. Closest I've come is a tennis ball cannon. Even then I have some regrets from using it at Stone Mountain back in the 80's. We used it as a mortar aimed at the river boat from concealed positions on the shore. I am also banned for life from the miniature golf in the park too.

Like cheesegrits, a close friend of mine owns a couple of Coehorns -- built them himself. They are an absolute blast (bad pun) to shoot. Calibers? Golf ball, 20-oz soda bottle, 4" PVC. With roughly a 35mm film can's worth of powder, he can launch an 8" segment of concrete-filled PVC over 150 yards. Great fun!

We took one of the larger ones to a local public range a few years ago. Someone downwind of us got a little uptight about the copious amounts of smoke we produced with one particular shot. Called the sheriff's department. Two deputies came out, examined the setup and the safety provisions we had taken, grinned, and hung around to spectate. We tried to get them to fire it... seems they didn't want to do that in uniform.

My friend has also worked with a company out west called Seacoast Artillery, hosting them on one of their visits to this end of the country. Seacoast makes functional scale replicas of specific cannon models, and they are absolutely incredible. Functional works of machining art, they are.

I had one, fired it on a July 4th celebration, alas, it wasn't secured well enough and it rolled right off the bow of my boat into the deepest part of the lake.

A likely story

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
I am not allowed to have such things. I'm not mature enough to use them responsibly. Closest I've come is a tennis ball cannon. Even then I have some regrets from using it at Stone Mountain back in the 80's. We used it as a mortar aimed at the river boat from concealed positions on the shore. I am also banned for life from the miniature golf in the park too.

When I was in my early teens, we used to take two (metal) cans of tennis balls, cut the bottom out of one and duct tape it to the top of the other. Use a can opener to put a 'firing hole' near the base, then load with a couple squirts of lighter fluid and drop in a tennis ball. Bonus points for soaking the tennis ball in lighter fluid, too.

Next step was aim generally at the opposing team, bring lighter to firing hole, light. Flaming tennis ball cannons. Tons of fun.

We also had Jarts, though...times have changed.

Edit: Or maybe it was gasoline; I'm old and CRS.

I had one for several years. It was a 2” bore. Golf balls out of it would go like crazy! Lead balls would penetrate a car door at 75 yards. Neighbors had a ball (pun intended) on the 4th of July taking turns firing blank loads (black powder in tin foil), very loud and lots of fire.

A friend has a bowling ball and a bowling pin mortars. Four ounces of BP will send a 16lb ball 800 to 1000 feet up and 400 yards down range.

No cannon. But I might know of a guy who used to have a Trebuchet...

Shit, now this is spiraling out of control.

I can’t afford armor, moat AND the cannon. Jesus the home owners association is gonna have kittens.

quote:

Originally posted by Arty:
I don't, but I want one.
I want to put it in my front yard, pointed toward the road.
My personal preference is a civil war 12 lb Napoleon.

Ditto!

Here in scenic New Jersey, possessing a slingshot is a felony (no, no exceptions for "use on your property," "it only big enough to shoot small peanuts," or "it's a coat hanger and rubber bands." Literally, a felony merely to possess one.)

Oddly, possessing an antique cannon or replica is not prohibited, so this is a timely and relevant thread for me.

This guy hunts hogs with a 40mm cannon he built and loads it with a broadhead spear (calling it an arrow feels silly), buckshot or a 1.5" steel ball.

If you want to skip to the fun, it's around 8:10 and after. He's got a number of videos, and some successful hunts with it.

Yes, I do have one in the attic, but it doesn’t shoot steel or lead shot.

It fires potatoes. It has a five foot barrel, and the “chamber” is 16”x6”. The end cap has a square (hollow) that works as a measurement for propellant. It is built entirely of schedule 80 pipe.

Starting fluid (ether) is the propellant. It is ignited by a Coleman lantern striker.

I have had it since my early 20’s. Back then I thought nothing of Getting a few bags of taters and launching them into Lake Ray Hubbard. The last time I looked at it, when we moved and I stowed it away in the attic, I thought I must be getting old, as the thought of lighting off an ether bomb on my right thigh, terrifies me.

If only he would ask about catapults, catapults big enough to sling a rotting, diseased horse carcass 600 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
Yes, I do have one in the attic, but it doesn’t shoot steel or lead shot.

It fires potatoes. It has a five foot barrel, and the “chamber” is 16”x6”. The end cap has a square (hollow) that works as a measurement for propellant. It is built entirely of schedule 80 pipe.

Starting fluid (ether) is the propellant. It is ignited by a Coleman lantern striker.

I have had it since my early 20’s. Back then I thought nothing of Getting a few bags of taters and launching them into Lake Ray Hubbard. The last time I looked at it, when we moved and I stowed it away in the attic, I thought I must be getting old, as the thought of lighting off an ether bomb in my right thigh, terrifies me.

You're never too old. The first time I met my great uncle up in Montana he had to be 75 years old. He had a beautiful house overlooking a private lake that was only accessible to homeowners. We were sitting on his deck admiring the view and he said "Want to have some fun?" He went out to his garage and came back with an 8' Potato Gun. A few of his neighbors didn't seem all that thrilled but he really didn't care what they thought.