Cannon

[Carbineone]

May not be helpful to many.But here is a photo and video of my Hughes Cannon I built about 5 years back now.If you look at my other videos I have a few more on youtube...It is a 1.5 inch Bore..Breech Loader. Made after the only original known to survive from the confederacy..It is full scale as to the original..Made as close to the original as I could..It is Rifled as the original was too..

I can show and tell alot more about if there is further interest..

Sorry about the annoying wind noise..That was mother natures input..
https://i.imgur.com/Hy50nMV.jpg?1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVlfApBKj4I&list=UUcQK8T1AtjmwU9-25s3y5bA&index=5

[Txcowboy52]

Great job on the restore ! It looks awesome !!

[Carbineone]

Not a restore so much.I spent about nine months building it...The only original known to survive is in private hands now..It was found in a Barn in Kansas, maybe hidden there from Yankee confiscation..Who knows..

I could not afford that one even at the time of sale many years back..I think last time the original sold it like 70,000.00 plus. Waaay out of my league.

Here is a video of how it loads and operates..I cast 1 pound 11 ounce lead "bullets" for it.The projectile back then would have actually been called a "bolt".

It is more less a large Bolt Action..

A pic too of the known original mine is built off of..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv5kMg8j1pw&list=UUcQK8T1AtjmwU9-25s3y5bA&index=3

https://i.imgur.com/UEZhF2g.jpg?1

[Txcowboy52]

Do you shoot it much ? I bet it's a blast!! No pun intended. What's the range on it ?

[TyGuy]

I recognize that cannon! It’s nice to see fellow WG members here. :drinks:

[Carbineone]

That is me also Tyguy.

Yes I take it out a few times a year..I actually have it loaded on the trailer to go out soon..Otherwise in the off months it resides in my Gun Room in the house..Wife will not allow it in the living room..No I do not understand Her reasoning there,LOL

From old accounts I have read..When the Confederacy tested an original..The projectile presumably traveled 3 miles up the Tennessee River..I am doubtful of that but that is what they claimed back then..

It is estimated that the South only commissioned the building of about a dozen of these small Guns..What their intended use was is somewhat of a mystery..They made the original barrels from train car axles as I understand..

[Txcowboy52]

Wow! That's great stuff, I love history.

[zymguy]

that's really something ! any build pics ?

[Winger Ed.]

Way cool.

A three mile range with a highly elevated barrel is realistic.
When I was building my 1/3 scale of a Civil War era ordanence rifle-- the cheaper, mass produced version of a mountain howitzer-
I came across some info from back then that said one would shoot 700 yards with a five degree elevation of the barrel.

In actual use, they tended to ease off the maximum charges as a lot of the guns
and especially the mortars would blow apart after about 250 shots.

When I built the bowling ball mortar- a scaled down model of the old coastal defense mortars-
A 4 oz. charge of single "F" sent a 15 pound bowling ball close to 1,000 yards.

A 'real' cannon, being able to shoot 3 miles up a river from high ground---- its believable.

[GregLaROCHE]

That’s a beauty!

[Rapier]

That is definitely a rapid fire cannon design for its day. Very nice job indeed.

I went totally retro with my cannon, built a smooth bore 1.3 inch with an oak four wheel naval gun mount, side rope recoil stops for attachment to a ship’s side, rope front and rear elevation holds and a wedge elevation adjustment block. It was built as a salute cannon to shoot from my back deck on a bayou in FL. I tied the recoil ropes to the bottom of the rail and fired through the deck rail stiles. it was a slow loader.
I found the scale drawings on the Smithsonian web site and built it to scale.

[mazo kid]

I have built a few scale model cannons and mortars also. I got my inspiration and dimensions (scaled drawings) from the book "Round Ball and Rammers".