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"Ultimate Big Bore" My Cannon shoots an 84,000g projectile Hello All, Here is my Ultimate Big Bore ! ! (well, several of them) The largest one shoots a 12 pound projectile using 1/2 pound of black powder. I look forward to doing this each and every year .............. This is the 14th year that I've been holding demonstrations at the 4th of July, Sawdust Days Festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This is the 48th year that this event has been held. It celebrates the early 1700's Frontiersmen, Settlers, and Indians that gathered at this location to celebrate the success of their past harvest of Furs, Game, Food, and Goods. All these to be traded among those gathered. To this event, I bring my REALLY BIG BORE(S). They are brought to the waters edge of Lake Winnebago, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at a place known as "Cannon Point". (for obvious reasons) In addition, I have a display of several Cannon Balls of various sizes and many examples of original Civil War Artillery accessories. As was done in the "days-of-old" I fire a 12 pound Mortar every-hour-on-the-hour to keep track of time. The other cannon are fired by donation for the cost of the powder. Those donating for the powder actually get to shoot the cannon of their choice, and they receive a parchment certificate acknowledging that they fired an original vintage cannon. Participants choosing to fire the Mountain Howitzer (as most do) are run through the standard loading drill according to the Civil War Artillery Field Manual. Although this loading procedure was done by a crew of 5 men, I direct the participant to rotate through each of the various positions, and they perform each man's task individually - worming the bore, loading the charge, raming the charge, pricking the charge, priming the charge, and firing the cannon. For your interest, are links to my web-pages, showing my cannons, and mortar. Also shown are several links to "you tube" video's, showing the firing of cannon and line gun. They are at the bottom of the page following the pictures. Here's the list of my Cannon that I bring to the event each year. Original 1863 Ames Co. 12 pound Mountain Howitzer. Original 1840 1 pound British Insurance cannon. Original 1945 Naval Co. FB - Lyle Gun - (line throwing cannon) Original 2005 12 pound Brass Coehorn Mortar Original 1898 Manotowoc Foundry Signal Cannon (swivel gun mount) As always, your comments are welcome. CANNON POINT . FIRST YEAR - 2005 - FRONT PAGE NEWSPAPER COVERAGE . LAST YEAR - 2017 - FRONT PAGE NEWSPAPER COVERAGE . FIVE CANNON ON CANNON POINT . CIVIL WAR ARTILLERY DISPLAY . THE DONATION CLOCK every time $$ money is donated, the pointer moves. when it reaches $12 - the last donator gets to fire the cannon. (Mt Howitzer uses 1/2 pound of FFFFg powder which costs $24 per pound - hence the $12) . THE ORIGINAL AMES CO. 12 POUND MOUNTAIN HOWITZER . THE ORIGINAL 1840 1 POUND BRITISH INSURANCE CANNON called an insurance cannon because, if you wanted to insure your ship's cargo, the insurance company required you to have a cannon on board to defend your cargo against pirates. No Cannon-No Insurance . LOADING THE INSURANCE CANNON . THE ORIGINAL 1945 LINE THROWING CANNON AND THE 12 POUND COEHORN MORTAR . LINE THROWING CANNON READY TO FIRE This model is often called a "Waffle Gun", because the barrel construction looks like a "Waffle". The barrel is Bronze. The ribbed pattern reduced material by over 40% but still retains the strength of a sold barrel. Brass, Bronze, and Copper were in short supply during WWII. This Cannon is capable of shooting a light line out to over 600 yards. . THE 12 POUND COEHORN MORTAR . ORIGINAL 1898 MANOTOWOC SIGNAL GUN . LOADING THE SIGNAL GUN . LOADING THE MOUNTAIN HOWITZER . FIRING THE COEHORN MORTAR . FIRING THE MOUNTAIN HOWITZER . SIMULTANEOUS "NIGHT-TIME" FIRING THE COEHORN MORTAR AND THE MOUNTAIN HOWITZER . "NIGHT-TIME" FIRING THE MOUNTAIN HOWITZER . INTERESTING WEB-PAGE LINKS http://www.buckstix.com/amesbarrel.htm http://www.buckstix.com/BritishCannon.htm . OTHER INTERESTING WEB-PAGE LINKS http://www.buckstix.com/howitzer.htm http://www.buckstix.com/CoehornMortarHunt.htm . LINE GUN VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhkZIojHaqw . SEVERAL MOUNTAIN HOWITZER FIRING VIDEOS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFMrFd6ATL8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWrZJrrMX9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKuFej5m03A |
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"NIGHT-TIME" FIRING OF THE MOUNTAIN HOWITZER . So COOL!! I have always wanted a cannon |
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Would have been a real 'blast' Buckstix......pun intended! |
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Canons are indeed fun - just make sure they are safe and loaded properly. |
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Hello Huvius, Hello 9.3x64mm Hello Daryl_S Thanks for the reply. Going to the National Civil War Artillery Association (NCWAA) "School of the Piece" safety qualification program for training, is a must for safety when playing with these big toys. |
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G'Day Fella's, Thanks for sharing these great images and story Buckstix. Regards Homer |
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Yeah, I think they may just be enough gun for a prairie dog.................town Some great photos there. Thanks for posting Buckstix. |
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Nice pictures Buckstix. I enjoy cannons also. I may have fired my last big cannnon last month as I have moved from Montana to Oklahoma. Here is my last shot with 16 ozs of FA and a 105,000 grain (15 lb) bowling ball. Will be shooting just the little guns from on, unless I can find a place to shoot down here. |
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some weeks ago we had here the annual canon championship on the military range in the neighborhood. they shooting at 100 meter on the common nato rifle target: love the smell of blackpowder in the morning |
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Definitely those if they are big holes. You guys have a great time. |
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My bro lining up a shot with a 3" gun. |
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Although I see them a little uncomfortable to transport and hunt with them hehe. Ovny. |
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We managed a 'group' for 5 shots of approximately 8" with the above gun, at 100 meters, winning the cannon shoot, that year. We were way ahead on scoring, all inside the 8 ring. Not sure the target - might have been a 200 meter prone target. The rings were quite wide. |
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Boy you must go through some BP! Would cost an arm & a leg........looks a bloody lot of fun though! Daryl, Never would have thought that you could have got that type of accuracy with a smoothbore cannon? Amazing! |
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93x64 - we were using balls just under bore size with a 14 oz. denim patch, just as we would load a smoothbore fowler with solid shot. The accuracy was surprising, but better than you can normally do with a patched ball in a 20 bore fowler. Loaded properly, the larger the bore, the better the accuracy. |