WB
Really interesting (to me) large bore BP shooting
Monday, January 09, 2023, 09:46

Even Gary has toyed with BP guns. His location has him a little hamstrung but he's has several C&B and large bore shoulder fired BP customs.

I have two 3# BP cannon, one a smaller scale Napoleon style on a truck carriage (ships/Navy called them "guns") and a Full scale, smaller 2.25" bore Coehorn mortar. I think originals were 4" or 4.5" bore and utilized timed fuse exploding projectiles. While federally unregulated, they are quite formidable, and demand respect coming with considerable liability. My barrels or "tubes" were produced by Hern Ironworks in MT for Dixie Gun Works in TN.

This early photo from last century was my initial tinkering. It is a photo of a TV screen stopped at a single VHS tape frame. The next one was white smoke. I got lucky.

My Scale field artillery piece set up as a naval gun.

Indirect fire is insanely dangerous. You set up at nominal 65 degrees angle and adjust the projectile/charge to manage distance. This looks more like 75 deg. FWIW.

This Youtube clip is the first complete work I have seen that highlights the firing physics and details some kinetic energy transfer in dramatic fashion. I loved it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPwLrc-NXkY