AmericanLongRifles Forums

General discussion => Black Powder Shooting => Topic started by: Tim May on April 01, 2020, 09:57:09 PM

Title: 3 inch bore
Post by: Tim May on April 01, 2020, 09:57:09 PM: Built a few years ago. Reasonable accuracy with shot and great boomer!
(https://i.ibb.co/rwbmJ92/FB-IMG-1585752935942.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4Vs7xkR)
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Bob McBride on April 01, 2020, 10:00:15 PM: Quote from: Tim May on April 01, 2020, 09:57:09 PM
Built a few years ago. Reasonable accuracy with shot and great boomer!
(https://i.ibb.co/rwbmJ92/FB-IMG-1585752935942.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4Vs7xkR)

Very nice. I was thinking of getting one of those to point down the driveway. To protect my toilet paper horde.

Love it.
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Tim May on April 01, 2020, 10:28:20 PM: It keeps tailgaters off your a## when trailering down the highway.
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Daryl on April 02, 2020, 09:46:34 AM: Even if it's just poking over the tail gate of your truck. :o
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: yip on April 02, 2020, 02:28:57 PM: LIKE IT!!!!
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Marcruger on April 02, 2020, 04:59:08 PM: Longrifle versus shortcannon. :-) Love it.
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Pukka Bundook on April 02, 2020, 06:09:38 PM: He looks a tough little chap!

Sort of a terrier version.

You should call him Dudley! (After Colin Willock's Jack Russel...)
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: davec2 on April 03, 2020, 07:31:07 AM: Tim,

I love your gun.....and I love Pukka's suggestion for a name......"Dudley" !

When I was a junior in high school (~1970), I built this 3 inch bore iron gun. (The whole thing weighs about 1400 pounds). How the world has changed !!!! Back then I used to fire it at all my high school football games. I built a trailer for it and would come into the school with the cannon and 50 pounds of black powder. Can you imagine what would happen in today's world if a kid showed up at school with an artillery piece and trunk load of powder !

(https://i.ibb.co/YZwvKcT/Crisalli-Cannon-1970-1-copy.jpg) (https://ibb.co/yS7LM6B)

(https://i.ibb.co/DQfv1B5/Crisalli-Cannon-1970-2-copy.jpg) (https://ibb.co/L1dc0Tn)

I still shoot it....largest gun in my collection.......Here is the son of a friend of mine firing it not long ago......

(https://i.ibb.co/3kK14bF/Cannon-Shoot-3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4JkWKLS)

(https://i.ibb.co/ZGmV2VD/Cannon-Shoot-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/S5rPfPC)
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Tim May on April 03, 2020, 03:24:31 PM: Dave, Nice gun mine has a 25in. tube maybe total weight of 500 lbs . You must have good crew to move and fire yours .I did muzzleloader demos. Carried it on bus into school and back home. Now you can't even have a pocket knife .
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Daryl on April 03, 2020, 10:11:02 PM: Built it while a junior in high school - WOW. Amazing guns.
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: davec2 on April 04, 2020, 02:33:57 AM: Tim,

Even at 500 pounds, I'll bet that was a trick wrestling your gun into a bus !! And yes, it takes at least 3 people (and 4 is much better) to transport and set up mine. Not to speak of the amount of powder and shot it takes to feed it. What I consider a standard "service" charge is a half pound of cannon powder and a 3" zinc cannon ball. These days, that amounts to about $20 to $25 a round. I have also made and fired chain shot, bar shot shot, and several rounds of canister. I think the only thing I haven't shot out of it is red hot iron shot.... :o

Daryl,

Yes....the story of building that cannon is very entertaining. From starting off making a giant carbide cannon to evolving into making the casting pattern for an iron barrel and almost burning the house down trying to build a home made iron furnace.....quite the adventure !
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Daryl on April 04, 2020, 05:05:27 AM: The barrel is one thing, but that carriage is a piece of art as well.
I am in awe.
Taylor built up a 3" gun back in the 70's, which was pretty good, on wheels and carriage
as well. We used to shoot 1/3rd pound of 1F powder & a 3" iron ball from a gold mill.
They were case, and had a flashing around them. Taylor ground that off and they became
3" round shot.
A "shot" fired had to be over the SOSound (invisible and fast) and would make and almost
instantaneous 12' diameter cloud of pulverized granite dust come off "The Chief" each shot.
The Chief was a granite rock face that was almost vertical up to 300 or more feet high out of
the ground at the end of the rifle range. It was 300yards to the rock face's bottom. We'd shoot
several "rounds" at it then go up, find them, clean them off and shoot them again. What fun for
2 young cops - lol.
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Pukka Bundook on April 04, 2020, 06:30:10 AM: DaveC2,

That is altogether Beautiful work!

And Yes, ..the world has changed!

Thanks for the photos and story.
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: davec2 on April 04, 2020, 07:45:06 PM: Tim,

Did you build the wheels for your gun? And is the barrel one of the South Bend Replica products ?
Title: Re: 3 inch bore
Post by: Tim May on April 05, 2020, 01:19:05 AM: Dave, The wheels are Amish made.The barrel came from Hern iron works. I made the trails, axle and iron trim.