Shooting Trombini

[zimmerstutzen]

In the Italian Alps, there is a club that shoots truly massive muzzle loader blank-festival guns.  They have been shooting these since the early 1800's.

 

[Kermit]

Sort of the sousaphone of the muzzleloading family. This will show that what looks like a strange patchbox has another purpose.

http://fauxorfoe.com/category/trombini/

[zimmerstutzen]

I sent an email to the club and the wife of one of the officers is fairly fluent in English.  According to their legends, in the early 1600's,  German people were recruited to settle the land there.  They used similar guns  as signal guns to alert the valley to the coming of enemy armies, or important visitors.  The practice of using signal guns was used again in the 1830's and onward.  The practice died out again and was nearly forgotten until some of the guns were found in the ruins of a building during clean up after WW2. The use of the guns for festivals and celebrations started up again and eventually a club was organized to preserve this aspect of their folk lore and culture. Her husband is one of a few that still make them and she promised to send pictures of the process. One of the older guns in their collection weighs 62 Kg  (About 130 Lbs)

Thanks  Giavanna.

[Kermit]

So sort the long range alternative to yodeling or alpenhorns?

[heelerau]

I shake my head. 

[Hungry Horse]

 My only questions are, if you just have a need to waste powder, why not just stick a fuse in the can, and skip the part where you build a cartoon gun, that makes the neighbors ponder your sanity. JMO.

              Hungry Horse

[axelp]

 

[PPatch]

Now I see where Walt Disney got some of his ideas. I hope those fun loving folk are using hearing protection.

dp

[Kermit]

My only questions are, if you just have a need to waste powder, why not just stick a fuse in the can, and skip the part where you build a cartoon gun, that makes the neighbors ponder your sanity. JMO.

              Hungry Horse

You mean like the guys wearing faux mountain man gear and shooting bowling ball mortars in the Rocky Mountains? These guys would have a lot in common.

[Chris Treichel]

Oh, wow, looks like I confused this with the one the German Schuetzen clubs use... That is one heck of a pig.

[snapper]

good for them, let them have their fun.  It is their time and money.

fleener