I was going to make a cannon from a 1.25" diameter piece of 8620 steel
and a steel base.
My question is, are there legal limitations on the size, caliber etc.
I'm sure there are, especially in your area. I do know that in PA there
is a cannon club ($$$ clearly) that shoots real full sized custom made
cannons competitively. I saw some of the cannon forgings being bored
when I was doing a CNC repair at a shop that specialized in gun drilling
years ago. On the safer end of things, with all the toys you have and
your semis, you should look at entering the pumpkin chucking contest.
A pumpkin cannon would look pretty cool on top of my M927 truck:
http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/view?auctionIdb98764
I do have a tow behind compressor (needs to be sold, no time to test
it). Accumulator tanks I usually get fr less than scrap.
i
If it is muzzle loading, it is not considered a firearm and there does not
have to conform to the destructive device portion of the NFA. So any bore
size is legal.
Firing it, however, may break any number of local ordinances.
Even firing blank loads will probably get you a free cavity search.
Paul K. Dickman
On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:42:19 -0500, Ignoramus31152
Hey Igor,
If you are making a black powder cannon I have some advice. First of
all is the bore. Just under wine bottle cork size is a good size. That
way you don't need to stuff a wad of some sort into the bore, just
shove in a ready made cork. I'm not sure that I would use 1.25
material for a .8 dia bore though. I like 1/2 inch wall thickness just
to be totally sure the cannon will never split. You should ALWAYS use
some sort of plug in the bore because when lighting the fuse there is
a possibility that a spark will fly off the fuse and land in the
cannon bore and set off the charge. I have seen this happen. If the
cannon is just for making noise then a mortar is best. The barrel
points straight up. 6 or 7 inches is plenty long enough for the
barrel. Use a wide base. The cannon will pretty much stay in the same
place. If using corks they will only fly into the air a little way and
sometimes you can catch them when they fall. The type of powder used
matters as far as noise is concerned. Pyrodex is not as loud as just
regular old black powder. I don't know what Pyrodex is made from, I do
know that it is not the same formula as black powder. It is probably
safer or smokes less or something. Use fffg powder. The finer grain
size is louder. Drill a 1/8 hole for the fuse. Make up a little powder
gage for adding powder to the cannon. A pill bottle with a line drawn
on it works well. It is much better to pour the powder into a measure
and then pour from the measure into the cannon. Black powder is ultra
sensitive to the tiniest of sparks so be really careful whenever the
powder can is open. Black powder cannons are lots of fun as noise
makers but you need to make sure that you are always in control of the
cannon and powder. To illustrate the power I have seen a 55 gallon
steel drum placed over a cannon with a .8 bore filled about two inches
deep with powder launch over 40 feet in the air when the cannon went
off. The barrel was open at one end and this end was placed on the
ground and tipped up so the cannon could be placed under the barrel.
The fuse was lit and the barrel was tipped back down so that it rested
firmly on the ground. A paper wad used in the cannon left a big dent
in the drum bottom. Anyway, have fun!
ERS
On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:22:54 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@whidbey.com wrote:
Pouring from a measure into the bore is a REQUIREMENT.
Anything else is a fatality waiting to happen
Hot coals/embers have been known to linger in the bore for many many
minutes
"Homemade" cannon laws? - I don't think so. You can't make your own
cannon laws. Only the legislature can make cannon laws.
Sorry, I couldn't help it. Now back to serious replies.
Bob
On Jun 3, 3:42pm, Ignoramus31152 <ignoramus31...@NOSPAM.
31152.invalid> wrote:
Got to be muzzleloading if using powder, no fixed ammo, no exploding
projectiles. Skates into legality under the antique/muzzleloading
firearm exemptions of GCA 68. Other than that, no limits. Guys make
bowling ball mortars out of large oxygen tanks with surplus mortar
bipods and baseplates. Too large and you have problems with making/
obtaining projectiles(as well as finding a place to shoot). If it's
breechloading , uses fixed ammo and over .5" bore, it's a Destructive
Device and needs approval from the feds as well as being taxed,
shotguns being sporting arms are specifically exempted from that. Now
that's federal law, what the liberal sump states and IL have for state
and local laws, you'll have to find out on your own. A lot of guys
make small muzzleloading cannon replicas, they're perfectly legal.
Just remember what you have is a real gun there when you get it all
done.
Stan
Fast cannon Ed missed your 57 states ? Who did we add after Alaska ?
Been 50 for some time and 49 and 48 for a long time.
Martin
On 8/12/2016 8:18 AM, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Fri, 12 Aug 2016 20:53:10 -0500, Martin Eastburn
Martin, President Barry said there were 57 states of America. Oops,
it was pointed out that there are 57 OIC Islamic states instead.
Mea culpa: It turns out that black powder cannons are legal in many
states, including the Republik of Kalifornia, even though they can
fire projectiles. They kill so few people, though, I'm surprised that
the Libs don't jump all over them like they do "assault rifles".
--
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the
freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of
On Sun, 14 Aug 2016 21:36:29 -0500, Martin Eastburn
It was something he said at a campaign stop in Oregon. You're right
about Hawaii:
"... it is just wonderful to be back in Oregon, and over the last 15
months we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now
been in fifty .... seven states? I think one left to go. One left to
go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really
wanted to visit but my staff would not justify it."
He caught himself and corrected it at a later campaign stop. "I
understand I said there were 57 states today. It's a sign that my
numeracy is getting a little, uh ..."
Polytechforum.com is a website by engineers for engineers. It is not affiliated with any of manufacturers or vendors discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.