Cannons. Reputable manufacturers of fireable cannon?

[flatbedtruckin]

M1841 mountain howitzer from dixiegunworks would be a helluva fun time.... its on my want list.

[AR22]

I also made a little 1/3 scale on my full size Hughes..It is in .50 Caliber..No not near as fun as Papa though..Second pic is the first I built..It was not so great, but you have to start somewhere,LOL

[Spyder]

AR22, I spent a lot of time looking at the Ellidge carriage and brooks barrel. That's really dang close to what I want for the house.

I'm still leaning heavily towards a swivel gun. I looked at the Hern stuff and like the Frontier and English. I also really like the Peterson. The Peterson comes with the iron mount which I like, but it's a little smaller. The Hern, it looks like it takes some additional machining to make it fireable?

Dominick Carpenters website is no longer there, I'd like to see some of his stuff too.

[AR22]

Yeah Micheal does some great work..He has done stuff for the rich and famous and built a carriage for one of the Guns the Alamo needed a carriage for..

Dom has had some health issues in the last couple years..He makes some cool stuff, but his stuff is kinda out of the historically correct realm..He makes some fun stuff though at very reasonable price levels for the hours he puts in them..

I was not aware his website was not up..He does have alot videos on youtube showing his work though..I have actually owned two of his little Guns in the past..One a buddy has now..The other went to a Graybeard forum..

[Spyder]

I keep going back to that Petersen swivel gun. I think for a first timer, it looks about right for me in price, size, and bore. I like that it comes with the mount as well, so it can just be bolted down, and on my next Cannon, I can go a little bigger and fancier.

But I haven't seen any reviews of his stuff yet, and safety is my top priority. Hern swivels I also like, and it looks like they need the fuse hole finished to be able to be fired, and I'd have to build some sort of mount, but they're well known and the external dimension is a little more what I had in mind.

I'll keep looking in spare hours here and there until I figure out what to get for an intro gun!

[Sir Toast]

I hear there are the latest Russian cannons for sale in the Ukraine. Just sayin'.

[FeuerFrei]

I keep going back to that Petersen swivel gun. I think for a first timer, it looks about right for me in price, size, and bore. I like that it comes with the mount as well, so it can just be bolted down, and on my next Cannon, I can go a little bigger and fancier.

But I haven't seen any reviews of his stuff yet, and safety is my top priority. Hern swivels I also like, and it looks like they need the fuse hole finished to be able to be fired, and I'd have to build some sort of mount, but they're well known and the external dimension is a little more what I had in mind.

I'll keep looking in spare hours here and there until I figure out what to get for an intro gun!

My info may be dated but IIRC the unfinished (sans touch hole) is to avoid liability coming back to them due to a knucklehead over stuffing powder down the pipe.

Drill the hole and YOYO. I don't think many if any test fire their creations for this reason.

Pressure testing a black powder gun can be both easy and safe. I'm speaking of soda can sized bore and smaller IME.

[Spyder]

Yepz thats just understanding. If its just finishing a hole, that's easy, but I thought I'd seen it needs a sleeve placed in the fuse hole as well. I could have misread.

[FeuerFrei]

Yepz thats just understanding. If its just finishing a hole, that's easy, but I thought I'd seen it needs a sleeve placed in the fuse hole as well. I could have misread.

That sounds familiar. I think it needs a threaded sleeve to screw into the barrel so you can replace the sleeve when the whole erodes from firing. Replaceable touch hole.

*my little creation has no sleeve. If it erodes too much I'll toss it back into my shop bone yard and build another one. I just use cannon fuse which I drilled the barrel to match the dia.

[Spyder]

I'll have to do some more reading. I'm not looking for a new project as I'm about a billion behind on those, but if it's a pretty simple hand tools thing, I may go that route.

[CSACANNONEER]

Quality of materials, workmanship and period correctness will influence price. I saw the best (in authenticity and workmanship) scaled down Parrot Rifle at the Antique Arms show in January. I believe the manufacturer was asking about $5K for it. I've seen full scale repros without rifling and only capable of firing blanks, sell for less than that. Then again, I know two different people who have scored +$50K original tubes (on crappy carriages) for a lot less than $5K. Last summer, there was an add for a scaled down something or other posted at the Coalinga range. They do have a cannon shoot every there every year. If you're interested in live fire, I would recommend attending that or another live fire event and talking with those folks prior to making any decisions. Of course, if a too good to be true deal drops in your lap before then, grab it.

[Spyder]

Made a decision and purchase. Itll be a week or three, and I'll show pics then. 😁