Black powder barrel/chamber pressure question...

[RANGER295]

I am thinking about making a 1862 style Gatling gun. For those of you that are not familiar with this weapon, it had chambers that were loaded like a cap and ball revolver, were fed from a magazine, and indexed with a barrel like a revolver. I am wondering in a weapon like this, how much pressure the chambers would have to hold vs. the barrels? It would be similar to a cap and ball revolver. I am planning on machining the chambers myself and have no concerns making them strong enough but I am concerned about the barrels. Do they have to hold as much shock and pressure as the chamber? All of the information I can find is based on muzzle loaders where the chamber is part of the barrel.

[Divernhunter]

Would that be classified as a machine gun?

[ar15barrels]

I am thinking about making a 1862 style Gatling gun. For those of you that are not familiar with this weapon, it had chambers that were loaded like a cap and ball revolver, were fed from a magazine, and indexed with a barrel like a revolver. I am wondering in a weapon like this, how much pressure the chambers would have to hold vs. the barrels?

Most black powder arms have chamber peak pressures under 25k PSI and usually under 20k.

13-15K is about right for mid-pressure blackpowder loads.

[ar15barrels]

Would that be classified as a machine gun?

A machine gun is a type of firearm.
Muzzle-loading arms are technically not even firearms because they don't accept cartridges.

[mikeyr]

Would that be classified as a machine gun?

not a 1862 gun, it would not be a machine gun. But I don't know about a modern manufactured one.

I was at a black powder shoot once and this guy brought a 189x (8 I think) gattling in 45-70 to shoot, he was asked by many people if it was a machine gun? yes, is it considered one ? no. HE said anyone with the money ($250k or so) can buy one, no license needed due to the age.

[aspenvalley]

[Divernhunter]

Thanks I was just curious.

[CinnamonBear723]

[jimmykan]

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1471172

[RANGER295]

Most black powder arms have chamber peak pressures under 25k PSI and usually under 20k.

13-15K is about right for mid-pressure blackpowder loads.

Thank you, this is basically on par with the info I have found. My chamber will hold that pressure no problem. My issue is that the chamber is separate from the barrel (like a revolver) and I am trying to figure out if the barrel needs to hold the same pressure as the chamber. I know the shock load is different in a black powder firearm vs. a smokeless powder as well.

Would that be classified as a machine gun?

Gatling guns regardless of chambering are not classified as "machine guns" they are hand cranked and manually advanced as opposed to being automatic like a "machine gun" They are no different than say a trench shotgun that you can hold the trigger and slam fire it by pumping it. Unlike the "gatling" conversion for the 10/22 they are CA legal because they do not utilize a trigger activator/accelerator. They are designed to fire as action rotates. This is for a weapon that takes a standard fixed cartridge and has nothing to do with the black powder status.

Where you would run into problems with most Gatling guns in CA is the high cap mag. I am thinking that the black powder status should get me around this. The magazine will hold cap and ball chambers loaded with black powder and a lead ball and capped with a standard percussion cap. It is not really ammunition.

Right now there is nothing really to show. I have some CAD drawings I have started to cut out on my plasma table but that is it.

Here is the concept (the original) that I am basing the idea on.






This is what the chambers look like

[50BMGBOB]

My concern would be the DOJ would consider your "chambers" to be "cartridges". Just something to think about.

[RANGER295]

My concern would be the DOJ would consider your "chambers" to be "cartridges". Just something to think about.

Yes, that is something that I plan on looking into a bit more. I need to look up the definition of "ammunition". another option would be to not have the magazine but rather have the hopper like they had in another version I could just make the hopper hold 10 rounds and it would be open topped so more could be dumped in by a helper as you go.

[edgerly779]

It would be fun to build one. They are not technically difficult. We have the machine tool capability. It would be time consuming with no expectation of profit . Just a darn fun thing to build.

[50BMGBOB]

Under the old, now sun setted, Federal ban, hoppers and gravity chutes where exempt from the high cap mag ban but that doesn't mean they are in the CA ban. The ATF would issue letters stating the exemption, the CADOJ will not say one way or another until you are in court. How CA measures OAL is a good example of how CA interpets things their own way even when the law is verbatim to the Federal law.

[RANGER295]

I think it clearly would meet the California definition of a large capacity ammunition feeding device assuming the chambers met the definition of ammunition. If this Gatling was going to fire fixed cartridges, I do not think there would be any question or grey area even if gravity fed.