[festus]

That last photo looked like an awfully tight group for something aimed by propping it up on a chair with a plank.

Me smells a rural legend.............

Besides were I at the range and my neighbor pulled out that contraption I think I would retreat..........

[SW6906]

Read the text, those divots were from the barrel kick!

[mhking]

That last photo looked like an awfully tight group for something aimed by propping it up on a chair with a plank.

That's not the landing spot - that's the take-off spot, moved a little bit each time, since the pipe shoves itself into the ground on each firing.

[fqued]

Those were the divots caused by the cannon's backward and downward motion as the powder exploded, not the bowling balls landing. those bowling balls are in the swamp waaay down yonder.

[eno_]

No, that's what the breech end of the gun did to the dirt under it.

[archy]

That last photo looked like an awfully tight group for something aimed by propping it up on a chair with a plank.

A pal of mine shoots Revolutionary War muzzleloading cannon, mostly firing blank charges for reenactments and parades, occasionally other ceremonies, as when the Queen came to the US for the anniversary of the surrender of the British forces during the Revolutionary War. He was resplendant in his redcoat in uniform for that one, and was awarded for his appearance and effort, as well as the honours offered by his two Guns, by a few words of encouragement from HRH herself.

But in our case, he was around for a local annual reenactment, and we invited him to put on a soldiers' familiarization on the period Brown Bess musket at a nearby gun club range, with both members and those from the local National Guard infantry company in attendance. He brought his two Wicked Sisters along, and using a large cardboard shipping box for a motorcycle as a target, laid and fired his guns for a five-shot volley while a crew of assistants performed the reloading drill, about 15 seconds taking place between shots.

At the end of the exercise, the target, set up at about 275 meters, was retreived. The five three-inch holes in it could have been covered with the lid of a 55-gallon drum; I had no idea smoothbore guns could be so accurate.

He had us reset the target out at about 50 paces, and we found out that when the last crew reloaded their piece, they did co with a grapeshot loading instead of a solid projectile. He let fly, and the target was shredded into unrecognizable shreads.

I am not no longer particularly surprised by excellent results by large-bore gunners familiar with their weapons, though sometimes still in awe of their skill.

-archy-/-

[cajun-jack]

i would retreat also...but just far enough i wouldn't get hurt watching him trying not to get hurt lol

[Robert A Cook PE]

Reverse your point of view.

The last "group" was the divots at the launch spot.

(I'd definitely go with a more stable mount before I'd let him soot again - the threat of a cannon this size firing that far in an unknown, uncontrolled direction - after tilting/rolling off of the (not-braced) reversed chair legs is too great.

[Old Professer]

That last photo looked like an awfully tight group for something aimed by propping it up on a chair with a plank.

That's where the butt end of the pipe went in the ground on recoil; to keep from drilling the hole deeper than the length of the "cannon", the shooter simply moved it, chair and all, a few inches each shot.

[R. Scott]

Not a shot group - recoil indents.