Safe but simple cannon and/or mortar ignition?

Hornblower said that a naval cannon had to be fired with a linstock to heat the gun before the flintlock was reliable.

Lot of ideas out there.

This might be one to look at, you could use those .22 caliber blanks that you use for setting nails into concrete, easy to find at most hardware stores. Look for 'Ramset'.

Simple pull string flips the hammer over on to the case. I have also seen similar things done with a percussion caps on a nipple. Guess you could even go to a spring loaded arraignment for the hammer if you liked.

If you want an inexpensive barrel or entire set up. I met a guy out of College Station, Texas that makes cannons. Does both a field and a naval cannon set up. Looked good, saw his stuff at a local gun show. Real traditional look, shoots golf ball sized projectiles. Can't find a website or anything but I have his phone number. PM me if you want it.

First I think you might end up having a 'chamber' for the blank (using this term instead of powder load), with a smaller sized hole leading into the main tubes chamber.

Second, If you look at a few of them, they seem to have a device that restricts the movement of the hammer once it has struck the charge. I think that little ball in the picture above mitigates the hammer blow back, which should help in retaining the now empty blank casing.

One thing to remember with Ramset charges, they offer a bunch of different power loads.
From low to high: Gray==>Brown==>Green==>Yellow==>Red==>Purple. You can usually get a box of 100 for $<6.

The ones I have seen that use a regular BP rifle cap have a long threaded nipple, that has a typically small hole in it. The hammer seems to be a lot smaller on those also. Don't think that too much excessive gas will be blowing out of that hole, but it may get clogged easier, so cleaning might be more common. However, you will have a pick handy, so hopefully that will keep you shooting.

Another system I have heard about is one based on the 209 shotgun primer, like many use in in-line rifles. They seem to have a spring loaded mechanism that might be the most complex of the ignition systems you are looking at.

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How about something like the firing block for a 155 M109 series?

It is a separate piece that attaches to the gun via a camera type bayonet mounting and has a breech of its own and a breech block.

In the M109 they use a special .45-70 blank as the primer/ igniter but for small guns like golf ball shooters perhaps something like 209 shotgun primers might work

-kBob

Acera -- that is very nearly the setup used on a modern 155mm howitzer. The 155 used a primer about the size of a .30-30 shell, which was fit in a carrier. The carrier was screwed into the breech, and an L-shaped hammer was mounted below the carrier. The long arm of the L naturally pointed backward, and the lanyard was hooked to the short arm. A quick pull of the lanyard did the trick.

Thanks Vern, never knew that. Interesting, I figured they would have some electronic device these days.

Here is one of the items I was posting about. $24.
https://www.dixiegunworks.com/produ...cts_id=1642&osCsid=e2lja1f7uokasn6mvtbb0avee2

Acera, that's the same lock I mounted on a Dixie Gun Works cannon barrel 40 years ago.



The tube was about 6 inches diameter at the vent hole, and the bore was 2-1/4 inches, which means that the flash from the musket cap had to travel nearly two inches through the vent before it reached the powder bag. The only way I could get reliable ignition was to remove the musket nipple before each shot, fill up the vent with loose powder, and then re-install the nipple/cap.

The process became a lot simpler when I started using a .22 blank instead of the nipple/cap. The blank cartridge simply set down into the vent hole after I filled the vent with powder.... but of course, the spent blanks will go rocketing up into the air (maybe an archaeologist will find them someday)......

oftig, thanks. I had only seen them, not had any real world experience firing one set up like that. Just assumed the guys had them liked them or they would have ditched them for a better set up at some point.


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Well, if I had it to do over again, I would probably just use a linstock instead....

contraption

I use the slap hammer contraption on my 12 LB. Coehorn mortar. Never have had a failure to fire with musket caps.