Ever seen one?

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HUnter58

HUnter58

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Throughout the 18th and 19th century, grave-robbing was quite prevalent. Due to this, many cemeteries were protected with cemetery guns. The one below is from the Museum of Mourning Art. The gun sits on a turret, allowing it to move freely. It would be set up with a tripwire, meaning that when the unsuspecting grave robber got close to the grave that he intended to rob, he would trigger the weapon, killing him.

MBzZGfa.jpg
 
It seems booby traps were a legal means of defending ones property in the old days. Safes also used to be rigged with explosives designed to go off if the safe was forced open or tampered with. It was not uncommon and something to consider if you ever run into an old 19th century safe and apparently from what I see here digging up old graves too. I do not doubt there were all sorts of ,civilian used and otherwise, booby trap rigs employed during those times for a variety of purposes.
 
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Never heard of one but I’m not at all suprised. Booby traps still are used but to a lesser extent. Perhaps insurance has minimized the property loss concern. This device seems rather illconcieved. It doesn’t seem like it would be likely to hit its intended target, and it’s somewhat obvious. The powder in the pan would have to be replaced regularly as it would absorb moisture. I would assume that this must be intended for fairly recent graves because years later it seems like any buried riches would be ruined or forgotten.
 
But it would result in another grave to rob. If the robber owned anything worth robbing. On the other hand, graves were not always robbed for valuables. Skulls, body parts were bought and sold. Skeletons were popular with doctors and universities, medical schools.

Perhaps it was placed at a gate, in a small enclosure to protect it from the rain, and would blast someone jumping or breeching the gate. ?
 
HUnter58 said:
Throughout the 18th and 19th century, grave-robbing was quite prevalent. Due to this, many cemeteries were protected with cemetery guns. The one below is from the Museum of Mourning Art. The gun sits on a turret, allowing it to move freely. It would be set up with a tripwire, meaning that when the unsuspecting grave robber got close to the grave that he intended to rob, he would trigger the weapon, killing him.

View attachment 997213
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where is that museum?
 
The OP mentioned it was the "Museum of Mourning Art" in Pennsylvania. I went to the web-site, which said it was closed and auctioning off it's "stuff". So, one of us could own that fine, expertly crafted firearm or "Cemetery Gun". At first I didn't think it was a "real thing" and thought maybe it was for protecting a room at night, maybe in a castle or large mansion, but the museum seems convinced that that is what it is. I agree with WestKentucky, I don't see how it would be very effective, or able to hit it's target, unless there was a sign that said: "stand here-Pull rope".
 
Ugly Sauce said:
The OP mentioned it was the "Museum of Mourning Art" in Pennsylvania. I went to the web-site, which said it was closed and auctioning off it's "stuff". So, one of us could own that fine, expertly crafted firearm or "Cemetery Gun". At first I didn't think it was a "real thing" and thought maybe it was for protecting a room at night, maybe in a castle or large mansion, but the museum seems convinced that that is what it is. I agree with WestKentucky, I don't see how it would be very effective, or able to hit it's target, unless there was a sign that said: "stand here-Pull rope".
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From the looks of it, it seems like it would operate on the same principal as the original trail cameras. The gun is positioned and pointed in a certain direction and the tripwire is extended in the same direction so that whatever tripped the wire would be in the line of fire. If it was loaded with shot instead of a singular ball, I could absolutely see it being deadly at short distances. And with shot, it would increase your chances of a hit.

What I don’t understand is why it was built the way it was. A blunderbuss could do the exact same thing. Just set your eyelet behind the trigger. That is odd to me.
 
Similar weapons were set up inside windows/doors against thieves, as well as in the fields on estates by game managers for poacher control.
 
I can still see Coyote setting it up and waiting for road-runner to trip it. Well I suppose it would work, and yes with a big load of round balls you could get a pretty impressive "death spread". I doubt it was ever loaded with a single ball. I think it was built from whatever was laying around, hence why it was built the way it was. A blunder-buss would be a target for theft in it's self, probably no one would want to haul off that load, which every one within a hundred miles would know where it came from, and wouldn't be of any use to most people. With the block of wood it is chained to, it must weigh fifty pounds or more.

One of us needs to buy it, so we can test it out. !!!
 
Guns like this were often in the Golden State antique catalogs of the early 1960s where they were described as anti poacher guns.

With the master's Ghille checking the trails every day, refreshing the powder in the pan would be no big issue.

When they went off they certainly gave a report, whether they hit anyone or not, and alerted the Ghille that a trespasser that might be a poacher was in that area... possibly wounded with swan shot.

-kBob
 
If something like that was used today, the legal liability would be off the charts. If you want to bankrupt yourself, this is the way to do it. (Not to mention going to prison.)
 
Jim Watson said:
"Set guns" and other types of "mantrap" are illegal these days.
I think you would even be in dutch for personally staking out your business and shooting a B&E, although that used to be fairly common.
Kinder and gentler, you know.
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If your already in doing something to be in trouble for then why not go all out. I have heard rumor of meth labs and other things being booby trapped. Moonshine stills in recent times, and I feel certain that other things are set as well. I remember in the early 90s when a store went out of business where I grew up, that the sawed off double barrel 10ga pointed at the front door was found supposedly still rigged up but the trip cord had been cut where it couldnt be set anymore. Inside of a home I guarantee that there are still plenty of interesting setups that people have devised.
 
Here is a good show on Grave Robbing or Body Snatchers. There is no mention of set guns or whatever name you want to use to protect graves. Some graves were guarded by a person who sat there to listen for the bell. The bell? burying people who weren't quite dead yet was an old worry so they would rig a bell up to the occupant of the coffin so if they woke up six feet under they could signal to the watcher they were alive by ringing the bell. Thats where they saying "saved by the bell" came from.

 
During the 1980’s I worked at a convince store then out in the woods ( town has grown out around it now) and one of the day guys noticed a garden hose attached to our back spigot and into the woods.

The sheriff was called and a deputy followed the hose out, they said they expected to find a homeless camp. What they found was a fairly large “Rope Plantation” that is Canibis

Normally the Law Men would have just destroyed the crop and moved on in our area.

But these “farmers” had placed four devices constructed of water pipe, a rat trap, a shotgun shell and some other bits around their plot.

Whether these were to discourage deer from eating the crop or “man traps” those things really got the Sheriff department’s attention and they staked the place out several days before someone came to check the plants.

they got them.

Thanks to our local ag school at UF the area produced some quality pot.... but this was not it.

-kBob
 
Or if the guy who set the trap........forgot. Oooops. "Dang St.Peter! I forgot I set the trap!"

I was wondering today, while sitting there calling turkeys and hearing or seeing nothing, (except for some deer that walked by) what about the moral and emotional implications of setting such a trap, and then finding a dead man. Jump for joy and yell " I GOT ONE!!!"??? Or: "how was work today honey?" "Well I killed your cousin with the booby trap." Not quite the same as setting a mouse trap, or a snare for a rabbit. Or catching a fish.
 
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