It's a descendant of the archetypal firearms made in the 13th century, the original handgonnes. A small, portable cannon affixed to the end of a staff, they represent a nascent firearm, with a touchhole for ignition, a short bore, and a closed end where powder and ball were to be loaded. Some original handgonnes can be seen here.
The quality on my proto-Snubbie-from-Hell™ is evident:
Spear does some impressive smithing. And I think it's quite fitting that he begin what I can only assume will be a long and successful career as a gunsmith with the earliest form of firearm; truly, he begins at the beginning. Very zen. It's not every day you get to see one of the earliest forms of firearms, let alone hold one in your hand.
Last shot is the naughty end:
Yes, that is a .50". Dianne Feinstein would have you believe this could shoot down an airplane...
Of course, this had to be done:
All that's left is to
That is all.
9 comments:
Heh, I was right all along. Looking forward to seeing you touch one off.
I remember reading about how to fire one of those.
Use one hand to steady it, one hand to point it in the direction you are aiming and one hand to touch the match to the hole.
Aiming is just as simple, keep one eye on the target, one eye on the match and one eye on the touch-hole.
Win!
wanna hear the boom! wanna hear the boom!
Very nice.
I've always been a fan of blackpowder.
Serious question. Is Spear taking on more orders?
Fred and Don,
Don't worry. There will be video. Ideally it will *not* include footage of me bouncing the handgonne off my noggin...
Angus,
Yeah, that's pretty much how I understand the process will work... I need to spend more time near the nuclear power plant, apparently...
The_Jack,
I can put you in touch with Spear if you're interested. I am certain he can make more... :)
Sweet. We'll talk next time we're both on GBC.
I've got a big ol' mortar and a 50 cal flintlock so a 50 cal handgonne is something I've got the kit for.
I do wonder about the three hand thing, as my mortar just sits on the ground in it's carriage.
Oh another thing, be careful about the fuse. Due to the pressure they do fly out and can burn through tents and such.
At .50 caliber, is that large enough of a projectile to be considered a cannon?
http://www.thepirateking.com/historical/cannon_smoothbores_early.htm
I have videos of Evyl and I shooting one. Hilarious and strangely identical.
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