How far will a BP cannon shoot a golf ball?

[redhawk44]

This guy I know has a BP cannon that has a bore just right for a golf ball.

He lives 1/2 mile from a peice of property where I shoot and he said that he was shooting in my direction with golf balls in that cannon and he wondered if I ever found any of them.

I told him that I didn't think a golf ball would carry 1/2 mile, but he seems to think it will.

Do any of you know what the range of something like that would be? :surrender:

 

[J.D.]

I don't know the maximum range of golf ball, but it probably would depend on the weight of the charge.

From personal experience, I do know that golf balls will travel far enough to hit boulders and bounce back in the general direction of the gun crew.

Now, that will really get folks steppin' and fetchin'. :rotf: :rotf:
J.D.

 

This guy I know has a BP cannon that has a bore just right for a golf ball.

He lives 1/2 mile from a peice of property where I shoot and he said that he was shooting in my direction with golf balls in that cannon and he wondered if I ever found any of them.

I told him that I didn't think a golf ball would carry 1/2 mile, but he seems to think it will.

Do any of you know what the range of something like that would be? :surrender:

You'd be surprised. It all depends on the load, windage and elevation.

CP

 

[Blizzard of '93]

John Daly can whack a golf ball with a club near 1/4 mile so BP ought to be able to put 'em into low orbit :blah:

 

[mike alexandre]

My 2" cannon with 2 onz powder will shoot a golf ball about 400yds.

 

[HarborMaster]

My 2" cannon with 2 onz powder will shoot a golf ball about 400yds.

Do you use a patch with that? a golf ball is about 1.68 to 1.70 .

.30-.32 is quite a bit of windage .., yes?

 

[mike alexandre]

Yes, its wrapped in a cloth. You can also cut a wad circle from plywood and tape it to the ball first. Gives the thing a bit more rigidity in the barrel.

 

[Wes/Tex]

All the way from the Tee Box of Hole 1 to the Green of hole 18!

 

[paco97]

All the way from the Tee Box of Hole 1 to the Green of hole 18!

On my golf course this is about 50 yards.

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

I think the "game" of golf would be immensely improved if cannons were employed.

 

[mike alexandre]

I dont think the ballistics work like that. Its got something to do with the faster you propel a sphere the faster it slows down. The first 150 yds of the gb coming out of my cannon you couldnt see it. Vision came as it slowed down after that. The ball then took quite a noticable bend to the right - I believe in golfing terms thats called a slice. This happened several times always bending to the right.

 

[Walks with fire]

Your gettin too much spin on it. Pull your right foot back, keep your head down; and by all means keep your eye on the ball. :grin:

 

[mike alexandre]

We tried to slow down the spin by tapeing the gb to a wooden wad and so forming a "slug". That didnt work either. So we resorted to good old lead ball. That really worked.
I also tried sliding my hips and keeping my head steady as I moved through lighting the touch hole but it didnt work either :rotf:

 

[CU_Cannon]

I’m not sure that that much range is possible but maybe.

This has to make me ask; what is the point of firing something out of a mortar if you can’t tell where it lands? Why not just shoot blanks? The point of firing something from a mortar is to see how far it goes and to try hitting something. Indiscriminately firing with no idea of where the projectile is landing is both unsafe and pointless.

 

[crgabel]

My Navel cannon tosses a golf ball 830 yards using 90 gr of ff powder. I do patch it with ticking to keep it snug in the bore
Craig

 

[mike alexandre]

To understand the sequence of events, I'll try to explain a little more without boring anyone.
Firstly, (some years ago) having just got the cannon (not mortor) I didnt have a ball mould for it so a golf ball or two were the only things I could find to fire.
Secondly, we only fire live once a year and that was a week after I got the cannon so it was golf balls or wait 55 weeks.
Lastly, the range we have access to once a year is huge and any projectile has miles to travel in safety.
As for aiming at anything, it was found that the gb was too light to be aimable and the next time the cannon was fired live I was able to use the correct diameter lead ball.

 

[John Taylor]

I gave up on golf balls, they don't shoot strait. Not to bad for the first 100 yards but after that you never know where they will go. Had some that when right and some that went left. had one that turned and went to the ground and a few went up and out of sight. A round lead ball is much better. A 2" lead ball can go through 2' of wood and still have plenty of power.

 

[tusti]

I remember shortly after WW11 I got hold of some aluminum BBs for my air rifle. Couldn't hit that obnoxious street light from my bedroom window like I could using the old copper ammo. They would corkscrew off to who knows where.

 

[Swivel]

Applied Industrial Technologies of Cleveland, Ohio sells 1&11/16 steel balls. That is the same size as a golf ball but it has a smooth surface and weighs 11.5 oz. They aren't cheep but if you can recover the cannon ball it could be OK .

 

[Col. Batguano]

super magnet man is another resource for steel ball bearings. I shoot 1" ones out of my 1/6 scale 1841 and they work pretty well. Just watch out for ricochets. Steel doesn't deform upon impact the way lead and zinc do.