Cascabel

They are legal in Texas.In fact there is no law against hunting deer or quail with cannon.Think claymore ambush ~CS Hunting deer with a cannon ? Take a look at this web page. Scroll down and read the whole story. Not GAoP, but a real cannon just the same. http://buckstix.com/howitzer.htm

Aye.... An honor. I am truly blessed..... >>>> Cascabel

Wot happened to the gallery? It has been down for a while.... >>>>> Cascabel

Aye, Blackjohn.... I agree with you on this. A much more realistic way to do it. It would be displayed nicely for the public if partially spread out, and could be easily hidden if the "authorities" put in an appearance. As a matter of fact, it might be kinda neat to have a couple of the British soldiers come by once in a while, and have some doxies distract them while the flag under construction is hastily hidden away. Gives several people something to do..... >>>> Cascabel

According to the MYTHBUSTERS experiments, cannonballs hitting between frames would make a nice round hole, so the plugs would work. The ones that I was shown did not have the appearance of great age, so I think they were likely modern ones, like Capt. Bo saw when he was in the Navy, although the guy that had them said they were old. I really can't speak for their age, other than if they actually were a couple of hundred years old, they had unusually favorable storage conditions. I have no idea what kind of wood they were, but they did not appear to be oak, as the grain didn't look like it, and I didn't try digging a fingernail into them to try the hardness. Also, they were not particularly heavy. Perhaps Capt. Bo knows what the Navy issue ones were made of. Maybe one of our historians can provide info on GAoP period damage control procedures. >>>> Cascabel

Some time ago, a guy showed me some fairly large conical wooden "plugs". They were about maybe 12 inches in diameter at the large end, tapering to about 4-5 inches at the small end, where they were cut off flat. Total length was about 30 inches. He told me that they were intended as plugs to temporarily stop up cannon ball holes below the water line from battle damage. It didn't seem reasonable to me, as I can't imagine a neat round hole being made in a wooden ship by cannon fire. I know about heavy canvas being hung over the side and fastened in place on the outside to slow down the leak, but never heard of using plugs. Any thoughts on this ? Blackjohn ? Foxe? >>>> Cascabel

Aye, Bo... I think you are on the right track. So often "documentation" and actual examples of period items are non-existant, so we must use a bit of common sense or "educated guessing" as to exactly what some non-durable items looked like. The sling that went with this weapon crumbled away many years ago, so we are left with only the gun itself. At that point, you need to think about what would work from a practical standpoint. It can be considerably easier for those that do military re-enactment because of written government specifications and the higher likelyhood of surviving examples because of higher rates of production. Sometimes even government specifications were a bit vague and open to interpretation, plus slight variations in issue items were dictated by available materials and production expedients. Throw into the mix the fact that governments sold off surplus and obsolete gun parts, much as they still do today, and you can have some very interesting variations in what turns up in collections. I have seen numerous examples of Middle Eastern pistols and blunderbusses with high quality English or French locks. Usually the rest of the gun is not as good as the lock, and many times the lock is considerably older than the rest of the gun. >>>>> Cascabel

I got the picture from 'The History of Weapons of the American Revolution' by George C. Neumann. The caption says "Circa 1760-1770", but appears older to me because of the curved lockplate. The lock is marked "BUCKMASTER". The engravings indicate possible use by an officer or well-to-do individual. Perhaps someone has a listing of English gun makers showing the dates that they worked, and could shed a bit more light on it. >>>>> Cascabel

I don't think it is any kind of military issue piece at all. It just has a single point sling attachment that would lend itself nicely to a shoulder sling. I don't think the sling in any way other than basic concept resembled the heavy suspension rig used by dragoons. Most likely a simple strap diagonally across the body of much lighter type. The piece and the sling swivel doesn't have the heavy-duty appearance of a military weapon. >>>>> Cascabel

Gonna try again to post the picture, rather than just the link.... Any how, the piece is in the Lewis H. Gordon Collection. Picture scanned from one of the books that I have. Not the exact piece I was thinking of, but the first image that I found. English, 16'' brass barrel, overall length, 31 3/8" >>>> Cascabel

O.K., Shipmates, (and ye of little faith)...... Here 'tis http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i238/cas...Blunderbuss.jpg I hope it works. If not, I'll try again. >>>>> Cascabel

Somewhere I remember seeing a photo of a blunderbuss with a single swivel on the left side, held by one of the lock attaching screws. That would indicate to me use of a cavalry-type of sling. If I remember correctly, it was on a medium sized blunderbuss. If I can find the picture, I will post it here. There were a great many variations in blunderbusses that were private contract and one of a kind pieces. I think we can be reasonably sure that somebody carried one on a cavalry style sling. The single-point sling idea was still in existance in modern times with sawed-off shotguns carried under a coat during the roaring twenties gangster era. I say go for it !!!!!

I advise caution and preparedness on clothing. About three years back, it stayed so cold during PiP that I had on everything I owned. Waistcoat, coat, and watchcoat were needed to stay comfortable, even during the day. Usually it is very warm, but things can change, and you will be a long way from home. It can also get cold out on the ships after the sun goes down. >>>>> Cascabel

I can usually adjust scheduling to acommodate things, as long as I know in advance, so as to set up a time slot. Let me know, but I don't really need to know until the daily schedule is figured out. >>>>> Cascabel

I can do the flintlock demo if you want. I have done demos and instructional things at other events. Usually I do it "in character" >>>>> Cascabel

I found this on eBay.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-BOOK-Colson-KA...1QQcmdZViewItem Maybe should have posted it in Captain Twill. A period book that may be of interest. >>>> Cascabel

Aye, Shipmate.... Ye found the both of us. Sorry I didn't get to say hello.... >>>> Cascabel

Cascabel finally checking in..... Braze and myself arrived in town on Tuesday night after our long drive from Atlanta. I immediately set to work getting actors to replace the ones that were not going to be there for the Bonny & Read trial. I have been the director of the play for several years, and making sure it happens as it should falls to me. Sometimes I don't find out that everyone is not available until after I get there. This time, I was quite pleased with the new people, and they did a wonderful job. Thanks to Diosa, who played Mary Read, and all the others for making it a success. There is quite a lot of work that goes on "behind the scenes" at these events that many are not aware of. Thanks to Braze for getting the land battle organized. Harry worked tirelessy to make it all work, and a huge HUZZAH to him. I spent quite a lot of time on the "WOLF" sails, so I missed out on some of the fort activities, although I shouted assorted remarks at the fort along with lots of firing of powder from my blunderbuss and pistol. I know I missed out on meeting some Pub members, and for this I apologize. I had really wanted to be able to "put faces with the names", so if ever you spot me at an event, PLEASE introduce yourselves so that I can say hello. Those that I did get to talk to were most enjoyable. I had a chance to sit down and talk with Patrick Hand, which is always a pleasure. I had not seen him since Ojai, and I also got to meet Silkie. Capt. Jim is always a welcome sight. Don Maitz and his wife Janny Wurtz were on hand, and Janny brought her bagpipes to entertain us like last year. I'm going to try to talk her in to playing during the battle next time. If you ever get a chance to hang out with Don and Janny, you will find it a pleasure. Thanks to all for coming out and supporting the event. I know many came from great distances, and I'm glad everyone had fun. We even had repeat visitors from overseas !!!! Hope it is even bigger and better next year.... >>>>> Cascabel

Aye.... A satisfied customer may talk to his close friends about his experience, an unhappy customer will tell the whole world !!! Merchants need to keep this in mind. >>>>> Cascabel

Most likely a combination of properties. It is soft and easy to work with, it is reasonably durable, and also will not corrode or discolor, and won't cause a strange metallic taste in your mouth. I don't expect that the toxic aspects of some metals was known at the time, so that probably was not a consideration. Over all, gold is the most suitable metal of those commonly available at the time, even though it was expensive. >>>>> Cascabel

.....I'm not exactly sure what is meant by "mad dogging" ya. If it's bad, I apologize, but if it's good, I thank ye for the compliment. EVERYBODY is taller and younger than me !!!!! I drive cars older than most folks are, and if I get drunk, I don't have far to fall But..... what I lack in size, I make up for with MOUTH !!!!! Harrrrr !! The glare takes years of practice and lots of bad coffee..... >>>>> Cascabel

And some U.S. Navy info on tuning and sound links.... http://home.earthlink.net/~bosun-m8/id20.html

And here's a website with clickable links for some actual sounds... >>>>> Cascabel

Here ya go, Shipmates..... (see if this link works) http://www.readyayeready.com/navy-life/boa...swains-call.htm[/url] >>>>> Cascabel

Seems like a lot until you think about being a long way from home port, and possibly in a hostile area. No muzzle loading supply dealers at the nearest strip mall. Flints don't take up much space, and are durable in storage. The small arms would be quite useless if you ran out because of heavy useage or a high percentage of breakage, which can sometimes happen due to variations in quality. >>>>> Cascabel