4 bore blunderbuss question

[Leonredbeard]

One of my friends from Union County, PA, built a four bore blunderbuss and took it to Dixon's gunmaker's Fair this past weekend and had it on display for judging. Now this calls a question to mind. With ten drams (276 grains) of Fg powder and three ounces of shot :shocking:, if you threw a clay bird and pointed the 'buss in its general direction, would you break it every time ? Does anyone have any experience with this? I hope he brings it to the Rifle Frolic, Labor Day weekend. I want to beg him to let me shoot it! ::
God bless.
volatpluvia
pistuo deo lalo

 

[eat moose meat]

The guy that built the blunderbuss was that B.J habermehl.

 

[wulf]

I wuz told by experts that a gun will shoot from the last tightest place in the barrel. The funnel on the blunderbus is for easy/quick loading. Try and get a ramrod in the muzzle of a ryfl while on a bouncing stagewagon or horse back. :curse: There is a lot of talk about the coning of the muzzle not effecting the accurcy of a ryfl,,,,so :shocking:

 

No more than using a quickly pointing, cylinder bored 4 bore shotgun with an equally short barrel. Why not try it so you can prove it to yourself?
: Go for it - have fun - knock yourself out - shoot the dang thing so you can tell us exactlyWHAT happens and remove specualtion. You have more opportunity to 'PROVE' this that we do.
: To match the weight of the 4 bore ball I have, at 1,454gr., you need approximately 3.3 ounces of shot. Make certain you use a good overpowder wad. You wouldn't want the powder gasses mixing with the shot, reducing pressure and velocity.
: If the barrel of this piece has, as some did, a gentle taper of the muzzle cone, starting back about mid barrel, I expect it might shoot wider due to only about 8" or so of barrel having a true cylinder bore. An 8" to 10" barreled shotgun without any choke, will not shoot a small pattern at 20 yds., generally. Another aspect of this short a barrel, is velocity. I expect the off side of a coup can would be safe, and perhaps the on-side as well from an effective length of 8".
: So- how long is the true cylinder part of the barrel?
: Have fun - but shoot it - if a friend of mine owned it, we'd both be shooting it & we would know the answers to the questions.

 

[musketman]

To match the weight of the 4 bore ball I have, at 1,454gr., you need approximately 3.3 ounces of shot.

At 585 pellets per ounce of #9 shot, thats a cloud of 1930 pellets... :winking:

 

YES - quite a cloud for sure, however, at a recoil level most people will withstand, TODAY, they'll only be going 400fps. or less (50 or 60 yard velocity from a normal load- ie: expended for that size, and have a range of just a few feet.
: There are few people who would fire the 'normal' load from that piece, let alone, fire a second.
; Personally, I believe that bore is too large for shot to be fired from the shoulder & still be effective, however the ball, with a regualton load of 12 drams or so, would have enough power to do it's primary job. Large shot, IE: .45 or .50 cal balls, would probably do just fine as well. That would make an 11 ball load of 128gr..440's or 8, .495" balls. Now, the load is starting to sound interesting and have context.

 

[musketman]

volatpluvia:

Is the barrel made of iron, steel or brass?

That would also be a factor in the load it shoots...

 

yes-yes

 

[robinghewitt]

would you break it every time ?

It works with about the same load in a wall gun, nobody missed when we tried that.
Click here for a picture ::

 

[musketman]

would you break it every time ?

It works with about the same load in a wall gun, nobody missed when we tried that.

I want one... :thumbsup:

 

[Leonredbeard]

Thanks for the opinions, guys! I know the guy as B.J., don't remember his last name. We are somewhat informal at Union County ML Assoc. I see him once or twice a year. The barrel is steel and it is considerably longer than the fourteen inchers you see for sale. It is probably custom ordered. I would say the cylinder bore pare is at least sixteen inches in length. You can bet I will shoot it if I have to beg, and I don't believe I will have to beg. I'll bring an extra bag of shot for the priviledge. Thanks for the pictures of the wall guns being shot. The grimace on the one guy's face says it all! I am not too recoil sensitive and I would fire it once with a full ten dram charge and three ounces of shot. It seems to me one could hold the gun out at full arms length, but if it gets a run on you....hmnn! :crackup:
God bless.
volatpluvia

 

[eat moose meat]

Thats B.J. then he is a good friend of mine he lives in Northumberland. I saw that buss when he was building it. I have 2 of his guns. A .40 cal lancaster and a 72 english fowler. he is a great guy. I lived in PA for 2 years. Him and I went to my last vous down there in june.

 

[Leonredbeard]

Eat Moose Meat,
Were you at the smoothbore shoot the first weekend in June. I was there. Had a good time. I don't remember you. Describe yourself. Of course, if it was a different event then I still wouldn't know you. :hmm: By the way, I like bufalo meat. I wouldn't mind shooting one at a bufalo ranch somewhere with the wheellock and putting all that meat in the freezer for some years to come. ::
God bless.
volatpluvia
pistuo deo lalo

 

[eat moose meat]

I think i know who you are now you were shooting clay rabbits with a wheelock in 2002 at union cty. right

 

[eat moose meat]

I moved back to maine the weekend of the smoothbore shoot. I was at union cty for the last 2 yrs. at the rondy I usually camp with tom sones. Im 5'10 black hair brown eyes dark complexion. Built like a tree trunk.

 

[Leonredbeard]

eat moose meat,
You are right, I was shooting clay birds with the wheellock at the 2002 rifle frolic. I remember you now! You were with Tom and the young fellow he had just got into BP shooting. You were telling the amusing stories about the flatlanders. So glad to hear from you again. I sure hope many of the guys are there this year. I really enjoy many of them once or twice a year. The amazing thing to me is that I broke a number of the clay birds I was shooting at! ::
God bless,
volatpluvia
pistuo deo lalo

 

[eat moose meat]

Thats me how are ya. unfortunatly im not going to make union cty. this yr. I had to move back to maine. We do have a wonderful little rondy here i october. we go out on saturday and have a primitive grouse hunt we got alot of them here. It really is a small world. I occasionaly find iron pyrite up here in maine i think i told you that. If i find pick up some more in my woods ramblings Ill send it to you. I called B.J. the other night I told hiim to join the forum and he did. I think he built that Blunderbuss for a guy in hawaii.

 

[B.Habermehl]

The gun may be seen at my website Critter's Corner. www.angelfire.com/pa5/firelockspa Just click on the pictures to open the galleries and enlarge the pictures. The gun has cast-on shaped into the butt just in case the owner really shoots this beast to prevent bruised cheek bones. The gun weighs around ten pounds so that may help recoil. I doubt I will fire the piece as delivery time constrains me. My research leads me ot the conclusion that the flared muzzle is for both ease of loading on a pitching carrrage or ship's deck, and intimadation. I can't picture myself staring down that muzzle if I were a highwayman! BJH

 

or having it aimed AT you BY a Highwayman.

 

[Leonredbeard]

BJ!
Sorry to hear you will not be able to bring it to the rifle frolic. It really impressed me. Welcome to the forum. I look forward to exchanges with you as we all go along. When I left you at the bench at the blacksmith shed at the Fair, I dialed Jeff in Arizona on my cell phone and let him hear the cannon at 11AM. He enjoyed that :haha:, it helped him feel connected again. Sure wish he could be here again for the Frolic.
God bless.
volatpluvia (Leon)