My first BP mortar

[tom_in_vt]

My first Coehorn Style Signal Mortar.

I just purchased this. Anyone have any input on golf ball loads? It says 200 grains of fg or ffg without a golf ball. Would 100 grains with a golf ball be a decent starter load?

Excuse my ignorance, I have no experience with this type of thing, only BP rifles and revolvers.
thanks,
Tom

 

[Treestalker]

Oh, that thing's going to get you in so much trouble...

 

[Gtrubicon]

Something like this is as close to golf as I would ever get! Let’s call it redneck golf, yes we golf with cannons!

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

Dang man! Start off with 30gr. No sense in finding things out the hard way.

 

[tom_in_vt]

Dang man! Start off with 30gr. No sense in finding things out the hard way.

Safety third! Kidding (kinda)

 

[Gtrubicon]

Hold my beer and watch this! A rednecks famous last words!

 

[Sam squanch]

I just use 30 to 50 grains of 2 f in mine. You are just lofting the ball to land on top of your target, so no need to waste powder.

 

[hawkeye2]

100 grains would put that golf ball into low earth orbit! 30 grains would be a decent starter load.

 

[Treestalker]

A seemingly ridiculous small charge of powder will feed a mortar like nobody's business. Start with 5 gr 2f and see what happens...

 

[tom_in_vt]

100 grains would put that golf ball into low earth orbit! 30 grains would be a decent starter load.

Glad I asked!

 

[Captndan]

No reason to blow it up on the first try. 30Gr. max!

 

[brazosland]

Start small. Use colored balls.

 

[simonbeans]

A friend made this for me many years ago. And, it is also bored for a golf ball. I attach a colored streamer, in this case, an orange strip of cloth via a drywall screw. Using 1F cannon powder, a bare ball gets launched and is found days, weeks, years later in the woods somewhere. But with the streamer, you can usually follow it down. We have a small cedar tree in the middle of the backyard which is next to the woods. Object is to drop the ball into the cedar. Elevation and wind are mainly the controlling factors. I use a 35mm film can for powder measure. It does go boom.

 

[BadDaditood]

Is it sitting on a high chair? 1960s vintage, the magic mushrooms gave it away ;-)

 

[toot]

MAGIC MUSHROOMS, SILLA SIBEN is / was a great way to take a trip without leaving your home!

 

[nightwolf1974]

100 grains would put that golf ball into low earth orbit!

And that's a BAD thing?

 

[Woody Morgan]

I like the streamer. Talk about leaving a trail...

wm

 

[BillinOregon]

That streamer is a great idea.

 

[Commodore Swab]

I cast a batch of these, remember too much powder and the ball is too hard to track. We would fire out into the ocean but could you imagine going to a golf course with your mortar and a putter

 

[bisleyjohn]

I’m on the way to the fettling shed - just kidding officer