Shooting Marbles?? Is that smart?

[TDM]

Poor little kitties.

 

[david w]

I lost all my marbles years ago.

 

[Flint Striker]

It might, but ball bearings wouldn't shatter like I would've expected a marble to do (apparently it didn't), and if you patched it in a smooth-bore, the steel shouldn't contact the bore. Plenty of history shooting odd stuff down the bore... chain, nails, steel shot, etc. I'm also sorta wondering if anybody tried shooting turned wooden bullets... maybe made of lignum vitae or ironwood.

These are all probably Bad Ideas that the "Good Idea Fairy" or the "Emperor Mong" whispered into the ears of different people over the years, but we humans like to experiment...

I know someone who tried shooting round hardwood beads out of a small blackpowder cannon. They were actually pretty accurate for winging them at stuff with no sights. They even grouped on paper. I can’t imagine wood could hurt the barrel of a muzzleloader even if it did somehow touch the rifling. Glass or steel though… nope. Not for me with what a decent muzzleloader costs.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Not for me with what a decent muzzleloader costs.

Get an indecent one then

 

[Bushfire]

I always recommend knitting to them.

Now you're being ridiculous, that involves two sharp needles. Way too dangerous!

 

[Nazgul58]

I have 2 cannons, 1 inch bore, 30" barrels. They are tool steel my father made in the 70's. He made a mold for lead which we have used a lot. I found a source at work for scrap 15/16" steel ball bearings. They work well on top of a wad. We have never set them up for real accuracy testing.

One thing is steel will bounce/ricochet off almost anything. The lead balls carry a long distance, the steel does too but in any direction it chooses. With any cannon there has to be lots of room downrange. On the farm where we shoot they can be heard hitting the trees after bouncing off the ground. They have another 100 acres to stop so it is safe.

Don

 

[John May]

I like Mark’s videos, he does the things that most shooters wouldn’t dream of doing without overthinking anything. What muzzle loading is all about!

 

[m4banger]

Have you ever tried this with steel ball bearings? I would think you'd have better consistency of size and weight. If you patch 'em you shouldn't have any barrel damage. I'd have been afraid of getting shards of glass all over and/or maybe having the ball shatter within the bore where it might damage the barrel. I'm liking that Pedersoli though. Now I gotta go Google it up!

By the looks of the powder residue on the steel targets looks like the marbles were turned back to sand on impact. Would have been neat to see the impact in slow motion.

 

[mkabe]

roundball,
Who many here may still remember did extensive testing with marbles and brass balls…
Here’s an old post of his talking about brass balls.

View attachment 201881

Brass is expensive anymore though. Not being critical at all but what’s the point?

 

[mkabe]

That's what bb guns are for.

Or air rifles, or better 22 Shorts and CB Shorts out of a long (24 in.) barreled rifle.
Except I don’t shoot cats just pesky tree rats raiding my bird feeders.

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Don't listen to the haters Mark, keep those videos coming. I almost cried a little today when my wife looked at me and said " Hey, it's Sunday, is there a new video out from that quirky black powder guy ? "

I got to admit I cringed a little when that marble got stuck, as options were less than with lead. Glad you got it out with no damage to the gun and at the same time kind of debunked the whole "pipe bomb" myth caused by not fully seating the ball or marble in this case. God bless.

When a person often post videos on Youtube....there is always some that disagree and occasionally others are brutal with comments. That's all part of being in the public spotlight. As a former bill collector, there isn't anything I haven't already heard or read in the comments. I offer my blessings to those folks and move on.
I use that same gun in a .600 lead ball shooting video a few days after this one was finished. I'll be posting it soon. That rugged smoothbore works just fine.
Thanks for watching....

 

[smo]

The point at the time (2015) if I recall was using other projectiles Incase of the upcoming lead ban…

Brass is expensive anymore though. Not being critical at all but what’s the point?

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

By the looks of the powder residue on the steel targets looks like the marbles were turned back to sand on impact. Would have been neat to see the impact in slow motion.

I would LOVE to show a slo-mo impact! I need to test that with my cameras.....and.....to see how slow my editing program will show slow motion with clarity. I may need to pick up some better cameras to try that.
Thanks for watching....

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Sort of got ‘forced’ into using marbles one time. Guy I worked with asked if I could let his boys shoot a muzzleloader. Told him sure, we could even do it on his property, as it was much closer than the gun range. Then his wife laid down the law. Kids were not allowed to handle or be near lead nor was lead to be used on their property. I had a tub of marbles that I used to teach simple statistics and probability and sorted out a quantity that measured between .52” and .55”. Remember being surprised how much they varied in diameter and they for sure were not round. Patched over 30 grains of powder in 58 caliber flint and percussion guns, the boys were destroying clay pigeons at 25 yards or so by the end of the session. Saved a quantity in case ever needed again, or maybe for slingshot ammo.
View attachment 201789

If we could ever get together...I'd help you lose some of those marbles!
They are fun to shoot, especially at steel!

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Well, I'd guess that BP Maniac has pretty thick skin or he wouldn't be posting a video of himself shooting marbles out of a muzzleloader. It WAS an interesting video, and I would not have been brave enough to try it in one of my own guns. Just recently discovered BP Maniac and look forward to more videos.

Thanks for watching my friend.....
I have several other wacky shooting videos like this one over on the BPMS Channel.
New videos are posted most every Sunday unless I'm out of town shooting BP videos with others here in the midwestern USA.

 

[SOLANCO]

Or air rifles, or better 22 Shorts and CB Shorts out of a long (24 in.) barreled rifle.
Except I don’t shoot cats just pesky tree rats raiding my bird feeders.

Don't generally shoot cats. Unless one starts hunting at our bird feeders.

 

[brazosland]

Why stick a bunch of junk down your barrel? Not good for huntingput a bunch of loose firecrackers down the dang thing,,,,sheesh

This is actually a good idea!

 

[rich pierce]

As a novelty target, shooting marbles would be pretty challenging.

 

[2 shots]

Why stick a bunch of junk down your barrel?

because he's a maniac , and does crazy things as experiments for fun. great stuff.

 

[mkabe]

I wish this ‘nut’ were a close neighbor of mine, but not too close. That would make me nervous with the WACHY stuff he tries. I like him!