Whaling Guns

[musketman]

"Thar she blows" was the cry as the 1830's whalers took to the row boats...

Armed with the Greener Gun, the whalers reeped the packs...

The GREENER GUN,

Developed in 1837 by English gunsmith William W. Greener was a bow-mounted swivel cannon used to shoot harpoons at whales and walruses. It became immensely popular among British and American whalers. Captain Charles Melville Scammon, who was famous for hunting gray whales around Baja California, commented in 1874, "Were it not for the utility of Greener

 

[Wes/Tex]

Now there's a "Canoe Gun" for ye! You suppose to try to get them on the jump like on the commercials or what??!! :: :blah: :crackup:

 

[Musketeer]

Wow! The stock on that shoulder model looks modern! Is that the original stock or a modern addition? :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

The shoulder models are still used by Alaska Natives for hunting bowhead whales. Usually hit them first with a hand-thrown harpoon attached to a big inflatable buoy. After the whale tires from dragging that around for a while and spends more time on the surface, get close and whack it with one of these for the kill shot. The projectile is loaded with black powder, fused to explode after penetrating a ways. I've always wanted a closer look at some of the guns- dates and such. They've been passed from father to son among whaling captains for a lot of generations.

 

[musketman]

Wow! The stock on that shoulder model looks modern! Is that the original stock or a modern addition? :thumbsup:

It is an original iron stock...

 

[Musketeer]

Any idea how they loaded those things? Was the harpoon just dropped down on top of some kind of over powder wad, or were they "fitted" into the barrel (sabot style or otherwise)? Musketman, I think you oughtta build one o' these for yerself! Musketman's Patented Olde Time Fish Sticker! ! :crackup: :thumbsup:

 

[capnwilliam]

Not sure how big of a market there is for 'em nowadays, though!

This is most interesting; I had the impression from MOBY DICK that harpoons were always thrown, not fired: and in MB, we're talking 1850's.

Capt. William

 

[Musketeer]

Ahab was just too durn cheap ta buy hisself a harpoon gun! And jist look at all the trouble it caused 'im! :crackup: :thumbsup:

P.S. I think Musketman should build several of these things and then invite some of us from the Forum over to his place for some blackpowder lawn darts! :crackup: :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

Hand-thrown harpoons simply don't have the penetration or cause the kind of internal damage for "quick" kills on big whales. In the past Alaska Natives used poisoned harpoon heads which could take days to kill. After a stick, they simply spent days patrolling the waters and beaches for whales that died later. There was a whole process for determining how long a whale had been dead, and whether or not is was still fit to eat. Lots of secrecy and ritual on the poisons, as well as the whole whaling process.

In addition to explosives, lances were also used to kill smaller whales, but only after they had been harpooned and "tethered" to a buoy, which they dragged around till exaustion kept them at the surface and allowed close approach for using the kill lance.

If all this had been done in Mexico, I think they would have named it "Huevos Grande."

 

[capnwilliam]

I always had the impression that the harpoon was used to stick the whale and let him exhaust himself trying to get free; then the mates in the boats killed the whale with their lances, after the creature's energy was spent and they were able to get close.

Capt. William

 

[BrownBear]

Yup, and the shoulder fired guns with explosive projectiles replaced the lances. The first "strike" utilizes a barbed harpoon point to attach a large buoy to the whale, which in turn disrupts diving (they aren't crazy enough to attach their small boats to a diving, wounded whale). Following that and once the whales are exausted, the boats work close for the kill shot (or stabs with a lance.) With larger modern whale guns or cannons, the harpoon combines functions- a tip with a delayed explosive for the kill shortly after the first strike, power for deep penetration, very large barbs to hang on, and heavy line to keep the ship attached to the whale while it expires. Contemporary Natives have more in common with the whalers of the Moby Dick era than with contemporary whaling ships, with little changed from antiquity beyond the inclusion of 19th century shoulder-fired kill guns.

 

[silverfox]

What I'm seeing here is mostly geared to Alaska. How about some of our Hawaii Members join in this discussion. While in Hawaii last year it seems that every port had 2 or 3 of the shoulder fired harpoon guns if you looked around. Sorry I was not allowed to hold one and nobody seemed to know anything about how to load or shoot one. It must of taken a big man to shoot one as they looked large and heavy.
ok Hawaii: Fox

 

[cable]

canoe gun? yep, that would shoot through most any canoe, even one of them big freighter modesl!

 

[Musketeer]

canoe gun? yep, that would shoot through most any canoe, even one of them big freighter modesl!

:: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :: :thumbsup:A new extreme sport: Canoe Whaling!

 

[musketman]

Anyone want to take a shot at the charge this thing took, I'll say around 100 grains of Fg, the barrel looks massive enough to handle it...

 

[BrownBear]

Everything you wanted to know (and a lot more). Lots of variability. One model used a 3 dram charge, and harpoon weight was limited to 3 pounds in order make recoil manageable:

http://www.whalecraft.net/Shoulder_Guns.html

 

[musketman]

Great Link, I want one...

In 1846 Oliver Allen of New London, Connecticut received a U.S. Patent for a gun-fired bomb lance (U.S. Patent No. 4,764, Sept. 19, 1846). In 1848 he received another patent for a harpoon fired from the same gun (U.S. Patent No. 5,949, Dec. 5, 1848). The gun itself was not patented because its features were common to many muzzle-loaded percussion shoulder guns at that time. However, it was introduced at the time of his gun harpoon and bomb lance, 1846. The gun was cast iron and weighed 23 lbs. The weight was necessary to absorb some of the recoil experienced when discharging a large projectile. The powder charge was limited to approximately three drams, and the projectile was limited to approximately three lbs., otherwise recoil would be excessive.