Cannon with wooden shells with their own hands. Features of shooting from old firearms

How many of you have had to shoot with a real flintlock pistol or matchlock squeaker?
I guess there are few such lucky ones. However, finds of fairly well-preserved samples of ancient firearms are not uncommon, and naturally, the lucky ones, those who have found such weapons, have a desire to shoot once, try again. Therefore, I want to warn about some of the features when shooting from firearms of all times and peoples, talking about possible troubles.
I cannot show graphically samples of weapons. Take some illustrated guide to ancient weapons and refer to it while reading this work.
The first firearms appeared around the 14th century, but here even scientists have a lot of inconsistencies and it probably makes no sense to say that one weapon belongs to this century, or even to that. The weapon could survive several generations of its owners, remaining for several centuries quite combat-ready and, most importantly, in demand. Again, completely outdated models, after some time, suddenly again turned out to be beneficial in use. Therefore, we will not reckon with time.
The main stages in the development of firearms are approximately the following chain:
- firearms with wick ignition of a powder charge.
- with ignition from a spark of silicon locks.
-weapons with primer ignition.
- weapons with a unitary cartridge:
a) with wick ignition.
b) with capsule ignition.
c) with diesel ignition.
d) with ignition by an electric spark ...
-weapons with mechanical reloading.
- A weapon that uses the energy of a shot to reload.
Again, the weapon can be muzzle-loading, this is when the charge is inserted through the muzzle of the weapon and breech-loading. This is when the charge is inserted from the side of the shooter.
Now mix all the above differences in any order and come up with something unusually new and fantastic. I want to disappoint you, there are already such weapons, and if you look, you will surely find such weapons (in reference books). And surprisingly, it may turn out to be quite a classic, well-known weapon.
Let's start with wick samples. Classical samples are arranged relatively the same (pos.1). A barrel muffled from the treasury (breech) and an ignition device.
What is a treasury (breech) for a weapon? Once upon a time, threading on (steel) bolts and nuts was an extremely difficult task and was only done at state (state) factories. Rural blacksmiths could forge the barrel and even make bullet rifling in the barrel, but for threading, to plug one side of the barrel with a bolt, the barrel was carried to a state-owned enterprise and there they took and bought a breech bolt already threaded (pos. 2). On subsequent, more advanced weapon barrels, breech (silencing) bolts were no longer needed, but the name, parts of the barrel, remained the same.
The ignition device looked something like this. A hole was drilled in the breech of the barrel through which the fire was transmitted to the charge of gunpowder. In the simplest samples, for example, on guns (pos. 3), the hole was on top and part of the hole above the barrel was specially expanded, reamed, and a shallow seed hole was made. So that a little seed powder can be poured into the hole of the hole. On handguns, the seed hole was drilled from the side so as not to interfere with aiming. And the gunpowder was not poured into the seed hole, but on the seed shelf (pos. 4). This container with a recess is located next to the seed hole. And the priming shelf is made either integral with the barrel or as a separate part pressed against the priming hole of the barrel. The side shelves on the advanced trunks were equipped with folding caps, which were opened before the shot, turned to the side. By the way, Black "gunpowder could be made at that time and was made in any color: blue, red. yellow, white ...
The wick was brought to the gunpowder on the priming shelf either manually or with the help of special locks, where the shot could be fired by pressing an additional ignition lock lever. In this lock, the burning wick was attached to a special clamp, and when the trigger was pressed, the burning wick came into contact with the gunpowder on the shelf.
By the way, guns with similar locks are still used by hunters in Asia and Africa in remote areas. Even today there is an obvious benefit to using such ancient weapons. Especially when no one is in a hurry with a shot and preparation for a shot. Again, no primers and shells are needed. You can also save on bullet lead by firing the same bullet multiple times. Yakuts in the old days shot squirrels so that the bullet would get stuck in the tree trunk (behind the squirrel). Gunpowder was specially placed in the charge at a minimum. After the shot, they climbed a tree and dug out the lead.
Now imagine that you are shooting a squirrel from such a wick fusee. A squirrel sits high on a tree, you aim carefully, and gunpowder pours from an open shelf in your face, flying past a burning fuse ...
Or we shoot down the slope at a mountain goat, gunpowder from the shelf is pouring in the other direction and the shot can again break ...
But it's good to shoot on the battlefield. Imagine that you are in beautiful clothes, a musketeer's uniform and a wide-brimmed hat (this is so that a possible rain does not soak the gunpowder on the shelf) aiming at the enemy from your musket in an open field. There will certainly be a shot, gunpowder does not spill out of the shelf. It would be nice to shoot before the enemy.
And where did the Musketeers get the light for their wicks? To increase the defensive capability of the shooters, every tenth (musketeer) constantly wore a lit fuse and, if necessary, all the rest lit up from them.
Flintlock weapons have the same problem. Gunpowder from the shelf also spills out when shooting up or down. But you no longer have to toil with the extraction of a spark for a wick. A blow of flint on a steel flint and flint gave rise to a sheaf of sparks, sparks and set fire to gunpowder on a shelf.
There were two types of silicon locks: wheel locks and impact locks. In wheel locks, the flint wheel, rotating around its axis and making several turns, cut sparks from a flint pressed against it onto a shelf with gunpowder. The device is reliable enough to ignite gunpowder, but too complicated and expensive for those times. Percussion locks ignited gunpowder every other time, but were much simpler. Again, if the shot did not work the first time, you can try to shoot again. In the days of matchlocks and flintlocks, they relied more on a bayonet than on a fool's bullet.
In silicon locks, the shelf opened automatically before firing, but the weapon had to be kept with the locks up and preferably with the barrel in a horizontal position.
Capsule weapons, before firing, could be held as you like. As long as the capsule does not come off, a shot will be required. But here, too, there are hiccups. The primer sprays its red-hot fragments in all directions. The trigger drummer on a capsule weapon is made in the form of a cup with a slit in front (pos. 7) so that most of the fragments went forward, and behind the primer (usually on the keyboard) they make a special shield (pos. 5 and 6) to protect the eyes of the shooter. Shields are usually not made on pistols (and capsule revolvers), since the shooter holds the weapon far from the eyes. But the one who saw primer pistols, can say that these pistols differed little from shortened guns in their size and length of the barrels and therefore were often equipped with removable stocks. On such pistols, shields to protect the eyes were a must. Pos. 8 and 9 primers for primer weapons: new and used, respectively.
It was on capsule rifles that they began to install optical sights and there was a new military profession sniper. Especially for snipers, in the middle of the 19th century and in North America began to manufacture safety goggles. Which indicates a frequent eye injury when firing from a capsule weapon.
Again, by the way, how long should the barrel on a firearm be for marksmanship and how does a shortened carbine differ from a pistol with an elongated barrel chambered for the same cartridge?
The length of any barrel is measured in calibers (barrel diameters). It is believed that a barrel length of forty calibers long is the most optimal. A larger aspect ratio is basically useless and significantly increases the cost of manufacturing the barrel. So a carbine and a pistol with the same barrel length and chambered for the same cartridge do not differ in their combat properties. All the differences are in certain amenities, for example, in aiming. At modern development technology in the manufacture of barrels, mass-produced barrels of any length are not too expensive. And the length of the barrel is dictated for other reasons. Convenience for a bayonet attack, the minimum length allowed by law, and the like, which has practically nothing to do with barrels.
All muzzle-loading weapon systems must have a ramrod. It is clear that the ramrod was often lost, and to exclude such cases, the ramrod, more precisely pistols and rifles were sometimes made with a special device in which a ramrod was attached. A ramrod in such a device could load a weapon, but in order to remove (or lose) a ramrod from such a device, it was necessary to disassemble half of this weapon.
In later designs, starting with capsule revolvers, under the guise of a ramrod, there was often some detail on the weapon that had nothing to do with a ramrod. For example, on capsule revolvers, instead of a ramrod, a lever was attached to press bullets into the drum chambers.
Arrow out modern weapons he is absolutely not interested in what charge of gunpowder and what gunpowder should be loaded into his weapon. And also what should be the lethal element (bullet) and what device to ignite the charge on his weapon. Although, in fact, the glorious representatives of "Cannon Fodder" were never interested in such petty questions. The main thing is to shout louder: “Our mirror carps are the most mirrored in the world!” and this at all times was considered the very first (and last) peak in vocational training budding soldier. And you need to know the properties of gunpowder, at least for literacy.
Today, so many varieties of gunpowder have been invented, even simple hunting gunpowder, that it would seem that what problems can arise when loading an old pistol or squeaker. Here, however, there is no need to rush. Otherwise, after the first shot, you can be left without hands, without eyes, and even without a head. In other literature it is written that ancient weapons may not withstand modern gunpowder and they write correctly. Why and what's the difference? Here's more about that.
Gunpowder is smoky and smokeless. In popular terms, smokeless powder is a special, finely ground plastic. What is celluloid everyone knows? This is nitrocellulose powder with the addition of a dye and a flame retardant. Because of this moderator, celluloid cannot be used instead of gunpowder. Almost all other smokeless powders, with appropriate additives, can be used in national economy as a material for the production of consumer goods such as soap dishes, combs, lipstick cases, as well as varnishes and paints. What is being done.
By this I mean that real smokeless powders, when properly stored, have an indefinite shelf life, are practically indifferent to shocks and are essentially not afraid of water.
Smoke (or black) powder consists of a mechanical mixture of potassium nitrate, coal and sulfur. It can also be stored for centuries, but is afraid of moisture, water dissolves saltpeter and gunpowder, after drying, it deteriorates in quality. Black powder can explode on impact and sparks. In large quantities, black powder can be used as an explosive. In general, black (smoky) powder is more dangerous than smokeless powder in storage.
But smokeless gunpowder came to replace smoky gunpowder for a reason. Gunpowder in the barrel of a gun (rifle, guns) burns in different ways. The smoke powder in the barrel ignites, or rather weakly explodes all at once, and as the projectile leaves the barrel, the initial, maximum pressure drops sharply, which leads to a significant decrease in efficiency in the acceleration of the projectile (bullet). Smokeless powder ignites (or rather weakly explodes) at significant pressure and burns, maintaining maximum pressure while the projectile (bullet) is in the barrel. If, for example, a shot is poured out of an ordinary hunting cartridge loaded with smokeless, then the shot may not work. It will not be possible to create the necessary pressure in the barrel and the gunpowder will not ignite. For this reason alone, it is recommended to equip cartridges with smokeless powder with powerful Zhevelo primers or pour several grains of smoky (black) powder under the Centroboy primer. Then the explosion of the primer will create enough pressure in the sleeve to ignite the smokeless powder.
Naturally, smokeless powders are divided according to the composition, size and shape of the grains, which leads to different speed combustion and developed, maximum pressure. Really gunpowder for pistols ( handguns) should differ from rifle powders (for long-barreled weapons) at least in terms of burning rate.
By the way, about the burning rate of explosives. Gunpowder burns in the barrel of a weapon at speeds of several meters per second, and explosions begin during combustion from several tens to several thousand meters per second.
Again, modern smoke gunpowder, although it has a composition similar to ancient gunpowder, is made according to new technology and three times stronger than the old one. Antique, smoky gunpowder was used immediately after mixing the components of the powder mixture. Such smoke powder is today called powder pulp and is used only in pyrotechnics for fireworks. Rifle powders are specially granulated, which increases their power.
Now, it is probably clear why weapons with matchlocks and flintlocks cannot be loaded with smokeless powders? The shot may not work. And it is also impossible to repeat the size of the charge with smoky powder according to the old recommendations, since modern gunpowder is much more powerful. Another thing is when loading weapons with primer ignition, it is quite possible to use smokeless powder, but in reasonable quantities.
There is one more nuance with the old primer weapons. The use of conventional capsules leads to increased, intercrystalline corrosion (rust) of the barrels. Which ultimately renders the weapon unusable. This is especially true for weapons with Damascus (twisted) steel barrels, and the suitability for firing such weapons cannot be visually determined. It is generally impossible to shoot from a weapon struck by intercrystalline rust, and the type of gunpowder has nothing to do with it. Matchlock and silicon-ignited weapons are more resistant to corrosion and last longer.
Powder charges for any weapon should not exceed the height of the diameter of the charging chamber. In any case, this applies to all kinds of muzzle-loading systems and hunting smooth-bore weapons.
Confusing gunpowder, for example, loading hunting cartridges with gunpowder from a combat, rifle cartridge is often pointless. At normal doses, the shot may not work, and at higher doses it will lead to a rupture of the barrel.
Also, the powder in the charges should not be pressed, it is better if the powder grains have the opportunity to slightly spill over when shaking (the cartridge). This is how ammo is loaded. military weapons for long storage periods and for better burning of the powder charge during the shot.
With a lethal element (bullet, shot) they sort it out by weapon. smoothbore weapon large calibers, from 10mm and above, can be loaded with both a bullet and a shot. Small-caliber muzzle-loading smoothbore and rifle loaded mainly with a bullet. In any case, the weight of the bullet and the total weight of the shot shell must not exceed the weight of the lead ball according to the caliber of the weapon.
Means of ignition of gunpowder in ancient firearms.
Let's start with wicks for wick locks. You can use ordinary cotton, linen and any other cord that can smolder for a long time without fading. But for the purity of the experiment, it is better to use a replica similar to the ancient original. Therefore, we take a cotton cord and impregnate it with potassium nitrate. We lower and hold for a couple of hours in concentrated solution then dry. Such a wick will not fade in any wind. If there is no potassium nitrate, then it can be replaced with ordinary potassium permanganate.
With flints for flint locks it will be more difficult. It is difficult to get pyrite, and this is the most sparkling "kremeshka". Therefore, we will have to limit ourselves to quartzites. These are pebbles with a glassy sheen, translucent, the color varies widely. Particularly beautiful varieties of quartz, transparent, with a pure, saturated color or completely colorless, belong to the category of semi-precious and even precious stones. All quartz can be used as glass cutter stones. But for shooting purposes, muddy, nondescript varieties are also quite suitable. The rounded bare must be split. A sharp chip gives more sparks. Quartz is brittle like glass. Therefore, a fragment of quartz "krem" in the jaws of the trigger is clamped, wrapping the pebble with thick, flexible skin.
A little about the device of silicon locks.
The firing shelf (with gunpowder) is closed with a steel, spring-loaded and cunningly curved flint plate. When a flint strikes a flint, the flint strikes sparks from the flint and at the same time opens a shelf with gunpowder. If the kremeshka is fixed in the trigger incorrectly, then the kremeshka will either not reach the plate and there will be no sparks (and a shot). Or the flint will rest against the flint and the system will jam, the flint will split and a new flint will have to be inserted into the trigger. Difficult? Yes! A shot every other time from a silicon weapon, even for an experienced shooter, was considered a good result. Each soldier or hunter carried a supply of flints far in excess of the stock of charges.
Not everything is simple with capsule weapons either. Modern capsules (for unitary, hunting and combat cartridges) are not suitable for capsule weapons. Although the Centroboy hunting capsules have the same diameter, but not the height. The diameter of the modern "Centroboy" is 6.35 mm, more precisely a quarter of an inch. The height of capsules for capsule weapons was a third of an inch (25.4: 3 = 8.4 ... (mm)). The skirt of such a primer was worn on a fire brand pipe. The lower end of the capsule skirt rested against a special stop, and the explosive composition of the capsule did not reach the upper edge of the brand tube. Thus, spontaneous pricking (and firing) of the primer was excluded. When you hit the primer with a trigger, the cap of the primer was crushed and a shot occurred.
The capsule itself was made from a cross-cut copper billet. When putting the primer on the brand tube, the petals of the primer diverged slightly, but still kept the primer on the brand tube well from falling out. I won’t tell you how to make a replica of the cap of an old primer, who needs it, he will calculate all the tolerances and landings. However, it should be noted that after the manufacture of the cap, the inside of the cap is necessarily covered with nitrocellulose varnish in order to avoid contact of the explosive (or percussion composition) of the primer with the copper of the cap.
The shock composition of the capsule is taken from the Centroboy capsules according to next technology. The capsule "Centroboy" is soaked for a day in pure, drinking 96 percent alcohol. Vodka won't work. Then a steel ball with a diameter of 20-30 mm is taken and a capsule is placed on this ball with a skirt. With a light blow of a hammer, the skirt is flared and the impact composition, together with the foil covering it, falls out. The impact composition, raw and with foil, is immediately inserted into a new cap and dried for a week. When reloading capsules, wear tight, protective goggles and thick rubber gloves.
By the way! In the USSR, capsule, muzzle-loading hunting rifles were produced by industry until the 30s of the 20th century. Moreover, the Tula triggers were further designed for use as a capsule weapon. On the guns, the strikers turned out and instead of the strikers, brand pipes were screwed in. The triggers also changed. Now it was enough to insert empty cartridge cases without capsules into the barrels (from the treasury) and the breech-loading central rail turned into a muzzle-loading, capsule ramrod. Apparently, this was how they tried to deal with the eternal shortage of shells and other ammunition from Soviet hunters. fishermen and amateurs, however, the production of primers for purely primer weapons was completely stopped.
In some countries, modern replicas (likenesses) ancient weapons, including capsule weapons (and capsules for it) are still being produced. Hunting a bear with a matchlock fusee or single-barrel primer is more emotional than hunting with a quick-firing, hunting rifle, another modification of an army machine gun for civilians.

Of course, everyone knows how guns used to be made - they took a round hole and poured metal over it from the outside. But sometimes guns were urgently needed, and there were no suitable holes at hand. Therefore, I had to use what is.
But seriously, the topic of guns with non-standard bores is large and extensive, but in this post I will only talk about those that I personally met.
All, except for the last one, from the exposition of the Central Museum of Artillery in St. Petersburg.

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1. Howitzer-stone thrower with a square (or rather rectangular) barrel.
Made in the 16th century. Caliber 182x188 cm. It was intended for firing with buckshot and gravel and belonged to the fortress artillery.
Why the master made it like that is unknown. Perhaps he simply did not have a compass.

2.3-pound experimental cannon, 1722
Caliber 80x230 mm, weight 492kg. It was intended for firing 3 cores at once, laid in a row on a plank. The idea of ​​development was not received, apparently due to the low accuracy of shooting.

3. Another similar cannon lies in the courtyard of the Artillery Museum. There are no explanatory notes.

4. "Secret" howitzer model 1753 of P.I.Shuvalov's system.
Bronze, caliber 95x207 mm, weight 490kg, firing range 530m.
Field gaps with an elliptical bore, the idea of ​​​​which was proposed by the Feldzeugmeister General (head of artillery) Count Shuvalov, were intended for firing with buckshot. Such a barrel improved the dispersion of bullets in the horizontal plane. But such a weapon could not fire cannonballs and bombs, and this made the whole system ineffective.
In total, about 100 "secret" guns of various calibers were made, and all of them were removed from service in 1762, after the death of Shuvalov (do not confuse "secret howitzers" with "Shuvalov's unicorns", which had a regular barrel, but with a conical chamber at the end, thereby increasing the range and accuracy of shooting).

An obvious disadvantage of the old muzzle-loading guns was their low rate of fire. Some craftsmen tried to increase it by making cannons with several barrels in one "body".
5. Three-channel pischal of Hans Falk.
The German master in the Russian service Ivan (Hans) Falk in the 1st half of the 17th century made this cannon with 3 barrel channels. The caliber of each is 2 hryvnias (i.e. 66 mm). The length of the gun is 224 cm, weight - 974 kg.
The only cannon of Falk, preserved in Russia.

6. A double-barreled cannon lying in the courtyard of the Artillery Museum. Possibly, this is the "Gemini" cannon, made according to the design of the already mentioned Count Shuvalov in 1756. In practice, the idea did not justify itself and such tools remained experimental.

In the second half of the 19th century, designers took care of the problem of increasing the range and accuracy of shooting. It was necessary to find a way to stabilize the projectile in flight. The obvious way is to give it a spin. But how? In the end, rifled guns were created, which we still use to this day, but on the way to them, design thinking strayed a lot.
7. Disc guns. The idea of ​​such guns is that the disk-shaped projectile, when fired, will be slowed down in the upper part of the bore and move freely in the lower one. Thus, the disk will begin to rotate around the horizontal axis.
From near to far: Andrianov's guns, Plestsov's and Myasoedov's guns, Mayevsky's cannon.

In the Plestsov and Myasoedov cannon (on the left), the disc was twisted due to the fact that there was a toothed rack in the barrel bore (the extreme tooth was visible).
In the Andrianov gun, the disk rotated due to slots of different widths at the top and bottom.

And Mayevsky's cannon bent out of time. The curvature of the oval barrel is the way to spin the projectile.

The firing range increased significantly (up to 5 times), but the dispersion was very large. In addition, such guns were very difficult to manufacture, the disc projectile contained very little explosives, and one could forget about the penetrating action. It is not difficult to guess that such weapons remained experimental.

8. And in conclusion - an unusual tool from the museum in the Berlin Spandau fortress.
There were no explanatory signs. The gun is obviously French, because. Meudon (Meudon, now a suburb of Paris) is written on the trunk and the date is 1867. There is also a monogram with a capital N.

From the author: “In childhood, there was no Soviet boy computer games. Basements, corridors became the battlefield home school or abandoned buildings. They didn’t have the choice of plastic pistols, machine guns and grenades as they do now.”

Each teenager made his own weapons from a variety of improvised materials: clothespins, rubber bands from underwear, bicycle tubes, wire and tree branches. Today we invite you to plunge into our past and remember how everything was then, in an era in which there were no computers.

1. Slingshot

2. Crossbow (matchshot)

3. Spitters

4. Smokers.

5. Scarecrows

6. Pistons.

7. Carbide

8. Magnesium