105,000 grain projectile

[TheDoubleD]

Well the move has been made. My bowling ball mortar is now in Oklahoma.

Before I left Montana I made one last attempt at launching a bowling ball 1 one mile.

Here is my "shooting range". The piece of grass sticking out from the right in the stubble is 1 mile from the firing point. The ridge is about 200 yards beyond the grass. The ridge just flattens out and the stubble extends for another 1/2 mile.

I fired 4 shots. I started with 1 lb of Fa and a 105,000 grain round ball. (15 pound bowling ball.)



I fired two 1 lb shots. When fired the balls, went beyond the ridge. I reduced my load to 12 ozs and fired two more balls, those also went beyond the ridge.

When we went to look for the balls we could not find them. We suspect wind drift carried them off to the west-right into a planted crop area, close to an over grown grass area. This is pretty rock gravelly ground so I don't think the balls buried themselves.

I wish could have found the balls to take measurements. Oh well.

The Mortar and I are in OK now. My mile shot days are over. It take a lot of powder for those kind of shots. The recoil from that kind of charge is pretty hard on equipment. I will stick to shorter ranges from now on, say no more than 500 yards..

I have a couple more fittings to make and then I will paint everything. Once that is done I will look for someplace to shoot in OK.

I had talk to OK F.A.S.T about shooting in Guymon in September. They said they would get back to me.

 

[MacFromOK]

We suspect wind drift carried them off to the west-right into a planted crop area, close to an over grown grass area. This is pretty rock gravelly ground so I don't think the balls buried themselves.

I wish could have found the balls to take measurements. Oh well.

I hope someone's combine doesn't find them... :/

 

[lasher]

upwind from the smoke cloud i presume?

 

[Jack T.]

I hope someone's combine doesn't find them... :/

My first thought. . .blowing ball will wreck havoc on (very expensive) agriculture equipment.

 

[TheDoubleD]

With experience only with combines with headers for wheat and barley, it is less problem than hitting a rock. The ball is smooth round and just rolls up on the deck. Same thing with a swather. Now rocks, they are something different they can get caught in cutters and teeth and play havoc.

 

[TheDoubleD]

I had a very wonderful email from my friend, the farmer in Montana where I shot my bowling ball mortar in attempt to go one mile. One of the balls I fired has been found.

Checking my notes 5 balls were fired that day, not 4 as reported. Three fired with 16 ozs of Fa Blackpowder, and two with 12 ozs of Fa. The 12 oz loads were the loads we predicted would go the mile. This ball is one of the 12 oz. Fa loads.

I looked at the metadata of the picture and got the coordinates of the picture.

I entered the coordinates into Google earth and measured the distances.

Distance 1.13 miles.

Wind drift of this 105,000 gr. projectile was about 400 yards at one mile.

I finally got celebrate.

 

[Aries]

Congratulations!

 

[swampratt]

I think point of aim may have been off a little more than the 400 yard wind drift.
Either way that is a long ways to lob a heavy ball

 

[tRidiot]

Wow that is incredible! Wish I could do something like this with my son.

 

[TheDoubleD]

I think point of aim may have been off a little more than the 400 yard wind drift.
Either way that is a long ways to lob a heavy ball

15 lb round ball time of flight 25 to 30 seconds, 25 mph crosswind, MV 300fps. Humm you may think point of aim was off. That is until you stand there a watch the ball flying down range towards the aim point and then suddenly see it veer sharply down wind.

Aiming is done with string line. Just like the originals.