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Status
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Messages
182
Reactions
280
Ad Type
  1. For Sale
Price
$3000
Manufacturer
Other / Not Listed
Caliber
Other / Not Listed
City
Portland
State
Oregon
I hate to see her go, but by god, I don't need two artillery pieces, and my new piece is almost ready to ship. Up for sale is a once-in-a-lifetime purchase. I know everyone nowadays is all about the slick Glocks and the efficient AR15, and they're fun enough, but there's only one weapons platform that brings the literal thunder to the range, and that is artillery. The King of Battle. Since owning modern artillery breaks more than a few federal laws (not to mention costing more than a house in downtown Portland, even used), owning historical artillery is the only realistic way to enjoy artillery. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is fully functional.


This is my 1841 (replica, never, ever use a historic cannon on live ranges! It's only about 12 years old), 6PDR Field Cannon. It will fling a six pound ball of solid iron like a champion, and woe betide anyone or any tree fool enough to stand in that thing's way. I personally prefer 'scattershot', the American version of grapeshot. I have several buckets of scattershot I will give you for free.

This has all sorts of custom work done to it, to increase safety margins well beyond that of a historical cannon, and make it easier to use. An antique cannon is probably a pipe bomb waiting to happen, with a pure iron barrel and so long between cleaning/maintainence cycles. Not so with this steel-lined, and steel-plugged monster. The outer barrel is cast iron but the inner tube is high-grade steel, meaning this barrel will never develop micro-cracks or any other dangerous quirks with proper care. Pure iron barrels have a life expectancy before that barrel is deemed unsafe; steel liners do not.

Guaranteed to turn heads at the range, if you can get her there. This piece tops out at around 3,000 pounds of iron and oak. It's mounted on a French twin-tail carriage, nice and low to the ground, making it really easy to fire, load/unload on a trailer, etc. The footprint is 5x10, so figure it will take up one car space in your garage.

Regarding price, you might think that's pretty expensive, and you're correct. But consider that you'd pay double to buy one new. Cannoneering is not for the faint of heart or the light of wallet. The barrel alone, new, is $4,000 (without shipping). Installing the brass plug to prevent any damage to the vent hole was another thousand. Handmade carriages from the three or four fellows that still make them in the world, with a custom steel axle on ball bearings to make it roll so much smoother? Forget about it. Shipping costs are a nightmare when assembling a cannon. A cannon and carriage can easily skyrocket past the cost of a brand new pickup truck depending on size, build quality, type, etc. Not to mention the tools (all custom made, not a huge demand for "cannoneering gear" at Home Depot, I already asked), which are all included for free. I've seen Napoleons out there that cost $50,000 and come with their own climate-controlled trailer, though you could find used ones in the $15,000-20,000 range.

Unfortunately, I don't have any solid shot left, but I do have 5 pounds of Cannon-grade black powder (real black powder, none of that Pyrodex garbage). Hide gloves for the gunner, ramrod, worm, water bucket... everything you need, except solid shot, to head right from my storage unit to the range and commence fire.


This piece is light enough to be moved with a small crew, and is the smallest field piece you'd see on a Civil War battlefield, quickly usurped by the Napoleon 12PDR (which is about double the weight, incidentally, so if you want one of those, I hope you have a team of draft horses). But these still remained vital field pieces, especially for the Confederacy, which was slapping hands onto whatever artillery it could find, in whatever caliber. One thing I would have liked to do was swap out the current carriage for a No1 carriage of the Civil War, but considering the cost to build, I decided to just upgrade everything to a 12PDR barrel and new carriage.

I also have a list of contacts I'm happy to give you for more parts, more cannonballs, more barrels (trust me, owning one cannon will never be enough, it's like owning one pistol).

If you're serious about buying this monster, you're going to need a hefty trailer, and at *least* three strong fellows. I can run you through all the safety information, firing procedure, etc. I suspect, for the serious buyer, we'll spend about 2 hours out there chatting and loading the piece.

The paint on the carriage is a bit rough, showing it's age at a decade now, but nothing that you can't fix easily. What you really need to care about is the barrel, and aside from a layer of dust from storage, there's nothing wrong with it. The cannon is in its 'ready to move' configuration. The carriage is easy to roll on its own, the barrel is mounted on a large, hefty pallet, easy enough to just winch and pry-bar it into a trailer.


So, who's for it? Ready to win every argument with your neighbors for the rest of your life? Ready to have the best damn 4th of July celebrations in your family's history? Make your front lawn the talk of the town? PM me or reply down here, any time.


I'm always up for trades but I'm after new in box Lionel trains, so if you're trading, buddy, you'd better bring a lot! Cash is what I'm after, to displace some of the cost of my new artillery piece.

I think the disclaimer goes without saying; if you buy this, do something stupid and lose an arm, blow up a friend's dog or accidentally start a shooting war with Canada, don't come crying to me. Artillery is not a toy, and it's definitely not for frat boys or ill-disciplined idiots. Don't say I didn't warn you, and I will be making observations on your personality if we meet. I'm not handing this over to anyone who displays tendencies that might see them or others, hurt or killed. Black powder is an explosive, not a propellant, and black powder artillery, while I personally think it is the most fun you can possibly have with weapons, if used incorrectly, is dangerous and lethal. More to the point.... this cannon deserves much better treatment than certain people tend to give their firearms. It's a replica, but it's a piece of history, and better yet, a piece of history you can actually utilize.


UPDATE: The carriage is gone to a new home (it was period incorrect anyway). The new price reflects just the barrel, and is a massive price drop. A new barrel alone costs $4,500 as of 2023's inflation, without any of the modifications mine has.

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