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Old July 14, 2013, 11:47 PM   #4
Jim Watson
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 25, 2001
Location: Alabama
Posts: 18,484
I know a couple of guys here in artillery units.
I went with one outfit on a live fire practice day. I got to powder monkey on a little "grasshopper gun" left over from the War of 1812, but of course pressed into action along with anything else that would shoot. A zinc shot about the size of a golf ball taped to a wooden sabot was not much accurate, but a bag of rifle balls would put the hurt on a charging enemy.

The battery included a 20 lb Parrott rifle repro that fired 17 lb zinc shot with copper gas check. Accuracy picked right up. All they had that day was 300 yards and you had better keep your head down at that distance. If anybody bothered firing a cannon at an individual and that close.

Powder charges were in aluminum foil cartridges. The foil does not burn or shred so the guns had to be wormed to get it out after every shot.

The other guy is in a full dress mounted artillery unit. I saw a picture of his outfit with the gun limbered up, horses in full gallop, with three crewmen on the limber, two on the near side team horses, the rest following along on saddle horses. His folks have multiple uniforms and even sets of harness to accurately portray different units from different years of the war.

His personal weapon is a Spencer modified to fire .44 blanks single loaded. It is mostly repro but with some original bits and the import markings defarbed. It looks worn all to heck.
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