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BARBARY COAST VIGILANCE COMMITTEE
 
* WE DEAL IN LEAD *
The BCVC has it's very own mortar.
It is powered by a dose of BP..and will toss
a 16 lb. bowling ball high enough to
make
a Canada Goose cry Uncle. Some of you
may
have seen it down in the desert. So
for you
folks in and around Northern California,
scrounge those flea markets, check
with local
bowling alleys, get to the Goodwill
and Salvation
Army thrift shops, and start gathering
up
some 16 pounders. If we get enough
of a supply..folks
can say we have a lot of balls! We
just may
all get together some day and try to
put
them in a low orbit..Imagine that you
folks
will want some ballistic charts on
the whole
affair...will work on it.
Tioga, CA, SASS 1552, WASA 339, BCVC
3, Circle
T
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Left to right: Wild Bill Briscoe ( with fingers
over the muzzle), I.M. Nobody,
and Dogface.
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The mortar is recently fired and if you look
close at the right side of the
arrow..you
will see a spot..yep, that is
the bowling
ball!
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 Left to right: Wild Bill Briscoe, Rio Justice,
I.M. Nobody, Dogface, and Two Bears
about
to load the tube...
Boys will be boys...
We first became aware of this ultimate boy
toy last summer. Had a party at my humble
Rancho for about 25 cowpokes and 'pokettes.
We did some shootin' all day and on toward
dinner time two BCVC pards, Cyrus Sidewinder
(aka Steve Moore) and his brother Jim (aka
Rowdy Yates, but not the SASS Rowdy Yates...long
story) brought out their bowling ball mortar.
None of us had ever seen any thing like it.
It weighs in at nearly 300 lbs....more if
you try to lift it <GGG>. The tube,
which is made of schedule 100 steel pipe,
was originally off of a hydraulic ram pump
of some sort. Don't try this at home, folks!!
Tube is mounted on a heavy welded steel frame,
as you can see, and has elevation adjustment.
Stamped on the muzzle is "Cal. 16 lb.
Brunswick" Anyhoo, the boys asked how
far it was to a certain ridge and tree line
and what was behind it...."about 500
yards" I replied in disbelief. They
loaded up about 1200gr. of FFG into a small
sandwich bag, punched a small hole in the
bag and placed it into the recessed area
in the breech end. Cannon fuse was cut and
threaded thru the flash hole and into the
powder charge. A standard bowling ball....12
or 16 lb. juuuust fits down the barrel. At
the moment of truth a large "thaaawump",
a huge smoke ring and the ball launches waaaay
down range. With that load it cleared the
ridge line and achieved about 800 to 1000
ft. altitude. The crowd went wild and we
eventually shot the thing over ten times
that evening.
Because of the finger holes in the ball,
it makes a whistling sound as it drifts down
range. At night, packing the holes with "cyalume"
sticks creates a really neat effect, I am
told. We'll try such things, I am sure. UFO
sightings anyone??
Frank (IM Nobody) and I have been scheming
ever since to acquire one of these
toys for
the BCVC's newly designated "Artillary
Company". We borrowed it in January
for Stampede 98 where these photos
were shot.
Longest range achieved down there was
probably
about 1000 yards with over two oz.
of FF.
Just this past weekend at Long Ranch
Showdown
in Redbluff we closed the deal and
it's ours.
Plans are to improve it some with the
addition
of a carriage of some sort, leveling
device
and sighting system. Then we'll experiment
with a few charges to get really familiar
with it's performance and take it whenever
we can to matches in the West where
there's
room for such doin's. Plans are in
the works
for it to be part of a side match in
Stampede
99 next January. We may also try for
Winter
Range since they too have the room
to shoot
it.
The construction of such toys is not for
the uneducated or inexperienced. Potential
for disaster if constructed poorly
is chilling
to think about and severe injury or
worse
would be almost certain. One of the
most
startling revelations for me was just
how
powerful black powder really is....all
that
range with so little powder. Most folks
are
amazed. There's a lesson there somewhere.....
Arf, Dog Face
SASS lifer #4729
BCVC #6
ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT DOC
FARADAY'S
1870 PRISONER OUTFIT
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