Thread: Canons?

Originally Posted by 40mm

Sounds like great fun! I thought a proof load was three times the charge with no projectile? (just what I have been told)

You'll see various definitions. One used to be "double charge double balls".

The olden days proof charges used powder of the day which was less powerful than our modern black powders.

Originally Posted by zimmer

You'll see various definitions. One used to be "double charge double balls".

The olden days proof charges used powder of the day which was less powerful than our modern black powders.

That sounds about right.

Originally Posted by zimmer

The olden days proof charges used powder of the day which was less powerful than our modern black powders.

That is interesting, the BP of old over here was more powerful than the modern stuff.

There is a former powder mill in Bergen as well as a magazine by the sea.

Originally Posted by norsk

That is interesting, the BP of old over here was more powerful than the modern stuff.

There is a former powder mill in Bergen as well as a magazine by the sea.

Ullrich Bretscher found that modern Swiss ball-milled BP was denser than any homemade BP he could make, but that weight-for-weight his homemade BP was more powerful. So if loading cartridges go for factory BP, if loading a cannon/muzzle loader use homemade BP.