Remember the movie Space Cowboys? Where four retread astronauts go deal with a rogue satellite because they're the only guys with the requisitely dated skills and experience?
Welcome to
All good guns get a name, and this one is no exception. We're gonna call him "Auld Soldier" in honor of my favorite artilleryman. And he can guard the flag under which his namesake earned a Silver Star, Bronze Star w/V and seven Purple Hearts in two wars.
He does look good, eh?
And pretty much looks good from any direction. He's going to get a concrete pad this summer, too.
Meet the Redleg Cowboys - Mike, Tom, JW, and some svelte handsome fella with a beard.
Heh. Two out of three ain't bad...
Any plans to fire the gun?
You're welcome anytime, CJ.
In other words, no adult supervision.
Nice gun.
Heh,
Besides the concrete pad, she'll need a coat or two of gloss liquid olive. I have a copy of the original recipe from the 1862 Ordnance Manual, if you'd like a copy. Plus all the metal needs a coat of gloss black. I can also get you the info on sponge covers and other implements, as well as the sabot and cartridge bag data if you want it.
Respects,
Heartless - prolly not. Not intending to get into re-enacting. I have enough expensive hobbies.
OFS - previous owner said that cement-filled soda cans were the predominant fodder fired from the gun previously.
We'll have to see.
Much less that they aren't, well, native to this area. Brick would be more regionally correct.
It's just that concrete pads look so, so, modern, like a plastic holster holding a Civil War handgun. Someone using a nylon tarp at a WW1 re-enactment. A visual clash.
How about an ellipse of herringbone laid brick, the flag poles at the foci.
I'll provide the brick, gravel, and sand.
And, it's steel, not iron.
It's in the mode of the 12 pounder mountain howitzer, except it's a 3-incher. And rifled. That's because it's made from a 3"/50cal naval gun tube. Which means it's one strong gun.
The carriage is steel, and powder-coated a greyish-steel color - which AW1 Tim is gonna come out here and kick my butt if I don't paint it ordnance olive.
It's like a moutain howitzer like a NASCAR racer is to the car it purportedly represents.
The wheels do have original US Army Archibald hubs, though.
Ah...mowing or weed whacking around that pretty gun is going to be sending projectiles all over the place...including the finish on that pretty gun. I'm not saying you should hire someone from south of the border...but an Eagle Scout project might be nice. There are few Eagle Scouts that would not like their picture taken with that gun and the nice brick pad he laid down. You could get the whole troop out and do a real nice ceremony and play "Call to Colors". A donation to the troop is always helpful. That way it's not free. Don't volunteer to feed them however, those boys can eat.
Yeah, that's what it was.