Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

cannonmn · 3rd March 2023, 11:14 PM

I cast doubt on the copper tube being a weapon in usable condition, and got more info in Bill’s reply here, so their claims seem more credible now.

“By the way, I wrote the article. There were no uderlugs on the barrel for the attachment of a half, or full-length stock. There was likewise no tang. Check out the drawing in the article from Maximillian 's arsenal inventory in 1501 that shows them with tillers and no locks. The gunner is shooting it with a handheld match. Yes, some hackbuts had stocks, but they had underlugs and/or tangs to secure the barrel to the wood. We had the foremost crime lab firearms expert examine the piece for toolmarks, as well as the expert who was in charge of the relics recovered from the Custer battlefield, and both said that the marks on the gun, including the dings on the muzzle, were from transporting it over 1500 miles on the back of a mule. It was banging on saddle nails, iron buckles, picket pins, etc,. which is shown from repetitive dings in the same spot. The photo of the muzzle is deceptive, because the gun was/is still imminently shootable. I have been shooting muzzleloaders for over 50 years and tried to talk the archaeologist into letting me shoot it, with no luck. Ha!! I could also shoot it without the tiller with no problem whatsoever, given the weight of the piece, especially if the powder charge was reduced a bit. It could also have even been transported much further than 1500 miles if it was originally cast for the Cortez expedition some 20 years earlier. Hence more dings. We know he cast many guns of all sizes in Mexico, and I read somewhere that a gun foundry was firmly established in 1526. Finally, the bore was full of dirt when recovered, and we analyzed that dirt in sections. There were flakes of carbon in the breech from having been fired previously.

Take care,

Bill Mapoles”

3rd March 2023, 11:14 PM	#9
cannonmn Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 161	More info from author I cast doubt on the copper tube being a weapon in usable condition, and got more info in Bill’s reply here, so their claims seem more credible now. “By the way, I wrote the article. There were no uderlugs on the barrel for the attachment of a half, or full-length stock. There was likewise no tang. Check out the drawing in the article from Maximillian 's arsenal inventory in 1501 that shows them with tillers and no locks. The gunner is shooting it with a handheld match. Yes, some hackbuts had stocks, but they had underlugs and/or tangs to secure the barrel to the wood. We had the foremost crime lab firearms expert examine the piece for toolmarks, as well as the expert who was in charge of the relics recovered from the Custer battlefield, and both said that the marks on the gun, including the dings on the muzzle, were from transporting it over 1500 miles on the back of a mule. It was banging on saddle nails, iron buckles, picket pins, etc,. which is shown from repetitive dings in the same spot. The photo of the muzzle is deceptive, because the gun was/is still imminently shootable. I have been shooting muzzleloaders for over 50 years and tried to talk the archaeologist into letting me shoot it, with no luck. Ha!! I could also shoot it without the tiller with no problem whatsoever, given the weight of the piece, especially if the powder charge was reduced a bit. It could also have even been transported much further than 1500 miles if it was originally cast for the Cortez expedition some 20 years earlier. Hence more dings. We know he cast many guns of all sizes in Mexico, and I read somewhere that a gun foundry was firmly established in 1526. Finally, the bore was full of dirt when recovered, and we analyzed that dirt in sections. There were flakes of carbon in the breech from having been fired previously. Take care, Bill Mapoles”