Old handcannon with smaller breech

Lead Snowstorm · 20th August 2025, 01:03 AM

Greetings all - I recently obtained an old handcannon which appears to have some similarities to that discussed in this thread, c. 1350:

https://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12151

Pictures are attached below. It is mounted in a reproduction tiller stock. The caliber is approximately 4.4-4.5 cm; overall length of the barrel is about 29.2 cm. The breech (“pulverkammer”) is about 1/3 of the overall length. Interestingly, the touchhole appears angled slightly from the breech at the surface towards the muzzle at the inside. This merits further examination. I will try to get an X-ray of the barrel, but as I have access only to a medical-grade machine I may not have sufficient power to reveal any detail.

M ELEY · 25th August 2025, 06:49 PM

Hello and welcome to the Forum. I am a novice when it comes to these items and I know some of our old Forum folks that dealt with these extensively are unfortunately no longer with us.

However, there are still a few out there and hopefully they will respond. I must say it is an amazing hand cannon and if you did the replacement work yourself, you did an amazing job! The angled touch hole does raise a few questions. I know with thunder mugs, the touch holes that had an angled 'pocket' for the powder/fuse were because they were signal cannon meant to be placed flat against the ground, thereby making the touch hole facing upwards. This cannon appears to be a true firearm with it's larger size, so I'm not necessarily suggesting it's a "mug", but again, maybe an expert will come through on this. Anyone??

Lead Snowstorm · Yesterday, 03:20 AM

Most of the noisemakers I’ve seen required a flash pan (as you mention) to hold the priming charge - this one doesn’t have a pan at all. And I must also admit I’ve not seen one of those upright noisemakers with a narrower breech - usually they were swamped wider at the breech to enable them to stand up. So I do agree this one is most likely not a thunder mug.

I cannot take credit for the stock - it came to me that way. I definitely agree, whoever made it did a great job!

20th August 2025, 01:03 AM	#1
Lead Snowstorm Member Join Date: Jul 2022 Posts: 19	Old handcannon with smaller breech Greetings all - I recently obtained an old handcannon which appears to have some similarities to that discussed in this thread, c. 1350: https://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12151 Pictures are attached below. It is mounted in a reproduction tiller stock. The caliber is approximately 4.4-4.5 cm; overall length of the barrel is about 29.2 cm. The breech (“pulverkammer”) is about 1/3 of the overall length. Interestingly, the touchhole appears angled slightly from the breech at the surface towards the muzzle at the inside. This merits further examination. I will try to get an X-ray of the barrel, but as I have access only to a medical-grade machine I may not have sufficient power to reveal any detail. Attached Images

Yesterday, 03:20 AM	#3
Lead Snowstorm Member Join Date: Jul 2022 Posts: 19	Most of the noisemakers I’ve seen required a flash pan (as you mention) to hold the priming charge - this one doesn’t have a pan at all. And I must also admit I’ve not seen one of those upright noisemakers with a narrower breech - usually they were swamped wider at the breech to enable them to stand up. So I do agree this one is most likely not a thunder mug. I cannot take credit for the stock - it came to me that way. I definitely agree, whoever made it did a great job! Last edited by Lead Snowstorm; Yesterday at 04:56 PM.

25th August 2025, 06:49 PM	#2
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,185	Hello and welcome to the Forum. I am a novice when it comes to these items and I know some of our old Forum folks that dealt with these extensively are unfortunately no longer with us. However, there are still a few out there and hopefully they will respond. I must say it is an amazing hand cannon and if you did the replacement work yourself, you did an amazing job! The angled touch hole does raise a few questions. I know with thunder mugs, the touch holes that had an angled 'pocket' for the powder/fuse were because they were signal cannon meant to be placed flat against the ground, thereby making the touch hole facing upwards. This cannon appears to be a true firearm with it's larger size, so I'm not necessarily suggesting it's a "mug", but again, maybe an expert will come through on this. Anyone??