16th c. German Dopplehacken
 

I bought this via ebay some years ago (10 maybe?).



Length ~44"
Weight
Bore ~ 1.25"

When I got it I found that it was loaded with a charge of BP. I flushed it and captured some of the powder which, upon being dried, combusted fitfully (that is a good way of putting it actually).

I had a long discussion with Tromner about it. He noted that there were remains of paint which show up on the images but are almost invisible to the naked eye. The colors are red and green which, Michael informed me, were/are the colors of Nuremberg.

I am sorry that I didn't save the listing from ebay. It was identified as a french ships cannon that was excavated.

I built a simple carriage for it

The center part is simply made of glued plywood, the model for it is a model that I own.

As far as shooting it. I suspect that the load would be ~ 120grains of Fg or FFg powder. If I were shooting it I'd start at ~60 grains and work my way up using the old sheet trick.

While I suspect the thing is ok, I would get it x-rayed before I'd do any serious shooting. I might just toss 30grains in it for a hoot.

Michael gave me a comprehensive assessment which I will post. I need to edit it a bit.

Hello, I have a piece of the same kind! Mine comes from a castle in Belgium whose name I forgot. The gardener of the castle who was to clear the contents of a cellar, sold lots of things on a flea market. And walkers came across this!
I was able to acquire it later.
It's really a chance to be able to find this!

An amazing find! Congratulations.

Yet yours is a different animal, Thomas. While Ed's examle belongs in the cannon family, yours is the barrel of a haquebut ... right ?

Yes, "hacquebute à croc" in french.
Late 15th century, early 16th. There were also bronze models. A model is visible in a museum near my home (St-Omer), it was found in old ditches of the ramparts of the city of Ardres (northern France). Note, the ignition is on the side, so as not to interfere with the vision of the shot.

A new step in these guns evolution, in their path to later shoulder guns !

Both of these are amazing pieces! Don't remember seeing Ed's thread from earlier. His appears to be a mounted 'wall gun', the precursor to the later swivel guns used both on ship's rails and fortress walls.

Thomas's piece is, as noted, a haquebut. Shocking to see how big the barrel is! It literally was a hand cannon...