On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 09:20:23 +1000, the inscrutable "Tom Miller"
spake:

The assault weapons in the above article were the dreaded 70 caliber.

Gunner

70 caliber! What the hell is that? That's nearly 18 mm. It would kick you
into the middle of next week to fire it. That's just a cannon with a stock!

I fired a nice old rifle of similar caliber last year, though it was
from a slightly earler era than the 1774 Gunner referred to. It was a
matchlock made from a Vulcan 20mm (roughly 78 caliber) cannon barrel.

The owner/builder loaded it with a 0.8" chunk of lead after pouring a
couple ounces of powder down the hole. It kicked less than a 30.06
rifle due to the old style powder vs. the nitro powder in use today.
Cops at the range walked by and threatened to bust him for smoking
pot. (The wick was, indeed, made from hemp.) 'Twas fun to fire!


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