Re: (TFT) Re: ...keep your powder dry

[srydzews@ix.netcom.com]

On 09/28/99 18:24:43 grabowski@erols.com wrote:
>
>Very good, Stan!
>
>Now let me throw in some of my expertise as a former 18th century military
>specialist at a museum in Yorktown, VA.
>
>A typical pound of black powder will fill approximately 60-75 paper
>cartridges @ 75 grains give or take.  The typical 18th century cartridge for
>a musket was approximately 150 grains of black powder.  So maybe thirty to
>forty cartridges.  Because techniques have changed over the years black
>powder is much more powerful than its 18th century counterpart.  So that
>same 75 grains of modern black powder has approximately the same power as it
>predecessor.

Indeed.  In my calculations I was assuming that medieval mealed powder would
be even less efficient than 18th century corned powder, and that the windage 
on an arquebus would be larger than on an 18th c. musket.  Even granting 
all that, only 20 arquebus shots from one pound of powder is probably 
low--I was trying to give SJ the benefit of every possible doubt.  His 
figures still don't add up.

>As far as using black powder in a cannon, generally the rule of thumb is the
>amount of powder used is 1/3rd the weight of the projectile fired for an
>iron gun.  So a six-pound iron gun would use two pounds of powder.

Yes, this is basically true even with medieval guns.  An account of Mons Meg 
(a classic example of a "bombard") states that it used 105 pounds of powder 
to throw a 330 pound stone shot. 



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