Belgian .75 Caliber Percussion Wall Gun

[@rasheverak]

Well, I think it wins the “most literal breach block” award.

[@WingMaster562]

After firing, you could also throw that breech block to end your opponent rightly.

[@alphagt62]

If you had a few extra blocks, others could reload and swap them out as the shooter concentrates on targets.

[@austinm.9832]

​@@alphagt62considering this was meant to be used in place, you might be able to do that.

[@jimmyrustler8983]

This would be a perfect home defense rifle. If you lived in the Cretaceous era.

[@mikeching6374]

I live in Australia. This IS what I'd consider a home defence rifle. Have you seen the size of them Emus? :P

[@mikeching6374]

@@Assdafflabaff I know, right....

[@dick_richards]

ALL HISTORY IS A LIE!!! The dinosaurs were alive along with ancient man, and the Giant, and Nephilim races of old, b4 the flood of Noah. This would be good for smashing bigfoot or a dogman....... maybe.......

[@dick_richards]

@Djomo Khanasante It couldn't be ANYTHING BUT, friend, but im sure you are a good shot and firing from a stable platform, the secret is though Brother (honest to God it is,) you have to pin these things down in large spike or bear type traps! Their strength and speed are their greatest attributes, take that away from them and pin them down, they will die with enough of your well placed head shots Sir!....... Pinning them down, now there's the trick...... Use screw stakes too....they stay put under a lot more stress, and make sure you camo those traps well. Like fake flower bushes kinda shit, with the trap under it, and obviously in an area they are walking around. Works well around the outside of a house they are messing with, but once you pin it down, you must dispatch it post haste immediately, chop it up, and throw the small parts ALL over the area....... apparently it keeps them away, say the most creditable source I've heard. i encountered 2 8 or 9 foot tall dogmen in a cornfield one night Oct.2016, and was with 3 buddies at the time as well....... one of the worst nights of my life ill tell ya....... so they are real...... I swear to God!

[@ForsakenKingOfMurrica]

I was just imagining being up kn my roof with one lol great minds think alike.

[@flyingninja1234]

Theoretically you could have multiple breach blocks loaded, for several follow-up shots.

[@UnknownGamer40464]

Z M 2 of them. One for each shoulder.

[@jettrooper3rd930]

Z M It might've been a crew-served weapon. One guy shooting, one guy loading the gun and maybe a guy keeping the breech blocks full?

[@mickleblade]

plus a medic...

[@kushkiller7108]

@@UnknownGamer40464 it's a mounted gun. Should have very little recoil if any

[@murraystenhouse8469]

With this thing I don't think you'll ever need a second shot unless you miss

[@SirPetterTheFirst]

When your CIV unlocks tanks and anti tanks but the rest of the world still has cavalry

[@danm726]

Best computer games ever.

[@RyujinNoKami]

I've had that experience but I already unlocked the nukes and the rest of the world are still in the 1700s

[@channelname5938]

Anti-horse gun

[@spyderxtra777]

Haha "ye olde Barrett"

[@MarbleRyeBread]

Let tho snipe

[@bigboaharthurmorgan2109]

Ye olde anti matirielle fire armament shalt reduct thou into a mere pilliar of salt.

[@hellothere5843]

THINE SHALT NOT PUTTETH THINE YE OLDE BARRETT'S BARRELE IN FRONTE OF THINE MOUTHE IF THOU SHALT PULLETH THINE TRIGGER OF THINE YE OLDE BARRETT, PREPARETH THINE TO BE 'SPLODED TO TINY BITS, IN THE LORD'S MERCY Armaments Chapter 2:1-3

[@hellothere5843]

@Norris Jinglewilly FROM THE LENGTH WHICH GOD HATH SITTETH ON HIS THRONE THOU SHALT BE SHOT

[@wondrous.]

8:11

[@KhaoticL0ki]

The whitworth "rifling" not only didnt deform the "round" but it also added extremely aggressive spin on the "round" thus making the whitworth an EXTREMELY accurate gun.

[@danieldeak9141]

Hold on. .75 Cal. That thing is a single-shot bolter.

[@Craitash]

"Brother-Captain, I have recovered an Archeo-tech Bolter!" "Excellent, alert the Techmarine to prepare the proper blessings!"

[@whitenoiserevived6575]

but sadly not enough boom boom I would not want to be facing of a a hive swarm with this thing

[@SinOfAugust]

White Noise revived - MY FACE IS MY SHIELD!

[@leftblank1283]

Needs more dakka

[@eugeneoliveros5814]

Dougie Kiernan THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH DAKKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@CaptainGrief66]

So that removable breech block thingy basically works as one really big, heavy and cumbersome casing, _without a bullet_

[@AgentTasmania]

Belgian Fort Gong

[@WingMaster562]

After firing, you could also throw that breech block to end your opponent rightly.

[@Z45HR4]

The original caseless ammunition.

[@maverick9708]

Oh the black powder days, the revolvers were kind of cool though

[@lukasvondaheim]

Two or three breach blocks one to load them and one for shooting?

[@joe090309]

You know you have enough dakka when your breech block has its own carrying handle. Also one of the best quotes "sense this gun is basically ye olde' barret"

[@WingMaster562]

After firing, you could also throw that breech block to end your opponent rightly.

[@RealLuckless]

I wonder how many wall guns are sitting on the collector's floors around the world because they're too heavy for the wall racks they installed... Also wonder if that piece might have been issued with multiple fitted chambers. The design seems to lend itself well to an almost light crew weapon usage.

[@SimenNaess]

RealLuckless I was thinking the same thing. With multiple fitted chambers this rifle would have been devastating on the battlefield in its era.

[@RealLuckless]

Probably rather devastating to shoulders as well. Another entry on here that I kind of want a reproduction of to go out and have fun with. They probably do an interesting number on a pumpkin.

[@calvingreene90]

@@RealLuckless The wall that the pin is mounted in takes the recoil.

[@marvindebot3264]

Marvin De Bot 1 second ago I'd say so. three blocks, a couple of men and say 6 rounds a minute shouldn't be difficult? The system had been used in small bore artillery for several hundred years before this, cannon with a bore of an inch and a half to two inches, mainly German and Austrian. Of course in those the ball was also loaded into the removable breech block.

[@MalaRhynn]

Killed me at "Ye Olde Barrett."

[@HeatherSpoonheim]

How practical do you think this would be for concealed carry?

[@tuckerrickman9896]

Very practical indeed

[@jeremymcadam7400]

just needs a shortened barrel and youre set

[@DavidM-um2uk]

LMAO!

[@mikeoxsmal8022]

I conceal carry a t72

[@BlahBlahYouWho]

This is part of my EDC. I just use it with a pair of stilts.

[@ArcChain]

'Ye Olde Barrett' has got to be one of the best nicknames for anything that I have ever heard! XD

[@MPE_09]

Instantly my favourite black powder gun. Thank you Ian 🙏

[@marinthecreator]

I feel sorry for any soldier back then hit with that beast.

[@roykliffen9674]

Why? ..... the guy probably will never know he got hit ..... he simply stops living almost instantly or is rendered unconscious prior to dying by the trauma (unless it "only" takes of one of his limbs). Pity his mates who witnessed the guy being reduced to mush.

[@johnbonaros589]

You should also have some sympathy for the soldier who had to carry it

[@1leggeddog]

they weren't carried, they were wall guns

[@johnbonaros589]

Hi Karine

[@1leggeddog]

hiya

[@AlienPball]

"It's too thick to effectively wrap your hand around and get an effective grip". Giggity.

[@brucelee3388]

It is quite likely that the rifle was originally loaded with a cylindrical projectile in the block - Whitworth discovered that if you used more than 120 grains of powder in his rifles you could just load them with a patched cylindrical projectile and the impulse from the charge was more than enough to make the bullet 'upset' and fill the hexagonal bore. I think the line you can see around the front projection on the block is a gas check on the same principle as the early pre-metallic cartridge Sharps rifles, the 4 screws around it probably allow you to remove the gas check block for cleaning (in the Sharps it slides out with a bit of persuasion from a screwdriver).

[@Saldytuwas]

That's what you call a BFG

[@Desmaad]

That's what the pistol grip reminded me of. Also, the sten gun comes to mind, seeing as it's made of bent steel bar.

[@TheOwenMajor]

Big friendly giant?

[@Finn-ey1pk]

Owen Major A big f*cking gun.

[@sgtpetergreen]

Saldytuwas ever seen the punt gun?

[@adriaanvanwyk662]

You're looking at it the wrong way, it's not a BFG it's a small CANNON.

[@W1se0ldg33zer]

The .50 cal Barrett sniper rifle of it's day. Looks more like something that would be more practical for use on a ship.

[@brucebaxter6923]

W1se0ldg33zer The Barrett is just a materiel rifle. The lapua is a sniper rifle.

[@a.lampman2165]

>the Barrett is just a materiel rifle *_*mumble mumble_** longest-distance confirmed kills... *_*mumble mumble_** shooting a radio tower at 1500yds...

[@brucebaxter6923]

A. Lampman Is a radio tower what would be called "materiel"?

[@brucebaxter6923]

Edit In November 2009, British Army sniper Corporal of Horse (CoH) Craig Harrison, a member of the Household Cavalry, set the current record for longest recorded sniper kill by killing two Taliban machine gunners consecutively south of Musa Qala in Helmand Province in Afghanistan at a range of 2,475 m (2,707 yd) using a L115A3 Long Range Rifle.[7][8][9][10] In the reports CoH Harrison mentions the environmental conditions were perfect for long range shooting: no wind, mild weather, clear visibility.[11]

[@W1se0ldg33zer]

They used the Barrett as a sniper rifle. - does that make you happy? I don't care if it's a potato.

[@Piman1607]

What seems really interesting about this, is you could pre fill, or have another person filling the blocks and swap after shots. Super neet.

[@hyperionowl1848]

Assault weapon. Pistol grip and a removable "box magazine"

[@anomilumiimulimona2924]

FreakinLoserTV, great so every semi auto pistol.. That's not the way msm portrays it...

[@MrYfrank14]

that is not an assault weapon. all assault weapons are black. the color must make them more powerful.

[@MrYfrank14]

@WrathMachine - the assault style drum mags are heavier and if you drop one on your foot you will get a boo boo and have to spend a week in your safe space because of PTSD.

[@ceasarsalazar5940]

"Assault weapon" is a made up term. There is no such thing as an assault rifle or pistol. It's something anti-second amendment assholes came up with to make guns sound more scary. There is no classification for what makes an "assault weapon" and no one can agree on what it is. So it doesn't exist. Please leave.

[@Whiboi]

Julius Caesar the Great bruh chill everybody here is aware of that and that’s exactly what they were making fun of lmao

[@zerg9523]

Where i come from a wall gun is a decorative conversation piece, where they come from a wall gun is a destructive eradication piece.

[@heinrichmuller7974]

Forgotten Weapons, I'm always amazed at the videos that you make. I'd say Ian but I know there's ppl behind the scenes that contribute to them. So thank you!

[@dogboy0912]

I love these videos, Ian. Today with all our hundreds of years refined gun technology, it is sometimes hard to remember that at the heart of things, these are a bunch of man made parts that somebody had to come up with and put together to do something (which in this case is shoot a projectile.) These old guns remind me of that. When you start explaining them, it feels a bit less esoteric and I can think, "Huh yeah, somebody wanted to make a thing to shoot stuff so they figured it out."

[@Maverick-gg2do]

This feels like a team weapon. I think they'd have several of he powder loading blocks and several guys would load them and one guy would fire then remove the block and switch it for a different block.

[@vguyver2]

That's exactly what people would do when hunting big game, and many of these rifles were used for that purpose if they felt other heavy guns wouldn't take down a Rhino or other beast.

[@hanssrouf8317]

With this weapon you have a second anus has an elephant.

[@Chebva]

This guy and his videos rock. It is so worth my $1 a month donation.

[@wtr2235]

Today some of the rifles with polygonal barrel rifling shoot circular bullets without problems. Since this will probably use lead bullets, they will fit without problems. OTOH I saw a percussion hunting rifle up the castle in Coburg that had a heartshaped rifling. Next to one with a square shaped rifling.

[@diltzm]

joseph crosby mecham Google heart shaped rifling and you'll see a shot of a muzzle like that.

[@jeffbenton6183]

There's a difference between "Whitworth-style hexagonal rifling" and "polygonal rifling". Typically, polygonal rifling only refers to rifling that is mostly traditional, but with more or less rounded edges between the lands and the grooves (actually, being curved they are instead referred to as "hills and valleys"). It is designed to obdurate the round the same way conventional rifling does. The Whitworth rifle (and, evidently, this gun) took it a step by shaping the interior of the barrel as a hexagon with almost sharp edges. The lands are flat, rather than curved hills. It will only accept hexagonal, non-obturating bullets I don't know how someone would even begin to design a round to obdurate into that.

[@A5M0D3U5]

You could have a few pre-loaded breech blocks w/ caps already on em. Send a massive round every few seconds, not bad for pre-electricity

[@cplbullet]

Ian you get to play with some very sweet firearms... thanks for sharing with us.

[@peteranddorothybowles5428]

you even have the ability to moor your boat on top of the breech block cool

[@jasondoe2596]

Incredibly interesting!! Plus, it seems to be a *far* more refined and usable design than what I had initially assumed - truly a gem.

[@Kbrusky15]

The host is so well versed and doesn't sound like a good ol boy down on the ranch wanting to shoot off his guns. Very educational. subscribed.

[@rickregina5053]

When you want to literally want to load pommels into a gun and 'end them rightly'

[@darkblood626]

For when a ‘no visitors’ sign just doesn’t say ‘fuck off’ loud enough…

[@ProximaNT]

My man just found the Nailer from Space Marine

[@johncox2865]

First time I’ve heard the term ‘Wall Gun’. At first, I thought it was meant to be a mini catapult. You know, for destroying WALLS. I mean, they didn’t have tanks back then. Then, when you said it was an anti-material gun, I was convinced that I was right. For about 5 seconds. Gee, thanks Ian When ya gonna take it out to the BUG Match?

[@johnnschroeder7424]

Biggest damn squirrel gun I have ever seen! Seriously a big gun at 3/4" I can imagine it was very destructive on the battlefield of the day.

[@readyrepairs]

so could you possibly have 10 or so of those blocks ready and loaded - for 2 or 3 men with guns and a third person refilling the empties?

[@exploatores]

I would do the other way around. 2 men loading and 1 shooting the gun.

[@readyrepairs]

Nah - because all the extra person would be doing is loading the powder charges - that would be super fast, the shooter would still be packing the ball which would be slower.

[@gungho1345]

readyrepairs that was my first thought. would allow for somewhat rapid fire, especially in a defensive role.

[@Guy_GuyGuy]

Possible, but I'm going to guess much like "fast reloads" with spare cap and ball revolver cylinders, it was never actually done.

[@jackmcslay]

Too bad the designers didn't have enough foresight to have the projectile to be put in the block instead of the barrel, would make for even faster reloading

[@jackmcslay]

That's not a gun that's a small bore cannon with a trigger. I hope the future owner will be willing to get together the gear to shoot it

[@loahnuh]

All guns are technically small bore canons with triggers.

[@arthurneddysmith]

richard343s Not quite: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_mm_caliber

[@goofboy413]

The term you're looking for is firearm. Any weapon that fires a projectile through a tube via some form of propellant can be considered a gun. That includes cannons.

[@seanstates9816]

exactly,during the napoleonic era onwards its very common for artillery to be referred to as guns. cannons, howitzers, mortars, all called guns from what i understand

[@patq1924]

@@richard343s technically its 15mm bullet to be a cannon

[@fatshadow2062]

Marching in ranks to lay siege to a fortification when suddenly a thunder clap and an entire row of men falls dead.

[@Spearfisher1970]

04:10 I would consider that a reloadable cartridge - or, at least, shell if the projectile isn't in it. Bring along a number of them, and have a partner reloading them next to the operator. It looks to be in good enough condition - and simple enough in its ruggedness - to shoot if one machined or molded the proper projectiles.

[@SuperFunkmachine]

You'd just cast the bullets

[@Dazzlegette]

It's no more or less sophisticated than modern two stage projectiles where you'd have your shell/sabot and dart, and a bag of propellant behind it.

[@Spearfisher1970]

Yeah, but hexagonal casts? Would have to create my own.

[@Spearfisher1970]

That seems like an even better idea than creating a mold to pour hexagonal bullets in it. Damn - this thing could be a modern rifle ... almost ... in short order.

[@Shad0wBoxxer]

Just wow.... i love all the rare firearms you showcase! Point in case, no one believed me about the Lemat revolver until you showed it on your channel so thank you!!

[@zuttoaragi8349]

I'm actually learning things from this series. I saw the end of the barrel and instantly recognized it was a Whitworth bore.

[@Makeitliquidfast]

This guy could and should have his own cable show, I can't stop watching his videos? He could talk about anything and make it interesting. I think he's more interesting than the guns.

[@nohero23]

Time to mount a swivel in front of my door and use this for home defense.

[@generalkenobi4509]

😂 BRO STOP IM DYING

[@keltongaming5484]

Perfect cqc rifle when your opponent is a T Rex charging your current position

[@josephandersonslaugh4923]

I read the title as “Belgian .75 Caliber Percussion Waffle Gun”

[@alphadragon601_9]

Has Belgian engineering gone too far?

[@q-fesh3498]

Me as a Belgian reading this: “For f*ck sake!” 😅

[@ianfinrir8724]

Did you skip breakfast?

[@epauletshark3793]

@@ianfinrir8724 yes.

[@johnjones_1501]

I hope someone from Hollywood see's your videos. They are great, and I would love to see weapons like this wall gun pop up in a historical battle scene.

[@yugimuto9763]

that's a fascinating piece. "ye olde Barrett", loved that line. I can imagine recoil would be horrendous but do you think someone could shoulder that rifle for one shot?

[@RaptorJesus]

Once? Oh, sure. You can do *anything* once.

[@WhatIsThatThingDoing]

Clearly engineered by a soldier who wasn't satisfied to call it a confirmed kill until the target is blown apart like Krakatoa.

[@dickscratcher3040]

It would make sense if the operator had 2 or 3 breach blocks , pre loaded to speed firing during combat.

[@fenrislegacy]

The perfect self-defense gun against graboids.

[@coastersandcars]

“Ludicrously oversized gun”: GUN IS GUN

[@elektro3000]

You've shown us videos of you firing a few auction guns before...this one would be an EXCELLENT example to fire on video! Especially with slow motion footage.

[@TexasGTO]

So you could have several blocks loaded ready to go during a fight for faster reloads. That's pretty cool.

[@georgetazberik6834]

That sound at 4:49, what a majestic clash of metal

[@MAlanThomasII]

I'd love to see you do a punt gun some day, although I'm not sure how you're going to get what is essentially a small naval artillery piece in shot.

[@andrewirvine6444]

There is a good reason for the hexagonal bore/bullet: this is a wall gun and often used to fire down from a height. A spherical bullet can roll out of a downward pointing barrel, but the hexagonal bullet will not.

[@Thing.of.nought]

Now that is what Finns would call "norsupyssy" (Elephant gun) same nickname give to the Lahti L/39. Additionally Ian could you possibly tell the weights and measurements of the guns in meters and kilograms for other European viewers? (Or add them as subtitles during the editing) Keep up the good work with these videos!

[@Catrik]

+1. Hate that I always have to pause the video and googleconvert how much xxx or yyy is in metric.

[@VicariousReality7]

Elefant is norsu in finska?

[@Apus__]

VicariousReality7 yes.

[@Thing.of.nought]

VicariousReality7 Yep.

[@CurmudgeonExtraordinaire]

Approximately 454 grams in a pound and exactly 2.54 cm per inch. Easy conversion. He's in the US, why should he bother doing the conversions for you? When I go to Europe, I don't expect them to convert things for me. Where things get a bit strange though is in the UK where they use a different size gallon than we use in the US. Not that it really makes much different except in the case of beer being sold by the "pint" and their pints being 20 oz and the ounces being slightly different in size. As such, I much prefer drinking beer in British customary beer drinking units. :)

[@morelenmir]

Whenever I see a--rare--example of a .75 firearm I am always reminded of Harry Harrison's books! Something with that diameter of bore is what Jim Digriz was carrying around with him... Sobering!

[@jkoeberlein1]

Had anyone shot these in modern times? Wow what a piece.

[@PsiCommando]

They had a good idea how to make a weapon practical in combat despite it's size. The removable breech and spring loaded locking lever are quite clever.

[@tomupchurch4911]

👽With a bunch of extra charge blocks you could actually "sort of" rapid fire this thing.

[@nicholasford4820]

Pretty sure I saw one of these in the Belgian army museum in Brussels - very cool gun!

[@lukecooper8883]

"ye olde Barrett, I suppose" made me laugh harder than it should have

[@peaceraybob]

What you have there is a very late model Swivel Gun; soon to be replaced by Nordenfelts and so on. 'Wall-guns' were actually built into the defensive fortifications so as to fire straight into the faces of anyone assaulting them. .69 to .75cal ball was the common range of calibres for smooth-bore muskets - although I admit that seeing the higher end of the range in a rifle is unusual.

[@montimuros2837]

The "magazine" reminds me of princess mononoke's rifles.

[@alifi5475]

champimuros look up tanegashima muskets. they were the insperation to princess mononoke. Only difference is that in the movie they mounted them on their shoulder like an rpg. Which is freakin awsome. Someone needs to make those.

[@montimuros2837]

leo alifi Wow, thanks! Now I want one :O

[@montimuros2837]

leo alifi It was an arquebus, though, not a musket.

[@junichiroyamashita]

leo alifi if i am not wrong they were a type calles ishibiya

[@Skyfighter64]

Now, this may sound crazy, but the removable breech block probably was issued with a second identical breech block, allowing a two man team to achieve an effective rate of fire close to 3-4 rounds per minute. When you fire one, pull out the breech block, hand it to the assistant gunner, who immediately starts packing fresh powder, while the gunner puts a new bullet, and already prepared breech block/powder charge, ready to fire as fast as he can stick the loaded breech block in the rifle. Or I might just be insane. But tripling the rate of fire for each rifle with a minimum of material investment just plain makes sense, and I know the military minds of the day most likely would have thought something similar.

[@PhantomSavage]

Perfect for ye everyday carry.

[@kavky]

An early prototype bolter, praise the Omnissiah!

[@MadSpectro7]

I wonder how these things would have performed. I hear that rifles that fired Whitworth bullets were extremely accurate.

[@neilfurby555]

Quite addictive viewing, super presentation style, only intended to watch one episode! ..... seems like I might watch the lot ! Excellent!

[@AlexHalt100]

Dear Ian, I love your videos but this one time i have to correct you. Originally, the English word "ye" was spelled "þe." The symbol þ represents the letter thorn, a letter which no longer exists in English. It had a sound somewhat similar to the Greek letter θ, which is to say a th- sound. The word "þe" is an early spelling of "the." cheers and greetings from germany and keep up the good work! i barely subscribe to channels but yours is one of the few.

[@mosheahvows5071]

Stop

[@SH-gr1bc]

This is my all time favourite gun you have ever reviewed. I wish someone got one of these and convert it to 50 caliber bullet. Like the barret gun.

[@rahbaralhaq]

He made more than one joke in a single video.... who are you and what have you done to real Ian?

[@gae_wead_dad_6914]

Fun fact: the Space marines from Warhammer 40k shoot a 0.75 caliber bolter round.

[@mikedertouzos908]

"Ye old' Barrett." 😂🤣😅

[@stewknoles4790]

Have you seen the C&Arsenal video on shooting a wall gun. This one is small in comparison. Plus it was flintlock. It was an awesome firing gun. They showed the two from the show, one firing and one holding the barrel firing.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

It's linked in the description...

[@3Black.1Red]

Are hexagonal bullets less aerodynamic? Is that why we don't see them anymore?

[@bavarianpotato]

Not an expert, but hexagonal bullets wouldn't work very well with any bolt action or automatic weapon designs, would they? You need to put the bullet in the right orientation for it to work, which would need a special feed/ magazine design. Even a simple single-shot rifle like a remington rolling block would be much harder to reload if you had to pay attention to bullet orientation

[@buffbrandon1]

One of the coolest guns I've seen you share!

[@sonofdrjekyll]

. so. if you had multiple blocks. you could just drop and lock ? that's a pretty decent rof right there

[@caniscerulean]

Loading the slug was separate, so plug, drop, and lock.

[@Taeerom]

This uses almost the exact same system of loading as many 14th and 15th century cannons used. They loaded everything into the block you take out, are smoothbore (ish) and use a wooden wedge rather than the metal "spacer". They went away from that design when experiencing serious issues with the wooden "breech block" deforming and being unable to reload. The always present risk of explosive failure didn't help either. Increasing powder amount and size also contributed to make solid cast cannons and muzzle loading them. If you think of this as a small cannon, it makes sense to load it with an extractable chamber rather than muzzle loaded. I am unsure when breechloaded cannons started to reappear, but this is small and old enough to not have room for aimed shots with a traditional cannon breach at the back.

[@paulmanson253]

Taeerom A very short time later the British came out with the breechloading Armstrong cannon,which used a wedge as well. Some 20 years ago Model Engineer magazine came out with an article on making a scale reproduction. Which is how I know. The three miles limit for shores was enforced with those things. Which gives the maximum range.

[@SlayerImI]

Great video! Did they have multiple breach blocks or they fitted each breach block to individual gun and had to re-powder it betwen each shoot?

[@sthenzel]

As this was used in a fortification where the weight of the accessories doesn´t matter too much and personnel for reloading the blocks was available, I guess there were additional ones. Around 5 or so should work for continous firing.

[@SlayerImI]

Probably, but I don't think that they had the tecnology to make every breach block identichal and I guess that they weren't mass produced...

[@sthenzel]

In 1866 they had the technology. Look at all the mass produced firearms of that era. The wall guns weren´t, right, but they very well could have been.

[@SlayerImI]

I know there were a lot of mass produced guns. But I wounder if the parts had to be hand fitted or not. If parts had to be hand fitted the plausability of more breach blocks is less lakely.

[@Ensign_Cthulhu]

I imagine the tolerances are enough to allow for swapping.

[@johngraesser4911]

As a blackpowder gun, the powder needs to load all the way to the bullet, or have wadding in there to take up the empty space, so the entire block would be filled with powder andwadding. If you leave a void between the powder and bullet, they have a pressure spike with blackpowder and will explode. With blackpowder any powder not needed to propel the bullet out will be blown out the muzzle unburned.

[@altair1983]

hi, any idea what are cut-outs in breech block's corner for? visible at 3:44

[@Metacore91]

Weight reduction? Perhaps you can place a piece of wood in there and hit it with a hammer in case the block gets jammed?

[@altair1983]

nah.. i'm referring to the four 'black lines' in the side of block that faces barrel

[@witeshade]

altair1983 tool marks for a jig when they were boring the hole into the block? I noticed those too and wondered what they could be. It'd be interesting to hit it with calipers and see if the end points of each line are equidistant from some edges or points.

[@theheck1895]

It could also be a little space for some form of sealing grease. Remember that this is a black powder rifle and that it does not form a complete gas seal between the chamber block and the barrel. Perhaps a blob of grease was smeared on the end of the block during reloading. Those grooves could be a place for the grease to catch and hold on to during firing.

[@kmoecub]

Most likely they are reliefs cut to prevent the face of the breech block from "sticking" to the barrel face. Closely fit (lapped) parallel steel parts will tend to stay stuck together once assembled (have a machinist do the trick with a good set of gauge blocks; once set against one-another you have to twist them to get them to separate). It's the same reason why the breech is open at the bottom.

[@Painrunner]

Belgian guns, always something special.

[@jaguarfacedman1365]

"Ye ol barret"

[@LuisVillanuevaCubero]

What an amazing weapon. Thanks for this video.

[@0fryguy0]

>ye olde barret he browses /k/, I can tell

[@rejmons1]

Very interesting construction! I think this "solid block of steel" was the very clever solution in the time when the tools were not sufficiently precise to make things perfectly matched to each other. But of course, the cost was high - a great burden of entirely. But from the other hand: In this time army of Prussia and France have used the guns with the locking points - Zündnadelbüchse M/65 and Chassepot Modéle 1866 . So, from the very beginning it was the "obsolete" gun. Even when it was completely new!

[@nickm9123]

talk about a show piece... do you think its in firing condition??

[@jimmyrustler8983]

Donna Sachs they seem to be of Standard size. Were you thinking of buying one?

[@nickm9123]

kinda

[@jimmyrustler8983]

nick m It's the best choice for a home defense weapon! Best of luck finding one!

[@gary-ly2bx]

I Have one of these wall rifles and it has been in my family for many years. It is al long story as to how we came to own it but I am quite sure that it was never fired and is is almost in a new condition. It now lives in my bedroom behind the door only to come out once in a while as it is very heavy.

[@jbot91]

Anyone else read Belgian waffle gun?

[@jamesabernethy7896]

Watched so many of your videos and find them fascinating this one just came up for me. This was short but so interesting.

[@DarynRod]

Did anyone else read Belgian Waffle gun?

[@mosheahvows5071]

No one did

[@hippymad1]

If anyone is interested in seeing a wall gun fired. The channel C&R Arsenal has a video of them firing one these monsters although theirs is different. It's a flint lock rather than a percussion

[@wtr2235]

It's like one of the "Kammergeschütze" of the 15th century, although smaller. With several loading blocks the rate of fire for these early cannons is impressive.

[@johnyricco1220]

There's an illustration of this gun from early 1600s China, except its a matchbook and much smaller. It had a plug bayonet. The idea was to have multiple loaded chambers for rapid fire. After the Ming dynasty fell in 1644 nothing more was heard about it.

[@bigptm1364]

My brother inlaw machined himself the largest registered black powder rifle in the state of Michigan. It's about 6ft and it's .97 caliper & so heavy you have to lean it on something to shoot it. He packs it with a broom handle. Those who are brave enough to pull the trigger get to come b@ck the next day to get a picture of the bruise on your shoulder for his wall of pain.

[@ryancrouse5790]

In defensive positions, would a team of guys work together and perhaps have a few or several of those removeable "chamber blocks"? One shooting and a couple reloading? An early crew served weapon!