Juice cans, use and abuse

[capperbar]

good mornin,
I have am finishing up two coehorn mortars.   They are from 4" cold rolled.  I bored them for apple juice cans.  ie just a little over 2".  Now comes the fun part. actually firing them.  I plan to fill the cans with cement.  So do I remove the top and just fill with cement or just open the hole a bit and use mortar?  Does it make any difference which end is down.  The top has a nice ring that looks a lot like the base of a Minie bullet.  Am I splitting hairs here by even worrying about the base shape?  Do you get any better accuracy with a half filled can?  Seems it would tumble less.  

I still have to set up to bore the base groove for the bars,  not quite finished.

Dave

[Cat Whisperer]

Cans are easiest to fill if the opening on the top is WIDE open.  

With today's beer cans the aluminum is so thin they are often opened up like a daisy - apple juice cans should be better.

I usually fire them open end up.  No particular reason, but if the pressure gets between the metal and the can I'd think they'd be stripped off fast.

Half full cans?  A friend shoots half-full beer cans, I shoot completely full beer cans.  They both shoot.

[GGaskill]

I have always shot half full beer cans in the hope that the heavy end would fly forward and prevent tumbling.  I have seen that happen only once.  Probably get more range from a heavier can.

Try both and see which works better.

[Double D]

good mornin,
Do you get any better accuracy with a half filled can?

Depends what you mean by accuracy.  I was able to hit the ground every time shooting cans...but that was about it.  Accuracy and shooting cans didn't seem to be related in my first mortar.  That's why the one I am building now is going to shoot balls.

[capperbar]

Thanks for the replies.  I will try them base down and get a bunch full and half full.  Now to get that boring bar setup to finish the cross bars.
Dave

[Cat Whisperer]

 ....  Depends what you mean by accuracy.  I was able to hit the ground every time shooting cans...but that was about it.  ....

That is much like Douglas Adams' concept of people flying (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galexy) - you simple hurl yourself at the ground and miss.