Wyoming Redneck Chronicles, Part 2: Cheyenne Mechanic's .50 Caliber Black Powder Cannon

A fully-functional miniature black powder cannon sounds like the dream of many a Wyoming man’s inner 14-year-old. 

Cheyenne mechanic Geno Stecks agrees that the .50 caliber piece – modeled after a Revolutionary War Naval gun – is an absolute hoot. 

He’s used it to shoot ball bearings at radiators and old antifreeze bottles filled with water. 

The velocity of the bearings coming from the muzzle of the cannon when the powder charge is touched off is impressive, he told Cowboy State Daily. 

“They haul ass, you can’t even see them in flight,” he said. 

He found the cannon at the local Sportsman’s Warehouse store, and said it set him back about $210. 

But with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, Wyoming fellows wanting to indulge their inner adolescent might stop to consider that other items should probably occupy a higher spot on the disposable budget list than a tiny cannon.

Two Seconds Of Fuse

Stecks is no stranger to edgy hobbies. 

He recently told Cowboy State Daily about his numerous adventures as a “redneck engineer” – including building rat rods and making his own moonshine. 

He’s also built potato cannons, but the miniature black powder naval gun takes things to new level. 

It’s basic design matches that of the cannons that Revolutionary War patriots used while doing battle with the British Royal Navy. 

To load the piece, a powder charge, some wadding and a projectile are rammed down the barrel, in that order. 

Stecks cautioned that the cannon isn’t built to handle the explosive pressures created by modern gunpowder. 

Instead, it’s designed for traditional black powder. That burns at a slower rate than modern gunpowder. But the payoff is that black powder produces a lot more flame and smoke coming out of the cannon’s muzzle. 

Stecks said he uses F-grade black powder, which is the coarsest grain. 

The breech (rear end) of the cannon has a small hole in it. That’s where a fuse can be placed. Once the fuse is lit, it burns down into the cannon’s breech and ignites the main powder charge. 

Stecks said he bought an entire “roll of fuse” from a local fireworks dealer for his cannon.

And he likes to keep his fuses short. 

“It takes about two seconds” from the time the fuse is lit until the cannon goes off, said. 

Let’s Sink A Boat

So far, Stecks and his co-workers have run only a few rounds through the cannon using old radiators for backstops in their shop.

A few old antifreeze bottles, re-filled with water, have fallen victim to the tiny naval gun. 

The impact of a lead ball or ball bearing will “blow the back of the water bottle out, and then the radiator catches the projectile,” he said. 

As soon as the weather gets warm “and the wind stops blowing” they plan to take the cannon out shoot projectiles through a chronograph, he said. 

That’s a device that measures the speed of bullets shot from firearms. 

“I’d really like to see if we can do some ballistics tests on this cannon,” he said. 

He added that it might be fun to buy a toy boat and try sinking it with the cannon. 

Asked if he would consider using the cannon to lob shots at prairie dogs, Stecks responded, “Sure. Why not?”

‘I’m The Oldest Kid In Town’

When Stecks was growing up, his father sold fireworks. So, he’s always had a fascination with small explosions. 

“I like things that go ‘boom!’” he said. 

That makes the miniature cannon a perfect fit for Stecks – who said it takes him right back to the loud, smokey days of his childhood. 

He truly is just like a boy with a cool new toy. 

“I’m the oldest kid in town,” he said.