Z-ONE Stainless Steel Mini Cannon Model with Steel Balls Miniature Model Famous Mortar During the American Civil War

This goes without saying is one of the coolest things I own. I will never fire it and knowing it will fire is good enough for me. The cannon is heavy and well made. This is not a toy, is not represented as a toy nor should be used as a toy. This is a live, functioning cannon and should be treated the same way any thing that uses black powder. Safety lessons aside, if you know anyone that would like this kind of thing just get it. They will enjoy it.

This thing looks cool, and is cool. That's reason enough to get it. Keep in mind, finding wicks and gunpowder is very hard nowadays. It is unfortunately very weak; but still should only be used by adults.

This is a pretty neat and well made little, I mean tiny, cannon. It has a nice little bit of weight to it for the size and it does work. It does take some playing with to get the charge right and the wad/patch so it will work.It can shoot sort of far but not really. See if you run the fuse, pack the powder, place the cotton (comes in th BB bottle), then pack the BB it will work. I found adding the fuse last caused it not to fire. I also found that putting some cotton around the BB to tighten it up, doesn't work as well either.I know some people may have concerns of pressure and safety. Now as for pressure it doesn't build up that much as the fuse hole is so large pressure expends out of it which reduces how much goes to the BB. Safety wise, it's not for kids and you do need to use caution. Now as for how hard the BB comes out, at one foot it would not penetrate a piece of cardboard, it bounced off. This isn't a problem or complaint, just stating my results. Basically to get the distance they claim, it's just like a real cannon you have to angle it to lob the BB.BB/pellet guns are far more powerful than this, maybe even paintball guns. Again that's not a complaint just trying to give an idea of what it is and what it is not. I tried it with firecrackers (as suggested on the sales page) and even black powder. Now I am a gunsmith so I have understanding of what to do and not, so am not recommending anyone try BP. In the end it gave similar results to the firecrackers, just more smoke as the way it's designed it doesn't build up a lot of pressure. It doesn't move when fired as per some reviews, it's not as powerful as a real cannon and I saw no need to have to tie it down even after multiple uses.Overall it's a fun little thing and is really well made. I can't state it enough though, it is NOT a toy and not for kids. It would make a great gift for any type of war/military enthusiasts, history buffs, and/or firearm enthusiasts. It looks great on the shelf and it's fun to know it's functional even if it's never used, as that is a novelty that wears out pretty quickly to be honest.

Note the dimensions ... scaled for the mini-battlefield diorama hobbyist. It's a tiny, crafty, chrome-plated replica.p.s. I wouldn't hesitate to black powder shoot it

I gave this 2 stars rather than 1 because it is well made, but there are no directions on how you can get it to fire! It is a lot tinier than I thought it would be. If my husband figures it out I will post a video on how to fire this tiny cannon! Hmmm it seems it is supposed to come with a fuse Mine didnt come with a fuse. We will get a fuse and see what happens.

I love this thing a lot. It came in a nice, zippered case and along with a bunch of bbs.It's incredibly tiny but the bore is nice and deep.It requires the thinner diameter Fuse and I only have the thick stuff so I can't fire it until I find the right Fuse but I cannot wait!Excellent find!

This is indeed a sort of a copy of a civil war mortar, albeit a very simplified one, and it does look nice on a desk, or in a display. The description says it can be fired “up to 50 yards” which is very possibly true- though it would be a risky thing to try, unless you had a very large area to test it in.No instructions are included, but it appears to be a straightforward muzzle loaded. Put a grain or two of black powder in the barrel, followed by a wad of paper or cardboard, followed by the ball. Place a fuse in the fuse hole- assuming you can find a fuse that fits- light it, and pray it goes where it’s pointed. The hole is too small for any samples of standard visco fuse I have on hand.I would not try to shoot the supplied steel balls, which are undersized, as well as being fairly hard, which makes a ricochet likely. You could find some small lead shot, but I think the smarter thing to do is just treat this as a blank firing cannon, or a display model. Being very light, it’s going to recoil backwards when it fires if there’s a projectile, so unless you’ve got it strapped down to something heavy, standing behind it will be only slightly less dangerous than standing it front of it.I do have black powder on hand, being a long time muzzle loading enthusiast, and think you could fire this by filling the fusing hole with 4F powder and touching it with a smoldering match (a piece of potassium nitrate soaked cotton, not a modern safety match). But I’m not going to test that idea. I think it looks just fine sitting on my mantelpiece.