What scares me is the total lack of safety procedures that would make any Aritllery re-enactor scream in horror. They did not use any impliments to load or swab the barrel between shots and on a whim doubled their powder charge (using loose powder from an open container) to make the Bowling Balls go farther. They showed every idiot in America how to build a home made death trap, taught them every bad habit that an artilleryman could dream of, and acted like it was a cool thing. And yet the price they charged the customer ($6,000.00) to make this hunk of Junk would have made a good down payment on a quality artillery piece.
I hope their insurance is paid up and good. Of course they'll hide behind the old "Don't do this at home, we're professionals" Lines. But it has to be one of the most unprofessional thing I have seen done.
I think that some Civil War Artillerist reenactor ought to take them to the wood shed on this one and teach them what Civil War artillery is all about before, they wreck the hobby. They need a BIG retraction on this episode.
You can see the video of what I am talking about at http//dsc.discovery.com/video/american-guns-bowling-ball-cannon
Or maybe I am just being a stick in the mud?