Product Description
CAN20 – Rat Tail Swivel Gun, full scale, solid, 46#, 28-1/2″ long.
This little beauty is cast in modern Ductile Iron (85k tensile), as a solid piece. Designed for a true static display. (3+ Solid cast, in inventory – March 2025)
Any bore would have to be done by the customer. .69 – .75 – 1.03 caliber.
For an additional charge of $325, we have machined some of these out to 1.032″ for 1″ round ball shot. Call upon ordering to add this additional feature. (One – Bored – in stock, March 2025)
These are a UPS item – box & freight charges included in the current price!
As a companion piece be sure and take a look at the CAN20-Y, which is a split yoke mount for this gun.
Hern’s Rat Tail Swivel Gun is patterned on the common ship’s rail mounted signal guns of the 1700’s. Mounted on a Y shaped yoke, this small gun would offer a larger mouth full of damage to repel boarders at sea, than may be carried in small arms – if the crew was prosperous enough to even have them. The swivel yoke mount allowed for a wide field of fire, while still holding the gun for firing and leaning back near vertical for ease of loading. While not as glamorous as facing the enemy, these guns were more extensively used as a signal gun, announcing the ships presence upon arrival and departure to port and the likes. Some designs were basically miniature cannon of the day, including a cascabel. In this case examples can be found of a wooden or brass tiller affixed to the breach for the purposes of aiming and manipulating the gun. Hern’s standard production is of the style wherein the tiller is cast as part of the gun itself – hence the Rat Tail Swivel.
