"I'm just waiting for the tard who loads their blackpowder cannon with smokeless powder..."

"I'd just like to say that I've seen black powder cannons in action. I live in Florida, and went down to St. Augustine with my girlfriend back in November. The Castillo de San Marcos fort has working replica cannons, and they fire off blank charges at certain times.

First problem: ammo. Most cannons are used for re-enactments, so there's not much of a <NOBR>market</NOBR> for cannonballs when you're firing blanks (unless you have a really sadistic re-enactment director). More than likely, you'll end up having to make your own ammo. And if you DID find a few shots, you'd have to pray that they actually fit the cannon.

Second problem is accuracy. The guns often don't even have iron sights, let alone the advanced computers and optics of modern guns. Being smoothbore, the shot will also have all the accuracy issues with smoothbore muskets.

Then there's power and range. Your average black powder cannon doesn't have nearly as much power as a howitzer from even 100 years ago, and range is limited. Most ammo will likely be non-explosive solid shot, which can sink into soft ground and is only useful for disabling the undead. Explosive cannonballs are unlikely to hit brain tissue unless they detonate above a crowd.

Finally, there's the problem of loading. No artillery is intuitive to load, but even with instructions there's a chance that an inexperienced crew will overload the powder and blow up the gun in their face, something a modern cannon won't do.

I personally wouldn't chance it. If I wanted to use artillery, I would use modern cannons from a great distance and find some soldiers who actually know how to operate them."

"The best bet for ammo in a muzzle loading cannon on Z-day would be with Shot
charges. Those could be made up out of lead balls, steel ball bearings, scrape metal, nails, screws..etc. etc.

The idea would be using the cannon like a giant shotgun, throwing a huge pattern of schrapnel out its muzzle."

"This thread is so fail."

"No, no, no you're missing the other factors in this. Such as the fact as there's a mother ******* cannon pointing at your face. "