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Comment by duskwuff | Hacker News Reader

In this context, "guns" probably means cannon, not small arms like rifles or pistols.

Even still, cannon fire from 250+ miles (at least, that's just to the border) seems improbable

Umm...no, you've never heard heavy artillery fire then? It won't be loud, more like a disant thunder but i know for a fact it can be heard in 100-150mile range. No idea how altitude, weather, geography and other factors can extend this range but I wouldn't discount it without knowing more facts.

Shell detonations could definitely be heard at that distance through propagation through the ground/water. Even at sea, I don’t think you’d be able to hear the muzzle blast at anywhere close to 100 miles.

Ceremonial artillery doesn't fire projectiles, just propellant charges, so it seems implausible that it could be heard at those distances.

Why did you mention ceremonial artillery?

The context is the guns fired at Queen Victoria's funeral, which would almost certainly not be non-ceremonial artillery.

This thread is about the subject of ceremonial artillery.

> "Guns fired at the funeral of Queen Victoria in London in 1901 were heard in Scotland"

I assumed they would fire live rounds back then lol

yeah, from experience, wind direction can definitely play a larger part in how far sound travels than is immediately obvious too.

And there's my weekly reminder that the British Isles are SMALL.

There's a saying that goes something like "Americans think 100 years is a long time, and Europeans think 100 miles is a long way."

No kidding! I was on the interstate this last week and a sign showed more than twice that distance just to the next major city in the state. (along that highway, there were closer ones in other directions)

Seems plausible base on my experiences outdoors, but it heavily depends on ambient conditions. Over such large distances I think the unlikely part is you do that trick twice, but even that is plausible merely by looking at seasonal changes.

I agree it defies belief. Why think it was from London and not from some other city closer to Scotland also mourning her?

Definitely, in that period "guns" always meant artillery.

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