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Can we all agree to please stop pointing guns that can be fired, as well as sharp daggers and swords at people while posing for a picture? Please...

Date: September 16, 2014 Contact: Mike Litterst, 410-962-4290 ext. 886 Media Statement: Cannon Breech Failure at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine on September 16 BALTIMORE –During the firing of a reproduction historic cannon at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine on September 16, 2014, the breech of the gun failed, according to the National Park Service. At approximately 11:30 a.m. on September 16, the park's living history gun crew used black powder to fire a salute to a passing ship as part of the weeklong series of events celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Star-Spangled Banner. The firing of black powder in the reproduction cannon caused the breech to dislodge. The breech is the mass of metal at the rear end of the cannon. There were no spectator injuries;one of the members of the cannon crew suffered minor flash burns on one hand.The cause of the accident is under investigation. The NPS has suspended the black powder historic weapons firing program at Fort McHenry. The immediate area around the Water Battery remains closed but the rest of the park remains open. The cannon crew was saluting the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle and The Pride of Baltimore II. About Fort McHenry National Monument &Historic Shrine During the Battle of Baltimore, September 13–14, 1814, the valiant defense of the star-shaped Fort McHenry against the might of the British navy inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner." The 15 broad stripes and 15 bright stars still fly over the fort 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most famous as the birthplace of our National Anthem, the fort was used continuously in a variety of ways through World War II. Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FtMcHenryNPS and on Twitter, @FtMcHenryNPS.

(CNN) -- What was supposed to be a celebratory lesson in American history has sent three children to the hospital. They were a part of a Civil War re-enactment group watching a parade in Orem, Utah, when a cannon set off an explosion Saturday. Witnesses said two of the three children injured were initially engulfed in flames, according to CNN affiliate KUTV. "When the flames went up in the air these three children started crying. One little girl's clothes were on fire, we're told," witness Brittany Tait told KUTV. "People were running with water to douse her." The blast happened at the start of the parade, the city's Department of Public Safety said. The cannon was fired, and a spark landed on a pouch containing additional charges for the cannon. The smoldering ember set off the contents of the pouch, blowing it up and injuring all three children, the press release explained. The extent of the children's injuries was not immediately known Sunday, but authorities said they were in stable condition when they were transported to a nearby hospital.

A simple question, I think: how, historically, did people draw the charge from a flintlock or other muzzle-loader if it misfired? If only the priming powder was wet or spoiled, re-priming would seem relatively easy, but if the actual main charge in the gun barrel proved to be wet or otherwise faulty, how did you get it and the ball and the wadding out? In the novel Treasure Island, Stevenson has Jim Hawkins draw the charge on one of his pistols and then reload it in the time it takes Israel Hands to climb to the Hispaniola's mizzen top. That sounds impossible; is it?

http://themoscownews.com/russia/20120716/189964446.html Four participants in a re-enactment of a Napoleonic war battle near St. Petersburg got more than they had bargained for when they were injured by an accidental cannon shot. The re-enactment of a battle in the Merevo village ended with four people being treated for injuries after cannon fire on Saturday at the “No wonder all of Russia remembers” festival celebrating the 200th anniversary of Russia’s victory over Napoleon, RIA Novosti reported. The re-enactors played out a fragment of the Battle of Borodino from the Patriotic War of 1812, known as the fight for the bridge over the Koloch River. More than 100 people were taking part in the re-enactment, members of military history clubs from Gatchina, Vyborg, the Lebyazhye village, Cherepovets and St. Petersburg. Accidental cannon shot When imitating a shot from a fuse cannon with a pyrotechnic charge, there was an accidental shot, and the ramrod flew out of the cannon’s trunk, hitting three men and a woman, a law enforcement source told Interfax. A 37-year-old St. Petersburg resident was taken to a hospital with an open fracture of his right thigh, and is now in moderately severe condition. The other three were treated for lighter injuries – bruising and burns to thighs and hands. During the event, re-enactors playing Russian gunners were cleaning the cannon, and a part of the ramrod broke and remained in the barrel unnoticed, one of the users of a re-enactment forum wrote online. Another eyewitness said that the injured were not noticed until later. “The cannon fires, then a quick hand-to-hand fight, everyone is happy, everyone is happy, everyone is hugging… I look around,” another user wrote. “See ‘battle losses’ lying on the ground, chatting with Russians… Then from the side of the battery, I heard shouts for a doctor. I thought, ‘Well done, guys, what believable play!” The ambulance did not appear immediately, but a doctor in the audience performed first aid. The police are investigating the accident. The organizers stressed that audience members were not injured. “Nothing scary happened, it is a historical reconstruction and anything can happen,” the local tourist center said. “The participants are prepared for it in advance.”

Just passing on information http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/showthread.php?29951-Indian-Lorenze-blows-up-at-Gettysburg.

I have heard many contrary opinions on the safety of Indian gun barrels. so I have begun an experiment. I will be testing a number of gun barrels from several different suppliers. here is the method we have followed so far, Under controlled conditions in the shop,the temp of the barrel is recorded and then they are measured at several locations on the barrel with a micrometer. then the barrels are taken to the range, loaded with a triple charge of the recommended load. and 2 round balls of the correct size for the barrel being tested. The charge is then electrically ignited from a distance of 50 feet from behind a berm. The barrels are then returned to the shop. cleaned completely. cooled to the same temperature as before the test . remeasured. then the breech plugs are removed and the bore is inspected. So far the barrels that we have checked were obtained from loyalist arms and middelsex trading village. no failures so far also no measurable deformation. we have managed to destroy one test stand. we will be testing barrels from other suppliers as we get them I would welcome any suggestions anyone has on how to improve our procedure here is a link to our first tests

Today I went to our local pirate fest and decided not to fire any guns as I felt the safety stand point was questionable and would rather not be a part of that. I was able to view the firing of a cannon that to say the least was unsafe. I tried my best to find a "rule" that was not broken and try as I might I have been unable whether it was using a lighter to light it, no swabbing, walking in front of a loaded gun, bringing spectators around the gun, firing small arms over the gun while loading powder, the list is endless including DRINKING while loading and shooting. I wish I had had a video to capture a perfect example of what not to do, and to think this was at a public event. There thats off my chest now.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10224767-boy-dies-after-shooting-himself-with-replica-cannon

While we were at an event this past weekend we were asked to examine a cannon owned by one of the event sponsors. He was interested in firing it and getting training on how to shoot properly and safely.After the event was over he brought the piece out to the gun line so we could do a safety inspection of the gun. The cannon (Sorry, No Pics) was a small signal gun, carriage mounted, iron tube with about a 1.7" bore and about 20" in length. Swivel gun style tube with a cascabel at the breech end. Carriage was nicely produced, and on initial appearance the tube looked to be in good condition. It had never been fired. Once we started to examine the tube though we started to have concerns. The first issue found was that whoever produced the tube used a seamed pipe for the liner, not the best choice - but still possibly usable for lighter loads. Then we looked at the breech plug. We did not have a scope with us, but we were able to shine enough light down the tube to see the breech plug. We immediately noticed a dark ring all around the plug where it met the sleeve. After a bit of head scratching we fashioned a "feeler" out of a bit of metal rod. After flattening the end of the feeler rod we found that we could slip the end of the feeler rod at least 1/4" PAST the end of the breech plug - ALL THE WAY AROUND. Needless to say we did not shoot the piece. We explained to the owner the danger of the breach plug breaking loose and the risk of hot embers and other debris remaining in the cavity around the breech plug. The current owner had received the gun from his father and had no idea who produced the tube. We never could figure out what the manufacturer did to screw up the breech plug. To me it seemed that the plug itself was the same material as the tube - like there was not an actual plug in the pipe. Just a reminder on why it is so important to inspect the guns on your line, particularly if you have never shot with them before. Duncan

It appears that from the picture that a home made cannon failed, taking it's most of it's crew with it. News Article

Hi all, a few years ago we did some experiments with battlefield safe grenades for re-enactment. The obvious problem is that your cannot guarantee control over where they land, or bouce to etc. We made papier-mache balls with a hole in the middle, then pushed a crow scarer (like a big banger) into the hole, then packed it out with sawdust if I remember correctly. The result was a device that you could quite happily set off on a table in front of you without any ill effects. The whole thing was painted black, the fuse lit then hurled in the direction of your enemy. Obviously care was taken to throw them away from any audience and to make them fall somewhat short of the enemy, that way nobody was too close - just in case. The result was a bang about the volume of a musket and a small puff of "smoke" as the sawdust sprayed around. The only trouble was that they were time consuming to make, could only be used once and despite safety demonstrations still got the people on the other side scared so we only used em a couple of times. We are thinking of using them again, but since I only remember the construction vaguely we're gonna have to experiment again to get it right. If you want to have a go with them I'd also recommend doing some safety experiments first.

Oh good Lord... http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local-beat/Gunpowder-Lesson--67204347.html

Here's the link and below the link is a cut and paste job of the article. Tourist shot by ramrod Cannon mishap at tourist site injures Ky. man Ramrod shoots 100 yards, breaks 52-year-old’s leg, bruises wife updated 1:30 p.m. PT, Fri., Oct . 16, 2009 LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. - When Douglas Struder watches war movies, he doesn't have to wonder what it's like to be shot by a cannon. He has a pretty good idea already. Struder, the president of a Cincinnati-based marketing firm, was visiting the Adirondacks earlier this month when a cannon fired at a recreated Colonial fort sent a ramrod flying more than 100 yards. It struck his left leg, fracturing the tibia just below the knee. State Department of Labor officials plan to talk to the operators of the privately owned Fort William Henry about the accident to see if any state regulations were violated, said Karen Williamson, a department spokeswoman. Struder, 52, and his wife, Shirley, were in Lake George on Oct. 2 as a stop on a fall foliage trip to celebrate their 31st anniversary. They were eating lunch on a concrete wall along the lake's southern shore when a gust of wind blew away their food container. As Struder got up to retrieve it, a cannon was fired at the nearby fort. Something hit his legs, knocking him to the ground. "I was in shock. I didn't know what had happened," Struder said this week in a telephone interview from his home in Butler, Ky., about 25 miles south of Cincinnati. The history buff soon realized he had been hit with a wooden ramrod about the length of a broomstick. The ramrod also struck his wife in the lower back, causing a bruise. Police and an ambulance crew soon arrived, along with a fort employee dressed in an 18th century British soldier's uniform. "I thought it was a long time to hold a grudge," Struder joked. The ramrod was used to load the cannon. According to fort officials, it fell in front of the barrel just as the cannon fired, sending it hurtling through the air. Paul Ackermann, an arms specialist at the West Point Museum, wonders if that's even possible. "You can never say never because stranger things have happened in life, but that sounds very, very unlikely." He said it's more likely that the ramrod was inadvertently left in the cannon prior to firing. That would explain the distance the ramrod covered, Ackermann said. "A hundred yards would be nothing," he said. Messages left with fort Director Dawn Littrell on Friday weren't immediately returned. But she told The Post-Star of Glens Falls that the wind blew the ramrod across the cannon's mouth. "It was just a mishap from start to finish," Littrell told the newspaper. The original fort was built by the British during the French and Indian War and then destroyed by the French in 1757 after a weeklong siege. The battle and subsequent massacre of some of the fort's garrison by France's Indian allies were retold in the James Fenimore Cooper novel, "The Last of the Mohicans." In the 1950s, local businessmen reconstructed the fort as a tourist attraction featuring tour guides in period uniforms conducting daily musket and artillery demonstrations, including an hourly firing of the replica cannon that caused Struder's injury. Struder said his attorney has been in contact with fort officials regarding his medical bills, but he declined to comment on any potential legal action. While laid up at home, Struder watched the 1992 film version of "The Last of the Mohicans." Struder said he used to wonder what it would be like to experience the artillery barrages depicted in movies. "It's not as hard to imagine as it used to be," he said.

Not really sure where to post this but, I'm putting dibs on this guy. http://www.thepittsb...570/detail.html

This guy should open a cannon safety school..I don't know for sure but that cannon has to have like a 3/4 inch bore and he has 2 ounces of powder rammed down this thing... http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=37754981

Anybody have good stories about these? We had an awesome party here last night, and my new friend and I decided to have a drunk sword fight. First battle wound was my right thumb, it felt like someone smacked my thumb with a hammer, which is why I didn't check it first. It just hurt... So, it's going good and I keep winning, but she got me completely by accident and it was a good hit. I was standing in front of her, and she turned really fast and was still holding said sword up, and it caught my left eyebrow and split it wide open...and I fell to the ground because it hurt, lol. Anyone catches a blade to the dome, it's gonna hurt! Then I noticed my thumb was gushing blood too. Looks amazing, lol, but it's healing really well already. There was lots of blood too. Unfortunately everything was so crazy and hectic no one took any pics...damn... I can show these though:

With much talk about cannon, sword and such. I want to be startin this thread on safety. There be a few that be wet behind the ears on such things. Here is an article with some great info and examples. Muzzle Blast Feel free to chime in with questions or answers. We be wantin' no loss of life or limb out there.