Recognize this cannon

Recognize this cannon? .... It's not a cannon, it's a decorative piece.

Cannon safety

Just as with thousands of other potentially dangerous activities, cannon shooting requires one to be educated and not "guess" or assume it's the right way. Every 4th of July results in several fireworks injuries and deaths. Most accidents were caused by people who thought (or pretended) they knew what they were doing. It can be as simple as parents allowing their children to play with sparklers. The kids twirl them around and they are pretty... Then they touch the glowing hot wire or toss them in the air as they are about to expire... I've seen it happen dozens of times and I'm sure you have also. It's not the children's fault (if they don't know better), it's the ignorant, dumb, stupid parents. There. I said it. (Thousands of children (and bystanders) are burned by those "simple" sparklers each year. People have even been injured weeks later by the discarded sparkler wires being thrown by lawnmower blades...)

If you don't really know about fireworks or cannons.... hands off. You or someone else is bound to be injured or killed.

Each year I receive several inquiries about whether or not a particular cannon is safe to fire ( I really respect these people trying to learn and who are safety conscious). Most of these cannons are purchased second hand or were acquired on Ebay.

How many times has a Ebay seller offered a carbide cannon, stating that all the buyer had to do was pack it with gun powder. The seller is totally ignorant of cannons and shouldn't pass on their ignorance. Not only does a carbide cannon not fire using gun powder..., no cannon uses "Gun Powder". My advice is not to purchase second hand cannons off Ebay unless you really know what is being offered. The sellers usually don't have a clue about what a real cannon is and will make up stories about a piece. It happens all the time. Some are so arrogant and defensive they've told me, when I challenged them, in so many words "to go to hell". Dozens of questionable cannons have been sold.

Another example are sellers offering decorative cannons, claiming they are safe to fire.
How wrong! I received an inquiry about a cannon (pictured above) as to whether or not it was safe. What is disturbing is that I've received several inquiries about similar cheap imported cannons over the years (all sold on Ebay). These are solely decorative cannons. They are made from inferior, ductile cast iron. Attempting to fire these doesn't make them a cannon, but rather a bomb. Firing these would cause them to explode, sending shrapnel in all directions.

For over 10 years we have been promoting the safety of cannon firing. Please pass on this webpage. If readers only get the following message, injuries will be avoided.

Cannons only fire using black powder Not, gun powder, Not fireworks powder, just black powder. The powder must be ffg or fg for small cannons and only fg or cannon grade for larger cannons. Don't know what ffg means?
It means you shouldn't be fooling with cannons..................

The correct amount for the cannon - rule of thumb, 1 ounce black powder (or less) per inch of bore for 1 inch cannons and larger. 3/4 level teaspoon for .5 inch bore.

Nothing but black powder goes in the barrel... unless it's an appropriate cannon for firing ball.

Cannons that have been fired a lot, develop small cracks which continue to grow, weakening the barrel. Eventually the barrel is too weak to confine the charge and it blows apart. You can't see these cracks from the outside of the barrel.

How do you tell if a older cannon is safe to fire? Have it inspected by an expert... take it to a non-destructive testing facility (NDT). They are listed in the yellow pages.

We collect cannon barrels that exploded.
We will offer a discount on a exploded barrel trade in.

If you have pictures or stories / news articles about cannons which have exploded, please send them to us.