Bomb Squad blowing up my 60lb civil war cannon ball

[Civilwarbulletguide]

boom goes the amazing valuable historic cannonball

ughh what a waste

[MrShushup]

i thought a canon would be considered primitave weapon wyd did the atf blow it up?

[SilntObsvr]

@MrShushup This wasn't the cannon, it was the ball (and at that weight, it was more likely a mortar round). The concern is that similar rounds have on numerous occasions been found to still be loaded and capable of exploding after more than 100 years, but due to corrosion it may be impossible to remove the explosive core without unacceptable risk of setting off the shell (which would surely kill the technician working on it, if the work isn't being done remotely).

[IronBrig4]

A cannonball is neither an ornament nor furniture. The guy did you a favor by notifying the ATF.

[twombonu]

FUCK OBAMA, FUCK THE ATF, AND FUCK THE POLICE TOO!

[MrShushup]

@twombonu well said!!!!!!!!!

[springerdude1]

Would you have felt differant had it gone off in your house ?

[monkeynuts76]

FUCKING FASCIST CUNTS!

[Armoredcompany]

"Said I had a bomb in my house". Well....yes, you did. You had a 160 year old 60ld bomb in your house. The appraiser did absolutely nothing wrong, he could look at it, see that it was in fact live explosives and informed the proper people trained to take care of it, as I'm going to assume you don't (seen as how you didn't even think it was a bomb). This is kind of like using live-grenades for door stops, might work for a while but one mistake and you wont be around long enough to regret it.

[MonkeyWithAWrench]

fucking ATF. what a bunch of idiots. if the damn thing can be shot out of a cannon, sit for AT LEAST 146 years, and not blow up, why the hell would they feel the need to blow it up INSTEAD of defusing it, or, better yet, leaving it be! considering its age and what its been through, i would call it a pretty damn safe powder container!

[Chriswitahawk]

I want to work for the ATF.. what a cool job..

[TheRivetthead]

fuck the ATF

[flightoftheunknown]

did we really need the first 40 seconds of video??

[CrashCarlisle]

Unexploded ordnance is NOT a "piece of history". They did the right thing by blowing it up.

[Remlapala]

@CrashCarlisle<~~~~ Was the boyfriend of the guy who turned you in? It sucks that they blew it up. It was a piece of history.

[theojer87]

FUCK ATF AND SBI BUNCH OF HATERS

[DigiBullet23]

if i were u ide be digging around there for some civil war gun parts...if theres a cannon ball that means there is guns seeing as they werent firing at sheep... just so i got this straight it was an explosive cannon ball found in your yard that eventually some made u tell authorities to blow up?...im assuming he wasnt aloud to record that hence the duck if anything smart for recording when he knew all would be looking that way

[DigiBullet23]

if i were u ide be digging around there for some civil war gun parts...if theres a cannon ball that means there is guns seeing as they werent firing at sheep... just so i got this straight it was an explosive cannon ball found in your yard that eventually some made u tell authorities to blow up?

[DigiBullet23]

whats the line of light before the explosion is that the fuse?

[Barbarian216]

Waste of time, by the time it explodes that stupid camera person shoots into the ground!

[The0atomsmasher]

tick................BOOM!

[Steve17010]

Depending on the type of shell, it may have been possible to punch a hole in round so as to pour the powder out.

[memikell]

It is a loss but if you were my neighbor and had a live 60 lb 125 year old artillery shell, I think I would have to turn you in also. Explosives can get very touchy as they age and are dangerous to disarm. I am sure it's ATF SOP to destroy them as they are found, who would risk a life to disarm one?

[BiggWill90]

what did you shit your self as it exploded and drop the camara

[xxsolidshrimpxx]

Hey look its a cannon ball! We don't want that to blow up, so the only solution is we'll have to blow it to hell ourselves.

[koolaidria480]

Im sorry to hear of this the ATF sucks ass to bad it couldnt be defused or anything instead of blowing the whole thing up

[Nebelgranate]

ade, piece of history. putting out the exploding elements? but no, blow it up, assholes.

[NickBell81]

That is a shame. You should post that story and the name of the apraiser on every relic hunting forum in your area.

[Skytroop]

@NickBell81 AGREED!

[Lovesgoats]

this is ridiculous

anyone can make a 100 times stronger bomb out of artificial fertilizer

you should beat the guy who turned you in with a shovel

[norinclayanger]

FUCK THE ATF!!! they had no right to blow up your round! i'm very sorry about your loss! and i hope the ass that turned you in gets whats coming to him for turning you in!

[ruku871]

why? because the government believes that no civilian should have that much firepower in their hands as they believe it could be used against them at any time so they would rather destroy a historical artifact than risk more amunition being directed at them in a new revolution that will come someday reguardless there are similar stories of this all ove the country. it pisses me off it should have been put in a museum at the very least.

[franknitty45]

From the same folk's who brought you Waco and Ruby Ridge.

Need I say more?

[mrsmelzbad]

use a drill press from afar, while drilling with water on bit...jeez Not rocket science.....Hmmmmm new biz?

[Specter325]

IN Charlotte they were building a new building downtown adjacent to a known Confederate navy site. The workers started finding these large metal balls. They thought they were neat and many took them home. Unfortunatly one guy used some as the end pieces of his fireplace grate and blew his house up. The bombsquad was busy for days after that one. Just because it is old and has been buried for a while does not mean it is inert.

[alaskinscott]

The fuse that they used is water tight and will preserve the explosive. A 60 lb shell would blow a car apart. It sucks that it had to be destroyed. I find it strange that they detonated it at your turnip green field though. I bet you felt that shock wave pretty good.

[greenooze1500]

1962starchief...it sucks you lost your big ball. but hey, the guy turned you in for your own safety.

[odenkiller]

i have a 10 pounder thats a C.S.A. ball , it has no hole or plug of any kind in it.. i can see. hell we play with it all the time..lol.. well if it ever goes off i guess i will know..lol...

[moredistractions]

I would guess that yours is probably round shot then, a solid iron ball designed to pierce through several ranks of infantry in formation.

[moredistractions]

U.S. Civil war cannon balls are dangerous too. Despite their age, people have been killed by them in recent years. When collectors try to disarm them, I think the method used is to submerge them in a tank of water and then very slowly drill into them, though I don't think there's a 100% safe way to go about it. It's a shame this one had to go considering its historic significance. If I were the owner I would go over the area with a metal detector and try to find the fragments.

[Skytroop]

Regarding the fragments; that's a good idea.

[greenooze1500]

the fuse acts like a plug and makes it water tight.

The drilling part is why the people die..it causes friction that puts heat on the powder, and then....KABOOM!.

[moredistractions]

Old shells can be very dangerous. People are still killed in Europe on a regular basis by WWI & WWII shells that get plowed up in farm fields.

[havocdaemon]

Nice, you can actually see the det cord going off just before the blast. Sorry to hear about your cannonball, though.

[Wallabydam]

looks like most the black powder in it came out and never even lit up, i thought after being in the ground for so long that powder goes bad anyways, saturated in water and the ground for so long, anyone agree?

[wartornpanda]

A cannon ball from the civil war has sat and corroded to the point that is unsafe for ANYONE to handle. Sure, you have "experts", but any real ordnance expert will tell you that a bomb this old is unsafe.

[cooter224]

I am an avid relic hunter and artillery shell collector. Every time I here about a shell being destroyed instead of being disarmed it burns me up. I realize that they are dangerous while still being live, but there are safe ways of disarming them.

In my book, that shell was a piece of history that has just been wiped off the face of the earth forever. Hell, next time you find one, send me a message and I'll come get from you and I will preserve it, not destroy it.

[BLong114]

@cooter224 I actually look at it from the opposite perspective. It was made to be blown up, and through this vid we get to see what a civil war cannon ball exploding was really like. Not to sit with a hole in it on a shelf collecting dust. That's just my opinion though

[BaDasiDTriP]

The reason they dont try to disarm it is because its a 150 yr old piece of ordinance.. A 60 pound shell mind you which is huge,And there have been civil war afficianados who have been trained at salvaging these things who have been blown up .Its too old and unpredictable .

[nc69th]

I agree what a waste. Should never had to call the bomb squad. You could have had someone disarm it then donated the ball to a muesume or something.

[trailrunner78]

Really? Civil War shells have blown up? Blackpowder filler and a fuse in the side that is lit by the cannon firing, burns in flight........I would have thought this stuff was so water soaked over time it'd be inert.......

[Skytroop]

Happens frequently.

[tmallow2004]

This is stupid. What in earth are they doing destroying your cannon ball when all it needed have done was to disarm it? Secondly, the BATF agents are complete incompetents to have had to call a fire in the whole twice. Makes you wonder about this whole utterly ridiculous law enforcement thing. As if some gang is going to steal your cannon ball and do a drive by shooting.

[lojafan]

They are calling it twice because they are yelling it in two diffrent directions so anyone that might be in front or behind can hear.

[csrtitus]

Did you really have to have the civil war shell blown up? Weren't most of the shells used solid or grape shot which should not have posed any threat?

[milwaukeejt]

"Shell" was made with powder inside. It made shrapnell and was timed with a fuse to explode overhead. "Cannister" was a shotgun shell on steroids. "Solid shot" was a single piece for battering things.

[csrtitus]

Yup so very true.....can't believe I did not think of that. I wonder if anyone has been injured by one of these unexploded shells?

[grant6165]

Whoever appraised your shell was a real asshole.

[tankerscott3098]

why did they blow it up when all u have to do is go to gun shows and get a piece of history like that.  man that sucks. and by the way how did they know?

[americadabeautifull]

man sorry for your loss!!! fuck the ATF!!!

[pullnshoot25]

Why would you let the ATF, of all organizations, blow up and destroy such a nice piece of history?

[1962starchief]

It was NOT by choose.This ass hole turn me in to them , And said I had a 60 lb bomb in my house.They found this live round and took it.BUT gave me back the pieces.

[pullnshoot25]

That totally blows, I am sorry for your historical loss. YOu know, as a citizen you are NEVER to be trusted with anything important or valuable. Your whole life should be given to the government for safekeeping and watching over, right?

J/K in a big way. I am a patriot, not a commie/socialist/monarchist asshole. Damn the ATF!

[brandondej]

get some revenge on them.

[bodidnt]

Nice sentiments, but we only need to remember Waco to know where that will get us.

Those who still think we live in a free republic are wrong. This nation is well on its way to being reduced to a communist police state.

[Denecke]

Very true, my friend, very true.

[bodidnt]

Do like what, pull some stupid Tim McVey bullshit??? That would be reeaally smart...NOT.

[brandondej]

what the hell are you talking about bodidnt?

[bodidnt]

I was responding to brandondej's comment: (4 months ago)

"get some revenge on them."

[brandondej]

Wow! you live in a small world.

[Lovesgoats]

@1962starchief call them and report the asshole that reported you



[pullnshoot25]

@1962starchief Oh, snap. Wow, this comment is 2 years old. CRAP!!!

That totally blows, dude.

[kghsbassboy]

@1962starchief damn! these people back in the civil war knew how to make quite a powerful munition and killing machine back then didnt they? even with their limited everything,what was that like a 20 foot pillar of smoke and dirt flying easily higher than that with bits and peices of hot metal as well unless they buried it before they made such a fine peice of history....history,its somewhat anger provoking but still damn impressive what these people were able to do back then,quite a lovely...

[kghsbassboy]

@1962starchief killing device and peice of technology to have when you go up against any type of vicious hotile group really,at least it went out with a bang,sorry for your loss of such a peice,may it rest in peace.....or peaces whatever peaces remain of it anyway^^,how much was left pray tell? maybe it was a good thing that it was made so it couldnt go BOOM! and injure someone but that it was bought about in this way? no. nevertheless id rather not have been the one packing that death ball into

[kghsbassboy]

@1962starchief the bore of a cannon either! its probably a job they drew straws for ya know like who ever draws teh short straw has to do it and what not,also they sometimes had a problem with artillery a-sploding because they used to little or too much powder and it would essentially make a pipe bomb on steroids,the same happened from a crack in the barrel too id imagine...although id rather not come to think of it

[greedyfoot]

@1962starchief You had unexploded, un-emptied civil war exsplosive cannon-ball. The guy probably saved you life and the lives of your family. Look up the dangers of old ordanince to get a basic idea of the type of idiot you are.

[lexusowner]

@1962starchief stfu you liar. your a fucking pussy. look at this video- you fucking start to run off- and duck the camera down as soon as it explodes. you pussy..

[Jrhoney]

@lexusowner It doesnt take much to kill a person. A small piece a shrapnel will kill you even at that range.

[pwn4fly]

@1962starchief what an asshole

[ZACHCOX123]

@1962starchief I'm going to assume it was a siege cannon ball? 60lbs is pretty heavy. Your pretty lucky to get your hands on somethin like that. Too bad it had to be destroyed.

[Mandiblearts]

@1962starchief : Your lucky they didn't drive a tank through your house and burn it down......

[kghsbassboy]

@pullnshoot25 yeah i feel the same way why turn such a beutiful irreplaceable peice of history into literal history like that?

[pullnshoot25]

@kghsbassboy Gov't agents are no fun.

[MuttonChopMan]

I must agree with speedenforcer. If it was dangerous, I understand that they would treat it like any other unexploded ordinance, but still...

Was it roundshot or a shell? I see no reason to explode a ball, but a shell yes.

[murtlesvilleman]

must've been a shell then.

[1962starchief]

It was a 60 lb round.They said that rolling it was what made it go off.I had it appraised and that person turned me into the SBI.Told them I had a bomb in my house!

[MuttonChopMan]

That's just shitty. Oh well.

[m6dm90]

@1962starchief these people think that your going to bomb a democratic hq or some thing iam sorry for your loss

[cbrusharmy]

@1962starchief That's horrible.  Did they even discuss disarming it?

[Brynnium]

@1962starchief Wow, he was probably jealous. No one with enough knowledge to appraise an object of historical significance would turn someone in knowing that it would be destroyed.

[nicksynnz]

@MuttonChopMan It would seem the ball was hollow and full of black powder; that makes a bomb

[MonkeyWithAWrench]

@nicksynnz what about the can of black powder i have for reloading? its hollow and full of black powder. but it isnt a bomb. so tell me, oh smart one, how is the same thing different?

[nicksynnz]

@MonkeyWithAWrench The can would split without much damage, the large aperture at the top would allow for gases to escape and be more of a rocket motor. These cannon balls are thick iron with a small hole at the end either to hold the percussion gear or to ignite a fuse. The black powder inside is of the FFFFG type for instant burning, so the explosion would be much more than from a thin Goex can bursting. It is a matter of degree, though they could have removed the powder and kept the ball.

[Vernonrz]

@nicksynnz I'd like to add as well that the powder being used back then could go off with just the slightest jarring and actually gets worse as it ages. That appraiser very well just saved your life. Could it of been defused and had the powder removed? Of course. Do you have the $20-30k it would of cost for the Engineering corp to come out, transport it in a bomb proof box to a secure, static free facility that it could be safely demilled? I highly doubt it.

[nicksynnz]

@Vernonrz Hey we are talking black powder here and not nitroglycerine. Blackpowder does not explode on jarring only by ignition. I make enough of it and know its properties prettywell.

[rammjaeger]

Pic....BoooM !

[finchiestiffler79]

fuck!

[liltracs]

tree lovers

[speedenforcer1]

what a waste of an important historical artifact

[jayjaybluestar]

cool