Fused 10 Pound Parrot Round

[traction]

I have a 10 pound Parrot round that is fused an d was wondering just how dangerous it is. I cant seem to find anyone here in Texas who can drill it and because of its interesting and traceable history I do not want to have it destroyed. Any advice?

 

[rob63]

You might try contacting Harry Ridgeway at www.relicman.com to see if he knows of anybody in your area. Good luck!

 

[Patrick H]

I think you should assume it is dangerous until proven otherwise.

 

[chellers]

Welcome to CivilWarTalk.

 

[ole]

Until you find someone who knows something about it, put it in a box and bury it some distance from an occupied residence. And be very careful while you do that. Black powder, confined, lasts forever. Doesn't take much to set it off.

If you take it to the local gendarmes, they will take it to an open field and blow it up. If you do not choose that option, find someone who can assure you that it is deactivated. How much is that worth to you?

It is a nice piece that may mean a lot to you, but you are sitting on something that may mean your home and mutilated death for those near and dear.

Such are coveted relics, but you do want to KNOW that it is harmless. Rob63 gave you a starting point. Follow it. There are more than a few experts who have lost their lives defusing such missiles.

 

[traction]

Thanks everyone. The county bomb squad came out and picked up the ordinance. They thought they may be able to drill it out and return it to my collection. I have my fingers crossed that it won't be destroyed. I would recommend that if anyone is in the same position that I am that they call their local fire department for assistance. Here in Forth Worth/Tarrant County they came right out and rather than simply wanting to destroy it they want to help save the round. Cudos to the Tarrant County bomb squad!

 

[rob63]

Thanks everyone. The county bomb squad came out and picked up the ordinance. They thought they may be able to drill it out and return it to my collection. I have my fingers crossed that it won't be destroyed. I would recommend that if anyone is in the same position that I am that they call their local fire department for assistance. Here in Forth Worth/Tarrant County they came right out and rather than simply wanting to destroy it they want to help save the round. Cudos to the Tarrant County bomb squad!

That is surprising! Hope they succeed.

 

[John Winn]

I don't think that would have been the response by local LE but I'm glad you might get your relic back (and hope the bomb squad doesn't blow themselves up). They're pretty touchy about things that might go boom here. A while back a guy actually showed up at the police station with a box full of old dynamite he wanted to dispose of. He got a warm welcome.

Let us know what happens.

 

[FrankN]

Wow! The father (WWII vet) of a neighbor from my old hometown near Pittsburgh PA died recently. His son found a bazooka round (most probably deactivated) that his father brought back from the war. Playing it safe (good idea) they called the police to make sure. The bomb squad and tv news stations came. The police told him the round belonged to the US government. They took it and I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up in someone else's collection.
Better to be safe but I hope you'll get it back.

Frank

 

[Southron]

There was an article in a local paper years ago titled: "The Civil War Still Kills People." The article was about someone that had found a "dud" Civil War artillery shell and tried to drill it out with an electric hand drill. The ending was NOT happy.

 

[ole]

There was an article in a local paper years ago titled: "The Civil War Still Kills People." The article was about someone that had found a "dud" Civil War artillery shell and tried to drill it out with an electric hand drill. The ending was NOT happy.

Have been more than a few "experts" expired while rendering harmless Civil War shells.

Black powder does not deteriorate when it is sealed off from the elements. It can be potent, literally, forever. So something which might have black powder sealed within it can take your house down and everything and everyone in it must be handled as the extreme danger it represents.

I'm glad that the responders decided to try to deactivate the round instead of simply destroying it. If it remains a dead round and a relic, it is of considerable value. If it is not definitively dead, it is something well worth not having.

 

[cclinch]

I don't think that would have been the response by local LE but I'm glad you might get your relic back (and hope the bomb squad doesn't blow themselves up). They're pretty touchy about things that might go boom here. A while back a guy actually showed up at the police station with a box full of old dynamite he wanted to dispose of. He got a warm welcome.

Let us know what happens.

Actually the Bomb Squad IS local Law Enforcement, that's what I do in NC, as for drilling into a Shell, well sorry pal not happening here, WAY to dangerous, that shell is in rough shape by the picture. We would X-ray it first to see if it has anything inside, then if it had to be rendered safe, I would use a linear charge on the extreme bottom to "Crack it" so all you would have to do is put it back, bondo and paint it, but when it comes to live ordnance like one of the other posters said, Black powder is a finicky thing, sometimes it gets more dangerous after time, and as for that pic, I'm sure that some moisture has gotten in there, and then dried making the powder even more sensitive. The only way to render it without cracking it would be to remove the fuse, but in that condition, I wouldn't do it.

 

[John Winn]

Actually the Bomb Squad IS local Law Enforcement, that's what I do in NC, as for drilling into a Shell, well sorry pal not happening here, WAY to dangerous, that shell is in rough shape by the picture. We would X-ray it first to see if it has anything inside, then if it had to be rendered safe, I would use a linear charge on the extreme bottom to "Crack it" so all you would have to do is put it back, bondo and paint it, but when it comes to live ordnance like one of the other posters said, Black powder is a finicky thing, sometimes it gets more dangerous after time, and as for that pic, I'm sure that some moisture has gotten in there, and then dried making the powder even more sensitive. The only way to render it without cracking it would be to remove the fuse, but in that condition, I wouldn't do it.

That sounds like what I would have expected. What I meant by "local" was that the response described - i.e. the county bomb squad came and picked up the shell and promised to try and drill it - would not have been the response of our local squad (which I think would have been as you describe with maybe a scolding for possessing an explosive device).

Be careful out there !