Parrot Round - Live or Inert?

[101combatvet]

The hole in the top looks as if it is filled with dirt. If I perform the below process you state do you think the water will soak through the dirt or do you think if it is to impacted it will simply act as a seal? I am tempted to excavate (gently) into this hole but then a memory from child hood surfaces of me doing the same with a bottle rocket and I created enough friction to set off the powder in that tiny little bottle rocket. I imagine a much different result with this if the same were to happen.

I would still soak it first. More then likely it isn't drilled but the soaking will loosen up that dirt. If you decide to clean the hole you can run high pressure faucet water into it.

 

[Red Harvest]

I would let someone accustomed to handling these safely do any cleaning beyond just flushing/soaking with water. Making any sparks is a really bad idea in the fuse hole if it still has powder below.

This round appears to have been dry for a long time. Some that I've read about being in very wet soil/immersed for many decades can create some extremely flammable decomposition gases.

 

[Jobe Holiday]

Whatever you do, DO NOT involve any "authorities" whatsoever! They will confiscate it and you will never see it again, much less they will cheerfully destroy yet another piece of ACW history. It is a nice example of a fired shell and should be preserved.
J.

 

[101combatvet]

Whatever you do, DO NOT involve any "authorities" whatsoever! They will confiscate it and you will never see it again, much less they will cheerfully destroy yet another piece of ACW history. It is a nice example of a fired shell and should be preserved.
J.

Very true.

 

[tmh10]

I always worry when someone on here comes accross something like this. Treat all of these finds as if they are explosive untill you can get an expert check them out. Good luck.

 

[Jobe Holiday]

I have very mixed emotions over the live vs. deactivated shell topic. A very close friend has a nice collection of quite an assortment of ACW ordnance, many of which are still live. They have sat unmolested on his shelves for decades and have not caused any mayhem on their own. He collected them over the years from numerous sources, beginning during the Civil War Centennial. He sees them as being less dangerous than the 2 gallon can of gasoline setting in his shed. He says "common sense" in handling both are what is important. The discussions on this topic always get into "...what if...". If we slip into living our lives by "What if?", then we are doomed to suffer a paranoid existence where you will become afraid to even leave your home.

As for surrendering a piece of ACW ordnance to the police, here is an example of yet another collector friend who tried to do what he thought was the "right thing". He had a beautiful, unfired example of a Parrott shell which was still live and primed. He contacted his local police department about having it deactivated and made safe to display. They said to bring it in and they would disarm it for him and return it. A couple of months later they called him and told him he could come down to the station and pick it up. He was more than a little shocked when they handed him a small paper bag with a few shell fragments in it. What they had done was give it to the Bomb Disposal Squad who then detonated it and picked up a few pieces to return to him.

As for me, I'd rather leave a live shell sitting high & dry on a book shelf than to have it destroyed. If I was any good with this new digital stuff I'd take a photo of the remnants of my friends Parrott shell he received back from the police and post them for you. But, I'm old and can barely keep up with the constantly changing technology. My old Nikon SLR now sits on a shelf, and every time I look at it I can almost hear it say "What has happened to us?"

J.

 

[MSC]

You don't have to worry about this EVER occurring with me.

"The only 911 call I ever need to make is chambering a round."

Whatever you do, DO NOT involve any "authorities" whatsoever! They will confiscate it and you will never see it again, much less they will cheerfully destroy yet another piece of ACW history. It is a nice example of a fired shell and should be preserved.
J.

 

[Southron]

I know of a case near Savannah, Georgia back in the 1970's about a fella found several original Confederate shells and called the cops. They contacted U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel who took the shells to a range at Fort Steward (an active military post), placed them in a pile in the middle of a large field, taped some C-4 explosive blocks to the shells and detonated everything from a safe distance away.

The advice that you soak the shell in water and then contact individuals that are knowledgeable about how to disarm the round is sound advice. I recommend you follow it.

Good Luck!

 

[bankerpapaw]

I wouldn't mess with that thing. Call the bomb squad.

 

[civilwarincolor]

Contact Jack Melton at http://www.civilwarartillery.com/. I have talked with Jack on a number of occasions and been to his home to see his collection. He is very knowledgeable and I'm sure could offer you advise or what steps to take next.

 

[Jobe Holiday]

civilwarincolor has given some excellent advice!

J.

 

[civilwarincolor]

civilwarincolor has given some excellent advice!

J.

Thanks! Jack's a great guy. I noticed on his site he does have a link about disarming devices, but it really just goes into federal regulations. I would suggest sending him a message and seeing if he has suggestions.

 

[Bob Owen]

 

[Southron]

I heard of an "remote controlled shell de-activator" that worked like this:

A fella had a standard, electrical drill press in a bunker. He would place the shell to be "de-activated" in a vise on the table of the drill press and tighten the vise, so the shell would be held rigidly.

(1) He would position the drill press and drill bit itself so it would drill into the powder chamber of the shell.

(2) He taped weights on the handle of the drill press, so when turned on,the drill press downward pressure would be exerted so the drill bit and it would drill into the shell's powder chamber.

(3) He rigged up a small water hose so when the drill press was turned on, water would flood the drill bit and hole the drill bit was drilling into the shell.

(4) After everything was "set up" correctly, he would leave the bunker and from a remote location, a safe distance away just in case the shell detonated-then he would [A] Turn the water on so the shell and drill bit was being flooded with cooling water and Turn on the power to the drill press so it would start drilling.

(5) After he figured the drill had run long enough to penetrate the powder chamber, he would cut off the electricity to the drill press, but leave the water running.

(6) Then he would wait an hour for everything to "cool down" before entering the bunker to retrieve the shell.

Of course, check all relevant local, state and federal laws and determine if it is "legal" to de-activate a shell first!!!

 

[Southron]

My argument against keeping "live" shells around your house is: IF your house catches fire, the local fire department is going to have to be informed that you have "Live Ordnance" in your house and what it is. That would make them extremely reluctant to enter the house to put the fire out!!!

Of course, IF the shells detonate BEFORE your local fire department arrives, attempting to put out the fire will be "moot" anyway.

 

[Ray Ball]

I wouldn't do ANYTHING with it until I called an expert. Its worth $ only if you are around to spend it. I am former EOD trained and can tell you a lot but without being there to see it and to guarantee its safety nothing would be appropriate. We're talking safety of you and others here. Don't take some shortcut. Go to a pro.

 

[civilwarincolor]

Don't take some shortcut. Go to a pro.

I remember a show (I think it was this episode of M*A*S*H, but they don't mention this detail in the synopsis) they are not able to get the pro's out and have to do it themselves. They are following the directions on how to defuse the bomb.

At one point the guy reading the directions (Trapper) says something like "Remove the green wire from the detonator timer".

The guy working on the bomb (Hawkeye) says, "OK, got it, what's next"

Guy reading directions (Trapper) "But first cut the blue wire".

I agree, do it yourself is not the way to go.

 

[Ken S]

OK PAY ATTENTION. BLACK POWDER DOES NOT GET OLD LIKE SMOKELESS POWDER. IT WILL GO OFF.
Black Powder needs 325 degrees to go off. thats about the spark you'll get from running a comb through your hair.
(those of you that still have hair). Call the police, have them send a hazmat team to inspect the shell. Do NOT think you can do it yourself. If any of the old fashioned priming compound is still in there, it can ignite. A dud shell is the most dangerous thing there is.
A guy three years ago was cleaning CW cannon balls in his driveway, while his litte kid watched. He hit it with a hammer to see if it was hollow. They think.....kid lived, but daddy just left a wet spot. Ken

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I'm only half-kidding when I note that the OP hasn't been on the board in ten days... hope he's being safe with it.

 

[Red Harvest]

OK PAY ATTENTION. BLACK POWDER DOES NOT GET OLD LIKE SMOKELESS POWDER. IT WILL GO OFF.
Black Powder needs 325 degrees to go off. thats about the spark you'll get from running a comb through your hair.
(those of you that still have hair).

Actually, in a few cases it is worse. With some rounds that have been subject to slow seepage of water throught the fuse over a long time, various chemical reactions can occur with gases produced that are far more flammable than the black powder. These have been known to detonate even with the most careful attempts at breeching--no injuries in the recountings I've read of those in particular because they were done remotely.

These are rare problems and tend to come from large caliber shells in coastal areas.

Call the police, have them send a hazmat team to inspect the shell. Do NOT think you can do it yourself. If any of the old fashioned priming compound is still in there, it can ignite. A dud shell is the most dangerous thing there is.

That would be a very bad idea! This shell appears to be stable and can easily be safely handled by someone experienced in inerting them. No need to destroy an artifact.