Posted on 07/07/2009 9:19:46 AM PDT by HIDEK6
THOMASVILLE, N.C. - An Archdale man was seriously injured Saturday when a cannon went off while he was preparing to fire it to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, according to officials in the Davidson County Sheriff's Office.
Kevin Scott Hankins, of 2205 Lockwood Circle, was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center shortly after 10 p.m. with serious injuries to his arms and hands as well as lacerations and burning to his torso, waist, neck, head and arms, deputies said. Investigators said Hankins was standing in front of the cannon, packing gun powder in it after a misfire when the cannon fired.
Perry Kennedy, who hosted the July 4th party for about 35 people at her property on Proctor Rd. in Thomasville, said her ex-husband and the couple's sons built the cannon, which resembles a Revolutionary War-era model. Kennedy said her son is usually the one who lights the cannon and shoots liter bottles full of ice toward an empty field.
This year, however, Kennedy said the cannon misfired as Hankins, a friend of her son's, used a plunger to pack the gun powder.
"The cannon just went 'whooooo' and all I could see was red sparks and everything," she recalled Monday. "And then I looked down and Kevin was down on the ground."
The explosion ripped and burned Hankin's red T-shirt, which Kennedy's son cut off him because it was on fire.
As of Monday afternoon, Hankins was in fair condition at Baptist, according to hospital officials.
Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said his office has never dealt with an incident like this and isn't sure if the owner of the cannon will face charges. He said it depends on whether the cannon falls under the definition of a weapon of mass destruction. If it does, Grice said the owner could face felony charges.
Kennedy said she's never had an accident with the cannon before, but doubts her family will ever fire the it again. Instead, she's considering donating it to a museum.
"The kids were terrified, absolutely terrified, and so were the adults," she said. "I mean, we've never seen anything like this. It was really scary."
Wet swab the bore between shots.
That's hysterical. It didn't even kill the guy standing directly in front of it when it blew!
And he was packing more gunpowder into because the gunpowder already in it forgot to blow up!
Nothing good ever comes from home-made cannons, nor from idiots who do not know how to properly and safely serve them.
Wonder if he was wearing ear protection.
Blackpowder burns are nasty and very painful. I bet he's hating life right now.
I had a friend in NM who owned a Naval Cannon. He had a wooden carriage built to move it, and it was so heavy that that even presented problems. He would shoot it on the 4th of July, and it was great.
Like all things, in the wrong hands. Sounds like someone did not do his homework.
I’d like to own one. But for that matter I have always thought if we truly had the “right to bear arms” I could own a Howeitzer.
Let’s see - should I put more powder into this homemade cannon that misfired. Sure, and I’ll stand in front of it while I do it. Too bad it wasn’t aimed a bit lower, this could have been a Darwin Award winner.
I didn't see that. It just went off when he was putting the powder in, which means burning embers were still in there from the last shot.
That bucket of water in front of the cannon isn't there in case the crew gets thirsty. It's there when they swab out the barrel of the cannon.
There are proceedures to follow along with time limits. A few years back a young man was ramming the charge and it ignited and the wooden ram splintered and took he hand off. It is nothing to play with.
I shot ammo from a muzzle loader cannon - Civil War style - NSSA.
You NEVER stand in front of the piece.
You ALWAYS wait several minutes before reloading.
You ALWAYS swab the barrel thoroughly.
When you run the rammer or swab down the barrel, another guy ALWAYS covers the vent hole with a leather thumbpiece to prevent the movement of air which might fan any sparks.
You ALWAYS hold the swab or rammer in a cupped fashion from the side of the piece, so that if the piece DOES detonate, hooked thumbs on the swab or rammer DON’T rip your arms out of the socket.
You ALWAYS keep your rounds some distance from the piece when firing it.
Stupid people shouldn’t play wiht dangerous toys. It amkews us all look bad.
I bet when his pistol misfires he looks down the barrel to see whats wrong.
I also wonder if he made homemade black powder for the cannon. I think it is done with charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter(potassium nitrate).
explanation-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_nitrate
“Hold my beer” post?
And, I recall, do not fire if anyone is within 50 feet of the barrell.
Doh, 50 feet in front of the barrell.
Bystanders, not the cannon crew!
I’ve been to a reenactment where they fired a cannon shot at a 55 gallon barrel of water from about 50 yards. Very nice water explosion.
At most (reputable) CW reenactments, the safety distance in front of a loaded piece is 50 yards or more.
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