Hi there,

I'm with a naval reenactment unit and we shoot cannons off all the time at
historic sites. We only use our 3-pounder, which is big enough to make a nice
boom but small enough to be somewhat portable (at 150lbs!). We take safety
*extremely* seriously and haven't had an incident in over 20 years.

As for vibrations affecting the historic structure, I don't know of any
problems with any site I've been to that has had cannon. And unless you are
shooting the cannon off on the front porch or if it is very large like over 6
pounds or so, I don't think the vibrations for it would be any worse than
low-flying jets. The historic house I work at probably gets more damage from
being next to an Air Force base than from the reenactments that have been on
the property.

But I would also check with your local fire marshall to see what the regs are
in your location for gunpowder. Some require a permit or to have a fire
marshall present for cannon fire. If you are National Park Service (known to
some in reenactments as the "Nazi Park Service") all cannons and gun crew have
to be certified through their black powder safety program. I won't get into it
but I've seen NPS people do some really *stupid* things with cannons so I have
little faith in their training.

I'd definitely talk to the head gunner or whoever is in charge of the cannons
for the unit or group coming in to do the firing and find out what their
experience is. Anyone with enough money can buy a cannon and fire it, this does
not mean they are safe. What gun drill do they use? How experienced are they?
Where did they get their training? Have their had an incidents? And most
importantly, what kind of insurance does the group carry? Checking with your
insurance to see if you house is covered would also be a good idea.

Talk with as many units in your area as possible and see what they think of
each other. Most time periods have a core group of units that work together and
will be honest about who they do and do not like working with. Talk to other
historic sites where these units have been at and see what their experiences
have been as well. Good units won't hesistate to give you references and most
historic sites will be pretty up front about units they like and don't like as
well.

I don't want to scare anyone off of having cannons on their property but like
any other firearm, they must be taken seriously. There are a lot of safe,
experienced units out there that do excellent live fire demonstrations and the
crowds love to watch them. (Not to mention, excellent free advertising since
people will be able to hear what's going on for a couple of miles. :) But get
educated first and don't let just any yokle with a cannon come and shoot on
your property.

Good luck!

Deb

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