I have a creek that runs through our family farm and it’s infested with beavers. They’ve built a substantial dam that is cutting water flow down stream and building up wetland behind. These rodents are big. I’ve shot six already and they weigh anywhere form 40 to 50 pounds each.

I was thinking of using explosives to clear the dam. Before my dad passed, he used dynamite to clear big stumps whenever he opened a new pasture. There are still a dozen sticks of the stuff in the powder house. He also had blasting caps and a hand detonator. The caps and dynamite are at least fifteen years old, if not more. I’ve watched my dad work with dynamite but have never done it myself.

I guess my questions are; is the old dynamite and caps, that have been kept dry, still good and what is the best way to set a charge that will take out the dam? The creek is around fifty feet wide where the dam is located.

I would like to do this myself only because of the cost involved if I had to hire a professional. Maybe someone here has a better idea on how to remove this dam.

Thanks in advance,
Kelly

dont know for sure cause i dont know squat about dyna. but i belive i've read that it becomes unstable with age. i'd call a pro gota be worth a few bucks not to blow yourself up. i'm sure someone else will chime in shortly.

I'm not sure how much help this will be because someone who knows much more is sure to post soon.All I know is as it gets older dymamite can get very unstable,I beleive this has something to do with the nitro "pooling"if its not stored properly and turned from time to time.So I would be very careful about handeling it while contemplating the job much less actualy setting it to blow the dam.
Something else to look into is permits or qualifications to usse dynamite in your state.

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Chad

I am not much on using dynamite, but if you are gonna use it for the first time, please get it on video.....

Heck, put it on pay-per-view and I'll definitely buy it.

/// my advice: Call a PRO!!!

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"... shall not be infringed."

You might be surprised how ineffective dynamite is on dams.

We once tried to "blow" a dam. It had already washed out and the pond was virtually empty. All we wanted to do was finish it off, to drain it and get the fish. We rocket scientists taped two huge sticks of 60% together, pushed them as far down into the mud of the spot we wanted to blow and set them off.

All it did was put an earthmover load of muck in the sky which came down on all of us and our vehicles. We couldn't tell that it did anything at all to the dam; there was just as much water in the pond as before.

I hope you have better luck with your dam-blowing project.

FWIW, I would not use that old dynamite. Plus, you might want to check with law enforcement to find out what all kind of anti-terrorism laws you might run afoul of by playing with explosives these days. It's a whole new ballgame from when we did it.

People watch too much TV and old Westerns I suspect. What you probably have laying around is 40 percent nitro commercial dynamite. Common enough, useful for this that and the other. Even if the nitro has started to come out or "sweat", this isn't a huge deal. Pure nitoglycerine isn't quite as dangerous as popular culture would have you believe. Just wear gloves and handle the stuff with care. Do NOT, EVER, put caps near the explosives until the last second and DO NOT hook up the caps to the detonator until ready to blow something.

You might or might not need some sort of permit to set the stuff off. I don't know Texas law. Dynamite is a high explosive - sort of, since what you have it probably some nitro with mostly ammonium nitrate filler and what not.

In the old days, you'd mix up some 55 gallon drums of 34-0-0 AN fertilizer and fuel oil and set that off with the dynamite sticks. Big boom, move much earth. Since Oklahoma City.... eh...makes waffling motion with hand.... mixing up large amounts of ANFO has become a bad thing.

If you can't find someone that has been in the Army and blown things up, get yourself a couple manuals on demolitions. In brief, stick the charges in there a ways, don't just set them on top, and tamp them down with some sandbags. Otherwise you'll lose all the good "oomph" of your explosion.

I would use Tannerite.

http://splodetv.com/4lbs-tannerite-vs-geo-metro-0

http://splodetv.com/video/tannerite-vs.-beaver-dam

Used a lot of dynamite 40 years ago when I worked in a mine. The age of the stuff may not be as crucial as storage conditions. We had to dispose of some once that had been in a metal shed for years. Cardboard box was soaked in nitro. Made a big bang out on the tailings pile. The fresh stuff is pretty safe as long as you use a little good sense in handling.

Dynamite definitely sounds like the most fun way to get the job done, but can't you just get a dozer or backhoe?

Kanewpadle beat me to it.

I'd recommend using Tannerite. Safe, legal and fun. Be sure to post the video for us!

I've spent 25 years w/ the highway dept. blasting rocks, etc., been to blasting school & so on. Mud is harder to move than rock since it absorbs the impact where rock being more brittle will shatter & fly. Dynamite does get unstable as it gets older, moreso if it gets hot but if it's kept cool & dry will probably be all right. The trick is to set the stick @ the right angle - the cuncussion will be to the side & throw material that way. Tilt it @ a 45 degree angle w/ something solid behind it & you can throw a lot of material quite a ways. If the caps you have are the old fuse type they are simpler & should burn about an inch a minute but DON'T ever trust them not to "run" or burn very quickly! The newer electronic ones are better but always hook up the detonater last. Don't ever crimp one w/ regular pliers or worse yet, your teeth even though it looks cool on tv! A single cap can remove 1/2 of your head. The caps are much more unstable & therefore dangerous than the dynamite itself. One capped stick in the center of a bundle will set them all off. One stick, properly placed, will move about 1 cubic yard of material (aprox. 1,500 lbs.) & you can estimate how much you need that way. Too little is ok, you can always go back for more but too much gets to western. You could probably buy a army manual for a few dollars that would help a lot. Here in Arizona we used to be able to buy dynamite by the stick @ the local hardware. It only cost $.80 a stick & nI can't remember anyone ever getting hurt but after Timothy McVeigh & 9/11 everything got different. Hope this helps. Take some pictures whether you do it or get someone else to, it's still fun watching things go "bang".

I've used several types of dynamite, along with TNT, C4, datasheet, detcord, kinetics, etc., and can tell you the best way to get rid of that dam is with a backhoe. Also, unless the explosives are stored in a federally approved facility, I'd edit the original post so that it does not read like a confession! Just my thoughts.

I used a fair amount of explosives in the Army. Use a backhoe on the dam, and turn that old demo over to someone who knows what he's doing with it.


Okie John

staib has it exactly right IMHO. I was a construction engineer before taking early retirement and becoming a LEO. I supervised the use of a lot of dynamite on various construction jobs. I never went to "master blaster school", but I did & still have a DuPont Corporation "Master Blaster" Book and the direct phone number of their engineering department. Your 15 year old sticks are probably OK, but should be handled with care as noted before. The blasting caps are a little more suspect, but easily checked by wiring up and blowing a couple as a sample. BUT, when it gets right down to blowing the beaver dam, a backhoe will do what you want much more efficiently and with a lot less danger, just not as much fun. I recommend strongly that you have the local fire department trained experts remove your stash of dynamite and caps for safe disposal. Then find a backhoe expert to come in and remove the offending beaver dam. ............. Big Cholla

Check with the DNR before "molesting" those beavers. Seriously, I believe that in many areas you can't remove a beaver dam without getting permission from the local Dept. of Natural Resources. It may be that they will even help you with your problem.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

Do not blow the dynamite unless you have proper license. It is a sure trip to prison, as in no more gun rights ever, in this insane modern society which we have allowed to evolve. Even this discussion could net you a "visit."

Here in North Dakota, beavers are a pest animal and fair game year 'round.

Good Morning:
Hire a Professional to "Blow" the dam and also to dispose of the old dynamite you have on hand.
This is safer and practical.
A "DO IT YOURSELF"project can turn really bad.
Jimmy

I've never blown up a beaver dam, but have several friends who have. Their advice is to get rid of the beavers before getting rid of the dam. Otherwise, they will rebuild it faster than you can get rid of their dam. I don't know squat about dynamite.

Ever heard the old saying "You're playing with dynamite" to indicate a BAD and DANGEROUS situation?

This stuff falls under either -- If you don't know what you're doing, Don't
OR
Hey y'all, watch this!

Oh yeah - N4ZOV is quite right - The beavers WILL build the dam back - and they will do it unbelievably fast.
Maybe you could give the beavers the dynamite to play with........

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In dog years I'm dead.

Dynamite becomes unstable over time. In storage it needs to be turned. Those little crystals you see is the nitro that has seeped out of the binder.

I would highly recommend you forget the DIY ideal. I would contact your local sheriffs office or state Bomb Squads. First, they will take care of you old dynamite. Second, Bomb Squads are constantly looking for training. They would take care of your blasking needs as part of their training.

I was the Sr. Tech. on the Anchorage Police Deptment's Bomb Squad. We did this type stuff quite a bit. Also part of our job was to dispose of old explosives. Trust me, Alaska has some old explosives scattered around the state.

I've ran across old stashes of dynamite where the dynamite itself was totaly inert. However the ground it was setting on was highly explosive because the nitro had seeped out.

Part of my job as a Bomb Tech was policeing up fingers and other assorted body parts from people using explosives without proper training or attempting to make their own fireworks and explosives.

Also prior to doing any blasting you need to do a utility locate for underground electricty, gas lines, etc., just like you are suppose to do when you plan on doing any digging. Blasting just dosn't mean blowing up beavier damns. There will be shock waves that travel a long ways under ground that could rupture gas, water, etc lines.

A survey needs to be done regarding stand off distances, shock waves (above and under ground). Your local Bomb Squad will often do this for training purposes or at least give you some advise on what to do.

Also local and federal laws need to be consulted. I don't know the laws in your area, or what federal laws apply. Things have changed over the years since our fathers and grandfathers did their blasting. They've changed a lot more since "911".

I know this is one of several reasons laws were enacted on such:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster

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Lost it all in a boat accident

Google Al Qaeda websites....

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Why does this thread remind me of this?

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"... shall not be infringed."

Does anyone know how to safely use dynamite?

Trial & Error.
Oh, Wait- if you make the error, there probably won't be a trial....

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

When I was young I used to work for a company that built telephone lines and power lines, my job was digging pole holes and anchor holes for guywires on a dead end or an angle pole. They would drive along and come to a stake that had the depth of the hole written on it set your diggers out and a long bar an extension cord , a couple of sticks of powder a few caps and drive on down the line to let the next guy off. If you had a rock hole and couldnt get any farther down you barred a hole and put a 1/2 stick or less with a cap stuck in and the two wires from the cap wired into the cord tamped dirt in the hole to cover the hole the take out your Ray-O Vac d size battery, holler fire in the hole and touch it off that was generally all it took. I was 18 at the time of this job you just had to be careful.. Jeff

When I was younger I worked for a demo co.Down here we use it to start a rock quarry.We were allowed two blast a day.Maybe 20 sticks at time all spread out in a grid pattern.We would drill using a drill rig like the ones used for wells and put the sticks in and wire it up.Some times a stick would get stuck to shallow.We were supposed to drill it again to destroy the stuck stick but sometimes we were in a hurry to make the charge at the time allowed.....Real fun when we had to dive under the rig.One thing to note,This was swamp land.
I liked the job but the nitro gave me huge headaches.

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Dum vivo cano

If yopu are on your own land you should be OK to get rid of the beavers. Involving DNR can cause problems both with a stream permit and beaver removal. Shooting them may be illegal in some States. I would get some 220 connibear traps and set them where they swim as well as shoot the ones you see.
Beaver meat is dark, rich and you need to get the fat off but has a good flavor. Don't bother with the tail. they enjoyed it when there was no fat in our diet.

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Front sight and squeeze

In a worst case senario, a demolition expert is cheaper than multiple funerals.

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S&WHF 366

This has got to be "the best" thread title I've ever seen!

rags

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RIP Shipmate

This got me to think'n...

I know where there is a safe to move...
Maybe you can help me out?


I envision motifs of Wile E Coyote in my mind...

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Lost it all in a boat accident

The possibilities are endless with this thread. Of course I'm from Kentucky so around here, we just refer to it as "fishin' gear".

Long ago, when I was in college, a neighbor and I were working our way along. One Friday night Jack had to work late at the Tennessee Corporation. It was a fertilizer and farm supply firm over in Ohio (right where the Norwood Lateral leaves I-75.) I'd dropped him off at work after classes, and I had to pick him up when he got off. Nothing ever works on schedule, and we planned on a cold one or two. It was a plan.

So I showed up on schedule but Jack was still working as a clerk, checking out orders from the loader who was still there. Most of the stuff the guy had ordered was already on the guys flatbed. They said they were just waiting on the dynamite.... It got our nerves on edge...
Then the back warehouse door opened and a huge black guy appeared with a big ole bag over his shoulder. It was clearly labeled. He walked up to the desk where we were standing and in one motion flipped the bag on the floor. It was already open and sticks scattered everywhere.

Of course our eye's were the size of dinner plates... and the black guy was cackling like mad. He apparently had habit of scaring the **** out of young white guys, and loved it. As the loader guy picked up the stray sticks, the black guy recovered from his good laugh and got serious. He said that brand new stuff is so stable you don't have to worry about it at all.

Then from his hip pocket of his overalls, he retrieved and very gently held a stick of what he called "the old stuff." He said it was what is dangerous. Then holding it in one hand he ran his index finger down the stick, wiping off the sweat beads. Not a lot but enough. Then in the next motion he slung the collected nitro like a bugger on the ground. It went off like a cherry bomb on the concrete by the wall. An impressive display for young and inexperienced.

Back in the old west, and farming mountains here in KY, when an old codger had heart trouble they'd sit him on the porch in a rocking chair. We'd call that light duty. But right along side him they'd put a stick of genuine dynamite. When he'd get angina, he simply picked up the stick for a short time, then put it back down. Nitroglycerine can be absorbed right thru your skin. No need to put it under your tongue, it goes right in through your hand. No, not a measured dose...

And in my bookshelf I have a book by Ragnar Benson/Paladin Press "Fun and recreational uses of high explosives." One of my favorite titles.

The advice given so far pretty much covers the spectrum. We don't know how far out you live. There are places where no one will hear it, or where you'll have the entire law enforcement community on your doorstep within minutes. Decide for your self.

But its not in my blood to waste anything. So I'd take the stepped approach. I'd test some of the blasting caps by themselves. Easy to do, mid day, where nothing can be damaged. If the first few go off as expected, I'd take a single stick from the stash and test it. Leaving a few hundred yards of neutral zone.. If that goes OK and you have so far survived, I'd try a few sticks together on the dam in question. And I'd pack some mud or rocks on the off side to tamp the charge. Just remember it will fly. Probably twice as far as you'd ever expect.

And film it all. You can watch it for years afterwards. Or the county prosecutor can use it at your trial. Either way, it'd be fun viewing.

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Dick Burg

I'm almost positive there is a book on explosives written by Wile E. Coyote published by Acme (TM) that may provide some insight on the subject. Just have to configure things a bit differently for beavers than road runners.

Old dynamite equals nitro. "BOOM!"

I have a flier published by the U.S. Dept of Interior on disposing of a horse carcass using dynamite . I don't have it in front of me, but IIRC, they said 1/2 a box (25 lbs?) will scatter the parts such that there is no trace after 1 week. And 1 full box (50 lbs?) appropriatly arranged will not even leave any odor after 24 hours.

In bold letters is a warning to remove the horse shoes before blasting.

These instructions were obviously intended for use in remote areas.

All I know is 20lbs of Dynamite isn't enough to even budge an old Grain Silo that is half full of 15year old silage. Come to think of it 40lbs didn't work either.


Poor Blaster he didn't get a dime for that day's efforts.



I'd call the Local Authorites and explain to them that you found the old stuff on the property, and that you'd forgotten your dad had it. It's not worth the risk. Let the Pro's come in and handle it for you.

When someone called "RedNeck EMT" gives you advice about blasting, that's worth paying attention to.

as is written on most packages of firecrackers:

lay on ground
light fuse
retire quickly

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ASA/NSA 67-71
NRA Benefactor

If you video this; I'm waiting for the part where I hear you yell "Hold my Beer and Watch This!"...

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"... shall not be infringed."

Ye'll of little faith.

The boy's from Texas...

Ya'll might wanta stand back aways...A little farther than that.

This is gonna be Big! ~Smiley~

Su Amigo,
Dave

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Whatever ever you do, don't take advise from the Oregon Highway Division: One whale of an explosion

Rondo--that was cool--man at his best.

On the serious side the shock waves spoken of are for real, if you have a well on your property you'll probably not be able to use it for a week if you set off a very big charge. The shock waves will stir up all the sediment in the well itself and depending on how bad it is will also cause any rust or sediment to come lose from the casing as well.

We live a mile from a rock quarry--when we first moved here --33 years ago--they used to do a lot of blasting. They finally figured out how much of a charge to use and not effect surrounding wells. A friend and neighbor of ours is about a quarter mile from the quarry and the first big blast they did collapsed there casing--very expensive.

Hire a bock hoe or a pro that knows what he's doing--to many things can go terribly wrong--this really is a no brainer.

Steve

Let's look at this dispassionately.
You are an American Male which means you know how to handle firearms and explosives (unlike the French).
What you have are just big firecrackers-nothing more nothing less. You've used firecrackers to blow stuff up when you were a kid-this is the same thing only on a little bigger scale.
And unlike when you were a kid-you now have easy access to beer.
So you can do the wuss thing and get a backhoe (which in and of itself is a pretty cool toy to break up a dam with in the absense of dynamite-but I digress) or you can pick up a 12 pack of beer and get to blastin' .
What I would suggest is to get a portable drill with one of those loooong paint mixers on it and use it like an auger to drill some deep holes to put the sticks in-you want those suckers in as far as you can get them. (but you're a man-you already knew that )

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Forum consigliere

You all are the kind of folks I could sit down and have a beer with. I want to thank everyone for his or her suggestions, advice and humor. Some of your replies were absolutely hilarious. I see now that this was a dumb idea. I guess I’m just too impulsive at times—dam on creek, dynamite in shed.

I looked closely at the sticks and there has been nitro seepage. I think you are right about the unstable nature of that old dynamite. Like I mentioned in the original thread, I don’t know anything about explosives. My dad once told me that he learned how to use dynamite in the Army but that in no way qualifies me an expert.

So, I’ve decided to forgo the explosives. I don’t own a backhoe but I do have a Massey-Ferguson 165 with a Perkins 4-cyl diesel. The tractor, along with a log chain and a large grappling hook, should be able to pull that dam apart piece-by-piece. It will take more time but will be a lot safer. And yes, the dam destruction won’t happen until after I dispose of all the rodents.

I should have gotten rid of the explosives long ago. I contacted local law enforcement and tomorrow they are sending out a Public Safety Bomb Technician to dispose of it. If the PSBT decides to blow it on the property I’ll post some pictures (shouldn’t be a problem, my closest neighbor is miles away).

Shooting beavers: In Texas, a landowner on their own land can dispose of the rodents if they are causing damage to crops, livestock or property but the pelts can’t be used or sold (I know, that’s odd). Beaver may also be hunted by spotting at night on private property.

Thank you all again,
Kelly

Good luck and have fun!

I've shot a lot of beaver in my time-ya' gotta go for the kill shot otherwise they get to caterwalling and making all kinds of racket making your life miserable.

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Forum consigliere

"I contacted local law enforcement and tomorrow they are sending out a Public Safety Bomb Technician to dispose of it. If the PSBT decides to blow it on the property I’ll post some pictures ."


That's it! Just have the Tech put the sticks in and arround the Dam first!! Great Idea.

I agree with you, pics and or video would be proper. Be safe.

rags

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RIP Shipmate

Caj,

Man I'm LOL...I just had to get one last post in on this historic thread, right here, before it gets locked down...

Oh, by the way had the same thing happen to a buddy of mine, Gees!!!

Su Amigo,
Dave

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Man. That had the potential to become Darwin Awards material. Seriously, I'm glad you decided not to try that one out.

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I drank what? - Socrates

I bet you have. We may be getting old, but we're not dead yet.

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Dick Burg