This may be unnecessary, (I hope!). I am a regular Civil War and Mexican war artillery re-enactor. My Battery has several original field pieces that we use. 12, 6 and 10 pounders. I most heartily reccommend that anyone who is interested in firing a piece get some proper instruction and training. We practice drill at least three times a month. I have seen some pretty bad accidents and near accidents happen. Of course, I know we are all experienced and careful munitions handlers and I mean no offense to anyone but please get trained on these things. I know of several occasions where, just to see what happens, fellows have actually loaded shot or concrete cylinders and fired them. In the case of the cylinders, the lighter weight and friable condition of concrete turned into what was for all purposes, a large shotgun effect that went much farther than the lake it was intended to hit and killed a cow and perforated the roof of a barn. To say that the farmer was pissed is an understatement. I know that sounds like a pretty dumb thing to do and it was, but cannons and black powder have a way of bringing out the dumb side of people.
