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Explosives for dam removal?
#4556357
07/13/14 07:28 PM
07/13/14 07:28 PM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 221 South Alabama
North40R
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trapper
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OP
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 221
South Alabama
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I'm looking into getting my FFL so I can use explosives to remove dams that can't be reached with equipment.
Any suggestions or opinions?
Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience! Emerson
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Re: Explosives for dam removal?
[Re: North40R]
#4556427
07/13/14 08:22 PM
07/13/14 08:22 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 315 Manchester Vt
OneHandSetters
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 315
Manchester Vt
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I used to do that many years ago, NEVER again!! I learned my lesson. One of the guys left the crow bar standing in the dam when it blew. It miss us by just inches when it went by.
I can do it by hand and control the amount of water going down stream since i am liable for any damage it causes down river. Then Mother nature takes care of the rest once the beavers are gone. Dave
Knowledge is power, that becomes worthless unless you pass it on! Home of the One Hand Setters! on Face Book davidfsheldonjr@gmail.com
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Re: Explosives for dam removal?
[Re: North40R]
#4556504
07/13/14 09:22 PM
07/13/14 09:22 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,492 james bay frontierOnt.
Boco
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Posts: 45,492
james bay frontierOnt.
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Illegal here to let a large amount of water flow downstream from an impoundment.If you let the water down gradually first by hand You could blow the dam after. Same with machinery,the water has to be let go gradually.Federal law here from dep't of fisheries and oceans.Huge fines.
Forget that fear of gravity-get a little savagery in your life.
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Re: Explosives for dam removal?
[Re: North40R]
#4556580
07/13/14 10:01 PM
07/13/14 10:01 PM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 221 South Alabama
North40R
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Posts: 221
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Where I'm talking about using it is in areas that have been trapped out and can't be reached with equipment. Blowing out the sub dams first and then blowing out the main dam after the water has been lowered.
No way to get photos now but we've got places where the main dam is 200+ yards long and it is impossible to get equipment anywhere except right at the edges. We've trapped one of these areas out twice and drained it but only being able to reach the edge of the dam the next beavers that move in can stop it up again in only a night or two. By blowing the dams out completely then monitoring the main creek channel I could at least see when they started damming it up again and trap them out before the entire area is flooded again.
Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience! Emerson
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Re: Explosives for dam removal?
[Re: North40R]
#4556675
07/13/14 11:02 PM
07/13/14 11:02 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 872 Indiana
V3N
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Indiana
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The cross section of a Beaver dam is a long sloping pile of silt and crud against the brush they put in place. You can't just toss a charge in the thing and get results. That 200 yard dam sets on a channel only a few yards wide. Cut it there and the water will all drain in time. Once it dries burn the dam if possible. If you want to learn to use explosives get some training first. And the laws for explosives are different than for ammo. Last I looked you don't need an FFL. And the use of binaries like ANFO can save you some bucks and paperwork.
"There's a fine line between a hobby and a mental illness." Dave Barry
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Re: Explosives for dam removal?
[Re: North40R]
#4557792
07/14/14 09:36 PM
07/14/14 09:36 PM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 221 South Alabama
North40R
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OP
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Posts: 221
South Alabama
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Thanks for the replies! Idtrapper I may blow you up (lol) with questions if it goes through for me.
Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience! Emerson
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Re: Explosives for dam removal?
[Re: AR Swampboss]
#4560070
07/16/14 04:31 PM
07/16/14 04:31 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 315 Manchester Vt
OneHandSetters
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Posts: 315
Manchester Vt
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You will need to check with your State Police and the ATF to find out what type of license / training/ storage that is required for your state. It will also raise your insurance if you work for large companies. It might be easier to hire a couple of crusty country boys and teach them how to dig dams. That is me and my son and how i do it now. Thanks Dave
Knowledge is power, that becomes worthless unless you pass it on! Home of the One Hand Setters! on Face Book davidfsheldonjr@gmail.com
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Re: Explosives for dam removal?
[Re: North40R]
#4562229
07/18/14 07:38 AM
07/18/14 07:38 AM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 221 South Alabama
North40R
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OP
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Posts: 221
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AR I am the crusty country boy that's been digging damns. I even use the same tools you listed.
After looking at all the junk required to use them I've decided to just keep knocking them out the old fashioned way.
Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience! Emerson
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Re: Explosives for dam removal?
[Re: Malukchuk]
#4562729
07/18/14 03:43 PM
07/18/14 03:43 PM
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 384 Vernal, Utah, USA
Dan Barnhurst
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Vernal, Utah, USA
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I used to be a certified explosives handler for the state. Started with dynamite (ditching powder). Would wallow a hole down into the water side of the dam as close to stream bed level as possible. Set the first stick in with a blasting cap and fuse. Set additional sticks in a line along the dam as far as needed to open the dam as wide as you want. These would chain react and detonate without a fuse if set within a foot of each other. The water pressure would blow all the debris up in the air or downstream with good results. You did not want to be close, downstream, or downwind (tremendous nitro glycerin headaches if you inhaled the smoke!). Now they use water gel explosive. It's much more stable (safer to handle). But it will not chain react. Each stick must be detonated with it's own blasting cap unless it is touching or connected together with primer cord, which looks similar to a fuse but is high explosive. You just tape a fused blasting cap to the end of the primer cord then tie the cord around each stick and can set the charges as far apart as you need and still get it done in one shot. I,m no longer certified and don't want to be. It's scary, dangerous stuff. Just when you think everything is clear and you've lit the fuse is when someone comes riding cross country on an ATV to see what you're doing or a fisherman appears out of the willows. The laws for purchase, transport, and storage are very strict and the liability is way high.
Last edited by TRAP76; 07/19/14 12:11 AM.
Sneak the pan under his paw!
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