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?

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

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.

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.

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.

You would need an FFL to purchase..you would also need a Blasters licence to set it off..
Binaries such an Ken-a-stick( ANFO is not a Binary it is classified as a blasting agent) would alleviate some of the transportation issues.
You will also run into issues with types of explosives that can be detonated in a waterway..This can depend on the regulating agency.
Since 911 the use of explosives, especially the transportation of explosives, has become a paperwork nightmare..
A hand held post hole auger with modified auger to drill about 8-10 feet and some anfo with a cap and primer wrapped so it is water tight does quite a number on things..sometimes pvc with a cap on one end can be driven in and loaded..I have been a Blaster for the last 27 years.
Your state fire-marshals office can tell you all that would be needed as far as licencing.

Thanks for the replies! Idtrapper I may blow you up (lol) with questions if it goes through for me.

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.

Just a heads up. The US Department of transportation requires you to have a $5,000,000 liability insurance policy to transport explosives on public roadways. Binary explosives may be exempt but one little blasting cap is considered an explosive. I decided against blasting dams when the insurance broker told me my premium would be $12,000 a year.......

I went through all the hoops, tests and was getting my FEL when USDOT told me about the insurance.

That is me and my son and how i do it now.
Thanks
Dave

Here are the best tools for digging

Axe Mattock-
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index...2601430.1260334

Heavy duty potato fork -
http://www.amestruetemper.com/products/detail.aspx?ProductId=1480&FamilyId=91&LineId=89

you have to have an explosive licene here too. and seperate insurance just for the explosives

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.

make it easy on yourself, use an atv with a winch. Get yourself an anchor doesn't need to be big and hook it up to the cable. Rip the (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) out with the winch and anchor. Don't need to pull it all at once but it helps in saving labor time

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.

I want to watch !!!