Quote Originally Posted by robinghewitt View Post
1800's is so pre-1939 you have nothing to worry about. Keep them in the garden as "curiosity or ornament" and if you want to fire them do it very infrequently, like every other year. No ball allowed unless you are on a Home Office approved range. OTOH, if they are shotgun size you can lend them to anyone with a SGC for up to 72 hours without paperwork and they can shoot them with blank or bird shot anywhere safe with the land owner's permission. If you have a SGC you can lend them to yourself. A pound of damp grass clippings gives the same recoil as a pound of iron and you don't have to worry about what is over the horizon

Edit: Pics please
I don't recommend those old pieces ever be fired! Every time you fire a gun you put a little more strain, do a little more wear...I just 5 minutes ago read of a mishap with a 200 year old cannon in India that left 2 people dead and several others injured.

Modern repros are for firing: the old ones are just for looking at.

Jim