Waterfowling is a sport enjoyed by millions each year. For some, the start of duck and goose season is akin to an outdoors religion. However, hunters often forget the ramifications of Newton’s Law of Gravity—Newton’s law of universal gravitation states that every mass attracts every other mass in the universe, and the gravitational force between two bodies is proportional to the product of their masses, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. In layman’s term, a flying Canada goose to the face really hurts…
“A hunter in Easton, Md., was knocked unconscious by a goose that that had been shot out of the sky by a member of his hunting party, WBAL reports.
Robert Meilhammer, 51, was out with three other hunters shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday when they noticed a flock of Canada geese overhead. The group fired at the flock from a blind, striking one of the geese and sending it plummeting directly into Meilhammer.
“One of the members of the hunting party shot and killed the goose,” Maryland Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson confirmed, according to The Baltimore Sun. “It is unclear which one it was.”
The fowl knocked Meilhammer unconscious, causing injuries to his face and head, and reportedly knocking out two of his teeth. Thompson also told WBAL that when he finally came to, he “didn’t know too much besides his name.”
Emergency responders soon transferred Meilhammer to a hospital, where he was then airlifted to the Maryland Shock Trauma center.
“It’s a really unusual, freaky accident,” said Thompson, who estimated that the bird who hit Meilhammer was the size of a “small turkey” one might cook at Thanksgiving.” (Read More)
The sheer velocity and weight of the bird impacting the hunter must have been tremendous. It is unclear what the hunter’s status and condition is, but with a bird of that size, falling such a great distance; the sheer physics of it all would indicate that the hunter, Meilhammer, is going to have a bit of a haul ahead of him on the road to recovery.
Have your ever shot a Canada goose? Do you have a favorite recipe? Share your answers in the comment section.
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I can sympathize with this gentleman. A few years ago friends and I were hunting early season geese. I was in a small stand of trees when two geese were flying straight at me. Shot first goose and watched it fold up . Second one still coming straight so I swing and at the exact moment I shot second one hit me and my gun.Broke the stock and broke recoil rod. wrapped around my nose cut it and broke my nose also knocked me unconscious for a short time. Woke up I was on my knees with blood all over. Gun on the ground stock bent at 45 degree angle. looked around gathering my senses. Picked myself and my belongings (including my 2 goose limit for the day) up and headed for the truck. Luckily did not need any stitches but took couple of days to get over headache.