Maybe he should take up a different hobby

[John Arnold]

Pa. man fires cannon, hits neighbor's house


The Associated Press
UNIONTOWN, Pa. - A Pennsylvania history buff who recreates firearms from old wars accidentally fired a 2-pound cannonball through the wall of his neighbor's home. William Maser, 54, fired a cannonball Wednesday evening outside his home in Georges Township that ricocheted and hit a house 400 yards away. The cannonball, about two inches in diameter, smashed through a window and a wall before landing in a closet. Authorities said nobody was hurt.
State police charged Maser with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
No one answered the phone Friday at Maser's home. He told WPXI-TV recreating 19th century cannons is a longtime hobby. He said he is sorry and he will stop shooting them on his property, about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

[Rick Cantrell]

Now, just because of this fool, all of us are going to lose the right to defend our home.
I mean, everyone has the RIGHT to have a cannon, to protect there self (and for hunting).

[wayne soper]

He was probably shooting at the squirrel in the BMW commercial:D

[mathew stouffer]

That would be an orignal item in an inspection report. Damage noted in living room wall, possibly due to misguided cannon ball.

[Nick Ostrowski]

What good is owning a cannon if it can't be fired every now and then.

[Rick Hurst]

These cannons must be the new thing. I found a picture of one on a street of a home I inspected back in June. Thought it was interesting enough I guess to take a pic of it of the time.

rick

[A.D. Miller]

Back in the Stone Age I learned to hit the broad side of a barn with one of these - at tax payers' expense. I would love to have one now pointed at my neightbor across the street, but it won't fit anywhere on my lot, and I could not afford the fuel to drive it from the rail head.

M109 howitzer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M109_howitzer)

[H.G. Watson, Sr.]

After passing along the lead post as an email to an associate, I received this in reply:

STNG -September 8, 2009

Potato canon explosion kills DeKalb County man

By KATIE ANDERSON kanderson@scn1.com

KINGSTON -- A potato cannon accident resulted in the death of a rural Kingston man over the Labor Day weekend.

Dennis M. Haberstich, 43, of the 7600 block of State Route 72, died late Sunday night after a piece of metal flew off his homemade spud gun and struck him in the head, authorities said.

A potato cannon is a homemade explosive device generally constructed with plastic pipe. The cannons use air pressure, combustion of fuels or batteries to launch chunks of food into the air.

The barrel of Haberstich's potato cannon was about a foot long and made with heavy steel pipe mounted to a small steel platform, according to DeKalb County Sheriff Roger A. Scott.

"They used black powder and a propellant powder to cause the force to shoot the potato out," he said.

Haberstich and friends Walter W. Mulso and Michael Rojek, both of Kingston, had fired the cannon numerous times Saturday and Sunday evening before the fatal accident, said DeKalb County Chief Deputy Coroner Dave Jacobson. When the men fired the cannon Sunday evening however a piece attached to the metal barrel flew off and struck Haberstich in the head.

Haberstich was transported by ambulance to Kishwaukee Community Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival about 11:30 p.m.

Mulso was transported to the hospital for a knee injury he suffered in his rush to call 9-1-1 after Haberstich was injured.

Haberstich's death was still under investigation Tuesday by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office but "everything appears to be accidental," Scott said.

While some area communities have ordinances making possession of the devices illegal, Scott said emergency calls for potato cannon accidents are "very uncommon" in DeKalb County,

"I can't recall one in the recent past," he said.

Potato canon explosion kills DeKalb County man :: The Courier News :: Local News (http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1758659,Potato-canon-explosion-kills-man_EL090809.article)