On February 4, 1982, Arizonan David Grundman shot a 27-foot saguaro with a shotgun. The saguaro dropped 23 feet of itself on him.
The story is Grundman and his roommate drove into the desert near Lake Pleasant on February 4, 1982. Grundman fired at least two rifled slugs from a 16-gauge shotgun into the saguaro before a roughly 23-foot section toppled onto him. He was 27. Then he was dead.
Some versions of the story claim one of the cactus’s arms broke off and crushed him. The contemporary account, however, describes something substantially larger: most of the central column, thousands of pounds of waterlogged cactus, falling directly onto the shooter and crushing him. It is unlikely the video in the Instagram post above is real, as there are no reports of the incident being filmed.
The Second Amendment only guarantees the right to have the gun; it does not guarantee you’ll win the fight.
Previously:
• I visited an amazing cactus nursery
• Stunning psychedelic timelapse of blooming cactus flowers
• Timelapse shows dragon fruit cactus growing over 18 months
• Hairy cactus or spun-sugar dessert?
• Cactus juicer