Ask any hunter...the "line of fire" excuse is 100% nonsense

[wtmusic]

Here's what happened: Cheney heard a noise behind him and saw some movement in the brush, and thought it was a covey coming up. Without pausing to identify it he fired.

Not only is it dangerous as hell to shoot into brush, killing birds on the ground is pathetic from a sportsman's point of view.

When a hunter is loaded for quail, 30 yards away is approaching the limit of effectiveness. So the idea that there was something farther away (a deer? a tiger?) and his buddy just got in the "line of fire" is silly. Another failure to assume responsibility (who woulda thunk?)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Do you think the NRA crowd will look at Cheney differently now?

I know some fellows who have changed their opinion of the character of others by how they hunted. Folks who were "unsportsmanlike" lost their esteem.

[wtmusic]

5. I do

it makes him look trigger-happy. Although I'm not a hunter, I hane many in the family, and they steer clear of guys like that (too dangerous).

[GumboYaYa]

2. No doubt, it is always the shooter's responsibility to make sure

there is no one in the line of fire. There is no exception to that rule. If you shoot someone, in all but the very most unusual circumstances, it is the shooters fault. No questions asked.

I thought the funny thing was that he was hunting with a 28 gauge. ROFLMAO, that's a "lady" gun. Any "real men" hunters know without a doubt that Cheney is a pretender now. Plus he was huntnig from a car. Where I grew up, Cheney would have gotten shot himself if he was caught doing that.

[AllegroRondo]

4. he was hunting from a car?

isnt that illegal?

[GumboYaYa]

12. In most states it is, but there are frequently exemptions

if you are hunting on private land. It is totally city slicker hunting. Country folk really look down their noses at that type of behaviour.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

3. Have hunted upland game...

... for 30 years, pheasants, partridge, sharptail grouse and quail and Cheney's spokesperson's excuse is baloney. Cheney had a "premature ejaculation". He shot before looking at what he was shooting at.

And shooting birds on the ground is a slob hunter thing to do. That is why when I hunt, I hunt with a FDSB English Setter!

BTW, up here in South Dakota, overpaid, out of state businessmen out for a hunt are always the most frequently listed victims of "friendly fire".

[Warpy]

6. Cheney is no sportsman and these were hand raised quail

so I believe that's exactly what happened.

However, there is no excuse for it. I don't know any hunter over the age of 14 who has almost made the boneheaded mistake of following game and nearly hitting a companion; I don't know a single hunter of any age who has actually done it because they've always seen the companion just in time.

Cheney is a menace. He needs to give up his guns, since even shooting tame animals endangers his companions. Either his vision is going or his reaction time is too slow. In any case, he needs to stick to a firing range to prove his manhood.

If he's too arrogant to realize this, somebody else needs to.

[C_U_L8R]

7. Even the freeps know that Dick is dicking with em

the "freeps that know guns" and the ones that "pretend to know guns"
are having a little spat about Little Dick's bad hunting habits... quite funny.

It's as darn simple as "look before you shoot".. apparently Cheney didn't.
It's also a good bet that his finger was on the trigger as he turned.... another no-no.
Oh and not reporting to Police that you shot a person.... that's a big faux pas.

Even the freeps know that Dick is dicking with em with his tall hunting tales.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. You're absolutely right.

Furthermore, for Whittington to be hit in the face and upper torso by 50 pellets out of a 28-ga. gun at 30 yards, the gun had to be pointed right at the victim's neck or upper chest region. Assuming something like a modified choke, the pellets would have been flying in a little cloud about 35 inches in diameter.

[GumboYaYa]

13. That's right.

A 28 gauge has a pretty tight shot pattern. It stays concentrated to about 30-40 yards if I had to guess.

[niyad]

9. "everyone was wearing their orange jackets" (not exact quote, but,

according to armstrong, everyone had safety gear on. HOW IN THE HELL did chinstrap NOT see the orange jacket? last I looked, there were NO 6' tall, 200 lb quail with orange feathers.

[Norquist Nemesis]

16. LOL Ooops!

Sorry I missed your post (see below).

@the 6' tall 200# orange feathered quail.

[Democrats_win]

10. It really is the responsibility of the person who pulls the trigger.

They should have some sense of how far the shotgun blast will go. It was certainly a risky shot.

Local CBS station tried to spin it that "the most experienced hunters are the most dangerous." Like that's an excuse for being a dumbass!!!

[GumboYaYa]

14. That's total BS. Experienced hunters respect the power of their

weapons and don't go blasting about where their friends are simply to get one more quail. There's alwasy another hunt. Experienced hunters don't take risks with peoples lives for a quail.

Also, experienced hunters don't car hunt and they don't shoot cage-release animals. Even more importantly, real men don't use 28 gauge shotguns unless they want to get laughed at by their fellow hunters.

All the things I am hearing that Cheney did, tell me that without question he is one of those puffed-up city slickers who needs to kill some animals to have tough guy stories to tell the rest of the country club set.

[mtnester]

11. That is exactly what happened...

Scenario - even if Whittington is behind him, if you were facing forward, and a covey broke out, by the time they flew behind you and you turned with them to follow them, you would be shooting WELL above someone's head area. I mean, your FEET would have to move as well, because he sure ain't doing an exorcist-at-the-waist to shoot as large as he is. (no offense to the large meant in ANY way - I am referring to his lack of agility in allowing himself to contort 180 degrees backward without moving his feet))

He heard the rustle of noise, and was going to NAIL some QUAIL while the covey was breaking out and shot BLINDLY in order to bag as many as he could. Instead, he shot a man.

[Norquist Nemesis]

15. Wouldn't they have been wearing those bright orange vests

or jackets? I'm not a hunter, but I thought those were standard gear.

It seems to me that if they were, there's a pretty big "DON'T SHOOT" sign with those things compared to a brown/gray/white/black bird. Is Cheney color blind?

[wtmusic]

17. Apparently Whittington was

but you'd be amazed what people will shoot at when they get excited--rocks, dogs, old tires...people.