Setting the record straight on hunting accidents

he broke a whole gaggle of them.Even the spin from the WH claims that the shootee came up behind the shooter. Get that, behind.Anytime you're on the line there is an inviolable rule, you NEVER break the 180^o line. For Cheney to shoot someone behind him he also had to sweep others of the party to get there.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Well, I've hunted quail, pheasant, doves, as well as deer, duck, geese, woodchuck and squirrel, skeet and trap. And the line is the line of hunters.You must know at all times where the other hunters are. Your area is 45^o to the right and left of you. But there is NO reason that you should ever swing a gun beyond that arc. And there is NO way that someone coming up behind you should ever be covered.Then we find out he had a beer before going shooting.Sorry, but you do not drink and go shooting. That is simply unforgivable.Cheney broke not one rule, not two rules, not three rules but just about every rule of shooting. He should be ashamed of himself.Shooters today are under attack. There are many who think none of us are mature and responsible enough to handle a gun, and when someone like Cheney goes out and does something that dumb it is an insult to all of us that try to follow the rules and act responsibly.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

As a shooter, I can tell you it most certainly is.You just don't drink and then shoot.He was wrong.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

They sure do. But once they move out of YOUR zone of fire, you hold. Finger off the trigger. No it doesn't. It changes ONLY based on where the other folk in the party happen to be. He came up from behind them. Cheney screwed the pooch. He covered the line. He did not know where everyone was. He did not know what he was shooting at.Sorry, Cheney turned an ND, somthing that happens to every shooter sooner or later, into an accident. Cheney was wrong. That is a terrible indictment of hunters. I wish I could say that it doesn't happen, but unfortunately, it does. And it's behavior of idiots like that that caused me to give up hunting. You do not do things that increase the risks.It's bad enough when some red neck takes the cooler of beer along in the pickup when going on a shoot, but when it's a public figure, someone who should be setting an example, it's even worse. Maybe not in your world, but I pronmise you it's the norm in mine. And it's also the norm in the world of anyone I shoot with.I remember a wonderful day at a friend's place outside Austin, shooting at the range on his property. He and his wife put on a great spread we could enjoy sitting out on the deck, elk stew, beef stew, and soft drinks. That's right, soft drinks. Not one of the shooters had anything to drink other than coffee, tea and soda until after we finished shooting. Then it was more stew, beer, some great 40 year old Port and fresh baked breads.Sorry, drinking and shooting do not mix.The rest of your post has nothing to do with anything I've said and bringing up President Clinton was also totally off topic. Bet you'd love to change the subject, but the subject is that Cheney didn't break just one rule, he broke every rule in the book.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Sorry but that is a cop out and simply shows you know NOTHING about hunting or shooting.fo folk that may not have been dove hunting, let me outline the procedure.Dove hunting is an open field hunt. Usually you try to move with the sun behind your back. The hunters form a line and slowly walk across a field. They move at the same speed and no one moves faster than the slowest.No One goes forward unless they call out to make sure that the line is Cold, meaning each hunter acknowledges and ALL guns are muzzle down and on safety or opened, and No One goes out ahead of the line until he is damn sure that every hunter there has acknowledged the line cold. The line remains Cold until THAT Person comes back and announces the line Hot again.If he had gone forward (and no one in their right mind walks out in front of a bunch of shotguns without announcing it) the the line was cold. Any bird flushed during that is free. No one shoots.The line is important. Each hunter has an area in front of him, basically between 45^o to the right and left of directly in front of him. There is another do not fire zone that we'll get to in a minute.But the report was that he had dropped behind and so the line went on. If so he was behind the line. This is important and we will come back to it.Quail are crafty little birds. The dogs work out in front of the hunters and when they startle a covey them little suckers shoot straight up in the air. And they do explode. It's a sound like no other and they are up and away.Back to areas where you do not shoot.Remember the dogs? Well, you don't shoot at anything below shoulder height. Don't want to shoot your dogs. Folk get upset losing a good dog. It's not like shooting a lawyers, dogs have value.So the area where you can shoot is shoulder height and above, and 45^o right and left of directly in front of you.Now remember them quail. They explode straight up in the air and when you are shooting a moving target you lead the shot. That means you aim where the sucker is gonna be, not where it is. You shoot slightly high and ahead of the flight path.So here is the situation.If the guy was behind the line even if no one knew he was there, the only way he could be shot was if Cheney broke the rules and shot below his zone and out of his zone.If the guy was in front of the line, then the line would be cold and the guy out front was the ONLY person who could call the line hot again. So if Cheney shot him, Cheney broke the rules.Cheney screwed the pooch. There is no other possibility. If it had been President Clinton I would say exactly the same things, so your insertion is simply crap. Not only is it crap, it is uninformed crap.Cheney screwed the pooch.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Yup. Very good. Thanks for confirming that. Yup, but TTBOMK it's still considered bad form to shoot the dogs. Yup, that's the story I heard too. And if true, it makes Cheney even more of a dufus. I know, hard to believe.If the person was coming up from behind then Cheney shot behind the line. That means not only did he shoot the poor guy, he swept the other members of the party. It just gets worse and worse for him, doesn't it? I never said anything about where they should fly, but rather where hunters should shoot. A bird hunter that takes a ground shot is sure to be the brunt of jokes for the rest of his life. Ground shot eh? LOL And there is no firing zone behind the line. So let's get this straight, now according to you Cheney has threatened everybody in the party by sweeping them, shot someone behind the line, someone in a ditch and lower them him. What a dork.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

I'm not the one, it's his actions that betrayed him. I didn't set up some imaginary line, that's basic. And as to the end of the line that still doesn't absolve him.You just don't shoot unles you know what is in the line of fire. Even on the end of the line you do not shoot behind you. You know why? Because you have not been looking in that direction and someone may have come up behind you.Sorry Cheney shot two people, one in the face and chest and shot himself in the foot. What a dufuss.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Well, Ned, I would be honored to take you hunting anytime. But before we went out we'd spend some time learning what you need to know to stay safe. Guns, shooting and hunting are dangerous. Guns are not toys. Safety has to be the very first and overriding consideration at all times.There are a few rules, not very many at all, not even Ten Commandments, that if you follow them, when you have an ND (Negligent Discharge), and anyone that shoots long enough WILL have an ND, no one gets hurt. The rules are really simple.

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.
4. ALWAYS know what is in your line of fire.
5. NEVER point a gun at something you don't plan on shooting.
   

The rest is common sense. Don't mix alcohol and shooting.Frankly, I cannot imagine why Murphy objected to any of my posts. Even Cheney admits it was his fault. He screwed the pooch. He broke just about every one of the rules.Shooting, whether hunting or target practice, in a group or alone, with rifles, shotguns or pistols can be a safe and enjoyable sport. But not unless the participants acknolwedge their responsibility to handle firearms with respect. And when a prominent person like the Vice-President of the US does not follow the rules it reflects baddly on all of us who try very hard to promote firearms safety.To all who read this thread. The NRA has a program called Eddie Eagle designed for kids. It is designed to teach them safety, to teach them to respect the power and danger involved in firearms, to instill an attitude of Safety First. It is designed for both shooters and for the kid who might someday come upon a firearm. The goal is not to recruit new shooters, but to keep everyone, sportmen and bystanders safe. You can find information for parents hereWhether you support hunting, sport shooting, or even gun ownership, or if you are totally opposed guns and firearms, please check out the Eddie Eagle program.Let's keep everyone safe.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Murphy, I don't know where you get the idea that we are talking about jar's rules here. We're not.Frankly, based on your posts here you need some training in the basics of safe gun handling.Nothing I mentioned is out of the ordinary, it's just basics.This has nothing to do with politics, it is a simple fact that Cheney broke not one, not two, but every rule of safe hunting.You don't swing and shoot behind you because you do not know what is there.Cheney screwed the pooch there.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Did Cheney shoot someone?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion