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How does one get a bead on the Bird (sight) if he only was going by sound. The reports stated from eyewitnesses that he had a visual. The reports originally were all over the map, even going so far as to say that the VP was shot, most of the Media reports were scatterbrained half a$$ed reporting. Anything can make Bushes rustle, and Dick cheney is an experienced Hunter, and knows this.

Well, "sound shot" is a fairly broad category of "slob hunting skill-set". Hear bushes rustle, turn head, see something moving in the brush, reflex shot, *boom*, "you got game". Or something.

As to his skills, well, skills are one thing. Being sloppy is another. Some can know all the rules, and still screw up when the adrenaline gets ahead of the cortex.

The main thing is being enough of a VIP to get away with that kind of "accident".

I've read more "hunting accident" stories than I could possibly recall over the years, and I've never heard of it being "the victim's fault.")

As a rule, the shooter will be very lucky if he walks away from the experience without at the very least a major part of his walking-around-money being shuttled to his lawyer's bank account.

I think that reading about hunting accidents is a little different from being in the sport. I've never been peppered, but I know plenty of people who have.

This sounds like a typical follow-too-far/up too far incident. The VP had a bead on a bird, the bird swerves to one side, VP follows and crosses the path of the victim. A good shooter is smoothly continuing his swing while he pulls the trigger - if somebody's where they're not supposed to be it may be too late to stop. You can go, "Oh (*&(*&%!" and yank your barrel up, but half the time the shot's already out of the muzzle and gone. Which is why it's very important not to move out of line.

Could be a little of the Veep's fault, sounds more like a little of the victim's fault . . . but the chances are it was largely "just an accident". And the fact that the VP was involved has nothing to do with moral or legal liability - because this is not an unusual occurrence. (And the idea that lawyers are going to have a field day on this is unlikely -- there's something called "assumption of the risk" and all bird hunters know that catching a pellet is part of the risk, it can happen with no negligence on ANYbody's part.)

Fortunately it was probably No. 7 1/2 or 8 shot . . . a little late in the season for No. 9 . . . which unless you're unlucky enough to get a pellet in the eye is not going to do you a great deal of harm.

You never heard of Hunters actually shooting themselves. They are the victims!!! People that live on the edge of woods that Hunters use have been victims and how can you blame a Hunter everytime he fires and does not hit his target and the victim is raking leaves and gets shot in his own yard. If you run into my firing line at the instant I am shooting it is your fault not mine.