No, the first rule of hunting is to make sure you won't hit something other than what you are aiming at. Even if you have a moron in range, it is your responsibility to make sure you don't hit them - especially when they are wearing orange.
It's amazing to see this kind of nonsense being plugged on FR - which is otherwise the premier firearms site on the web.
I was joking.
I'm hazarding a guess here, but it appears a combination of factors lead to this accident.
The guy who got shot came up behind the group just as a covey of quail was flushed, and was in tall grass, which may have partially obscured the vest.
If Mr. Cheney turned and focused on a bird, objects behind the bird would tend to disappear, because the eye is focused on the bird.
So, what I'm getting from all this is a confluence of events that ended in this mistake.
Mr. Cheney's friend being a few seconds earlier or later is probably the difference between getting shot and not getting shot.
My point is that we weren't there and it's easy to sit in judgment from a distance.
"No, the first rule of hunting is to make sure you won't hit something other than what you are aiming at. Even if you have a moron in range, it is your responsibility to make sure you don't hit them - especially when they are wearing orange."
Agreed. Why are excuses being made because it's Cheney? Remember - guns don't kill/injure people. People do. In this case, the person is Cheney who is responsible.
.....Even if you have a moron in range.....
Hadn't heard that. The shootee was a mormon?
amen. There's nothing else to add.
Have you ever been quail or pheasant hunting? You shoot the on the fly - meaning you follow their flight with finger on trigger.