I feel very badly for Dick Cheney. Any hunter that hurts something other than his intended target feels awful about it.
The media is proving just exactly how stupid and unworldly they really are. They are totally clueless about hunting, guns, and the responsibilities of all involved.
I am sorry for the man who got shot, but I think it is his fault. He left the line to retrieve a bird, then came up behind Cheney and DID NOT inform Cheney or anyone else- all facing away from him and trying to flush birds- that he had rejoined the group and that he was close behind them.
Maybe other hunters will be more aware of this breach of the rules, but I don't think the media will EVER get it.
The NBC reporter should be taken out behind the wood shed for a good talking to. He has behaved like a total ASS , IMO.
There are two issues I have not heard discussed yet about this accidental shooting.
1) why is no one focusing on how a 78 yr old may just be not as capable of hunting and his reflexes and judgment may be a real factor in this case?
2)what concerned me about this accident was how vulnerable Cheney would be to a sniper or other enemy in those woods..where the heck were the secret service to monitor the area and be aware of this guy just popping up out of the bushes? No one seems concerned about that.