“The shotgun could have been broken open or even unloaded.”
His dog was hunting and went on point just before the attack. That would be a strange time to be carrying an unloaded shotgun.
Actually, many bird hunters load their guns once the dog points- in fact, several planation’s I hunted in the south ( quail), we were not allowed to load until the dogs went on point and we dismounted the carriage... gotta love southern tradition.