It. points up the fact that you can't be to careful when handling a gun.It certainly is hunters worst nightmare.I know how I'd feel even if it weren't even a particular friend.

In his confessional interview, Vice President Cheney attempted to excuse his failure to immediately go to the media by stating that the story was complicated and not something the press corps is accustomed to reporting. Wrong. Hunting is straightforward. We take to the fields and forests with guns and try to kill things. The sport has been romanticized and ritualized, but at bottom it's a simple pursuit. The rules are simple, too. "Don't fire until you're aware of what may be hit" is not ambiguous. So long as we hunters claim that hunting is beyond the understanding of all who were not raised in the tradition, we will continue to be perceived as outsiders.

In 1980, Larry Hagman of JR Ewing fame was asked by a Playboy interviewer why he sued the National Enquirer over allegations that he got drunk on the Dallas set and cursed at cast members and crew. After all, consider the source. Hagman responded that people won't remember who the source was. Suppose some executives were considering a new movie or TV series. One suggests casting Larry Hagman and another says "Gee, I don't know where I heard it but I heard Hagman is a real jerk - gets drunk on sets and clashes with everyone. Let's go with somebody else". He'd never even get a chance to defend himself.

In their haste to defend him, Dick Cheney's gun/hunting allies may have done considerable damage to the sport of hunting. How? By dismissing the incident as "a common accident in hunting".

I cringed when I heard that - multiple times. The last thing that sport hunting needs is for its own members to convey the message to non-hunters that it's common for a hunter to shoot another hunter by accident. It's a very short step from "hunters frequently shoot other hunters by accident" to the notion that hunters frequently shoot bystanders - and sending the message that campers, hikers, mountain bikers, and anglers take their lives in their hands if they recreate on national forest or BLM land during hunting season. You won't have to wonder why such people might oppose sport hunting close to cities, parks, and resorts - and support more restrictions on hunting on public lands.

I see another potential problem. How do sport hunters attract more non-hunters (especially kids) into the sport if it's viewed as dangerous? Imagine some kid asking his non-hunting parents for permission to hunt with a friend (and parents). If you're a parent and you hear that it's common for hunters to shoot each other by accident, would you let your kid join a hunt? I think not - remember what happened to Cheney's friend. Or more insidiously, some parent says "Gee, I don't know where I heard it but I could swear somebody said that hunters frequently shoot each other. No, Johnny can't go hunting; he should take up soccer."

The sport of hunting is in enough trouble with so many kids taking up computer games instead of outdoor sports and so much less outdoor contact among adults. We don't need to give ammunition to PETA types by telling the public that reckless hunters shooting companions is a common occurance.

IF THIS HAD BEEN ME PULLING THE TRIGGER DO YOU THINK THE NEWS PEOPLE WOULD HAVE HAD SO MUCH TIME FOR IT?HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF ME??THE NEWS PEOPLE HAVEN'T EITHER.IT IS JUST A CHANCE TO BASH OUR SPORT AND FUEL THE ANTI GUNNERS.I HAVE HUNTED EVERYTHING I COULD AFFORD FOR 60 YRS AND HAVE NEVER BEEN SHOT OR SHOT ANYONE ELSE,ALTHO SOME TEMPED ME.

To accept the responsibility for the accidental shooting was the least the Mr. Cheney could do. After all he had violated most protocols of hunting. I understand that he has many years of hunting experience but has never having taken a Hunter Safety Course.
The basic rule of hunter safety is
knowing what is in the line of fire. Secondly shooting down, the victim was in a depression and the VP was on high ground. What was he shooting at a "sitting grouse"?

My father told me long ago, when hunting birds in a party make sure the muzzle is pointed higer than your own shoulder. Had the VP done that, he would not have shot a fellow hunter.

It takes two to Tango. While I agree the shooter has the last responsiblility, all other hunt participants share the blame. When a bird is down, all hunters MUST stay put and keep the muzzle of their firearm pointed in a safe direction, until the bird is recovered or declared lost. Re-assume the hunting formation and continue the hunt.

Until all are ready to hunt there is no movement.

I read somewhere a question. Would Mr. Chaney learn something if he took a hunter safety course? I must honestly say, Yes." I have taken the course on three occassions and am a hunter safety instructor. If I take or give the course and I fail to glean something from the experience. I have failed myself and all hunters. There is always a tid-bit of info I had not considered or not kept in my mind. Smooting glasses are a must. One friend shot at a rabbit into the wind. Normal, so what? In this case a piece of burning powder was blown back int his eye. Something I had not considered. It is now a part of every course I teach and part of every conversation of length on hunting. It just may save someone from losing their sight.

It is a good idea for all involved in a hunting accident to take a Hunter Education Safety. Course. Come to think of it, it would be best if we all took a refresher course, before we are involved in an accident.

Basic Hunter Ed 101:
Always make sure of your line of fire.

I am a hunter education instructor in Texas and a lifelong quail hunter. I am 51. I have never heard that a hunter is responsible for announcing that he is "back in Line". It is the nature of quail hunting, due to variances in the brush or terrain, that the line will waiver. It is for this reason that quail hunters are normally extra carefull to know where their hunting partners are and especially for the shooter to always not shoot until they are sure of the target and the background. Almost all upland bird hunters wear hunter orange. Was Cheney and his party?
My 13 year old son and I were on a quail hunt that very weekend. Two or three times he said; "I didn't shoot because you or Walt or the dogs were in the way." Cheney could benefit from a hunter ed class.
The excuse that the sun was in his eyes doesn't wash with carefull hunters...if you can't see, don't shoot.
Will this incident hurt the public perception of hunting? Of course. Why didn't Cheney get a ticket? Is the public to assume that a near mortal wounding with a gun doesn't even warrant a ticket?
Typical reckless Cheney behavior.

You've got to be kidding!! The quail were hand raised and had their wings clipped!! That is horrible. What kind of sick sport is that? I'm sure you can tell that I'm not pro-hunting but that type of hunting sounds very unfair. It sounds like something Jeffrey Dahmer would have done in his early years. I wouldn't want to know a person that could shoot a hand raised bird with clipped wings.

The Cheney incident:
The little walkie talkies that we carry to stay in touch with our hunting partners could have saved our VP alot of grief. If everyone had them and Cheney's buddy let everyone know that he was rejoining the group could have saved himself a trip to the hospital and the VP all the publicity. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20 and it was still the fault of the shooter.