"rigger" wrote


As I've never been on a bird hunt would you mind bringing me (and
perhaps some others) up-to-speed on how it's supposed to work to insure
safety?

First, there is NO insurance that safety procedures will work.

But, it works something like this:

You hunt alone.

If you choose to hunt with someone, it had damn better be with someone you
have hunted with before and know what they will do IN EVERY SITUATION. You
still have to have communication (radios) and a plan of when this happens we
do this. When that happens we do that.
You talk about it before you go out. You talk about it during the hunt.
You talk about it after it is over. You are putting your life in someone
else's hands. You talk about it.

And, as in the case in our state, you either stay far apart enough not to be
able to shoot the other person, or close enough so that you can hear the
other person say, "He's yours" or he can hear you say "He's mine." As close
as ten feet. Before that, however, you have decided that everything to the
left of center is his, everything to the right of center is yours. If you
DO hunt in a line, you have zones of fire. But, bottom line, you are
betting that your buddy who has a gun in his hand is going to follow the
rules and not screw up and cost you your life or at least your eyesight.

Any time you are dicking around out there with things that can kill you, you
have to have a plan, or you just don't go out.

That is what happened to these Rubes.

Hey! Let's go hunting! That sounds like fun!

Doesn't sound to me like any of them had a clue, even though reports say
they were "experienced" hunters, or had been hunting before. I know lots of
guys who have "been hunting before" and I wouldn't go with them if my job
depended on it. And some of them have been hunting for years. I have ONE
person I go quail hunting with. I am asked again and again to go with
people or to take people. I just make excuses because my health and safety
are important to me. I'm funny like that. My buddy and I went six times
this past year in Southern Nevada. I never even had one time that I heard
shot fly by me, which is a common occurrence for most hunters. We got our
**** down and together. And we use the Rino GPS systems.

It all comes down to the hunter. They're the one who pulls the trigger.
For one guy to run up on the shooters, and then another to shoot at an
uncertain target, Holy Mary, pray for us. These people are in charge of our
country.

Steve