"rigger" wrote in message
ups.com...

Say Ed:

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?

If you have three hunters walking in line and one brings down a bird do
the other two hunters just proceed forward? If they do proceed forward
are they obligated to remember there was someone behind them?

Yes, they're obliged to remember that someone is behind them. I doubt if
we'll ever hear the truth about this accident, or whether it was a pile of
bad luck or negligence, but the stories I've heard from Cheney's friends
sound pretty fishy to me.

I was discussing this with another long-experienced hunter today, this one
from Pennsylvania, and we both concluded that something is out of whack. In
my experience, and under my training to train for NRA Safe Hunters, the only
way an accident like that can happen is if everyone makes a mistake. From
what I'm hearing about the "protocols" used in southern Bobwhite quail
hunting, someone can get shot if just ONE person makes a mistake. If that's
their "protocol," then their protocol and their tradition sucks big time.

In general, three hunters in a line, behind dogs flushing quail, requires
paying close attention to the angles where you can swing to follow a bird.
I've never heard of hunters swinging *behind* them as a matter of acceptable
operating procedure -- especially when there are other people out there,
including the dog handler, the SS people, and the owner of the land. I
remember drawing those segments on a board, and the entire range for the
line of hunters was 180 degrees, stopping at a line perpendicular to the
hunters. That's the way I've always hunted. That's the way everyone I've
ever known hunts -- at least, the ones I've seen with a gun.

Bobwhites flush in all directions and you really have to pay attention when
you're out there with other people. Where this lawyer actually was, and how
far around Cheney swung to follow a bird, we may never know. But if the
lawyer was behind that perpendicular line, and if those plantation hunters
think it's OK to swing behind the line, then they're nuts. Don't be
surprised, BTW, if they are a little nuts.

I'd just like to throw in here I imagine the reason for the delay in
reporting the incident was to assure themeless of the judge's
condition. After all the dredging up of the Ted Kennedy thing on this
topic I begin to wonder if they hadn't been considering the possibility
of some type of cover-up if this had gone more sour for the VP. It
might be interesting to know (although I'm sure we never will) who and
how many in the gov. knew about this early on. Got to give the spin
doctors time to work you know.

The only reason to keep this quiet was to make sure all of the political
bases were covered. My guess is that there was more buzzing going on between
Washington and the hunt than a hive full of angry bees.

--
Ed Huntress