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Anyone else get a laugh out of this one?

Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter
By LYNN BREZOSKY and NEDRA PICKLER, AP

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Feb. 12) - Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets.

Harry Whittington, a millionaire attorney from Austin, was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a Corpus Christi hospital Sunday.

"He is stable and doing well. It was almost like he was spending time with me in my living room," said hospital administrator Peter Banko, who visited Whittington.

Banko said Whittington was in the intensive care unit because his condition warranted it, but he didn't elaborate. Whittington sent word through a hospital official that he would have no comment on the incident out of respect for Cheney.

The accident occurred Saturday at a ranch in south Texas where the vice president and several companions were hunting quail. It was not reported publicly by the vice president's office for nearly 24 hours, and then only after it was reported locally by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times on its Web site Sunday.

Katharine Armstrong, the ranch's owner, said Sunday that Cheney was using a 28-gauge shotgun and that Whittington was about 30 yards away when he was hit in the cheek, neck and chest.

Each of the hunters was wearing a bright orange vest at the time, Armstrong told reporters at the ranch about 60 miles southwest of Corpus Christi. She said Whittington was "alert and doing fine."

Armstrong told The Associated Press emergency personnel traveling with Cheney tended to Whittington before an ambulance - routinely on call because of the vice president's presence - took him to a hospital in Kingsville. From there, Whittington was flown by helicopter to Corpus Christi about 40 miles away.

Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president met with Whittington at the hospital on Sunday. Cheney "was pleased to see that he's doing fine and in good spirits," she said.

Armstrong said she was watching from a car while Cheney, Whittington and another hunter got out of the vehicle to shoot at a covey of quail.

Whittington shot a bird and went to retrieve it in the tall grass, while Cheney and the third hunter walked to another spot and discovered a second covey.

Whittington "came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself," Armstrong said.

"The vice president didn't see him," she continued. "The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a bird and was following it and shot. And by god, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good."

Whittington has been a private practice attorney in Austin since 1950 and has long been active in Texas Republican politics. He's been appointed to several state boards, including when then-Gov. George W. Bush named him to the Texas Funeral Service Commission.

McBride said the vice president's office did not tell reporters about the accident Saturday because they were deferring to Armstrong to handle the announcement of what happened on her property.

Armstrong, owner of the Armstrong Ranch where the accident occurred, said Whittington was bleeding after he was shot and Cheney was very apologetic.

"It broke the skin," she said of the shotgun pellets. "It knocked him silly. But he was fine. He was talking. His eyes were open. It didn't get in his eyes or anything like that.

"Fortunately, the vice president has got a lot of medical people around him and so they were right there and probably more cautious than we would have been," she said. "The vice president has got an ambulance on call, so the ambulance came."

Cheney is an avid hunter who makes annual trips to South Dakota to hunt pheasants. He also travels frequently to Arkansas to hunt ducks, among other places.

Armstrong said Cheney is a longtime friend who comes to the ranch to hunt about once a year and is "a very safe sportsman." She said Whittington is a regular, too, but she thought it was the first time the two men hunted together.

"This is something that happens from time to time. You know, I've been peppered pretty well myself," said Armstrong.

The 50,000-acre Armstrong ranch has been in the influential south Texas family since the turn of the last century. Katharine is the daughter of Tobin Armstrong, a politically connected rancher who has been a guest at the White House and spent 48 years as director of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. He died in October. Cheney was among the dignitaries who attended his funeral.

Cheney was legally hunting with a license he purchased in November, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman Steve Lightfoot said. The vice president flew back to Washington on Sunday evening, according to his office.

Nedra Pickler reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Paul J. Weber in Dallas contributed to this report.


AP-ES-02-12-06 2152EST

now if cheney can only get Mr. Binny boy to go hunting.

But did Cheney get the quail, or just the "bird"? <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=newicons/anim_lol.gif border=0 align=middle>

The Second Amendment: America's original homeland security.
Ya just can’t take life too seriously, because you aren’t going to get out of it alive anyway.

_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson

You just know that this incident is a stand up comedians delight. Jay Leno is going to have a field day with this one.

"GLAD TO HAVE BEEN THERE AND HAVE BEEN PROUD TO HAVE SERVERED"

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
You just know that this incident is a stand up comedians delight. Jay Leno is going to have a field day with this one.
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>


What's the bag limit on Lawyers? They are not an endangered species.

What do you call a hunting accident that ends up with a lawyer being shot by the VP of the United States?...What else, a good start.

Ninety percent of the game is half mental.

_________________
????

So if every accidental shooting is in fact a negligent shooting, is this an impeachable offense for tricky Dick? <img src=newicons/saevil.gif border=0 align=middle>

<b>There are two kinds of soldiers.
Snipers...and targets.</b>
<img src="http://www.creedmoorsports.com/images/SA9121-M21.JPG" border=0>

The Judge on Fox said that in Texas the burden of proving negligence would be very hard in this case. Basically they would have to prove Cheney was reckless or he actually meant to shoot the guy. Everybody that witnessed the incident corroborated Cheney's side of events. It was an unfortunate accident.

Fender

"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it."
George Bernard Shaw

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Everybody that witnessed the incident corroborated Cheney's side of events. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

That would be the USSS.

It was a woman who drove me to drink, and I never had the courtesy to thank her for it.
The cost of living has gone up another dollar a quart.Somebody left the cork out of my lunch.

"Everybody that witnessed the incident corroborated Cheney's side of events. It was an unfortunate accident."

Do we find this surprising? I just wonder how much of an Unfortunate Accident it would have been had the Lawyer been shot by someone with no political pull.

You know, after my first 4 years as a loader on hogs, I retrained into CATM and spent the rest of my 27 year career working AF weapons ranges. During that time, NEVER did anyone on my range EVER get shot. There is NO EXCUSE for what happened down there.

<b>THE FIRST RULE OF FIREARMS SAFETY IS; ALWAYS TREAT THE WEAPON AS IF IT'S LOADED. WHICH MEANS, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE YOUR SIGHTS ON A TARGET YOU ARE WILLING TO DESTROY, AND YOU ARE NOT READY TO SHOOT...<font size=6>THEN KEEP YOUR F%&^IN FINGER OFF THE GAWD D#*& TRIGGER!</font id=size6></b>

<font size=3>This is without a doubt, the most ignorant and preventable accident to be found in hunting. I don't care if its some smuck fresh out of boot, or the President himself, that is just F*&^in STUPID and caused by a man carrying a loaded gun with his head so far up his ass that he hasn't seen daylight in years.

If your head is not in the game, if you are not aware of your target and your surroundings at all times when you are out there carring a loaded gun, then you owe it to yourself and everyone around you to put the gun away and GO HOME!

A friend of mine took his son out for his first hunt a couple of years ago. The kid to this day is carrying 3 pellets from a 12ga, in his head and one next to his spine. The worst is that the ass hole who'd shot him ran like the coward he is and no one knows who it was. Had they caught him, he would have been tried and convicted for Criminal Negligence!

Forgive my rant, but this kind of blatent disregard for weapons safety really chaps my ass.</font id=size3>

"Slow is Fast - Fast is Slow"


Edited by - Ice Pirate on Feb 13 2006 4:56 PM

_________________
Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow
Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option

Straight up, it is not OK to shoot your buddy in the face with a 12gauge shotgun, accident or no. 30yds is not that far, and the dude was wearing a Blaze orange hunting vest.

If one of us did that at the range we'd (rightly) get our ass tossed in jail for our troubles.

Cheyney is obviously either completely blind, and therefore should not be hunting, or he is totally careless.

Either way, he is a moron, and does not belong around guns...or the US nuclear deterrent.



<b>There are two kinds of soldiers.
Snipers...and targets.</b>
<img src="http://www.creedmoorsports.com/images/SA9121-M21.JPG" border=0>

sheesh, live in a hunting area, people get shot in all sorts of ways and NOT infrequently, nobody gets sued USUALLY because they are hunting buddies!!!

A 45 has a muzzle.
A 9mm has a bullet vent.

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

The term for those people is "Redneck morons" Booms.

It's nothing to be proud of.

<b>There are two kinds of soldiers.
Snipers...and targets.</b>
<img src="http://www.creedmoorsports.com/images/SA9121-M21.JPG" border=0>

I'd still rather hunt with Dick Cheney than ride with Ted Kennedy!<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

The Second Amendment: America's original homeland security.
Ya just can’t take life too seriously, because you aren’t going to get out of it alive anyway.

_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson

Maybe if Cheney had actually got off his butt and served his country in the military, he might have received the training that would have prevented some thing like this.

But as I recall, he had, <b>"Other Priorities."</b>

"Slow is Fast - Fast is Slow"

_________________
Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow
Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>The term for those people is "Redneck morons" Booms.

It's nothing to be proud of.

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

Snipe do you believe everyone involved in an hunting accident is a "Redneck moron?" That is a sterotypical statement if I ever heard one.

Fender

"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it."
George Bernard Shaw

I dont think Tour de France champ Greg LeMond was a "red neck moron", but then everything west of Cincinnati is redneck land for East Coasties.

A 45 has a muzzle.
A 9mm has a bullet vent.

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

"Snipe do you believe everyone involved in an hunting accident is a "Redneck moron?" That is a sterotypical statement if I ever heard one."

Anyone hunting out in Boomers backwater woods that shoots a buddy is a redneck moron, yes. Boomer lives WAY out in the sticks dude.

<font size=6><b>ALL HEAR THIS:</b></font id=size6>

<font size=4><b>GENERAL WT RULE #1:</b><i> IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY SHOOT YOUR BUDDY IN THE FACE WITH A SHOTGUN(OR GAU-8), THEN <b>YOU</b> ARE A <b>MORON!</i></font id=size4></b>

That is all, carry on. <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

<b>There are two kinds of soldiers.
Snipers...and targets.</b>
<img src="http://www.creedmoorsports.com/images/SA9121-M21.JPG" border=0>

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Either way, he is a moron, and does not belong around guns...or the US nuclear deterrent.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>


I think we established that years ago.




Ninety percent of the game is half mental.

_________________
????

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>...it is not OK to shoot your buddy in the face with a 12gauge shotgun, accident or no. 30yds is not that far, and the dude was wearing a Blaze orange hunting vest.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

I don't think it was a 12 gauge. You don't use them for bird hunting, do you? I am not a hunter but my brother was on the national trap and skeet team for the Isle of Mann (no kidding). As I said, I do not know much about firearms, but his guns are much smaller than the 12 gauge I have. A 12 gauge is a relative cannon. Also, when shooting trap/skeet, or birds I guess, it looks as if they are on a hair trigger all the time. You have to react to the first movement or you don't hit it. I wouldn't sneek up on a bird hunter. Wait, I'm a moron. It is not a good idea to sneek up to or surprise anyone with a loaded gun ready to shoot. I heard a good song parody today sung to an Aerosmith song. It starts out like this: "Cheney's got a gun..." way funny.

Ninety percent of the game is half mental.

_________________
????

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>I don't think it was a 12 gauge, they don't use those for hunting do they? <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

Actually that is the prefered gauge of choice Stress, atleast for me. When I am out bagging doves or quail I use a lighter load, Pheasants & Ducks a middleweight load, Goose hunting I use a heavy load. When possiable I prefer lead shot, but in some GMU's in WA State, lead is prohibited and you have to use steel or some other synthetic shot. My grandfather used to hunt with a .10 gauge, now that was a cannon...lol

I have a Remington model .870 and a semi auto model 1100. I have been hunting since I was 8 yrs old, and never had an accident like that happen. Yes, they do happen, and they are unfortunate. But...they are still inexcusable, and very preventable. Being aware of your surrounding, especially in the open field is not difficult. I simply will not hunt with people that demonstrate poor muzzle discipline.




Edited by - chadrewsky on Feb 15 2006 08:32 AM

Yeah but at leaste we're not asswipes out here so we got that over Easterners.

Yup 12 gauge is king due to it's flexability in loads as Chad mentioned. Everything from "dust" to rifled slugs as per your need.
<u>USED</u> to have an 870 Wingmaster in 16 gauge <img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>

A 45 has a muzzle.
A 9mm has a bullet vent.

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

I've heard it 2 ways, at 30yds or 30 ft which is 10 yds with a 28gau.
Now hunting Quail he was probably using 8 or higher loads probably 3"mag's.
Now set-up 2 targets 1 at 10 yrds and one at 30 yrds unless he was using a FULL choke I can see him at 30 feet doing that kind of damage,30 yds(90ft) I dont think so but I know some of you guys know more on spread patterns.
He's just damn lucky he wasnt using a 12 or 20 ga. with 8's That guy would of been <img src=icon_smile_dead.gif border=0 align=middle>or close to it.
But unless this Lawyer is 10 ft tall how did he even hit him?
When I use to Quail hunt,and I still run my English Setter with the
"QUAIL EXPERT" that lives down the road I dont carry anymore.(He's a Fan-inatic Quail hunter)He told me that unless your going to shoot into the covey the dog is on before they flush,you wait until their up so you can use the sky as your back drop,and you always shoot ahead or 45 degrees wither way or in front as the bird might come towards you,
He cant figure it out how he shot the guy behind him unless he was doing a 180 turn but by then the bird would of been high,not low enough for him to hit the lawyer like that.
I never when hunting Quail turned more than 90 degrees and by that time i was shooting high.

But I always used a 12ga.for Quail with modified choke and 8's or 11's,Pheasant Hunting 6 or 4's depending on the conditions.
Mossberg 500 made in NewHaven, 1969 one of the older baby's.

Goose



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin,
(1706 - 1790)

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"

The news said he was using a 28 ga.

<img src="http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/457/bgnrjsiiw81q1gc.jpg" border=0>

Gravity....its not just a good idea, its the law.

Goose brings up a good point about having a dog in the fold. Thats why I never ground bust birds. I have a Brittany Spaniel that i hunt with, always need to be heads up for the dog. I would never forgive myself if I pepperd my dog, much less another person...Just basic gun safety that you learn as a kid. My grandfather, and father had me hunt with an empty gun for a few years, just so I would learn how to handle a gun in the field. I would probably do the same if I ever had a son, or if my daughter would have any ambition to hunt down the road.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Straight up, it is not OK to shoot your buddy in the face with a 12gauge shotgun, accident or no. 30yds is not that far, and the dude was wearing a Blaze orange hunting vest. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

Darn Snipe I had some great plans for our hunt lol.<img src=newicons/anim_lol.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=newicons/anim_shock.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=newicons/anim_bow.gif border=0 align=middle>

Remember my pre-katrina fire arms review lol. Came close to using it. Maybe this year I will put Cheney on a roof top next hurricane season. Ofcourse I will not be up there.



Edited by - mattlott on Feb 15 2006 1:59 PM