Shooters Take on Dick and the Blunderbuss

[Pavulon]

coming from someone who has shot thousands of wild non farm raised doves over my life here is my take..

Dick lost situational awareness of where everyone was. mistake 1.
Dick fired on a low bird, big mistake 2.
Never fire level at a bird hunt.3
Dick fired into a obstructed backstop, high grass, mistake 4.


Very stupid things to do even if no one is shot. Shooting level will get you uninvited to most hunts on the spot.

Other factors that be at play.

Weather. Heat can cause breaks in concentration, especially 90+ degree heat.
Alcohol. Any drinking in this situation would be a very bad thing

Thankfully no one was killed.

A shotgun with high brass 5 or 6 shot at close range will blow you head off, literally. At 50 it still has enough energy to penetrate skin. causing serious injury and blindness.

Shotgun Ballistics:
A 12ga shell "high brass" will push #6 shot (half the size of a BB) at 1350 feet per second. same as a plus pressure 9mm pistol round. This is more than adequate to kill at close range. Harmless when it lands on you when fired up at a bird(if you wearing glasses).

The only way to get this injury from a shotgun is from taking shot fired level. A 15 to 20deg angle, with the horizon being 0, is generally safe. Rabbit hunts, hunting deer with dogs, or other hunts where people will be firing level require very careful attention to people around you.

[varkam]

1. Thanks for the ballistics lesson.

Maybe Deadeye Dick wasn't going for birds.

[Aviation Pro]

2. Waiting for the victim's words...

...not the ranch owner's. Ole Dead Dick has some 'splainin' to do, but I doubt the fucker will do anything more than cackle about the incident on Limpball's program.

[TomInTib]

3. I've been on the receiving end and Cheney is an idiot.

I will bet alcohol was involved.

But Georgie once shot a Killdeer on a dove hunt, PICKED IT UP AND CARRIED IT BACK, not knowing it was not a dove. A true outdoorsman.

But I think they were more than likely using 7 1/2 or maybe even 9. That is a lot more common choice when shooting close range in Texas. Luckily when this happened to me I got hit (in the back) with
7 1/2.

If they were long range FatAss Dick wouldn't have done a 180 in my opinion.

Yours is a well thought-out post.

on edit: it was a 28 gauge

[sandnsea]

4. Hunting from a vehicle

Mistake 1. And I honestly don't care if that's the way you do it wherever the hell you're at, it's not right and it's not hunting.

Barreling out of a vehicle, helter skelter, is certain to lead to this kind of chaotic scene. I'm surprised more hunters don't get shot.

[Botany]

5. From a hunter

according to the story the man who got shot had come up behind him .....
and the Veep turned and fired on some birds that flushed to his rear.

BULLSHIT The story that hunters w/ good dogs passed over a covy of
quail and then they popped up behind him and he shot @ them then
doesn't make sense. Bird hunting you look in front of you and to your sides.

If you passed over a bird turning 180 and shooting behind you breaks
just about everything I know about hunting. If a bird breaks behind you
you just laugh and keep going.

[usregimechange]

6. DU hunters respond!