First, I'm glad the guy is OK, that's most important.

Second, this is unbelievable. You get these rich guys who go out hunting 1 or 2 times a year, probably never handle a gun unless they are actually IN the field(they have people for those menial jobs like cleaning and storing), have no concept of gun safety, and they ruin it for everyone. This is going to be a blow to the pro-gun lobby for a while. I haven't looked but I'm sure there are many out there slamming guns and hunting already.

I could be wrong about Cheney, maybe he is an experienced hunter, but he just fits the bill of elitist with gun.

I don't know VP Cheney's experience with hunting / firearms. But he's probably not an idiot to get to where he's at in life (VPUSA). I almost feel sick to think of how he felt that day/week. I'm not defending him nor ridiculing him. I feel for him. Yucky, yucky experience - one I hope AND PRAY I'll never have.

Quail hunting is dangerous. I prefer to hunt these creatures alone, or with at most one partner, since I must know where everyone/everything/dogs included, is/are - even though probably obscured by brush. The quail I chase never fly above the sky line, and very rarely even get above the brush line. And they often double back - which means they are flying around or between people. It's fascinating sometimes just to watch - not even taking the scattergun off safe.

Now, to answer the question ...

The closest I have ever been to being at the receiving end of this kind of situation was once we were walking a river bank ... and just so happened to be across from a blind of duck hunters when some ducks apparently flew by. Circles of frost were falling off the brush around us where their shot patterns were hitting. We yelled our presence - and to our fascination - they continued shooting. Not a very good place to be at the time.

I still maintain, however, that the actual hunt is safer than the drive to and from ... if you are a conscientious sportsman.

You know, I didn't add it at my earlier post because I was thinking mainly of Quail hunting situations. However, I was out scouting once and almost got shot by .22 rifles before. I was walking along up near the top of a ridge to a deep ravine/canyon that was heavily forested when all of a sudden bullets starting hitting the trees around me and zinging by. I made a quick dive to a big tree trunk and hunkered down behind it. I could then hear a small group of guys below me at the bottom talking, but couldn't see them because of all the foliage. They started shooting again although this time not as close to me. I yelled out to make them aware of my presence but they either couldn't hear me (don't see how) or just ignored me. They just continued walking on down the canyon shooting at squirrels up in the trees below me. I just stayed put until they were far enough away for me to feel safe and get up and walk back the other way. Sure got my heart going!
I guess that's why I always use a shotgun for squirrels because you don't know where that bullet is coming down if you miss. I think you should only use a .22 if you're going to stick to ground shots.

If I had my way - everyone firing a rifle (or pistol) would be required to go thru several boxes of tracer ammo - and see where bullets go after they go thru or miss the `target'. I think people assume that they either hit, or miss, and then end of story. Amazing what bullets do after you think the story is over.

Most recent example: my buddy and I were coyote hunting the other day. No coyotes around so we decided to test zero at `targets' at 200 yards, backdrop was a plowed field hillside ... one might think the best of backdrops. I was carrying tracers. To my fascination, ALL the tracers lit, and, every one BOUNCED (way, way over the hill we were shooting against) ... in a trajectory fan that likely included several residences and a state highway. Upon inspection, the bullets glided right through the first several inches of soft dirt, and then ricocheted perfectly off the FROZEN ground underneath. (We had a recent cold snap.) We stopped shooting.

Wow, that's something that I wouldn't have thought about ! I know that if there is water/waterhole behind your game/target and it passes though, or you miss, that it is likely to "bounce" off the surface.
I'll remember that if I ever shoot/hunt on frozen ground.

Had a cousin who got peppered at 100 yds. by his brother while quail hunting. He some how had a pellet enter the corner of his eye. Went right between the eyeball and the skin. He had that pellet lodged there for quite awhile before he found a doctor to remove it. Was in a dangerous spot to operate on, but never really bothered him. Lucky!

It can happen with arrows too.....
This is an old picture, but supposedly this guy stepped/stumbled out in front of the shooter just as he was releasing. Ouch....

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Serious Hunter,

What were you using that you had tracer ammo? I've never given a second thought to shooting into what looked like a good backstop. I've never used tracers either, are they solids? Miitary tracers are.

`over the counter/internet' tracers which I believe are disassembled and re-assembled mil tracers. I was shooting 30-06 with what were probably 150 grain bullets, presumably solid. The ice really lit them up. Spectacular. Mildly scary. Those in the mil (heated combat with large amounts of tracers spewing out) would probably attest to the same thing (about trajectories), if they can disconnect bullet trajectories from the rest of what was `going on'.

Oh, I generally don't shoot rattlesnakes for the same reason - rattlesnakes live in / around lots of hard objects (rocks, RR rails, etc.). It would be pretty sad to walk past a rattlesnake and not get bit, only to turn around, empty a clip of 45 ACP rounds, and get seriously hit / hurt / killed with a bounce-back or ricochet. I was hit right between the eyes once with a 45 slug fired from my own pistol, hitting a metal target, and bouncing directly back. Glad it lost most of it's energy.

Well that gives you the perfect excuse to buy a new varmit rifle. "Look Honey, these bullets bounce off. Damn, they told me that wouldn't happen. I need a new gun!".