This is a quail:
This is Harry Whittington:
Here are a few of the
basic rules of group hunting:
(more)
Establish Zones of Fire -When hunting with companions, determine ahead of time the "zone of fire" or area within which each hunter will track and fire should game appear. Other hunters must not encroach on the zone of another hunter.
Positively Identify Your Target Before Shooting
When in Doubt, Don't Take the Shot
Here is how it went down according to the AP:
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 look for 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."
This seems to establish what is glaringly obvious to any hunter, that the group did not create zones of fire. And, obviously, the VP did not identify the target before pulling the trigger nor did he decline the shot.
It doesn't get much simpler than that.
Crossposted at The S.N.A.F.U Principle