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Monday, February 13, 2006

Hunting Wabbits?

Kinda looks like Cheney, doesn't it?

Shhhhh.... Be wewy wewy quiet

Alright, here's the deal... Cheney was hunting quail and peppered a guy with shot. Notice I did not say buckshot. I've already heard several television talking heads use the term buckshot. So, as a public service to the idiots that report news, here's a short class on hunting and shells. First, for shotguns, the ammunition is not called a bullet, it is called a shell. Second, there are two basic kinds of shells for shotguns: Birdshot, as seen on the left, and buckshot (larger game loads) on the right. Buckshot can also have a single slug projectile for deer, mountain lion, etc... The difference in size is visually obvious. For those still having difficulty with the type of shell used, Cheney was using the shell on the left. Quail are hearty birds, and they taste great, but if you decide to hunt quail with buckshot, there will not be enough bird left to eat once you find all the pieces that were blown apart. Shot works great at bringing birds down, but unless you are on target (most hunters are not) with a spray of pellets, you'll probably stun the bird. In many cases, you do not get a clean shot at a bird using small shot, and the shot spray may be no larger than a basketball heading in a straight line toward a moving object that change directions before you can blink. You may wing it, or stun it, so you have to physically break the neck of the bird to kill it. If you hunt, you take the risk of being peppered. It has happened to me on numerous occasions. And while I've never been point blank at the business end, I've had several stingers come at me through trees. As small as the shot is, it can penetrate a few millimeters, or become embedded in tissue not visible through the skin. And yes I've had to dig out a couple of pieces before. The only reason I bring all this up is to say Cheney spraying someone with shot should not be a clarion call for Dems to want more gun control, or another way to paint Cheney as the boogie man. But I'm waiting for it: Sarah Brady, Cindy Sheehan, PETA... Just give them a few days. On the plus side to all this, at least Cheney didn't feel the need to snap his friend's neck after shooting him.

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