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Doing the Math on Cheney and His Shooting Accident

Check out what this lawyer reader who has been a bird hunter of 30 years' experience sent me in an e-mail on the improbability of Ms. Armstrong's version (pdf) of Cheney's shooting accident from a mathematical point of view. A snippet:

I conclude the target was within 10 or 15 yards, at most, of Dick and possibly as close as 5 yards. My reasons for saying this are algebraic.

...So, my best estimate is as follows: Dick nearly blew this guy's head off.

Conclusion: "I don't think I'd hunt anything with Dick."

And a Texas lawyer writes in:

§161.041 of the Health and Safety Code of the State of Texas requires a physician or other health care professional to report all gunshot wounds to the appropriate law enforcement official. I wonder if this has been done.

[Graphic created exclusively for TalkLeft by CL.]

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    Re: Doing the Math on Cheney and His Shooting Acci (none / 0) (#1)
    by squeaky on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 02:36:23 PM EST
    Glad to know that my impression of Cheney before the accident and after the accident has not changed one bit. The report posted above suggests a callous brazen greedy egomaniac who lies when in trouble. That is exactly the way I had thought Cheney to be. This accident proves it.

    The mathematical lawyer assumed that the distribution of birdshot was uniform in the circle through which the shot passed. I believe that it would be more concentrated toward the center. This makes his conclusion stronger.

    Re: Doing the Math on Cheney and His Shooting Acci (none / 0) (#3)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 03:22:30 PM EST
    txo serber - Well, the real question is this. Does anyone have pictures of the shooter on the grassy knoll? As for shot distrubution, that would depend on ammunition, shot - lead or steel - most likely steel - guage of the shotgun - whether the barrel is full choke, semi or none, age of gun, condition of barrel, etc. I think the goal is for a perfect spread with no concentration, but trhat's hard to do. In my youth I had an old 16 guage that was so screwed up that at 30 yards the pattern was (I swear) 70% - 30% two foot to the right... You just had to lead'em to the left...

    Re: Doing the Math on Cheney and His Shooting Acci (none / 0) (#4)
    by Edger on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 03:26:36 PM EST
    Was it Uday, or was it Qusay that we saw in those video clips before the war laughing maniacally and shooting at his guests when they were in the water at a beach party?

    Re: Doing the Math on Cheney and His Shooting Acci (none / 0) (#5)
    by Zeno on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 03:43:25 PM EST
    I await a statement from the White House that algebra is just a theory.

    Zeno! That's funny!

    Re: Doing the Math on Cheney and His Shooting Acci (none / 0) (#7)
    by Johnny on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 05:16:22 PM EST
    Jim, I highly doubt dickie is shooting with a decrepit old obsolete gun. I also highly doubt that dickie deliberately shot at this old man. I do not doubt that dickies privelages for shooting animals oughta be suspended for awhile. Accidents are also punishable under law...

    Re: Doing the Math on Cheney and His Shooting Acci (none / 0) (#8)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 05:48:51 PM EST
    Johnny - Well, based on your many comments about your background, I am curious about your knowledge of hunting. As for the condition vs age... if not cleaned properly, as you surely know, a barrel can become worn almost immediately.

    Re: Doing the Math on Cheney and His Shooting Acci (none / 0) (#9)
    by Johnny on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 07:01:21 PM EST
    Jim, I use shotguns that work. when they do not work, I fix them or replace them. Surely a man such as dickie is shooting something other than a worn out 16 gauge from the pre-steel era? Yes, cleaning is very important,but so is shooting a test pattern every once in a while. Everything made public about dickies hunting skills indicate he is an accomplished gun-owner. Which tells me he suffered an astounding lapse of judgement resulting in a serious injury to another person(which when behind the wheel is a punishable offense).

    This was no accident. In fact, it was probably a carefully staged event to appeal to Republican core voters, many of which have "accidentally" shot a friend or family member at least once in the past.

    Re: Doing the Math on Cheney and His Shooting Acci (none / 0) (#11)
    by joejoejoe on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 05:33:30 PM EST
    Yahoo is reporting it was 7 1/2 shot. Garance at American Prospect has a great background piece with much granular detail on quail hunting with a .28, shots, and shells.