Nicely, owner of Ed’s Gun Shop on U.S. 1 near Dunrovin, is a local expert on firearms safety.
The victim, Harry Whittington, suffered a minor heart attack Tuesday because of birdshot lodged near his heart. The vice president shot his friend, the 78-year-old Austin, Texas, lawyer, in the face, neck and chest during quail hunting at the Armstrong Ranch in Texas. News of the accident didn’t get out until Sunday.
Nicely teaches a class on hunting safety. The key is to know where your fellow hunters are at all times and to maintain communication, he said.
“If both hunters were doing what they were supposed to do, it wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
Nicely spoke from a cluttered classroom in his place of business. Throughout the shop, hunters chatted and put shotguns to their shoulders, testing their feel.
Ever since Cheney’s accident, many people have expressed a desire to know more about gun safety. Some customers are worried that the media will use the incident to make hunters look as if they aren’t concerned about safety, Nicely said, adding that that couldn’t be farther from the truth. More people are seriously injured playing football than hunting, he said.
Quail hunters should maintain a line, Nicely said, so that they know they have a safe zone of fire extending in front of them in a 90-degree angle.
According to the hunting accident and incident report from Texas Parks and Wildlife, Whittington went to retrieve a downed bird. Another covey was flushed and Cheney swung his Perazzi 28-gauge shotgun and fired. His friend was about 30 yards away. Both men were wearing blaze orange caps and coats.
The Kenedy County Sheriff’s Department issued a press release Monday, saying that there was no evidence that alcohol or misconduct were involved in the shooting. The Texas Parks and Wildlife attributed the shooting to “hunter’s judgment.”
Cheney and Whittington both received a citation for not obtaining the $7 “upland bird stamp” to go with their valid nonresident hunting licenses.
Nicely speculated that a lack of communication led to the accident. The lack of a retriever dog also contributed, he said.
“The dog should have done that (retrieved the downed bird),” he said.
Whittington received immediate medical attention from Cheney’s staff, according to the report. The danger with bird shot is that it would move to other areas of the body, according to the doctors at the hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. They left several pieces of shot in his body, and though Whittington reportedly wanted to leave the hospital, they want to keep him for observation.
There are rules that hunters need to follow to ensure their safety, such as always keeping their finger off the trigger until they are ready to shoot, keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and treating all guns as if they are loaded.
“Safety is an all-important thing when it comes to hunting,” Nicely said.
Nevertheless, accidents do happen. An employee at Ed’s Gun Shop named Carlos Vilorio was wounded in the leg during a hunting trip. He was climbing into a car and the driver pushed a rifle under the seat. The rifle went off and the bullet struck Vilorio, a U.S. Army veteran of Panama.
“It shows a lack of knowledge of safety rules,” Nicely said. “Never put a loaded gun in a vehicle.”
Matthew Moriarty may be reached at 693-2479 or by e-mail at moriarty@thepilot.com.
