How far away was whittington when Cheney's shot him? 30 yards?

[King Coal]

I thought I read that somewhere. If true, a 28 guage with #6 shot would be terrible. That can't be right.

[Burried News]

1. 9 yards 30 feet per poster on KOS

[King Coal]

2. That would blow his head off.

[txindy]

3. The official witness says 30 yards, yes.

Katharine Armstrong, the ranch's owner, saw what happened Saturday and told reporters yesterday that Cheney was using a 28-gauge shotgun, which shoots fewer pellets and has a smaller shot pattern than a 12-gauge shotgun, making it harder to hit the target. Whittington was about 30 yards away when he was hit in the cheek, neck and chest, she said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/12/AR2006021200524.html

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. Far enough that the shot spread reached from his chest to his

face. Say, 10".

How far would that have to be?

[TomInTib]

6. Depends on the choke. Whatever, the guy has to be in worse

shape than they are letting on.

If it was a 10 inch spread at any distance the force impact would be heavy.

I was hit from behnd at about 35 yards by a blast from a 20 gauge with #6 shot.

I was wearing a denim jacket and the force flattened me.

[Robb]

5. What's 30 yards in paces?

:shrug: Just askin'.

[TomInTib]

7. 30 if you are a good pacer.

[Avalux]

8. It was probably #8 or #9 shot for quail, but still -

30 years away, would have done damage - more than welts that look like chicken pox. :eyes:

[Dolomite]

9. @ 30 feet, he'd have gone somewhere else (not the hospital)

http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-cheneyhunt,0,4634368.story?coll=ktla-news-1
“Cheney was using a 28-gauge shotgun — a popular size for hunting small birds — and that Whittington was about 30 yards away when he was hit, according to Associated Press.”

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/roundups/article_1097088.php/News_Roundup
"Cheney sprayed Whittington with shotgun pellets from a distance of about 30 yards, the owner of the Kenedy County ranch where they were hunting told CNN. Katharine Armstrong said Whittington was struck along one side of his body, from around his eyes down toward his chest."


The biggest misconception regarding shotguns (right after the whopper that the mere sound of a shotgun being racked is the only thing needed to drive burglars away) is the effectiveness of birdshot.

The spread of shotgun pellets from birdshot does not create the huge cone of destruction that we see in the Sylvester Stallone classic, “Cobra”. In reality, once the pellets leave the barrel they’re going to spread at a rate of about one inch for every yard of range traveled.

A 12-gauge pattern at 50 feet will only be about 16 inches. From a 28 gauge (which is much smaller than a 12) at 90 feet a pattern such as the one described in the second article relating to the 78 year old is easy to believe.

Chances are that if Dick “Chainsaw” Cheney would have shot him in the same anatomical area at 30 feet – he’d have gone somewhere else besides the hospital.