The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-10-30
Mtseellameous.
ON RIFLE SHOOTING.
BY ALvAN CLARK.


No rifle can be made TO perform without som,
degree OF alteration. ] am aware il is though
by many, and by some experienced performers
that good rifle loaded and directed correctly
VIII throw every shot exactly in the same line
for distance Of thirty or forty yards and the,
ascribe the usual deviation in good shooting e
bad shooting. But if shooter will place
piece OF white paper, the size of cent, on a
DARK grey paper for ground, at the distance Of
forty yards, and let the forward sight be shaded
| soas TO appear distinctly darker than the ground
and let the back sight be near the eye, with an
orihce about / 30th Of an inch in diameter, Ga
construction Of sights familiar to all shooters,
then place the target so as to receive the full
force ofthe suns light, and with good rest, by
placing the eye so that the forward sight and
target shall appear through the centre of the orr
ice in the back sight, he may easily satisfy him
seH that he could hold every time within one
fourth OF an inch Of the same oint.
have repeatedly, with a well-tuned gun, in
vited a bystander entirely Impractical 10 try
five shots. giving him directions 10 sight every
time alike, and the result has been that both
himself and the spectators present have been ut
terly as,onished TO find that he could shoot ri
fie equa to the most renowned performer. Such
things rever surprise shooters who are perfectly
acquainted with the facts in the case; they
and hoHing them there while firing, is an ex-
ceedinay simple operation. and can be performed
with liule liability Of laundering. have even
known it done by ladies' with all the perfection
imaginable; and if this should chance TO meet
the eye of one hope she will not regard my
phrasedogy as reflection on female talent and
sagacity.
The sights on rifle Should be made to move
by scale the back sight for elevation, and the
forward for the lateral variation produced by
wind, DC. With such scale properly made
and Understood, the shooter may move his
sights, and know TO certainty what he has eff
fected. For instance: the sights are just one
yard asundcr, and the scale graduated by thir-
tIeths Of an inch; then by moving one division,
he makes variation in the line of calibre of ex-
actly one inch in 80 yards and in the same ra-
ITO Tor all other dlstances-that is, one in every
thirty yards.
Or, If the shooter ascertain how MANY times
the distance between the sights is contained in
the distance he is shooting, and divide the dis
lance of his shot from the centre BY the same
number it gives him the distance his sight must
be moved. This can be ascertained by calcula-
tion infinitely better than by experiment.
A shooter should never be wholly governed
by his last shot in making up his aim for the
next, but should average three or four of the
last; and if he allowed in his aim he should
keep that allowance constantly in his mind as
far back as his three last shots. The best test
Of the excellence of gun is, 10 aim every shot
alike for ten or fifteen shots, with the sights so
set as TO throw them a few inches from the
mark, so as not to deface il, and observe with
what degree Of compactness il will send them.
In order to perform in the art under consde-
ration with the greatest possible accuracy, il is
certainly necessary that the sighting should al
ways be good; but that will avail nothing where
the gun is tickle; great regularity and steadiness
In the delivery Or pau or slug, combined
with great velocity, are equally necessary. and
vastly more difficult to obtain.
If the riling in a gun be of such twist and
form as to secure the desired effect, have al
ways found it impossible to load sufficiently
snug to prevent all winding, without either dis
figuring the lead, or cutting the patch, or both
unless II is done by charging the muzzle, which,
it is found, can never answer. 1t is here that
rifle Of the common construction first fails
The wear, caused by the patch in entering and
the rod in wiping and loading, comes almost
wholly on this portion of the gun and in con-
sequence, il is soon found to be unsteady.
The usual remedy in this case is to cut off
about half an inch from the muzzle and al
though this increases the difficulty of loading,
still il is found to be far better than to allow the
lead play as it is about leaving the gun, where
to be disturbed by the blast from the exploding
powder. And after all, this remedy is but tenn
porary for by the time two hundred shots have
been fred, there will be perceptible enlarge
ment of the caibre at the muzzle, and cor
responding irregularity in shooting.
To secure the patch from injury, to facilitate
loading as tight as can be wished, TO obtain and
preserve as perfect delivery as possible, with
other advantages, / have fixed upon and patent
ed the following arrangement:
Here diagram is inserted in the paper from
which we copy. Not being in possession of a
cut, we must leave the reader to his own imagi-
nation governed by his knowledge of the con-
structon of the rifle. Eds Courier.
drill four holes in the muzzle A., and after
dressing them out with suitable instrument TO
round and straighten them, | cut the barrel off
at b. both pieces are then faced at right angles
with the callbre; after which | fix steady pins
in the piece which is taken off, and which is
called the loading muzzle c. is to notify the
shooter when sighting, that he may not be in
danger Of shooting away his muzze.
This muzzle Gig. q is enlarged at the en-
trance, as in the engraving, and may in mo-
ment be taken of and replaced at any time
This piece is grped firmly in its place during
the operation Of boring and riaing, and serves
to steady the tools. In using the gun, the ope-
rations of wiping and loading are performed
through it, in which case it shields from wear
that part of the gun which must give direction
to the ball. While wiping, the loading muz-
ze should be held firmly down by the left hand.
use fine brown linen patch; and it must
readily be seen that in passing through this ia
pering muzzle, the patch and lead are COM
pressed to fit, and fill the rifi'ng and get more
fair and uniform bearing than can be obtained
in the usual mode of loading. After loading,
the muzzle is removed, and in discharging, a
very uniform delivery is effected, even when a
force in powder is used sufficient to destroy all
regularity in common rifle. Good workman
ship is necessary in fitting the steady pins and
as in ordinary Strengthening by the shade, the