The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-11-12
The Scisaee Of Shooting.

THr difficulty of hitting flying and run
ming game is greatly increased if the
shooter Is ignorant of the principles that
should guide him in taking aim. We
know that practice is for the most part
better than precept and, Just as man
NAV be first-rate billiard player without
knowing that the. angle of incidence is
equal to the angle Of reflection, 80 he may
become brilliant shot without being
able to explain how he kills his game. A
great deal may nevertheless be learned by
precept, and many man would improve
in shooting II he gave his mind to the
matter. It IL . common notion that aim
should be taken in front Of . moving OBJ
iect, 90 that the shot should meet It at
certain point There is no doubt that II
the distance could be calculated accurate
" in proportion TO the swiftness OF the
fight Of Q bird, . shot fired in this way
would take effect, and in many cases 1t ls
probably done But neither Is this theo-
retically the right method, nor is it the
Way to achieve certain success. Many
men not only try to aim some yards IN
front of q bird, but think they always
have done 20 when they kill; and they
blame themselves for not having allowed
distance enough when they miss. we
would have them banish their dimculnes,
and practice the true and much simpler
principle. Now it is hardly necessary to
explain that If gun 10 held still when
fired the forces operating upon the shot
are two only-that Is to say the first In the
direction in which the barrels are point
ing. and the second toward the earth; the
lstter force Iincreases as the former de.
creasea Taking the ordinary distance OF
lforty wards. within which shot guns are
calculated to take effect, we may dismiss
the effect of the force of gravity, and NO
allowance need be made to overcomeit IL
however. the gun IL in motion at the mo.
ment il Is fred, another force is applied
IN the direction oof the motion. Sup
posing it is moved to the right, there
win be a force moving the shot to the
right and another in the line Of the bar
res. The place whore the shot viii
strike viii be in the direction Of the re-
mltant Of these two forces. This princi-
nlA al dvpamics should be thoroughly ap.
pretended BY the shooter. In firing at
Bird crossing him he should move his gun
At the same pace that the bird Is flying,
and aim straight at Il The knack Is TO pull
the trigger without stopping the lateral
motion The truth of this may be shown
by throwing ball from one side Of rail-
way carria9e to another; or better still,
when two trains are running side by side
(as they frequently do In leaving Water
loo 6tstionl BY throwing the bah from the
carrisee window Of one into the opposite
one Of the other. A good shot covers the
hare or bird a. quickly as he can bring hi
gun to his shoulder, and follows It a. i
moyea II Il il too Close, % that il would
be- broken 20 pieCeA he waits until it has
eone some way before hepulls the trigger
Rut II he cannot cover it until it has 60,
neerly 10 tie limit Of his range he fires a
QUICKLY q possible. Ofcuursc, the nearel
the o1srry the easier il is to kin, and thu
chief Feaoon why 20 many misses ar
made q the fun distance Of forty yards i
because the sportsman Il too eager ane
| ires in haste. Great quicknoss b no doub
attended with success, but we advise NOR
care 70 Be taken the further of the gams
| riseA As the forces operating ON the sho
| diminish in proportion to the distance /
travels, some allowance may be made II
| verv long shots, and aim may successfully
BE- taken higher and little In advance o
the objec4. But very long shots are mex
cunble unless the bird Is likely to fall OF
an open grass or stubble field, or the re
triever can be relied upon to find it whel
winged. In shooting ct an object whel
moving Straight away the aim should b.
rather over t. and great steadiness is re
quired, 20 that in pulling the trigger tn
9un should not be jerked to one side. 4
little practice at rifle shooting is OF grea
service IN these csses, for NO one know
/ better than q volunteer how often he pull
50 that his shots 60 to the right
There is more knack and greater cool
ness required to kill things coming up t
the shooter, for instance, partridges drivel
over his head, or rocheting pheasants
! There re two Wsvs of killing these shot