The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-06-26
TARGET PRACTICE.
HOW TAE SOLDIER IS DRILLED IN
AIMING AND POINTING.
Facts Concerning "Sighs Estimating -
Misses Sure to Be Made in Pulling Off
the Piece Gallery FIring-Vari-
Gus Other Difficulties.
rcor. St. louis Globe-Democrat.l

rCor. st. louis Giobe-Democrat.1
Tho target season in the United States
army eXte~ds throughout the year, Win
ter and summer alike, during which time
the soldier is ete-nally drilled in aiming
and pointing, in estimating distances by
pacing and by sight, in gallery practice
indoors at reduced targets and reduced
ranges. and in the field before the butts at
all distances. The regular target season
begins about May /, and ends about Oct
81. when the new target year actually be-
gins. Suppose we commence with the re-
cruit on Nov. l and carry him through
the regular course of training necessary to
make good shooting machine OF him,
which ends Oct 81 of the succeeding
year.
1t constantly happens that men detached
from the main body OF the army are called
upon TO determine for themselves theil
distance from an ob ,ect to be fired at TX.
perience abundantly proves that soldiers,
by continued practice, may learn to esti-
mate distances up to 900 and 500 yards
with considerably accuracy by simple,
rapid obser alton. Every soldier is sup
posed to have good eyesight; he, there
fore, after little practice in sight-esti-
mating, learns the following facts:
At 80 yards the white of mans eyes y
plainly seen, and the eyes themselves up
% 80 yards.
At 100 yards all parts of the body are
seen distinctly. slight movements are per
csptible and the minute details of the III
form can be distinguished.
At $50 yards the brass buttons on the
blouse can still be separately distin-
guished-
AT 200 yards the outlines of the face
e confused, and the rows of brass but
"a 5 look like yellow stripes
300 yards the buttons are no longer
fat 400 yards the face is mere dot, but
sill movements of the legs and arms ase
still distinct
A 600 yards details can no longer be
distinguished though the files of squad
f the light be strong, can be counted.
At 500 yards the men in a squad can
not always be counted, nor their indiVid-
nal movements distinguished
At 1 900 yards line of men simply re-
gemble broad belt; the direction of their
march can, however, be readily deter
mined
At l. 200 yards infantry can be distin-
guished from cavalry.
At 1900 yards a mounted man looks
ike mere speck or dot.
These estimating drills are at first con
Quoted on smooth, level country, and
afteTward on rough ground.
The above drills are supplemented a
little later in the season by skirmsh prac
tice, when the soldiers are advanced or
returned on run before a line of targets
the size Of men lying down, kneeling and
standing, when they load and fire at the
sound OF buge. depending entirely upon
their own Judgment as TO what distance
they happen To lie from the objects fired
at 1t teaches them to be quick and OBJ
serving. and, above all, To depend en-
tirely upon themselves for the manpula-
lion of td@u sights and the handling of
n
drill are usually kept up for two months,
when the soldier is practiced indoors at
aiming, pointing, and pulling the trigger
IF all misses made by anybOd when
iring at an OBJ ect, charge better than 90
per cent. of them to defective pulling Of
the trigger. Nearly every ri eman in the
world. be he a greenhorn or an expert de-
ranges his aim to more or less degree
when he pulls off the piece.
rst-class rilemen will, as a general
rule, "a ly den any such imputation
against their superi craftsmanship, and
will claim that they have long ago
mastered the defective pulling of the
trigger but the real expert who is grade
above the first class riAemanl knows better
than this and that as matter of fact not
one ri eman In a thousand pulls oil his
piece per eCtly Now, if our best shots
can not always thoroughly overcome this
ore draw back to fine shooting after years
for the ordinary soldier in the ranks to
master it, Hence it is that pointing
and aiming drills are continuously prac-
ticed in the army. so as TO give the soldier,
whether standing, kneeing or lying
down, perfect command of his rifle, as
well as to teach him steadiness of both
person and rifle, and to establish between
the hand and the eye such prompt and
intimate connection as will insure the
finger acting upon the trigger at the
proper moment without causing any de-
rangement in the aim.
The next step is gallery practice, which
10 conducted indoors at a reduced target
and with reduced charges. Iron target
frames are issued by the ordnance de-
partment on which are painted targets
reduced to any size desired. The eight
inch bulls eye of the field target at 200
yards is reduced to one inch for twenty
five yards, the other sections of the target
In proportion. The service rifle is used
with round ball the caliber of the gun,
and charge of powder usually not less
than three grains nor more than seven
grains There is no recoil from such a
light cartridge and the soldier therefore
quickly Overcones his tendency to finch.
Now if he had been marched direct to
the range and given his rifle with the flu
cartridge, and told to shoot score at the
regular target, the chances are nine out Of
ten that he would have tightly closed both
eyes when pulling the trigger and trusted
to luck for hits. But the gallery practice
for the soldier raves the way to field firing,
just as the primer enables the schooboy
to progress successfully to the higher
studies. Excellent results are attained at
the miniature targets. and many full
scores are often made. Gallery firing is
continued antil the regular practice begins
on the range, when the soldier is regularly
advanced from one range to another by
system of classification according to the
merit of his scores. and soon learns to
overcome, as far as possible, all the diff
culties of light, shadow, wind, moisture,
etc, under the competent instruction Of
the range officer
Iosiand's Forest.
iReykjavik letter.