Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-06-16
WING RIFLE SHOTS.
SPORT WITH sMALL-BoRE ARMS
ArA SMALL EXPENSE.
Shooting with q Ride ON the WING
Not the Terribly Diricult Thing 1t
IL Generally Believed TO Be-Hins
for Beglnners.

Now that vacation time is approaching
and the city jewellers are thinking Oh
the sea and mountains. a fair NUMBER OF
them are turning their thoughts 10 VIVA.
they can find in the way OF sport II
=. this widespread love of hunting. among
other things. that has stimulated the I'M
movement I'm small-bore rifles to SUCH an
sxtent. that one can now buy very cheap
a 2,-calibre rife in which either IONS or
short cartridges. or even the noiseiesS
RIB. caps may be used. This year rines
on the Martini principle may be pought
for $3.50, which shoot perfectly, II they
ar. held straight. The more costly rines'
magazines. Fioberts. etc, cost as high
az s15. but really give no better fun.
A visit to the Offices OF many new
york men these days will reveal stuffed
seabawks. herring gulls, klttiwakes, fisn-
hawks herons. and other birds, nearly all
NJ which we're brought to bag with a q
bore rife. but 1t will. on inquiry be
learned that almost all OF them were
killed by pot-shots; In other words. the
birds were shot while sitting instead OF
6ying. The reason OF this Is tnat very
few people understand that shooting with
a rifle on the wing, while not easy, Is NOT
the terribly difficult thing it Is generally
believed to be.
ONE THAT FITS.
The first thing to do is to get a rlhe
which fits the sportsman. The STOCK
should have such crook that when the
rife is pulled up to the shoulder the
muzzle shall point at the target. III the
first rifle tried does not do this, the gun
ner. IL he knows his business, will either
pick up another. or. by cutting a tiny
piece off the heel OF the stock, adapt the
rifle in hand The next thing to ascer-
tain is whether the rifle shoots high or
low at, say, so yards. for more shots VIII
be had at that distance than
at any other This being done, the third
thing IL to learn to shoot with both eyes
open.
1t Is natural on first handling rifle to
close the left eye, and squint with the
right along the barrel until the front
sight peeps through the "V" OF the rear
sight. This will never do for wingshot.
Put the rifle up to the shoulder,
forget for a minute all about sights. and
lust stare at the target. In from 3 to
seconds you will see the front
sight loom up on your vision. Then
slowly move il until the bead shows
in the centre OF the "V'' rear sight and
pull the trigger. The bullet should go
very near the mark. The reason Tor
shooting with both eyes open Is that II
the left eye Is closed it will be impossible
TO aim at a rising bird that is. to shoot
above IL. for the barrel will conceal the
bird from the right eye. To demonstrate
this. take an old stovepipe hat, cut a hole
in the centre of the crown, push the muz-
zle Of the rifle through so that 1t pro-
iects about 6 inches, and then place
a target and try to hit ii with the LETT
eye closed II will be impossible, as the
hat blocks the sight OF the target, and
also the front sight.
Nov. open the left eye, and In three
seconds the target will be plainly seen,
the hat appears transparent ana the
mark can be easily hit with little prac-
tice. a still more simple demonstration
is 10 take a silver dollar, hold ii with the
finger and thumb. and, closing the left
eye. raise II until IL blocks a mark; then
open the left eye. and the dollar will seem
transparent, and. although the circle will
be plainly Visible, the mark behind II
will be seen as clearly as II 1t were not
there.
DISTANCES.
The next thing IS to familiariZe ones
self with distances. These are very de-
ceptive on water. Pick out A tree or
fence. with "A target, at an unknown dis
lance, and fire at it. Then pace the dis
lance and see how near your estimate
came, and where your ball hit Having
mastered this. the rest is comparatively
easy. The main thing Is not to be in
hurry. II a bird gets up or a rabbit
starts TO run there is plenty Of time 10
take a good aim with both eyes open be-
fore IL sets out OF shot, and on GOODNESS
the result depends much. Take a crow.
for instance, which is calculated TO fly
q bout twenty miles an hour when IL gets