The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-05
HOW TO USE A REVOLVER.
INFORMATION ABOUT DIFFERENT
MAKES, SIZES AND MO OE:Ls.

NAMES. SlEA4N AAkI wv DEaA4Ss
If You Have Occasion TO Defend
Yourself. This Article Will Explain
The Best way of Carry ing "a RE-
voIver, of Aiming IL, OF Making a
Bullet More Deadly. of Carrying a
Revolver on Horseback, of Aiming
with Both a Revolver ana n Knife,
of Escaping Bullets, of rOtecting
Companion, an u of Muny Other
Important Things AbOut Defense.
Washington, March 3.-The revolver IS
the American national weapon. To most
men il Is merely something thai viii shoot.
that is small. and that can be carried in
the pocket. So is a frecrac ker But in
the hands of an expert the revolver is a
terrible weapon. Twelve shots, each dead
ly enough to kill a man or horse, can be
fired accurately by one man in half as
many seconds This is at short range, of
course The revolver. depending on cir
cumstances. is accurate up 90 100 feet, but
shooting at such a distance is 21ostly fancy
target practice. The true work of the
revolver is rapid, de ably execution al short
range without an hnstants warning and
against superior force
1t is the object of this article to give
a few hints upon the six-shooter and It's
uses, such as has been gained by the writer
both by experience and observation. Ii is
presumed that every man may have oc-
caslon al times. partlcula rly, war times
to defend himself and the information in
this article is intended TO be intensely
practical
Kind of Revolver to Carry.
To begin with, nothing but the best re-
volver. regardless of cost, should be car
Tied, and the revolver ttsat might be very
good for one purpose might be very poor
for another. For insta nee, a 45-calibre
single action Colts six-shooter is the best
holster gun made, while the $-caiibre
Smith & Wesson double action hammer
gun is the best pocket weapon
A 3S-calibre revolver need not have a
barrel over three inches long. A barrel
of this length is just about as efficient
as a longer barrel, but not so accurate.
However, the difference In accuracy is
not perceptible at short range, up 10 fifty
feet. for instance The best pocket gun
is. by all means, the 3S Smith & Wesson,
three inch barrel double action, blued,
hammer gun. Smith & Wess,on manufac-
ture a hammerless gun labeled as a Safe
"" revolver This Is the most dangerous
revolver Smith & Wesson manufacture
their claims 10 the contrary notwithstand-
ing. The writer owned one once and
several times came near losing a finger or
two He then traded IL for a hammer gun
of the same size and make and has never
had an accident since. Every accident he
ever had with a revolver with one eXcep-
ton was with this so-cailed safety ham
ynerless'' The gun, however, was one of
the most accurate the writer has ever
owned If safety is desired il can be had
in hammer gun of any size or make by
keeping all the chambers loaded fun. The
violation of this rule is the cause of nine
tenth of all the revolver accidents. Either
keep a gun loaded fun or keep II empty
and never use a revolver for a plaything
or in fun In any way.
The Colts also manufacture a 3S-caiber
revolver that is now used in the United
States army and navy but the gun is prac-
tically a failure because it lacks killing
power 1t is as large, although not so
heavy. as their As old-fashioned army gun,
the best six-shooter made. The new army
and navy revolver is neither pocket nor
a holster gun. 1t is zoo large to be one
and too weak in execution to be the other.
one of these revOlvers will not stop a
charging man or horse where the old 40
would settle matters instantly.
If man wants a pocket gun let him
choose the SO Smith & Wesson. If he
wishes a holster gun then let him get a
45 Colts, blued, single-action, 44-inch bar
rel
How to Aim Revolver.
OF the four models of the "A and As
Colts six-shooter the old-fashioned style
is the best with the exception of che
"Bisley model" This Is the best gun that
the Colts make. The only objection that
can be brought against this style is that
the stock or handle is rather large for a
small hand. But for a medium-sized or
large hand the "Bisley model is perfec-
ton so far as rapid and accurate shooting
qualities are concerned. The only objec-
ton there is to the old-fashioned single
action style of six-shooter is that the han
die is not bent enough In moments OF
excitement the hand naturally assumes its
correct position with the wrist straight.
This throws the muzzle of the old army
style upward. The number of shots that
fly high from this style of Colts in a melee
are thus accounted for. In the "Bisley
model the handle is bent more, and when
the hand is in its natural attitude the
barrel of a "Bisley model" Colts points
straight ahead, or even a little downward
which is much to be desired, as i'm all
quick work the tendency is to shoot high
In all aiming with "a siX-shooter at an up
right human figure the points aimed al
should be the stomach, bowels or groin
Then hit in a vital spot is almost as
sured, even if one does shoot high There
is little or no danger of shooting too low
If this should occur then there are the
lower parts of the trunk and legs to strike
In aiming quickly in the dark at a man
some little distance away the knees OF
feet are the best points to aim at. AS
one almost always shoots high In the
dark, the bullet will then probably fiy
on a horizontal line. II one should shoot
too low the bullet would strike the ground
and then strike the mark upon rebound.
ing. A As bullet will still retain plenty oil
powder TO kill under such circumstances.
Although a pearl-handed. nickel-platet
gun is very snowy, il is Impractical com.
pared with the quieter but more ominou.
steel blue. In the sunlight an accurate
aim cannot be taken over a nickeled bar
rel, while a blue barrel causes no trouble
At night nickel gun is plainly seen
where blue gun would be invisible Then
Naa1 s- 4ral,,