Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-04
TAKES MUCH PRACTICE
Time and Patience Required to Become q
Revolver Expert.
Some Valuable and Practical Hints on
How to Excel with a
Pistol.
From the Chicago Record.

the best shots in the world with revolver.
As a nation they probably are, and more
individuals among them are doubtless bet
ter acquainted with the possibilities of the
weapon than among other races. But 1t
remains true, nevertheless, that the ordi-
| nary man who buys revolver knows moth
ing of the art of shooting with one. He
usually buys a self-acting weapon whose
| five six chambers can be rapidly dis
charged, and the dealer loads it for him. If
any necessity arises he pulls the trigger
as fast as he can and the bullets are hurled
harmlessly into space
If mere accuracy in target shooting is
sought for, the heavy framed revolver of
22-caliber is easiest to become expert with.
The recoil is slight and the tendency to
overshoot is greatly lessened. But target
shooting with these heavy, long barreled,
small-caliber weapons is mere gallery prac-
tce. 1t Is not of practical use and must
remain simply as an exhibition of indoor
skill in a particular branch of revolver
shooting. The target shooting with the A.
caliber revolver, when practiced in the
open and at distances up to fifty yards, re-
quires great skill. All such shooting is done
ohhand by he experts, and Walter WinanS,
the American revolver shot, is today the
best living DIT this game. Some members
of the Boston revolver clubs, however, are
credited with having pushed him close late
ly In the matter of records. These large
weapons cannot, of course, be carried eX-
cept in a belt. A soldier, expert in their
use, would be doubly effective against an
enemy at close quarters, for the shooting
rules, giving comparatively brief space be
tween shots, tend to produce quicknsss as
well as accuracy in the marksman. The
men who are skilled in this kind of shoot
ing can plant 44-caliber bullets into d space
| the size of a mans body at forty or nifty
yards in rapid succession with rarely a
miss.
The long-barreled revolvers 6 inch, Ga
inch inch and ~ inch, give greater accu-
racy than the short-barreled weapons. Be
ing heavier, they do not throw up SO
much, and are capable of being held stead
Ter. But the difference between shooting
with them and with the short pistols is so
marked that excellence with either is a
separate and distinct art. To shoot well
with a 212 inch, 3 or 31a inch barrel Off
hand, and at ranges from twenty to fifty
yards distance, is very uncommon ac-
compiishment. By shooting well, L mean
shooting quickly, and with a fair degree of
is nothing very difficult in taking one Of
the short-barreled reyoivers in both hands
and ma king good scores at targets. This
can be learned by practice
But the ability to shoot offhand with the
short-barreled guns" holding The weapon
in one hand, is a science. 1t is not to be
mastered by simply thrusting out the re-
VolVer, aiming and firing. Most revolvers
OF this kind, and even the -barreled
ones, are built with rib above the barrel
and high, coarse sight above the rib, to
make UP for the tendency of the weapon to
raise or throw up. In deliberate target
shooting by the novice so much time is
generally taken to get aim that the hand
of the shooter ''wabbleS" and his shots 90
far anG high. The first thing to do after
getting revolver is to clamp it in a wise
between two pieces of wood, and find out
II lt Is absolutely accurate. If five or six
bullets a go about in the same spot when
the revolver is fired, the gun is all right
Next go to a ffrst-class gunsmi;l and have
him reduce the trigger pull. Nearly all re-
votVets pull too hard on the trigger
\ hair trigger balance is, of course, to be
avoided, but moderately easy pull is
highly desirable for the sake of accuracy.
The next thing to do is to apply the princi-
pies of snap shooting with The shotgun or
archery practice to your shooting with he
revolver. Shoot with both eyes open. Don't
Try to drive tacks with bullet. but do try
TO get so that you can hit spot as big as
saucer at ten, twenty, thirty or forty
yards: Practice shooting at all angles, up
ana ana down, sideways, quartering shots, on
the water, straight up in the tree or di-
rectly down hill. Learn your weapon thor
oughly. Find out just how much it throws
up, and instinctively allow for that raise as
you pull the trigger. Don't use a revolver
that shoots to either side or the other
Shoot by intuitive judgment. not by taking
aim but simply by holding the revolver
nrmiy and getting the angle with both eyes
as wing shot does with a shotgun or a
skilled archer does with bow
"A man should be able in this way to shoot
a squirrel out of a tree, or even duck on
the water, a good long distance away
When going to mill in Iowa with General
Hardeman in my boyhood days [ saw him
XIII seven prairie chickens from the wagon
in seven consecutive shots with n 44-rsIihar
cap and ball revolver. Every chicken was
shot at least twenty-five yards away and
in two or three instances as far as fifty
yards from the wagon. would rein in the
horses and stop the wagon, and the old
IeXan would draw down on the bird and
IRE almost with the same motion, and each
time he fired he got his bird. All were shot
through the body. He told me that in the
story books men cut chickens heads off
with revolver bullets, but that he thought
was taxing advantage of the birds. He
claimed to be a good shot with a revolver
and L thought. and still think, that he was
hrst-class one There was no boxing
about to get aim with him. just the level
ing of the weapon and the report
II takes the using up of quite a lot of
cartridges to attain even tolerable prof.
cheney as revolver shot with a short har-
reled gun, but once acquired it is a useful
accomplishment You may not happen to
nave occasion for your skill more than once
or twice In lifetime, but when YOU do need
II you are apt to need ii bad To be a good
al-around shot with revolver in a prac-
teal way is to have a knowledge which
necessarily takes man into the woods and
lleids, and gives him outdoor trampins
which will be of lasting benefit to him The
greatest care should be taken while using
shoot in the direction of live stock or peo-
pie The least settled portion of the coun-
try Is the best for practicing in
Shooting rapidly with double-action or
seif-cocking revolver is not productive of
accuracy, but quite the reverse And n
double acting pistol, even of the best make.
Will sometimes stick and refuse to reyolve,
winch might make it awkward In some
cases 1t is better to trust to cooking the
weapon each time, even If you have a
doubie-acting ann, and fire one shot at a
tlne, rather than grind out all the charges
IN Gatillg gun fashion. One bullet in the
OBJECT aimed at is better than a grist of
them over, around or under
Revolvers should be kept spotIessIy clean
and free from dirt and rust After firing
a lew rounds the weapon should be thor.
oughly cleaned. Any rust or dirt is apt to
clog the working of the parts Never keen
q revolver where children or women can
ma 1t. Don't use it in town on the Fourth
or July. The thirty-two or thirty-eisht cal
ioef reviewers of the standard makes are
the ones which will be found to be the
cheapest in the long run. Leather holsters
VIII Keep them from wearing the pocket IL
IL Is found necessary to carry one in the
city. Such a necessity arises among bank
messengers. men who carry sums of money
to pay off hands in remote districts. and
IN some other cases. The carrying of re-