The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-12

or the other. Shoot by intuitive judgment,
not by taking aim, but simply by holding
the revolver firmly and getting the angle
with both eyes, as a wing shot does with
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 a
duck on the water, a good long distance
away. When going to mill in Iowa with
Gen. Hardeman In my boyhood days, I
saw him kill seven prairie chickens from
the wagon in seven consecutive shots with
a 44-caliber 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. 1
would rein In the horses and stop the wa
gOn and the old Texan would draw down
on the bird, and fire almost with the same
motion, and each time he fred he got his
bind. 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 taking advantage
Of the birds. He claimed to be a good shot
with a revolver, and I thought, and still
think, that he was a first-class one. There
was no polking about to get aim with him,
just the leveling of the weapon and the re-
port.
1t takes the using up of quite lot of
cartridges to attain eAen tolerable pro-
ficiency as a revolver shot with a short
barrelled gun, but once acquired 1t is a
useful accomplishment You may not
happen to have occasion for the use of
your skill more than once or twice In
lifetime, but when you do need it, you are
apt to need it bad. To be good, all
around shot with a revolver in a practical
way is to have a knowledge which neces-
sarily takes man into the woods and
fields, and gives him outdoor tramping
which will be Of lasting benefit to him.
The CbOU1d "a IA VIII
using the revolver in these wanderings
not to shoot in the direction of live stock
or people. The least settled portion of the
country is the best for practicing in.
Shooting rapidly with double-action or
self-cocking revolverS is not productive
of accuracy. but quite the reverse. And
a double-acdon pistol, even of the best
make, will sometimes stick and refuse to
revolve, which might make 1t awkward in
some cases. It is better to trust to cock
ing the weapon each time, even If you do
have double-acting arm, and fire one
shot at time, rather than grind out all
of the charges in Gatling-gun fashion. One
bullet in the object aimed at Is better than
a grist of them over, around or under.
Revovers should be kept spotlessly clean
and free from dirt and rust After firing
few rounds the weapon should be thor
oughly cleaned. Any rust or dirt is apt to
clog the working of the parts. Never keep
revolver where children or women can
find it. Don't use 1t in town on the Fourth
of July. The 80 or 3S-caliber revolvers of
the standard make are the ones which
will be found to be the cheapest in the
long run. Leather holsters will keep them
from wearing the pocket if it Is found nee
essary 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 revolvers as
a practice by men not habitually in peril
breeds cOwardice and crime.
But as a sport, whether at target or in
the open, it can be made as fascinating
and as manly an exercise as rife shoot
ing. And a nation which has generally be-
come proficient in the use of the revolver
and the rifle is one which commands re-
spect.