Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-27
Necessary to Become EX-
pert With Revolver.
AMERICANS GOOD SHOTS
There is a Great Difference in Shoot.
ing With a Long Barreled and a
Short Barreled PiStOl-ThingS to
be Avoided. 20

Americans are generally supposed to be
the best shots in the world with a re-
volver. AS a nation they probably are,
and more individuals among them are
doubtless better acquainted with the pos
sibilities of the weapon than among other
races. But it remains true, nevertheless,
that the ordinary man who buys Are
volver knows nothing of the art of shoot
ing with one. He usually buys a self
acting weapon whose five or six chambers
can be rapidly discharged, 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 tenden-
cy to %overshoot is greatly lessened. But
target shooting with these heavy, long
barreled, small-caliber Weapons is mere
gallery practice. 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 44-caliber revolver, When prac-
ticed in the open and at distances up to
fifty yards, requires great skill. All such
shooting is done offhand by the experts,
and Walter Winans, the American re-
vOlver shot, is today the best living at
this game Some members OF the Boston
revolver clubs, however. are credited with
having pushed him close lately in the
matter of records. These large weapons
cannOt, of course, be carried except in q
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 between
shots, tend to produce quickness as Well
as accuracy in the marksrnan. The men
who are skilled in this kind of shooting
can plant 44-caliber bullets into a space
the size of a mans body at forty or fifty
yards in rapid succession with rarely Il
miss.
The long-barreled revolvers, 6 inch, 81
inch. Z inch and 7R inch, give greater ac-
curacy than the sh~ort-barreled apo
Being heavier, they do not throw up"
so much, and are capable of being held
steadier. 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 we'll with a 21a inch, 3 or 3A inch
barrel offhand, and at ranges from 20
to SO yards distance, is a very uncOm-
mon accomplishment. BY shooting well,
l mean shooting quickly, and with a fair
degree of accuracy for nine shots out of
ten. There is nothing very difficult in
taking one of the s~hort-barreled revolvers
in both hands and making good scores at
targets. This can be learned by practice.
But the ability to shoot offhand with
the short-barrcled guns" holding the
weapon in one hand, is a science. It is
not to be mastered by simply thrusting
out the revolver, aiming and firing. Most
revolvers of this kind, and even the long
1barreled ones, are built with a rib above
the barrel and a 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 ''wab-
bles," and his shots go far and high. The
first thing to do after getting a revolver
is to clamp it in a wise between two pieces
of wood, and find out if it is absolutely
accurate. If five or six bullets all go
about in the same spot when the revolver
is fired, the CUR is all right. Next go to
a first-class gunsmith and have him re-
duce the trigger pull. Nearly all re-
volvers pull too hard on the trigger.
A hair trigger balance is, of course, to
be avoided, but a moderately easy pull is
highly desirable for the sake of accuracy.
The next thing to do is to apply the prin-
ciples of snap shooting with the shotgun
or archery practice to your shooting with
the revolver. Shoot With both eyes open.
try to drive lacks with a bullet,
but DO try to get so that you can hit a
spot as big as a saucer at ten, twenty,
thirty or forty yards. Practice shooting
at all angles, up and down, Sideways,
quartering shots, on the water, STRAIGHT
UP in the tree or directly down hill.
Learn you weapon thoroughly. Find out
just how much it throws up. and instinct
lively allow for that raise as you pull the
trigger. Don use a revolver that shoots
to either one side or the other. Shoot