Saint Mary's beacon., 1901-05-09
SCIENTIFIC USE or
the FIREARm.

6eo~N " OuSIc 58m
Army and Navy, as described by
experts, was the superior marks.
manship. which was proven at San.
tisgo and Manila, and, in fact,
wherever the hostile armies met.
1t il with no little pride. therefore,
that the volunteers, as we'll &c the
regulars, look back on the record
they made for themselves. and the
reason for this skill is not hard to
ind i we visit the Regular Army
posts and see the rife practice, as
we'll as that Of the big guns, carried
out faithfully.
Practice is .he essential. No
matter how steady an arm and how
good an eye Q man has, unless be
practices he cannot bit "fiock of
barns" as the hunters say, once in
ten times. OF course, the afore-
said steady eye and arm aid mate
rally in good shooting, and unless
one 10 blessed with them he will
never. in all probability. acquire
much renown as q marksmsn, but
without constant practice they are
uncultivsted physical possessions.
First in the category of smsll-arm
shooting comes rifle shooting-the
best known and the most interest
ing. In regard to the accurate use
Of this weapon the following sug-
gestions may prove of value to tie
amateur. In the first place, be-
come acquainted with the mechan-
ism Of the weapon, so that no casu-
atty will result from an accidental
discharge. Next, do not become
used to q rest under any circum-
stances, for this tends to spoil the
aim when there is no rest. The 20.
sition in firing should be nearly as
follows:
Stand at ease with the left side
Of the body and foot slightly in ad-
'vance Sf theright. Fheupfacesns
butt Of the weapon firmly against
the right shoulder and lay the cheek
along the stock. Do not shut eth
ereye. This rule may appear wrong,
but practice will convince anyone
that it is the correct one-or if you
feel bound to close one eye, close
the left. Then raise the barrel
slowly until the sight on the bar
rel just beyond hammer, the end
sight. and the bulls eye of the tar
get coincide. Then press the trig-
ger slowly, without q jerk.
Two Fatal Mistakes.
There are two fatal mistakes which
are often made in shooting and will
often puzzle the marksman. Ii the
trigger 10 jerked nervously-a very
common mistake-the target will
be overshot, as the muzzle is Ger.
tain to be thrown mp, aud unless
the two sights on the barrel coin
eide the target will be struck above
the bull's-eye, il struck at all. This
isa very common error. The marks
man forgets the rear sight entirely,
and the consequence is that, while
he seems to be aiming at the bulls
eye, in reality he is aiming far be-
low it, or above it, as the case may
be.
In regard to the position of the
left hand on the barrel. there is a
grest diversity of opinion, but the
best method is to place it wherever
it 10 the most comfortable, always
being careful not to let the fingers
interfere with the sight. There are
numbers Of splendid sights on the
market, such 90 the wind-gauge,
the lighthouse and o score Of 9TH
ers, but it 10 best for the amateur to
begin with the ordinary head sights,
as he 10 apt to place too much de-
pendence upon the patent and more
complicated ones.
Wonderful feats Of Workmanship
have been accomplished With the
rifle, such a. driving nails at thirty
yards.
Amcng the Best shets.
Among the best shots in the Un-
tied States are the monntaineers of
the Blue Ridge, in Virginias, Car
olinas and in Tennessee. There
regularly every year what are known
as "turkey shoots" are held, and
any Of them can pick turkeys
head OF at ninety or one hundred
yards with the old smooth bore muz.
zle-loading muskets. One of these
shoots is . most interesting sight.
On the day appointed the moun-