The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-03-05
HANDLING REVOLVERS.

THE longer a man carries revolver the
more careful he will be with it," remark
| ed Secret Service officer Thomas T.. Halls
recently."I have carried revolver about
| thirty-two years. For one thing. l make
| IL rule never to fool with a pistol al
| all. never point II toward myself or any
body else. even though know it to be
| unloaded
II believe there has been as much
change in revolvers In the last thirty
years as in everything else / know of.
Shortly after the war, when / was I'm the
government service, the weapon that /
carried, which was supposed TO be the
best I'm use at that time, was Colts re-
volver It was six-shooter and loaded
with powder and ball from the front OF
the cylinder. The bullets were round
pieces of lead and they had to be pressed
down close on to the powder by means of
hinged ramrod that was set in the UNI
der side OF the barrel. The other end OF
the cylinder was furnished with nipples
on which percussion caps were placed.
Those revolvers had long rife barrels, and
except for the fact that they were very
susceptible to dampness. they were ad-
mirable weapons.
"One reason for the fine shooting that
could be done with a Colts revolver was
the length of the barrel and the size OF
the handle, which gave the hand a firm
grin on the weapon. The tendency since
then To shorten the barrel and decrease
the size OF the grip so 10 make the re-
volver easy 10 carry and these changes
have detracted greatly from the weapons
usefulness. The demand seemed TO be for
a gun which should have large calibre
and short barrel To be heavily chargdc.
OF the charge and the weight Of the bull
| let produced n blk recoil. which could not
| be prevented on account OF the short
handhold.
Say" CALCULATED the secret service Of
| ficer suddenly, did you ever reflect on
| the reason why so many shots that arc
| fired with deadly intent fail of result?
| I'll tell you why IL is You sec. the aver
age man. when he flies into passion and
wants TO shoot somebody, whips out his
| pistol, ,fourishes II around in the air and
| then brings Il down To a level with hts
! opponents head, and fires it. thinking
| doubtless that the head Is the best place
! ut which 10 aim. Then the defects which
| 1 have mentioned get In their work and
| the recoil clevatcs the revolver above the
| would-be victims head, and the bullet
sails merrlly into tho sky or ceiling, as
| the case may be-.
| Now, that Is all wrong. The head is
1 INC SMALLEST part OF lnt DOtNs unbs OF
| course presents the poorest target. The
best place 20 shoot q man to put him out
! OF action and the place where you are
! surest 10 strike him-where I'm fact YOU
can scarcely miss--is the lower part Of
his body in the region OF the stomach. In
| stead OF fiourishing a revolver around in
| the air and bringing it down, the way
| TO do IL TO quietly draw the weapon from
| the pocket n drop It toward the ground
| then make mn upward motion with tho
| weapon, catching u line upon the ground
| or floor up your opponents Lex stopping
| at the stomach. where there Is little or
no protection against q pistol at all and
| the chances OF recovery from a wound
| are small Here you have "A whole vital
! region OF the body I'm range. III YOU hap
| pen to shoot a little higher than you in
| tend you are pretty certain 90 strike "a
| vital spot and disable your opponent nd
| IL YOU shoot lower-say I'm the groin-you
have him In about as bad shape. In
4 handling revolver in this manner. NOu
| get rid ~ The unnecessary downward
! motion Another advantage is that TIN
I movement con hr executed so quickly.
| and easily that it catches man on hts
\ GUARD. lie does uot have time to prepare
I himself for the attack
"a good revolver. handled with care
will. OF course. last for years. but. where
a man carries Il constantly. especially ~
| he rides on the railroad and horseback
| very much there Ia "A tendency for the
barrel of the weapon 60 become loose I'm
! lnder. and this detracts somewhat from
the hinge just I'm front OF the barrel cyl.
| inder. and this douacts somewhat from
the accuracy OF the shooting. As soon as
| I hnd my pistol In this shape I lay Il aside
| and get n new one.
MY favorite weapon has always been
the kind that has n blue barrel. and this
for several reasons. tho first being thnt
! with nickel ~ silvcr-pistcd revolver