Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-07

| ticing by swapping tho empty rife in va
rious notifications that feel comfortable to
r1hemen than by any description. Capt.
Hudson is not Of stout build, but he has
never yet been able to get into sitting
position in which he could work satisfac-
torily to himself; and yet some rifiemen
take to it as naturally as a duck takes to
water. There are not many matches in our
annual competitions in which shooting Is
done at 800 yards, but 1t should neverthe-
less be practiced; for lack of familiarity
with the necessary positions is liable to re-
suit In most notifying score at a critical
time, as the bull s-eye Is smaller In pro-
portion to the range than at any other dis
lance the rifieman is called upon to shoot
Most Popular and Useful.
The prone position is perhaps the most
popular and useful Of all-certainly so for
military rifles 1t Is permitted at all ranges
Of 500 yards and over, and the majority OF
military rifemen use 1t even at the longest
ranges. Therefore it will well repay the
novice to devote considerable time and at
tention to attaining a good prone position.
The body should not lie In direct line
with the target. but the legs should be
thrown to the left and stretched comfort
ably apart; most experienced shots lie at
an angle Of about As degrees with the line
Of fire. Also keep your rifle and all parts
OF your body as close to the ground as pos
sible. Hold the rifle firmly with the left
hand. which should be as far forward as
slipped two-thirds of the way toward the
shoulder from the elbow. On the Krag the
sling should be fastened for the prone po-
sition to the and middle swivels, and
the strap carrying the loop should pass
around the forearm just back of the wrist.
The length of strap which is necessary to
let out in order to do this will vary some
in individual cases, and new holes will per-
haps have to be cut in the strap for the
hook. The average man requires the ex-
tremity of the loop for prone shooting to
be let out about twenty-five inches from
the middle swivel but long or stout arms
will require greater length. Using the
strap is a great help to steadiness in this
position, although the novice may not at
practice and some adjustment before all
the benefits of the sling can be felt. Hold
the rifle firmly against the muscles of the
shoulder, and not against the collar bone.
became bruised from the recol, there was
strong temptation to distribute the
agony rifeman expressed it, by
applying the butt to different part at
each shot. This leads to irregular shoot
ing. With the 80 calibers the recoil is not
severe enough to cause trouble of this kind.
and the rifieman should be careful to hold
the weapon exactly alike for each shot
or Prone Target iring.
The great point in acquiring perfect
prone position is to find one that is low
and comfortable, so that one does not have
to Shift about continually. Other details
which conduce to comfort are the finding
Of a soft spot which to rest the elbows,
avoiding any slippery material like a rub
Der blanket very little Sip of the elbow
is Suf1fclent to score clean miss. Equally
to be avoided elbow rests are the rough
rope mats in on some ranges-the
elbows will get sore enough at first without
rasplng them on a rough surface. Then,
again, much unnecessary reaching and
moving about can be avoided if the rifle
man will. before lying down, SO dispose of
his outfit that everything is within easy
reach. Try to find arrangement that is
convenient, and then always follow it sys-
tematically.
The various back positions are permitted
at ranges of 500 yards and over. They are
undoubtedly the steadiest of ALL and most
OF the long range match rifles shot in
that way. The Krag can also be shot in
this way, but if used with military sights
the rear sight is too far away from the
eye for comfort. With target sights it is
all right particularly comfortable and
steady position for the military rifle Is
that known the Texas grip The old
45-caliber Springfield is well adapted to this
position, and in it can be manipulated with
an astonishing degree of accuracy and
rapidity. The Krag, however, does not fit
the Texas grip well. It's bolt handle Is
in the way. and it does not seem to shoot
as accurately this way it does in the
prone position, probably of interference
with the flip of the barrel. Nevertheless,
some rifiemen use this position by prefer
ence even with the Krag Besides being
steadier. 1t brings the left arm into such
position that 1t acts as a pillow for the
head, relieving all strain upon the muscles
of the neck. so noticeable in the long range
back position. 1t also causes the sling
strap to take up all of the recoil. trans
ferring 1t to the thigh, where recoil Is UNI
noticeable
In searching for a comfortable back po-
sition, it is we'll to acquire the habit of
keeping ones toes we'll out of the line of
fire. 1t may sound absurd, but Is neverthe-
less fact, that several rilemen have man.
aged to shoot off one or more toes from
failure to observe this precaution and with
the shorter weapons now in general use
such accidents are more likely to happen.