Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-22
By Alfred p. Lane.
Worlds Champion Pistol Shot
In an interview.

~ UNMEN shoot? Certainly they
shoot! And if what they shoot
~ at isn't more than ten feet
away they sometimes hit it. Anyone
who can hold up a gun and pun the
n gger can shoot; but as for hitting any
5bing he aims at, that is something else
again
PISTOL shooting-and for that matter
an kinds of shOotng--is the subject OF
more misconcCption on the part oil the
uubic or the layman than any other
srort ! know of Ana perhaps before l
tell tou how to shoot it viii be well to
dsEa some Of these misconceptions.
For q common everyday misconcep
ton, take the supposition that man who
has a revolver in his pocket Is protected,
or that 4 policeman is a protection mere
ly because he carries a gun. II the man
with the gun-be he policeman or citizen
doesn't know how to shoot he would
he lust about as effective, as far as hit
ting anything is concerned, if he had
good brick in his pocket As the average
man uses gun il is not effective more
than about ten feet from what he Is
shooting at
Suppose you are shooting at man
ten feet away from YOU and suppose
the man Is fourteen inches wide, which
DIS very wide so far as the effective area
of the mans body is concerned If you
hold The gun pointed directly at his chest,
ard shoot without Wavering, the shot viii
be effective But if the gun wavers half
inch as is quite likely, because of the
sudden yank on the trigger-a trick char
acteristiC of the noyice-that the bullet
won't touch the man at all. And that
..f oh
frightening a man, unless you can use
1t right.
Most of the best shooters | know are
smokers and some of them take drink
now and then. On the other hand, there
are just as good shooters who are total
abstaners. OF course. smoking to excess
just as eating to exCess-wiH inter
fere with a mans digestion and react
on his nervous system.
Anybody can become a good shooter!
Everybody ought to shoot! II | had my
way | should have every mainland some
of the women, toO-take up shooting and
get so he could fire a gun, If necessary.
and not endanger the lives of the rest
of the community
II everyone would shoot they would
be better for it; they would have better
nerves; they would have greater self
control they would acquire a presence
and more manliness. it would give them
confidence. and they would be possessed
of an accomplishment which is likely to
come in mighty handy any minute.
Skill in shooting does not require
phenomenal ability shooters are not
born, they are made Any man can be-
come a pretty fair marksman All that is
required is that he apply himself and
practice No training is necessary. PEG
pie think we shooters train--We don't
That's the one thing We don't do. The
bast shooting can be done by a man in
his ordinary. everyday condition. If he
trains he's likely to make a mess of it,
That's one reason why don't leave off
smoking and don't advise any other man
who Contemplates shooting to give up his
favorite habits or hobbies, When a
bunch Of us shooters 90 to a meet we act
Just as If we were a lot of travelling men
going out to sell bill Of goods we
don't worry. We take things easy, smoke
If we want to, take a drink If we want
TO. eat well. sleep well and just be or
binary. II we trained il would spoil us.
That's the big difference between
shooting and many other sports. When
runners jumpers or any other athletes
have a contest coming on they 90 through
a course OF training that Is terrible. When
they get up to the mark they are in the
pink Of physical condition. The shooter
when he steps up 10 the mark. is no
different than he has been for years. He
is just his natural self
Here's another one OF those little de-
lusions that run around loose You
probably think that an expert pistol shot
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