Year: 1862

as the best Of them. But to hold the
rife without any rest-by the aid of
the hands and shoulder alone-and
plant the ball exactly where it is de-
sired, is a different affair. In that
there is skill, a skill so applied as to
produce practical and beneficial re-
suit, which can be obtained in no other
way, or by any other means. To do
this is not so difficult as most persons
imagine. All that is required is con
slant practice and care. The more
man shoots at rest, the more unskill-
full does he become in off hand shoot
ing; that is, unless be also keeps up
the practice of the latter. To become
good rifle shot, a man should be
constantly practicing. He shOuldnot
only shoot at marks set up for the pur-
pose, but he should take aim, and al
so fire at objects of various kinds all
around him, and at different distances
To be good marksman, he must also
be good judge of distances, so as to
know whether to aim high or low, and
also to take into account the force and
direction of the wind and its effect
upon the ball. Above all he must
know his gun. He should have prac,
ticed with it so constantly as to
know exactly how and where it car
ries, its range and peculiarities, if it
has any. In short, the one great
rule in rife shooting more than in al,
most any other art, is that 'Epractice
makes perfect" It was this which
gave to our fathers, and which now
gives to our from tiersmen, their skill
and proficiency in the use of the rife.
They seldom 60 from home without it.
1t accompanies them in their travels
and in their rambles, whether for
pleasure or business, through forest
and field, over mountain and prairie
1t is their constant companion, and
on its operation they place implicit
reliance. No man can use the rifle
successfully, either in hunting or in
fighting, without that reliance on it and
that can only be acquired by practice.
An experienced shot can almost al
ways tell at the instant of firing,
whether or not he has been successful;
at least there is nearly always an i'm
preston on the mind which is gener.
ally correct.


In the older settled portions of our
country, this constant practice with
the rife has greatly fallen off, and
the result is plainly visible among the
regiments now here in Washington
In many of the regiments from the
cities and towns of the Eastern and


Middle States, there is a terrible de-
fciency in the use of the rife. Many
of the men probably never fred one
dozen times in their lives before !;
and the consequence is that almost any
western youth can beat nine out Of
ten Of them in an off.hand rife prac-
tice. How can such men have conf.
dence in themselves? i? And, if not,
how can they be relied upon in the
battle? As well might we send wo>
men 10 battle, as men who don't know
how to use the arms placed in their
hands-who, in all probability, shut
their eyes when they shoot, and are as
likely to send their balls flying over
the heads Of the enemy, or into the
ground not twenty rods off, as into the
ranks of the adyersaries.


These remarks are not intended as
refecting at all upon the men; but
only to show how important it is that
we keep up our practice in all parts of
the country. The men are really as
competent and brave as any but they
lack the practice necessary to make
them efficient. When it is borne in
mind that it is now an established fact
a given weight of projectiles fred by
competent men from improved long
range rifles, is more destructive to an
enemy, than the same weight fred
from artillery. person will see at a
glance, that rife shooting is a very i'm.
portant art, even in national sense.
Why is it that there is not more tar~
get practice among our troops here I
am at loss to understand, unless it
is that they expect or desire to see
the war carried and "nobody hurt" on
the rebel side. The cost of the am
unition used is the only excuse Ihave
heard given; but it strikes me that
the lives of our soldiers, to say moth
ing of the success of our army, is Of
quite as much value as the ammunition
that would be used in practicing.


1t strikes me as very important
matter, that the practice of rife shoot.
ing should be revived throughout the I
country, and especially so at the pres (
ent time. / was much pleased with
your remarks about a national rife
association. We ought to have not
only national, but county, town and
neighborhood associations of the kind.
Frequent trials should be had and
prizes offered, to stimulate the people
everywhere to participate. A system
of prizes, similar to that adopted in
the English army, might be adopted in
ours with nuch usefullness