EXPLANATION.
1. Economy facilitates practice by removing the dread of expense which takes the keen edge off of any sport and discourages it.
The expense of an outfit, consisting of a rifle, one thousand cartridges, and a bell-ball is less than twenty-five dollars, which divided between three persons is very light.
Three persons can work together to advantage by taking the positions of firer, tosser and scorer, and benefit by friendly competition.
2. The rifle should be the elementary arm used in practice, and be handled with success on all the shots before the shot-gun is taken up.
True impressions only should be given the learner, which the rifle does, and the shot-gun does not, give.
Occasionally, the scattering of shot may allow an object to drop without being hit, when the gun has been held right on it, and again, a stray shot may hit, when the aim has been high, low, or to one side, in both of which cases the impressions given the firer are erroneous.
With the rifle this cannot occur, and every time one makes a hit he has received a true impression of the position the sights should hold relative to the bell.
3. Rifles of .22 calibre are the best to use in practice, for several reasons:
1. The expense of shooting them is very light, owing to the low cost of the cartridges.
2. Because there is no perceptible recoil, which is an important consideration, inasmuch as the flinching which a beginner does involuntarily, if he stand behind a kicking rifle at first, is very hard to overcome; but which he avoids when he has learned to hold his gun firm against his shoulder and to brace against it.
3. The rifle does not heat quickly, and in cool weather can be fired one hundred times without becoming hot. The reasons for this are the thickness of the barrel, and the small quantity of powder burned in each cartridge.
4. It has a light report, scarcely louder than the cracking of a whip, and can be used anywhere without being a nuisance on that account. In hunting birds or squirrels in a wood, this advantage is considerable, because the report does not frighten the game any more than the breaking of a twig, and one can move about within a limited space, shooting many times at the same game, if not successful in hitting it at first, whereas a noisy gun would clear the neighborhood after each discharge.
5. These rifles are a desirable weight, being not lighter than about seven pounds, and shoot accurately at ranges of two hundred and three hundred yards. It is true that light bullets are more easily affected by the wind than heavy, but the ranges are generally less than one hundred yards, and in any case it is easy to make allowance.
4. It used to be the fashion to make rifle stocks with projecting points to fit around the shoulder, which was all right for target practice, but in snap shooting there should be nothing to catch the sleeve, and consequently the shot-gun stock is recommended.
In case your rifle has the points, have the upper one, at least, cut off.
The lower one is no objection, if the stock has sufficient drop for your length of neck, but if it has not, the catching at the shoulder will necessitate your ducking your head, which is awkward and detrimental to rapid work.
5. The Buckhorn and Clover Leaf rear sights are shaped as their names would indicate, and the front sight can be brought down into them quicker and easier than into others, and there is less danger of canting the rifle to one side. The buckhorn is preferable to the clover leaf, and both are infinitely better than the flat sight, which has only a niche in it. Any gunsmith can change the sights to suit, or you can put them in yourself if you have them.
In shooting point blank at a given distance, with fine sights, if the rifle shoot low, file off the front sight, which is equivalent to giving elevation to the bore.
6. Short Cartridges are preferable, because they hold quite as much powder as will burn in the rifle, cost less than the long, are even more accurate, make less report, and principally because the Fletcher Bell Ball is not made to resist a heavier charge.
7. The Fletcher Bell Ball is a metal ball, made up of two hemispherical gongs, joined by a post of the same metal, all cast in one piece, and is about two inches in diameter.
A space between the gongs allows perfect vibration, and being all one piece it rings distinctly, no matter where hit, so that it can be heard several hundred yards.
It is practically indestructible and can be hit thousands of times without being destroyed.
John Ruth of Oakland, California, in an exhibition at Badger's park, in the summer of 1879, hit one nine hundred and ninety times out of one thousand shots fired, leaving it in good condition for further use.
Its advantages over glass balls are:
1. It is inexpensive.
2. It can be carried in the pocket.
3. It avoids broken glass in the fields.
4. It is a perfect indicator of hits, telling by its sound if hit in the dead center, or is only touched.
5. It is a new principle in bells, and has greater resonance than others of the same metal, because the sound passes through the post from the gong which has been hit to the other and is repeated there.
This bell-ball was patented August 6, 1878; and for snap shot rifle practice, and as a swinging target in shooting galleries, is very useful and economical.
8. Inasmuch as the bullets are projected high in air in nearly all the shots recommended, and are quite light, when they are spent they are harmless, so that long range is not necessary; but it must be kept in mind, however, that they are projected with much force, and at two hundred or three hundred yards even, have considerable penetration, and great care should be taken in giving them direction.
9. A Bulkhead to resist short cartridges should be, at least, three soft pine boards in thickness.
10. The keeping of Scores during practice to show the progress made by each, is beneficial. At first an occasional hit will seem like good shooting, while later an occasional miss will seem to make a bad average, owing to the advanced ideas of the firer, but the scores will determine the true progress. There will be times when the learner will shoot easily and well, and others when he may find it very hard, but practice can develop a skill which will be able to overcome the influence of shaky nerves.
11. The near distance of ten feet is the best range at first because the object is to hit as easily as possible, but later, as proficiency is acquired, the tosser may retire till ten yards is reached, which is far enough for all practical purposes.
12. If the tosser stand with his face to the firer he is apt to divert his attention from the ball, which is in part avoided by turning his side, and is also the proper position for the delivery of the drop and other shots.
13. Fifteen feet of elevation is sufficient, a higher ball being really easier to hit, because the firer is more under it.
14. The ball thrown perpendicularly is of course the easiest to hit, but if it fall in front of the tosser two or three feet, the firer is less liable to be disturbed.
15. The metal of the bell being somewhat brittle, if it happen to fall on a stone or very hard ground in a certain position it will break the post and disable it.
If it fall into mud and fill, or partially fill with it, the sound will be very much deadened.
16. The free use of the shoulders is necessary, and a shooting suit, consisting of loose shirt, and pants which fit the hips closely, made of dark blue flannel to avoid the powder stains showing too plainly, is recommended.
Twenty or thirty cartridges can be carried in the hollow of the left hand, which holds the barrel, and can be got at easily in reloading; but if they interfere with the holding of the rifle, it is better to use a pouch or open-mouthed bag suspended in front of the waist.
It may seem trivial to mention nice points of position, such as standing, which any one might know, but in truth there are many little things which in the aggregate are essential.
Intense earnestness, quickness, firmness, the avoiding of diverting attractions, all help to success though any one may seemingly be disregarded without prejudice.
17. No shot is counted fair unless the stock of the rifle remain below the elbow till the ball has been thrown.
18. After firing, the stock of the rifle is brought down and held between the elbow and the hip by pressure of the elbow, while the shell is extracted; the muzzle is then depressed to an angle of forty-five degrees below the horizontal; the new cartridge inserted and the breech-block forced into place, when the muzzle is brought to its position above the level of the eye and the piece cocked.
It should be a matter of discipline with all to practice these motions with a view to making them a habit, in which there is safety and quickness.
19. The farther out on the barrel you can clasp your gun with your left hand, easily, the better control you will have over it.
It is this advantage that tall men have over short, that makes them frequently better field shots.
20. The importance of quickness of motion, cannot be over-estimated. There is always a tendency to follow the ball up with the rifle, but the first care should be to get the rifle to the shoulder as quickly as possible, when time to aim will be secured before the summit is reached, whereas, tardy action necessitates hurried firing.
21. During the second of time when the ball is at the summit, it does not seem to have any motion, and is, consequently, the best time to hit it.
22. Seeing the ball full over the sights, means in reality the allowing for a little drop before the bullet gets there.
23. It is the fault of nearly all beginners to uncover too much of the front sight, and consequently to overshoot. Be careful that the front sight is well down into the rear when you see the object finally, and pull.
24. The pulling of the trigger must be done without hesitation, but quickly as soon as the judgment orders it.
25. The fouling of the rifle will depend on the ammunition used. The author has fired as many as five hundred shots from a rifle without cleaning, while using cartridges of American make, but has not been able to shoot more than ten of those made by Eley Brothers, of London, before cleaning, and as the English cartridges cost just twice as much as the American, the result of the test is strongly in favor of the latter.
26. As soon as burned powder begins to accumulate in the grooves, it tears the bullet, and accuracy is impossible; the digression being sometimes several inches in a ten yards flight.
When bullets tear you can usually hear them hum when they leave the rifle.
27. The practical value in field shooting, gained by the mere hitting of balls thrown up perpendicularly, is not great, but as a preliminary practice it is essential, and should be accomplished before other directions are given to the bell.
28. With practice on the Cross Shot, and similar ones, comes the true benefit which is derived from this system, and which will perfect one in field shooting, not only with a shot-gun on birds, but with a rifle on running game.
The instant the bell is thrown for the cross shot, bring the rifle to the shoulder as quickly as possible, take aim and follow it, firing as you go, never stopping the motion to pull the trigger.
29. The Drop Shot is, perhaps, the prettiest as an exhibition, because the bell is hit just when your spectators think it has gotten away from you, and is excellent practice. Like the cross-shot, it teaches an easy sweeping motion of the rifle, which is the secret of successful snap shooting.
Catch the bell just full over your sights and keep it there while you lead it down.
30. The "Base Ball" or Incoming Shot at a bell thrown at the firer by an attendant is dangerous on account of the possible glancing of the bullets in his direction, and as all chances of accident should be carefully avoided, it is better not to try it.
31. The Trap Shot. The glass ball traps ordinarily used in shot-gun practice, throw glass balls too far for the rifle, at first, but as the bell-ball is heavier are about the proper strength for that.
The bell should not be thrown so as to fall at a greater distance than twenty-five feet, and the firer should stand right beside or just behind the trap.
Quickness of motion in getting the rifle to the shoulder becomes a habit, if persisted in, and is absolutely necessary to success in this shooting.
If the learner, in beginning his practice, is sufficiently impressed with the importance of the quick first motion of getting his gun to his shoulder, the instant a mark appears he will find the chief obstacle to hitting it removed. "Buck fever" means the forgetting that one has a gun in his hands, in the absorbing interest he takes in the game in sight.
The trigger should not be pulled in a hurry, and never till sure aim has been taken. Quick action allows deliberate aim, while tardy action prevents it. I have repeated the lines urging quickness of action, because too much stress cannot be laid on it.
32. Balls Only should be used as flying targets. When the beginner has attained some skill in snap shooting with a rifle, he takes justifiable pride in exhibiting it, by hitting all kind of things, such as cans, bottles, sticks, coins, pencils and stones, but it is not well to do so.
The impression given every time the rifle is discharged, ought to be a true one, but when a ball passes near the center of an irregularly shaped object without hitting it, the impression given is that the aim was defective, when it was good.
33. It is excellent practice, when you have become proficient, to see how little time it will take you to make a given number of hits, say twenty, not counting the misses as anything.
The less misses you make, the less time you will require.
The Tosser should observe the instant the breech block is replaced after the cartridge has been inserted, and throw immediately without waiting for instructions.
In order to establish a standard of quickness it may be well to state that the writer has made twenty hits in one minute and sixteen seconds, and one hundred hits in seven minutes and twenty-nine seconds.
In the first instance he made no misses, but in the second there were seven misses, making one hundred and seven shots in all; an average of about four seconds to the shot.