He is then warned to bring up the rifle quietly from the hip, looking, while he does so, at the point he wishes to hit, to shut the left eye close, and to look with the right eye through the sights themselves, and not over or beneath them, to pull the trigger steadily the moment the object is accurately covered, at this instant throwing his attention to the care of keeping the line of barrel direct to the mark until the bullet has left the muzzle—perhaps the most difficult attainment in ball practice, and that which constitutes the greatest difference between a good shot and a bad one.
These principles being clearly communicated, the nearest bell is rung, a minute’s delay given for short distances, and two minutes for long ones, and the shot is fired.
The marker instantly steps out of his ball-proof box, with a light pole, having at its extremity a bright scarlet circle, which he lays upon the shot-hole in the wooden target—the number of inches above or below, and right or left, of the centre of the “bull’s eye” is entered in the firing book—the man falls back to the squad, and the next for firing takes his place.
If a man hit very wide of the proper mark, it might be well to make him fire until he had attained a reasonably good shot, charging to his account the surplus ammunition so expended.
The squad would then fall back to one hundred yards from the wooden target with a repetition of the same practice, then to two hundred, and so on to the longest range. Not more, probably, than three stations could be got through in a day, by any one squad, with advantage.
At the end of each day’s work, a careful return of the details of firing should be sent by the instructor to the commanding officer, in conformity with which, rewards, commendations, and censures, might be finally distributed.
The details of proceeding have been somewhat minutely described, because this elementary instruction, to form a solid and effectual basis for subsequent general practice, should be a minutely patient and careful work. In order, also, to prevent the serious accidents which want of system might occasion, especially at the long ranges, it would be important to establish and maintain minute uniformity of proceeding.
Such a course as that above recommended would only occupy four days, and it would make a man for all his life, if he had the talent to profit by it, a good marksman, with rifles of the same power as that which he had thus carefully proved.
This elementary instruction would not, of course, set aside more free and desultory practice at other times, provided it were carried on with obedience to the general regulations for security against accidents.
It is almost superfluous to observe, that the instructors provided with the “stadia,” and with small telescopes headed with simple “micrometers,” should point out to officers and men the readiest methods of calculating distances.