CHAPTER XLV
THE WEATHER AND SHOOTING
Rain, as far as the actual shooting goes, does no harm to shooting. In fact, if your adversary has to wear glasses it gives you a great advantage over him as his glasses get covered with a film of water.
A dull drizzle is often accompanied by a dead calm and better shooting light, than a sunshiny day.
Wind is the great enemy to pistol shooting.
In rifle shooting, in the prone position, the wind not only lends interest to the shooting, but brings out the best shot, the one who can calculate how to aim to compensate for the wind’s action on his bullet.
The pistol-shot, on the other hand has to stand against the wind and hold his pistol with one hand and wrestle with the wind which blows his arm about.
It is not a question of calculating how much of the bull’s-eye you must aim at to compensate for the force of the wind from the side; but it is a matter of mere physical strength to try and hold the pistol steady whilst being buffeted by the wind.
It is as if you were trying to draw a straight line whilst someone twitches at your sleeve.