There are two opinions as to the proper calibre for a military pistol. England, having to fight savage tribes, had always preferred a large bore pistol with stopping power. Fanatics who do not value their lives can do a lot of mischief, even if wounded fatally, by a small calibre bullet, before they die.
On the Continent a much smaller calibre is deemed sufficient; a .32 or .38 or a 7 millimetre, whereas England and the United States consider .45 or .455 the best size.
In my opinion the United States .45 Regulation Colt Automatic pistol is the best of all army pistols. (See Plates [13] and [14].) The way it was chosen should guarantee this.
It was first chosen because it passed all the military tests such as sand, rust, and freedom from jamming under rough usage. Then it was put into the hands of all the best pistol shots in the United States and their reports examined. It has, therefore, not only passed military but expert shooters’ tests, and alterations were made in accordance with their reports.
It may seem a great presumption on my part therefore to suggest an improvement, but I have been a big-game shot all my life and used ivory front sights, and I think a black front sight is a mistake.
I am sure a white or silver front sight is the only practical one.
This morning I went out before daylight after deer. It was very misty and I saw a stag eighty yards off, hardly distinguishable in the mist and darkness. My white front sight shone like a star on his shoulder when I took aim and I had no difficulty in taking the shot.
A black front sight would have been so indistinct that I should have missed or rather not fired at all, as I do not like making a mess of a shot and letting an animal go off wounded.
It is self-evident that if you want anything to be as visible as possible you paint it white.
White reflects light better than any colour. If you distribute twenty white, thirty yellow, fifty red, and eighty blue spots over a piece of black paper they look to the eye as being of equal numbers, owing to the blue being so inconspicuous compared with the red, the red compared with yellow, and the yellow compared with the white.