The .22 hits the ground nearly two hundred yards off under similar circumstances.
I had exceptional opportunities to watch this, as my man target stood out in an open park, where there was no necessity to have a butt behind it.
As it is not usual to shoot a duelling pistol beyond twenty-five yards, or a .22 pistol beyond fifty yards, there is no necessity to make any alteration in the sighting at that distance, but if extreme accuracy is desired at any one distance the hind sight can be filed for that special distance.
The automatic, however, has a very powerful cartridge which shoots accurately several hundred yards.
Now the way I use my “big game” rifle is: when at a distance at which the drop of the bullet would make it fall below the body of the game when I aim at it, I judge how much I must aim above and shoot accordingly.
The advantage of this is that you are ready at any moment to shoot. If the animal is close and therefore dangerous, you can aim straight at him. If he is far you aim above him.
If he suddenly comes close you merely have to aim at him. This is the principle on which the United States Army Automatic is sighted, one immovable back sight.
Most rifles and some automatic pistols are sighted differently.
They have leaves or other adjustments to the back sight, so that if you want to shoot at long range you estimate the distance, look at the hind sight which is marked in distances, and either raise the leaf marked for that distance, or else slide or screw up the back sight for that distance.
This is all very pretty theoretically, or for deliberate target shooting, but in practice it is dangerous.