As an instance, you are out shooting, and see a stag 250 yards off, as you estimate.
You fix the back sight of your rifle for that distance, and begin taking a careful aim.
At that moment there is a grunt, you look up and there is an old wild boar (a solitaire, very savage) charging at you from twenty yards off.
If you fire at him with your 250 yards’ sight up, you miss him and he has you. But if you are shooting on my principle with a fixed sight for close range, you would be aiming two feet above the stag when the boar started charging, and all you would have to do is to shoot at the boar’s chest, and he would drop and you could then fire at the stag, as he galloped off.
A leaf of the back sight may get put up accidentally, and you do not notice this when firing at short range.
The chief danger is from an enemy near you. You ought to have your sights right for him, the distant one is not so important to hit, if you forget to aim high for him.
How often soldiers are told to put up their sights for a thousand yards’ range, and then have to start shooting at a close enemy and forget to alter their sights.
My advice is to have nothing to do with elevating back sights.
As the duelling pistol has such an extreme drop, it will accustom you, if you shoot it at various distances, to aim high or low according to the distance.
When you come to the automatic you will find, except for very exceptionally long shots, you need not alter your elevation of aim at all; it shoots practically straight up to the furthest you are likely ever to have to use it.