Home › S › Shooting

Shooting

- The Principles of Shooting.--Carrying the Gun. If "the nice conduct of a clouded cane"-was essential part of a gentleman's education in the eighteenth century, surely the careful manipulation of firearms should be a far more important branch of knowledge in these days, when most people affect to be sportsmen, and nearly everybody in the country carries a lethal weapon of some sort, with the ostensible purpose of destroying fur or feather, and to the greater or less danger of his fellow creatures.

Although it is hardly possible that anybody who did not begin as a boy, or as a very young man, can ever acquire that subtle facility of handling a gun which shows familiarity without contempt, there is no sort of reason why a person of any age, in full command of his faculties, should not learn how to carry rifle or fowling piece in such a manner, and with such precautions, as to place an accident almost beyond the range of possibility.

K It is obvious to the meanest capacity that a gun which is not pointed at anybody can do no harm even if it does "go off of itself," and surely it is possible with a little care always to keep the barrels directed earthwards or skywards, so that the only evil result of a chance discharge shall be a slight shock to the nerves of the bystanders.

In Mr. A. Grimble's excellent book on shooting are numerous illustrations of the various ways most in vogue of carrying the gun, and the author adds his comments thereon. He is, if anything, hypercritical, for there is surely no danger, though he avers there is much, in the very common [SHOOTING a fence, and as a rule when walking from covert to covert. Half cock or put the locks at "safety" the moment a beat is finished.

Never shoot in the direction of anybody, however great the distance, some guns being apt to perform prodigies in the way of carrying when it is least desired.

By attention to these few simple rules a shooter may reasonably expect to pass his life without incurring the guilt of manslaughter. Though the practice of walking in line has become unfashionable, it is still in vogue in counties which do not easily lend themselves to driving. Let the young sportsman, therefore, when thus engaged, keep his dressing. It is unfair to get ahead of the others, it is unwise to drop behind.

THE WRONG AND THE RIGHT WAY OF CARRYING A GUN. practice of tucking the gun under the arm with the front of the trigger-guard resting above the wrist, but if he errs it is on the side of safety, always a good error, safety being the one thing absolutely indispensable to which readiness and elegance must be mere secondary considerations.

At any rate, Mr. Grimble would admit that all requirements of safety will be satisfied by "breaking," i.e., opening the gun and letting it hang thus on the forearm, when it can be closed and used in an instant if occasion requires. Never carry a gun at the trail; if carried on the shoulder, let it always rest with the trigger-guard uppermost; by the reverse method the barrels are apt to come on a level with the faces of those walking in the rear.

Always draw cartridges before crossing The safest position is obviously on the right, the best sport is usually obtained in the centre; the host will do well to occupy the former place, and to put the best shot in the middle.

The most dangerous man of the party should invariably have the left flank, though in this style of shooting, where everybody is, or ought to be, in full view, there is no possible excuse for hurting anybody; when harm is done it is generally to one of the keepers or beaters who have stayed back to search for a wounded bird, and is quite unpardonable. A man with his wits about him can see the instant he turns round if the coast is clear, and if it is not, and he lacks the self-restraint to refrain from firing, he should never be allowed to shoot in company.

The worst accidents happen at driving, perhaps most of all at grouse driving. By some inexplicable infatuation some people seem impelled to pull the trigger just when their barrels cover the next box or station, and loss of eyesight has resulted only too often. It seems idle to warn a man not to shoot point-blank at his neighbour, for he would only wax wroth at being supposed capable of such recklessness, yet the SHOOTING] thing happens over and over again, so that the only advice worth giving on the subject is to watch your adversaries, for as such you must consider them till they have proved themselves friends, and, if they show an inclination to shoot in your line, throw yourself on the ground and save your eyes at the sacrifice of some of your sport.

Learning to Shoot. - After all, it is on the first handling of a gun that the future career of a sportsman may depend, and the best way to avoid bad and careless habits is to begin as a boy under a strict instructor, but, man or boy, the first step for the beginner is to suit his shape and make with a gun; single-barrelled, say great authorities, especially for a boy, but herein I beg to differ.

Nobody intends to go on shooting with single barrel, and the best weapon for a a start seems therefore to be a double barrel with one lock fixed or removed.

It answers every purpose of the single, such as preventing a careless first shot because of reliance on a second chance, and, when the time arrives of graduating to the "double," the other lock has only to be opened or restored, and lo! there is the refact, where the eye is fixed, the hand acting in unison will mechanically point the gun.

Great care should also be given to the position of the legs. They cannot be too steady, the left foot straight in front, its fellow at right angles to it, so as to facilitate shooting to the right without moving either foot. For good shooting, the habit of perfect balance is necessary, which, once acquired, is never lost save from injured limbs, or impaired health. No trick can be more uncomely than the not uncommon one of standing on the left and kicking up behind with the right leg, accuracy of aim being, of course, out of the question with such vagaries. At the same time it is only fair THE WRONG AND THE RIGHT WAY OF CARRYING A GUN WHEN WALKING IN LINE. quired article already proven, to which hand and eye have become accustomed.

That well-worn joke of our forefathers about sending a boy to be measured for a gun is turned into real earnest nowadays.

The process is simple enough. Let the boy hold the gun at the ready, with the stock about an inch from the chest and three inches below the shoulder, the neck (of the gun) being lightly grasped with the right hand, forefinger close to trigger; the left arm should be extended along the barrel with a slight bend of the elbow, the left hand grasping the barrel firmly.

From this position, if the gun is a fit, an upward motion of both hands will not only bring the stock into proper position, but will also bring the barrel into a direct line between the boy's eye and that of his instructor standing some four yards away; in to remark that many a good shot stands with his legs rather widely apart, and shifts his feet according to the direction in which he wishes to fire. This cannot be right, since it disturbs the balance, and in shooting, as at billiards, firmness and equilibrium are of the first importance. To the well taught it becomes a matter of second nature to come to the proper position at the moment of firing, whether walking in line, standing in a grouse box, or at the corner of a covert.

The next step with a boy is to show him on a target the effect of his lessons in manual and platoon exercise. Do not allow him to poke his gun about and seek for his aim, or he will acquire the "following" trick, a most pernicious and constant cause of mischance in the field. On the contrary, make him put up his gun and fire with full confidence that it must be levelled K 2 right, and when confidence and knack have been obtained at the inanimate object, let him try his 'prentice hand at sitting bird or squatting rabbit. One of the great joys THE DANGER OF FIRING DOWN THE LINE. of life is a boy's first success in this line, and how easily and often such shots are missed the emeriti only know.

The first series of lessons once completed, he will make rapid progress and soon get fairly proficient at game going straight away from him. After this stage come the difficulties and complexities of shooting, such as allowing for the movement of the proposed victim, whether it be flying or running, straight or obliquely across, or in calculating with what deflection from the straight line it may be approaching or retreating, at what distance and at what rate of speed, problems which have to be mechanically seized and solved within the space of a fraction of a second. Of all these, the judging of distance is perhaps the most difficult, nor is it possible to lay down rules for the guidance of the beginner. It seems that practice alone can bring the necessary instinct, but let him do his best to note, whenever practicable, where it is that his shot does strike, and he will find in nine cases out of ten that he is behind his mark from having fired point-blank at it. Two ways there are, however, of taking the angle, i.e., of finding the spot, be it on earth or in air, where gun-charge and game shall arrive simultaneously. Both are in common use and both satisfy their various exponents, though one seems rather quicker than the other. The first is called "chuck- [SHOOTING ing" the gun, which means that you cover the object and then give a slight swing or movement ahead, pulling the trigger at the same instant, thus effecting the desired collision between ammunition and fugitive, which latter will have traversed the twothree-ten yards, or whatever it may be, of given margin, whilst the charge is going up.

Indeed, birds flying down wind with a sixty mile an hour gale behind them will often have covered a much larger space than that.

The other and quicker method is to pitch up the gun and fire slap at the spot which you consider ought to be the point of contact, but it must be repeated that anything approaching to certainty in either mode can only be attained by much practice.

By way of emphasising this point, take the speed of the homing pigeon. During the sixteen hours of a summer daylight he can cover more than 500 miles, and at shorter distance has an even better record.

One of these birds was timed from Orleans to Brussels on a south-westerly gale at the rate of 2,175 yards per minute, or about 36 yards 9 inches in a second. If that bird had crossed a crack-shot at 40 yards, where would he have "chucked" or pitched" his gun? Could he, with all his practice, decide the rate of flight? 66 Sharp rabbits in furze, fern, or under- CORRECT POSITION WHEN WAITING FOR DRIVEN PARTRIDGES. wood are the best tutors for a beginner.

There is no time for aiming. Whatever the rabbit's point may be, the shot, to hit him in the head, must be there almost before SHOOTING] Henry Stannard mySlan STRUCK BEHIND.

A WINGED BIRD.

Henry Slannard A TOWERED BIRD. him, and as it is more or less easy to track a miss, the principle of the thing is soon picked up. Quite another matter is it to carry the principle, however well studied, into effect on fast flying birds, without ride or run to guide the eye, which is partly the reason why there are so few perfect all round shots.

What to Shoot at.-Justly enough, sportsmen have been classified as-Ist, perfect; 2nd, first class; 3rd, good and moderate second class; 4th, bad. It is doubtful if more than a dozen men deserve to be placed in the first category, there are hundreds who belong to No. 2, thousands in No. 3, and millions, say many authorities, in No. 4, though from these I beg respectfully to A WELL KILLED BIRD. differ: at any rate, it is far rarer to meet with a rank bad shot than was formerly the case. Thirty or forty years ago, out of a covert shooting party of six or seven, two or three were almost certain to be duffers of the first water, men who seldom hit anything but a beater, whereas nowadays even one such tailor would be a rarity. It is safe to add that, with very few exceptions, only those who have begun in early youth ever attain a higher standard than that of moderate second class.

Though the "pot" may be a gross and material consideration, it is, nevertheless, good for the beginner to be constantly reminded that game has a destiny beyond the larder, and that birds, at any rate, should be allowed to reach cooking distance before the fatal trigger is pulled; but above all things let him eschew a random style of taking long shots; the tip-top performer CORRECT POSITION WHEN FIRING. WEIGHT ON FRONT LEG. may and often does achieve absolute feats by apparent disregard of distance; the lesser fry of sportsmen ought never to be betrayed into such experiments. First, from a humanitarian point of view, they will often wound, and hardly ever accomplish a direct kill; next, for their own sakes, for, depend upon it, no host likes seeing his birds maimed.

With sorrow and shame, be it confessed that gunners of the "exterminating" class are just now far too abundant. The number is increasing of men who go shooting without idea or conception of the sport of pursuing game, but with the sole desire of firing off as many cartridges as possible in the shortest space of time, and with the minimum of exertion. Indiscriminate slaughter is the one object of these bloodthirsty individuals, and, as they are in constant practice, there are plenty of them who are tolerably unerring at birds flying high or low. The more blame theirs for taking them as they do, with cheerful complacency, within 5 or 10 yards of the gun, so that the unfortunate host, whose guests they are, finds at the end of the day that at least half his bag is unfit for table or market. Quickness is the test of merit with these murderers; the "plasterer" is their ideal; the man who kills his game [SHOOTING at "kitchen range" they call a slow, bad shot. Picking birds off beaters' heads is not only unsportsmanlike but dangerous; the most perfect trigger may clog and go hard, down drops the muzzle, and unless the beater is quick enough to drop himself he has every chance of going home in the cart.

What a tough, uncomplaining lot, too, are these beaters! Many a man receives, without a word, wounds which would cause the inflictor to yell with pain and apprehension.

At any rate, when the injury does become known, the compensation should be ample, instead of, as is too often the case, of the most meagre description. I have seen halfa-crown given where a couple of sovereigns would have been hardly adequate.

Selling Game.-Having inveighed against the sporting "tailors" who smash up game and render it unfit for market, it may be apropos to add that nothing can be more unwise or unfair than to deride and decry those who thus dispose of their superfluous fur and feather. The public means to have game to eat; if it cannot be bought from the legitimate owner, then the poacher will become the purveyor. There will be the old story of excessive custom duties regularly accompanied by smuggling.

Surely the sensible system is that which now prevails; when nearly everybody sells of their abundance, the market is fully supplied on reasonable terms from the right quarters, and the trade of the poacher becomes more and more discredited. Loaders. To return to the actual details of the sport, the loader plays by no means the least important part in the rapid shooting of our modern days, more especially as in most cases he is the man who has charge of the guns, and his duty it is to clean and overhaul them, so that no speck of rust may invade any part of our weapons. Not that there is any great difficulty about the business, though, like everything else, it involves a certain amount of tuition, of which the first part relates to the gun itself. One can hardly expect the average loader to be a skilled mechanic, and to understand the mysteries of locks, bolts, &c., for which reason it is best absolutely to forbid interference with those vital parts, since there is always the maker to fall back upon when anything goes really wrong. He will also willingly instruct the loader in the rudiments of his craft, will give all necessary information as to probable contingencies and how to deal with them, and having been able during the process to form a very fair estimate of his pupil's aptitude and intelligence, will furnish thereon a useful report to the employer.

SHOOTING] An untaught, even an inexperienced, loader is worse than none; setting aside the danger to the whole party, a man will shoot far more comfortably and quickly loading for himself, than when he has to supervise the clumsy struggles of a numb-fisted attendant. Yet loading is one of the things which anybody will undertake, even if he has never seen a gun before.

As already laid down, the rule should be that the man must never tamper with the mechanism-removing screws in order to look inside may easily prove as fatal as a child's curiosity to inspect the interior of a drum. Still, accidents will happen, such as a roll in a snowdrift, or a tumble in a bog, where locks may get clogged and then it is that the lessons learnt in the gunshop come into use and everything may be set right in a few minutes. Then, too, it may well be that a third gun in the ammunition wagon comes handy. But of that more anon.

The loading pure and simple, the mere act of charging the guns, must also be a matter where practice alone can make perfect. But the sportsman who aspires to eminence as a shot should be in continual harmony and accord with his loader. There is even a particular angle at which the latter WRONG POSITION WHEN FIRING. WEIGHT ON BACK LEG. should stand with his principal, who, if he is an experienced hand, may quickly teach the art with dummy cartridges in a room.

The first thing to be considered is the exchange of guns. The moment the shot is fired, the barrel should be thrown up, the shooter grasping the gun by the neck and CHANGING GUNS. PHEASANT SHOOTING. slightly turning, so that the loader may easily seize the empty and replace it with the loaded piece. If this manœuvre is properly executed, the guns will never touch each other, and many an indentation will be thus avoided.

The exact position of the loader cannot be laid down by rule, one man liking his servant on the right, another preferring the left side.

Variety of game also affects the situatione.g., when rocketing pheasants are the sole object, the loader may stand right half forward without in the least interfering with his master, who, indeed, will be rather helped than hindered; but if hares and rabbits are also coming out of covert, the man must be well half back. In grouse driving, a position on the immediate right is obviously to be recommended, for, thus placed, the loader will only interfere with a shot which would pepper the occupant of the adjoining box on that side. For partridge driving over high fences or belts, the rule is the same as with tall pheasants. The great essential for rapid firing is that the man should never be looking at the game -a most difficult principle to instil-since many loaders are as keen as if shooting themselves, and it is a sore trial to them not to watch the performance, though a second's inattention to their work may throw away the chance of a shot. Brass cartridges, which are the most waterproof and least likely to stick in the gun, with a wide opening cartridge bag, will also facilitate business. The best shooting waterproof is the Aquascutum with this both master and man should be provided, and the loader should always carry in his pocket a little bag containing spare tumblers, a cleaning brush and lead. The latter used during a pause in heavy shooting will save a lot of recoil. ★ Rules for carrying the gun have already been given and apply equally to all parties concerned. It is almost needless to add that a spirit of loyalty should prevent the loader from pointing the weapon into his principal's legs or back.

Guns. To the manifest advantage of trade, the life of a gun is now reckoned by years, and very few of them, instead of by generations, as once was the case; no doubt they are as good and durable as ever, better they could hardly be, but we may take it for granted that all self-respecting sportsmen order new guns twice or so in a decade. While they are about it they had better have three than two in the case, which is not materially larger than the old double, and they should always take the third gun out in the cart. Accidents will happen, and, apart from the inconvenience of finishing a day with one gun, it must be remembered that a gun-maker should never be bustled over his repairs. Moreover, if a man can afford to devote his autumn and winter to shooting, he can surely manage this slight additional outlay for the immense convenience of a spare gun. Ammunition. On the matter of ammunition, it is imprudent as well as difficult to dogmatise. The maker knows from experiment what charge best suits guns of his own manufacture, and therefore it is wise to be guided by his dictum; but whose advice should we seek in the matter of powder, about which the only certainty seems to be that none is perfect? The old black powder, on the whole, gives the best result to the bag, but it has the undesirable disadvantage of filling a ride with smoke, and, on a damp close day, with ground game abundant, the smother is as bad as a London fog. There are many nitropowders which make good practice enough up to thirty yards, but what we want is the penetration at long range of the "old black" without any of its defects.