16. The free use of the shoulders is necessary, and a shooting suit, consisting of loose shirt, and pants which fit the hips closely, made of dark blue flannel to avoid the powder stains showing too plainly, is recommended.
Twenty or thirty cartridges can be carried in the hollow of the left hand, which holds the barrel, and can be got at easily in reloading; but if they interfere with the holding of the rifle, it is better to use a pouch or open-mouthed bag suspended in front of the waist.
It may seem trivial to mention nice points of position, such as standing, which any one might know, but in truth there are many little things which in the aggregate are essential.
Intense earnestness, quickness, firmness, the avoiding of diverting attractions, all help to success though any one may seemingly be disregarded without prejudice.
17. No shot is counted fair unless the stock of the rifle remain below the elbow till the ball has been thrown.
18. After firing, the stock of the rifle is brought down and held between the elbow and the hip by pressure of the elbow, while the shell is extracted; the muzzle is then depressed to an angle of forty-five degrees below the horizontal; the new cartridge inserted and the breech-block forced into place, when the muzzle is brought to its position above the level of the eye and the piece cocked.
It should be a matter of discipline with all to practice these motions with a view to making them a habit, in which there is safety and quickness.
19. The farther out on the barrel you can clasp your gun with your left hand, easily, the better control you will have over it.
It is this advantage that tall men have over short, that makes them frequently better field shots.
20. The importance of quickness of motion, cannot be over-estimated. There is always a tendency to follow the ball up with the rifle, but the first care should be to get the rifle to the shoulder as quickly as possible, when time to aim will be secured before the summit is reached, whereas, tardy action necessitates hurried firing.
21. During the second of time when the ball is at the summit, it does not seem to have any motion, and is, consequently, the best time to hit it.
22. Seeing the ball full over the sights, means in reality the allowing for a little drop before the bullet gets there.
23. It is the fault of nearly all beginners to uncover too much of the front sight, and consequently to overshoot. Be careful that the front sight is well down into the rear when you see the object finally, and pull.
24. The pulling of the trigger must be done without hesitation, but quickly as soon as the judgment orders it.
25. The fouling of the rifle will depend on the ammunition used. The author has fired as many as five hundred shots from a rifle without cleaning, while using cartridges of American make, but has not been able to shoot more than ten of those made by Eley Brothers, of London, before cleaning, and as the English cartridges cost just twice as much as the American, the result of the test is strongly in favor of the latter.
26. As soon as burned powder begins to accumulate in the grooves, it tears the bullet, and accuracy is impossible; the digression being sometimes several inches in a ten yards flight.
When bullets tear you can usually hear them hum when they leave the rifle.
27. The practical value in field shooting, gained by the mere hitting of balls thrown up perpendicularly, is not great, but as a preliminary practice it is essential, and should be accomplished before other directions are given to the bell.
28. With practice on the Cross Shot, and similar ones, comes the true benefit which is derived from this system, and which will perfect one in field shooting, not only with a shot-gun on birds, but with a rifle on running game.
The instant the bell is thrown for the cross shot, bring the rifle to the shoulder as quickly as possible, take aim and follow it, firing as you go, never stopping the motion to pull the trigger.
29. The Drop Shot is, perhaps, the prettiest as an exhibition, because the bell is hit just when your spectators think it has gotten away from you, and is excellent practice. Like the cross-shot, it teaches an easy sweeping motion of the rifle, which is the secret of successful snap shooting.
Catch the bell just full over your sights and keep it there while you lead it down.
30. The "Base Ball" or Incoming Shot at a bell thrown at the firer by an attendant is dangerous on account of the possible glancing of the bullets in his direction, and as all chances of accident should be carefully avoided, it is better not to try it.
31. The Trap Shot. The glass ball traps ordinarily used in shot-gun practice, throw glass balls too far for the rifle, at first, but as the bell-ball is heavier are about the proper strength for that.
The bell should not be thrown so as to fall at a greater distance than twenty-five feet, and the firer should stand right beside or just behind the trap.
Quickness of motion in getting the rifle to the shoulder becomes a habit, if persisted in, and is absolutely necessary to success in this shooting.
If the learner, in beginning his practice, is sufficiently impressed with the importance of the quick first motion of getting his gun to his shoulder, the instant a mark appears he will find the chief obstacle to hitting it removed. "Buck fever" means the forgetting that one has a gun in his hands, in the absorbing interest he takes in the game in sight.
The trigger should not be pulled in a hurry, and never till sure aim has been taken. Quick action allows deliberate aim, while tardy action prevents it. I have repeated the lines urging quickness of action, because too much stress cannot be laid on it.
32. Balls Only should be used as flying targets. When the beginner has attained some skill in snap shooting with a rifle, he takes justifiable pride in exhibiting it, by hitting all kind of things, such as cans, bottles, sticks, coins, pencils and stones, but it is not well to do so.
The impression given every time the rifle is discharged, ought to be a true one, but when a ball passes near the center of an irregularly shaped object without hitting it, the impression given is that the aim was defective, when it was good.
33. It is excellent practice, when you have become proficient, to see how little time it will take you to make a given number of hits, say twenty, not counting the misses as anything.
The less misses you make, the less time you will require.
The Tosser should observe the instant the breech block is replaced after the cartridge has been inserted, and throw immediately without waiting for instructions.
In order to establish a standard of quickness it may be well to state that the writer has made twenty hits in one minute and sixteen seconds, and one hundred hits in seven minutes and twenty-nine seconds.
In the first instance he made no misses, but in the second there were seven misses, making one hundred and seven shots in all; an average of about four seconds to the shot.