Horse pistol

“ Again, if while carrying a revolver any one were passed by a runaway horse, and such horse were about to run over a child, it might be permissible to shoot the horse in order to save the child, if one were too far off to catch hold of the animal. ”

“ If a man did not wish to go into a fight he held his horse until it was over.
One reason of our almost uniform success was the superiority of our arms. It will be remembered that at the beginning the possession of a good pistol was a requisite for enlistment. If a man died or was killed his comrades kept his pistol. When a prisoner of the enemy’s cavalry was taken this part of his outfit was added to the general stock, so that after a few months most, if not all, had two weapons of this kind, and some even tried to carry three or four. No other regiment of the army was so supplied. ”

“ In Paris, when certain people see you ready to set your foot in the stirrup, some pull your coat-tails, others loosen the buckle of the strap that you may fall and crack your skull; one wrenches off your horse's shoes, another steals your whip, and the least treacherous of them all is the man whom you see coming to fire his pistol at you point blank. ”

“ England is the last country to use the revolver in the army, and is the last refuge of the revolver, just as Yellowstone Park is the last refuge of the buffalo.
For competition in England, practising will have to be done with a revolver, not an automatic pistol, and a deliberate aim taken at a black bull’s-eye on a white target. ”

“ There is a world of difference between looking in a bull's-eye, and looking in the eye of man. A pistol, too, looks far less innocent, regarded through the medium of a yawning muzzle, than the rounded and neatly-polished butt. The huge mouth seems to dilate as you look upon it. You already begin to fancy you behold the leaden mass—the three-ounce bullet—issuing from its stronghold, like a relentless baron of the middle ages, going forth under his grim archway, seeking only whom he may devour. ”

“ A revolver or pistol is a useful weapon to carry, especially if one wanders about in the bush alone. I recommend, if a double shikár pistol be taken, that one of about .577 or twelve-bore be chosen, with one trigger for both barrels on the Lancaster principle. When after lion or leopard, and not well backed up by the gunbearer, a situation may arise where such a pistol would be handy. In a home charge the rifle would be knocked out of the hands, but the pistol, being on the belt, would always be ready. I have known two cases of a native trying to beat off a lion with his bare hands. ”

“ The best instrument of all for killing injured horses is what is obligatory in all Belgian slaughter houses, not only for cattle but for sheep and pigs. (See Plate 18.)
It consists of a short pistol barrel of .38 bore with a bell-shaped muzzle which is applied to the forehead of the animal to be slaughtered.
A tap with a mallet fires it and the bullet goes through the brain and spinal column of the neck causing instant death. Its fault is that it may go off by accident if dropped on its plunger. ”

“ And yet, we make absolutely no effort to keep deadly weapons out of dangerous hands. We do attempt to forbid their concealment. Practically this attempt is a failure and, in effect, we permit men to carry deadly weapons which may be successfully concealed until the very moment they are brought into use.
A great deal of the lurid literature has grown up around the pistol. The cowboy with his gun play has always been an attractive character in fiction. No doubt there is a time in the pioneer life of a community when there seems to be some excuse for the use of the revolver. ”

“ Jo to the time of reaching Placerville or Sacramento the pistol should never be absent from a man’s right side—remember, it is handier there than on the other—nor the bowie-knife from his left. Contingencies with Indians and others may happen, when the difference of a second saves life: the revolver should therefore be carried with its butt to the fore, and when drawn it should not be leveled as in target practice, but directed toward the object by means of the right fore finger laid flat along the cylinder while the medius draws the trigger. ”

“ On the Continent most men of the upper classes have at least a rudimentary acquaintance with the foil and duelling pistol, but in the English-speaking nations a man has rarely ever handled or even seen a duelling pistol, or the few who have done pistol shooting have never shot except at a stationary bull’s-eye target. ”

“ A pistol has never the power of a rifle. It lacks the ability to shock and stun, and, worse, has nothing of its deadly accuracy. And it was all too plain that she had not succeeded in terrifying the pack. Still they plunged at the sheep, avoiding only those that were crowded about her knees, and their fury was increasing with every instant. Every breath saw more of their domestic instincts fall away from them, giving way to the deadly passions of the wild.
She fired the fifth time, and once more she shot true. The dog died in the pine needles. ”

“ Unless he is an officer who has had “field firing” practice, and a few rounds out of a revolver, he has only shot a rifle at a stationary bull’s-eye target, or at a stationary stag in Scotland, and all his shooting has been done in the prone position.
[Pg 198] There is a convention in Scotland that a rifle shall not be fired at a deer unless the deer is absolutely stationary. A man shooting driven deer or deer galloping is according to this convention “not quite a sportsman,” though he may be a deadly shot at galloping deer. ”

“ A “mitrailleuse” pistol has also been constructed by the Braendlin Armoury Co., Ltd., on the “pepper-box” principle, with fixed barrels, either four or six, arranged in pairs, and a special striking mechanism, in which there is no revolving chamber and no escape of gas at the breech. It gives stronger shooting than a revolver, but is more cumbrous, and has the serious defect that the shock of the discharge of one barrel sometimes prematurely fires a second barrel. ”

“ They are made with one barrel and a magazine, on the principle of the repeating rifle, thus doing away with the escape of gas that takes place in revolvers between the chamber and the barrel.
Automatic pistols are so constructed that the force of the recoil is utilized to open the breech, extract the empty case, cock the pistol, reload the chamber with the top cartridge from the magazine, and close the breech, leaving the pistol ready to fire on again pressing the trigger. ”

“ Rooks and rabbits are shot with miniature rifles but the rooks are shot when young and unable to fly, sitting on the branches of the trees near their nests, and the rabbits also when sitting outside their holes.
In England the general public never shoot rifles in sport, except those who shoot sitting shots at rooks and rabbits.
The idea has therefore arisen that the rifle and [Pg 155] pistol are not weapons to use in sport but merely implements at the game of bull’s-eye shooting, and that the shotgun is the sporting firearm. ”

“ The second, in presenting the pistol to his friend, should never put it in his pistol hand, but should place it in the other, which is grasped midway the barrel, with muzzle pointing in the contrary way to that which he is to fire, informing him that his pistol is loaded and ready for use. Before the word is given, the principal grasps the butt firmly in his pistol hand, and brings it round, with the muzzle downward, to the fighting position. ”

“ George’s cross for bravery and he is delighted with the sighting of the pistol, and can do very rapid shooting with it.
For practical use of the pistol in war, self-defence, or duelling, what is needed is a strong set of sights which can hardly be injured under the roughest usage; sights which can be seen instantly in a very dim, as well as strong light. ”

“ If he had produced another candlestick or jar of liqueur I think I should have felt like getting up and walking out; but here at last was something on the fuller scale. Thank heaven, we had done with broken glass and sweeping-brushes and dark blue linen blinds. We might now hope to get a little farther.
For a pistol is a pistol at all times and all the world over. No other weapon has quite so exclusively sinister a meaning. ”

“ Nevertheless, nothing is easier; it only requires when the pistol is loaded, that instead of pressing the wadding immediately upon the bullet as is customary, to put it, on the contrary, at the mouth of the barrel. That being done, when they fire, if the end of the pistol is raised, the ball, which is not displaced, will produce the usual effect ”

“ Horses or mules can be readily shot dead with either ball or small shot. To do this instantly, stand on the off-side of the animal, about six feet from and in a line behind the shoulder; aim well below the ear, in a direction from behind forwards, and from below upwards. A charge thus delivered from a gun, rifle, or large heavy pistol—not an insignificant popgun revolver—will strike the creature dead on the spot, and thus save it unnecessary torture. ”

“ Such experts as Chevalier Ira Paine and Frank Lord, and even some of the gentler sex, who have astonished the shooting world by their seemingly impossible feats of marksmanship with the pistol, unhesitatingly select this heavy pistol, and declare it more reliable, for the reasons mentioned, than the lighter ones, and as some of the professional shooters perform hazardous feats when inaccuracies with the arm would peril the lives of those who assist them in their performances, it is likely that they have given the matter the fullest investigation. ”

“ Without deranging position of the hand, rotate the pistol so the sights move to the left, the barrel pointing to the right front and up.
With the thumb and forefinger of the left hand (thumb to the right) grasp the slide and pull it toward the body until it stops, and then release it. The pistol is thus loaded, and the hammer at full cock.
If the pistol is to be kept in the hand and not to be fired at once, engage the safety lock with the thumb of the right hand.
If the pistol is to be carried in the holster, remove safety lock, if on, and lower the hammer fully down. ”

“ They were equipped with rifle barrels and hair triggers, and were inlaid richly with silver, and more than once had been used on the field of honor. Whenever my grandfather went out for a walk, or to play whist at the house of a neighbor, I would get down these pistols and fight duels with myself in front of the looking-glass. With my left hand I would hold the handkerchief above my head, and with the other clutch the pistol at my side, and then, at the word, and as the handkerchief fluttered to the floor, I would take careful aim and pull the trigger. ”

“ Even the possibility of gaining a spoon applies to only a few shooting clubs. The shooting galleries in black cellars, do not give prizes. You are supposed to be fully compensated, after being deafened by a man with a full charge revolver or automatic pistol blazing away into the darkness beside you, by paying for your targets, ammunition, and hire of a greasy revolver with a trigger-pull hard enough to break your finger and a report like a cannon, whilst you strain your eyes to see a black front sight in the darkness. ”

“ During the summer months in the North Woods you will not need a rifle. Partridges, spruce hens, ptarmigan, rabbits, ducks, and geese are usually abundant enough to fill the provision list. For them, of course, a shotgun is the thing; but since such a weapon weighs many pounds, and its ammunition many more, I have come gradually to depend entirely on a pistol. ”

“ As the recruit gets more skill and confidence the exercise will be conducted with sabers drawn, the troopers taking the charging position (par. 251) when the instructor does so and returning to the carry with him. Similar exercises will be conducted with the pistol, with especial attention to directing the horses through lines of silhouette targets and to drawing, returning, and manipulating the pistol. The exercises with the pistol will usually be conducted in foragers and may be extended to include the actual execution of the pistol attack as described in the School of the Platoon. ”

“ The Chief gave the order for the bow-and-arrow men to start in single file, the others to follow after, in close succession. The Chief and I fell in at the rear. In the meantime I had examined my Luger automatic pistol to make sure of the smooth action of the mechanism, and found besides that I had in all thirty-seven soft-nose bullets. This was my only weapon, but previous narrow escapes from death and many close contacts with danger had hardened me, so I was willing to depend entirely upon my pistol. ”

“ A good fencer is known by the small circle his point makes when fencing. In the same way a good pistol shot is known by the small circle his muzzle makes when raising it and firing.
I have seen men shoot revolvers at stationary targets, raise their pistol till it pointed vertically at the sky, aiming all the time, and then slowly bring the muzzle down till it was horizontal, and then begin to fish for the bull’s-eye, straining their eyes for nothing and not learning anything of the very essence of pistol shooting which is “lightning speed with accuracy.” ”

“ There are men who can take a good revolver and shoot a chicken’s head off every time, ten or fifteen paces, but of such men there are not very many. And none of them have ever communicated how they happened to become such fine shots with the pistol. In some cases they had practiced a good deal, but not more than had hundreds who were but comparatively poor performers. To come squarely down to the point at once, the peculiarity which made them good shots with the pistol was a “born-gift,” as in the case of the best shots with [314] the shot gun. ”