Pistole

“ 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. ”

“ When your hand moves, it'll be as fast as the jump of a spark! And when that hand moves, the gun is going to come out clean in it. It's got to come out with it! You hear? It's got to! Your fingertips catch under the butt; they flick up. They don't draw the gun; they throw it out of the holster; they pitch the muzzle up, and the butt comes smack back against the palm of your hand. And in the same part of a second you pull the trigger. ”

“ Many splendid emanations of genius are left to us, consisting of complex mechanism for gunnery. The most perfect we have ever seen, is a pistol made in Spain about the end of the seventeenth century. By moving a lever towards the butt-end, while the muzzle is depressed, the lock is primed, half-cocked, and the hammer shut down; return the lever, the powder is in the breech, and the ball before it. ”

“ Get into the way of always grasping your pistol so that the first finger is in an exact line with the barrel, then, you see, just as your finger naturally follows your eye and points at the spot, so your pistol must be in the same line. It is best to have the middle and third fingers both on the trigger, and the little finger and thumb alone grasping the butt. ”

“ And still any time I go to a place where I think there is danger, I invariably take my pistol with me, for it is a pistol and not a revolver. I always call it a revolver, but, in reality, it is a pistol, and of a very old-fashioned make, too, with this ramrod and the trigger so hard to pull that I have to use my 426other hand as well. I am not a bad shot, for a woman, provided that I may take my time, but this is not very easy when one wants to fire at a robber. ”

“ Any revolver or pistol with open sights; any ammunition; trigger pull unrestricted; distance, 50 yards; international target, 10 ring, 2 inches in diameter, rest of target divided by concentric rings one inch apart, bull’s-eye containing 10, 9, 8, and 7 rings; 60 shots in strings of 6 shots; 2 sighting shots allowed; position standing, right or left hand with arm extended; maximum number of entries from any country in individual contests, 12; maximum number of entries from any country in team contest, 1; teams to consist of four men each. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When he was a boy in short trousers he had learned from Uncle Jasper the two main articles of a gun fighter's creed—that a revolver must be fired by pointing, not sighting, and that there must be nothing about it liable to hang in the holster to delay the draw. The great idea was to get the gun on your man with lightning speed, and then fire from the hip with merely a sense of direction to guide the bullet. Just as one raises his hand and points the finger. ”

“ By chance I glanced into the bottom of the cockpit and on the floor my eyes caught sight of a Very pistol which had been left in the plane by the observer on the previous mission whose duty it had been to find the front line of our advanced troops.
A Very pistol is a gun resembling an ordinary pistol, except that it has a wide barrel. It is used to eject brilliant fire rockets as a signal from the 157airplane to the infantry. ”

“ There are other men, again, who are dead pistol shots when allowed to draw deliberately and take aim slowly and fire at leisure ; but when compelled to use the pistol instantly in some imminent peril, the only time they are ever really required to use it, they are slow, awkward, and embarrassed.
Let us for a moment follow the fortunes of these two men before us : the one lying bleeding on the ground, and the other flying down and across the hill, firing, and trying to hold his spirited horse to the work. ”

“ You are a good shot, that’s one thing in your favour—​an excellent shot.”
“So is he, I should imagine.”
“With a rifle,” observed the chevalier, carelessly.
“And with a pistol as well, I presume.”
“These fellows as a rule are not so good at handling a pistol as a gun. Oh, you’ll wing your man, I dare say. Sacre! You must do so; and by gar, you shall.”
Ethalwood laughed, and said: “You speak in a confident tone.” ”

“ And then it came—a squaring of his feet for a firmer stance, the whipping of a hand toward his hip beneath the jacket he wore, and it came back in the space of an eye-wink, dragging in its clasp the dull blue of an automatic pistol. ”

“ The practical value of these improvements is open to question, as the sighting of a pistol differs materially when used with and without a butt, and under no circumstances can the accuracy of shooting of a pistol even with a butt, equal that of a carbine. ”

“ There is no hammer or equivalent protuberance to catch as the pistol is drawn from the pocket, or to entangle if the weapon falls. An automatic safety bolt, whose length lies half across the palm of the hand, and ensures certainty of freedom at the time of shooting, blocks the action until the pistol is firmly gripped for use.
Breech-loading Pistols.—Although the revolver has for many years practically superseded the pistol, some breech-loading varieties of pistols are still made—the small pocket pistol, for example, and occasionally the heavy double-barreled horse pistol. ”

“ A moment’s thought will show that, unless a man is as near-sighted as an owl in daylight, he cannot shoot with the back sight resting on his nose.
A pistol fitted with a rifle stock must be used with great caution. You are apt to put the fingers of your left hand over the muzzle, as the end of the muzzle comes just where one puts one’s hand with the fingers round the fore end, to steady a rifle or shotgun. ”

“ The eyes stare at the expressionless breech of the gun until, tiring of that, they stare at the red wheel above the ammunition hoist. Often they stare at the bugler as he passes the open door of the casemate, and prayers go up that ultimately he may sound the “Secure.” ”

“ When a champion rifle shot fires blindfolded at a wedding-ring, or a penny held between his wife's thumb and finger, or, seated back to her, shoots, by means of a mirror, at an apple upon her head or on a fork held in her teeth, the danger of using a bullet is obvious. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Enter PISTOL, BARDOLPH, and PAGE
PISTOL. God save you, Sir John!
FALSTAFF. Welcome, Ancient Pistol. Here, Pistol, I charge you
with
a cup of sack; do you discharge upon mine hostess.
PISTOL. I will discharge upon her, Sir John, with two bullets.
FALSTAFF. She is pistol-proof, sir; you shall not hardly offend
her.
HOSTESS. Come, I'll drink no proofs nor no bullets. I'll drink
no
more than will do me good, for no man's pleasure, I.
PISTOL. Then to you, Mistress Dorothy; I will charge you.
DOLL. Charge me! I scorn you, scurvy companion. What! ”

“ A head bends low; a left eye closes; the right, brown as a hawk’s and as fierce, glares, from beneath corrugated brow, along a barrel that rests as though in a grip of steel. The keen report of a sporting rifle—not loud, but crisp and clear—rings through the silent wood, and there is a heavy fall and a groan. ”

“ Persons unfamiliar with these fire-arms, when they test a new pistol or revolver, generally commence by aiming at the object desired to hit, and if their holding is good they are likely to find the shots grouped quite a distance above the object aimed at. The heavier the charge and lighter the arm the greater the flip or kick-up. The shooter, when he observes this result, generally corrects the fault by holding under the object, and some wonderfully good shooting has been done by aiming eighteen or twenty inches under the object. ”

“ I once got these from an officer in Vienna, and they have been used in more than a score of duels, I was told. One of the pistols—I can't tell which it is—has killed a dozen men, so you are going to fight with famous weapons. ”

“ Yes, for I like your way of asking, though, in my opinion, a pistol duel is a barbarous affair. I accept, but on the following conditions: You must bring two pistols, charge them in my presence, and give me the choice. If the first shot is a miss, we will fight with swords till the first blood or to the death, whichever you prefer. Call for me at three o'clock, and choose some place where we shall be secure from the law. ”

“ The gas lit up in full glare myriads of revolvers grouped in the form of lustres, whilst groups of pistols, and candelabra formed of muskets bound together, completed this magnificent display of brilliance. Models of cannon, bronze castings, sights covered with dents, plates battered by the shots of the Gun Club, assortments of rammers and sponges, chaplets of shells, wreaths of projectiles, garlands of howitzers—in short, all the apparatus of the artillerist, enchanted the eye by this wonderful arrangement and induced a kind of belief that their real purpose was ornamental rather than deadly. ”

“ 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. ”

“ For instance, we may see a brace of pistols, superbly mounted, crossed over the mantel-piece—a flute upon the table—a rifle leaning against the wall, and, I declare, fishing-tackle thrown carelessly down, all among those delicate knackeries so beautifully arranged on yonder marble slab—just like the men! ”

“ 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. ”

“ Under no circumstances should any one handle a pistol, loaded or unloaded, except when he is on the firing line fully abreast of the firers, and the pistol should never be pointed in any other direction than the front. ”

“ I'm used to guns," she explained, turning to the officer. "My father was an army man, and he taught me very early to load and fire a pistol. There was a prolonged sound to this shot; something like an echo of itself, following close upon the first ping. Didn't you notice that, Warren?"
"I remember something of the kind," her husband allowed.
"He shot twice and quickly," interposed the policeman, sententiously. "We shall find a spent bullet back of that mirror." ”

“ I think perhaps there may be some truth in this, as the mouth of a horse-pistol almost grazes my forehead, while immediately behind the butt of that death-dealing weapon I perceive a large man with black whiskers. Other large men begin to assemble, also with horse-pistols. ”

“ I know an extremely feeble old man who for many years each morning has half a dozen shots with a duelling pistol rapid-firing, and although he comes and goes a tottering, feeble old man, he brings up his pistol and hits the bull’s-eye instantly, like a young man, when shooting. ”

“ So now this is the queer position of affairs: we fire a pistol shot off at 12 midnight to-night by arrangement, and they reply with some shots over our heads, after which things continue to hum as before. You have no idea how pleasant everything seems with no rifle bullets or shells flying about. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Among them he found an odd-looking pistol which the rust of years had rendered worthless. The weapon was an uncommon one. I never saw anything like it before or since, and it is my daily prayer that I never may. It was a ten-shooter; with nine chambers for bullets, and a tenth and larger barrel for throwing buckshot, slugs, walnuts, small onions, or potatoes. In fact it was capable of receiving almost anything not exceeding a billiard ball in size. ”

“ 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. ”