Shooting

“ Shooting schools cannot help a shooter to learn to kill curling pheasants, swerving partridges, wrenching grouse, or zigzagging snipe, but they can teach the quick firing and changing of guns. And to one not in practice it is this quick firing that puts a shooter out of touch with gun and game, much more readily than swerve, wrench, zigzag, or curl. ”

“ The scientific and systematic rules of shooting in the field are so generally known, and universally comprehended, in respect to the length of the gun, the mode of charging, the distance for firing, and some other trifling minutia, {289} dependent upon contingencies, that a single line must be unnecessary in elucidation; except a salutary hint to the young and inexperienced, never to let others do for them with the gun, what they can do for themselves. ”

“ Much can, no doubt, be done to improve one’s shooting by regular practice. Some years ago I was discussing the subject with one of the old Highland proprietors who is a first-class rifle shot, and he told me that for many years he had been in the habit of practising shooting at a small wooden stag, which he had placed in all kinds of different positions and at different distances on the hill. ”

“ A part of the inhabitants who were acting in a particularly mean fashion and were firing madly with all kinds of firearms, without let or hindrance, upon our troops, were shot down to the number of about twenty; amongst these were some women who, with special cunning, fired again and again into the companies from the rear. This shooting was done to defend ourselves and to scare the inhabitants from any further atrocities. ”

“ We must therefore conclude that the association of shooting with initiation is merely one of many possible associations, and that the shooting found in the basic complex must be regarded as historically different from the shooting found in the initiation complex. ”

“ I had the whole road to myself, for no one was yet stirring, and I walked on, with a slouching, dogged gait. The gray shooting-jacket was on my back, and from the end of my brother’s rifle hung a small bundle of my clothes. My fingers worked moodily at the stock and trigger, and I thought that this indeed was the way to begin life, with a gun in your hand! ”

“ We did not go to the Rockies with the idea of shooting, our sole raison d’être being to show the heathen Chinee how not to cook; but incidentally the charm of the chase captured us, and we exchanged the gridiron for the gun. ”

“ Naturally enough, it follows that the sound of pistol shots is frequently heard in the land, and since it happens nine times out of ten that the argument is between transients, the permanent resident is not nearly so interested in the outcome as one might imagine—particularly when the shooting takes place at night and beyond the town limits. ”

“ Nor from the shooting standpoint did we lack for sport. We had to shoot for our men, and we occasionally needed meat ourselves. It was always interesting, when such necessities arose, to stalk the shy buck and do long-range rifle practice. ”

“ The shooting had been good that morning, as quail-shooting goes, and the man who acted as keeper, loader, gardener, and general factotum, and who went out with any one who wanted to shoot, had gone on to the cottage with the bag, the two guns, and the animal which he called his dog. ”

“ The second party of two guns was made up of the three elder boys and a friend, shooting five days a week, weather permitting, taking their turns alternately, the men out, going after snipe and ducks and fishing. ”

“ Shooting with the bow, the gun, and the pistol, is an exercise for Circassian boys at an age when those of countries more civilized are spelling, syllable by syllable, the lessons of the primer and the catechism. ”

“ For we were going to Colleywoodbro' to fetch away the game.
Come, all you gallant poaching lads, if I must have my will,
Before we try to shoot this night let's try some hares to kill;
For shooting, you very well know, it makes terrible sound,
So if we shoot before we hunt we shall disturb the ground. ”

“ They also shoot considerably, evincing a peculiar fondness for shooting people in the back with a remarkably bad aim, and then finishing them with a shot in the ear at close quarters, or a dagger under the fifth rib. ”

“ His gun, then, must be suited to grouse-shooting, and must be light, because of the heat which often prevails at that time, and renders dragging a heavy gun many miles over the heather—before they pack—a serious drawback to the pleasure of the sport. ”

“ Before commencing your stalk, it is well to arrange some straw or reed in the cart, waggon, or hackery in such a manner that it shall afford concealment without preventing you, when within shot, from instantly starting, gun in hand, to a kneeling posture, which we have found the best attitude to shoot in when subjected to the irregular motion of a vehicle with wheels out of circle, and travelling over a plain without roads. For this description of shooting, a strong hard-shooting gun is needed. ”

“ So much cannot always be said of other shooting, when the noble sportsman entrenches himself behind fortifications to which the fierce wild fowl are driven to be shot down by gun after gun placed in his hands. ”

“ In so far as the art of shooting with the rifle can be taught by words, Mr Greener has essayed to make all who read his treatise proficient sharpshooters, and his remarks, both in sporting and military weapons, are eminently practical.'—The Field.
'Like all men who have had any experience of rifle shooting, insists on training the beginner to shoot, and shoot well, at stationary targets at short distances, and only advancing as each stage is thoroughly mastered. ”

“ On this night I went down with one other man, and we found that there had been a fight between two of the miners, and the one getting the worst of it had pulled out his revolver, shooting wildly. He did not hit the man with whom he had been fighting, but another man sitting in a far corner got the bullet in his chest. ”

“ In order to excel, regular and temperate habits of life must be formed and maintained. It renders the senses more alert and trains them to act in unison and in harmony. But, above all, skill in shooting is a useful accomplishment.
Anyone possessing ordinary health and good sight may, by practice, become a good pistol shot. ”

“ There is one subject connected with shooting, or the ethics of shooting, about which there is much more to be said than ever has been attempted—namely, that partridge preservers are now, and will be more in the future, indebted to the fox for their sport. ”

“ Other tame shooting is battue shooting, where luxuriously clad men, who have breakfasted at any hour between ten and twelve, and have been driven to their coverts in a comfortable conveyance, stand in a sheltered corner with cigarettes in their mouths, and shoot tame pheasants and timid hares for about three hours and a half, varying the entertainment by a hot lunch, and a short walk from beat to beat. ”

“ You see, I have been shooting in different parts of the world and at different sorts of game for some fifteen years, and in many cases quick shooting is of just as much importance as straight shooting. ”

“ In learning the art of shooting on the wing—and this is the only way in which a shot-gun should be used—the following suggestions may be of some help, but no amount of printed directions can teach you to shoot. ”

“ Such practice is largely indulged in by cowboys, ranchmen, and others in the western part of the United States. The shooting is generally rapid-fire work with heavy charges at short range, and is to be commended as being extremely practical. ”

“ I must tell my readers that from earliest boyhood I had a passionate love for shooting; and, through the kindness of my commanding officer while at Monte Video, I was allowed constantly to indulge in sport.
On one occasion my captain, who was a keen sportsman, took me with him out shooting. We had a famous day's sport, filled our game bags with partridges, ducks, and snipe, and were returning home on horseback when a solitary horseman, a nasty-looking fellow, armed to the teeth, rode up to us. As I knew a little Spanish we began to talk about shooting, &c. ”

“ Shoot. To let fly or cause to be driven with force, as an arrow or bullet;—followed by a word denoting the missile, as an object. Also, to discharge, causing a missile to be driven forth;—said of the weapon or instrument, as an object; as, to shoot a gun and the like.
Shooter. One who shoots; an archer; a gunner; a shot. Also, that which shoots; as, a five-shooter.
Shooting-iron. A fire-arm is sometimes so called.
Shoshones, or Snakes. A tribe of North American Indians inhabiting the country between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains, and from Idaho southward into Utah. ”

“ We can’t afford to waste shots.’
So the three commenced to fire steadily and in turn, each waiting after the other’s shot to see if a man fell, each calling to the others in triumph if a man went down after their shot, growling angrily [101] if the shot missed. They made good shooting amongst them, the man in the middle of the road an unmistakable best and the Canadian second. ”

“ I'm not shooting with my own gun, though. It's one of my brother's, and it's rather short in the stock for me.
That starts you comfortably with the Bad Shot. You soothe his ruffled vanity, and give him a better appetite for lunch.
Now, besides the Good Shot, and the Bad Shot—the two extremes, as it were, of the line of shooters—you might subdivide your sportsmen further into—
(1.) The Jovial Shot. This party is on excellent terms with himself and with everybody else. Generally he shoots fairly well, but there is a rollicking air about him, which disarms criticism, even when he shoots badly. ”

“ This discussion of the sporting rifle will be concerned, therefore, principally with the hunting aspects, other forms of shooting being considered as good methods of practice, and the development of skill in the use of hunting weapons. ”

“ They evidently felt obliged to get rid of me somehow. It's been a night of great experiences for me. When they found I was not likely to perish in the flames they resorted to shooting. I believe that my forehead shows where one bullet passed. ”

“ Persons fond of shooting, would do well to take with them one or more good double-barrelled guns, with spare locks, a good supply of flints, and all the necessary implements for cleaning, &c. in a very solid wainscot case, firmly clamped with brass at the corners, lid, and bottom. ”

“ But, as our shooting is thus in manner utterly decayed among us one way, so our countrymen wax skilful in sundry other points, as in shooting in small pieces, the caliver, the handling of the pike, in the several uses whereof they are become very expert. ”

“ At the time the shot was fired the deceased must have been standing within ten feet of the door, and the assassin standing near enough to see his position, took aim for about the middle of his person, shooting through the upper portion of the whitened glass. ”

“ When three men had thus fired, signals were made by drum, flag, and bugle, and the firing ceased. The marker then came out and pointed to the bullet-mark on each target, and having patched up the holes he returned within his mantelet, and the firing was resumed. This very safe and simple method of ball practice is much better than that used in our military shooting. ”

“ Good shooting, eh!”
“Fair to middling, sonny—fair to middling—but with a handful o’ shot an’ a light gun what can yer expect but to hit. Now, ef you’d bagged ’em with one ball outer an ole muzzle-loader, why I’d up an’ admit it was praisable.”
“Why Uncle, where’s the man who would knock over two birds with a ball? ”

“ It is regularly and systematically practised in the army and navy, in order to maintain and improve the proficiency of the men as marksmen. Target-shooting, with many different styles of firearms, under prescribed rules and regulations, has also become extremely popular with civilians.
Target-shooting was indulged in extensively with the rifle before it became popular with the pistol and revolver. The shorter barrel, and the greater difficulty in acquiring skill with the latter weapons, were doubtless responsible for the mistaken idea, long prevalent, that these arms were extremely inaccurate. ”

“ Remember that a man shoots over three times for every once he shoots too low. Put your cap under your rifle if you are going to shoot from a rock rest; shoot from a rest whenever you can, and if you miss the first shot, do as the Frenchman wanted to when pheasant shooting, i.e. ”

“ As a rule, the shots you get are fired from the top of [Pg 76] one mound at a sheep on the top of another, and unless you are using a rifle with a very flat trajectory, and have (as all men should in Central Asia) a rough mental table, to suit your own eyesight, of the distances at which an eye or an ear would be visible, you are extremely likely to throw a great many shots away. ”

“ There was many a league in whose solemn depths a human foot had never yet penetrated, and whose echoes had never been awakened by the shot of the rifle. There they lay as silent as at "creation's morn," and the denizens of the woods waxed strong and wandered at will, without fear of the deadly bullet whistling from behind the tree or mossy rock. ”

“ 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. ”

“ True, a single rifle-shot might drop him and be no great disclosure. But firing is infectious—and see how rapidly he moves, with never a pause except as he whirls his horse about to take a new direction, never directly backward toward us, never directly forward toward his executioners. All this is visible through the glass; it seems occurring within pistol-shot; we see all but the enemy, whose presence, whose thoughts, whose motives we infer. ”