Shot (bullet)

“ Suddenly I ran my face against the side of a "giant gooseberry" with peculiarly virulent prongs, and in that moment a bullet whizzed low over my head, and—here's the point—the bolt of the rifle from which that bullet came was pulled back and jammed home for the next shot—as it seemed right in my ear. We all lay perfectly flat and still. I could feel the Sergeant-Major's elbow just touching my left hip. ”

“ So firmly do I believe this that I generally take the rifle from my shoulder between each shot. Even aimed rapid fire is of no great value as compared with better aimed slower fire. The first bullet delivers to an animal's nervous system about all the shock it can absorb. If the beast is not thereby knocked down and held down, subsequent shots can accomplish that desirable result only by reaching a vital spot or by tearing tissue. ”

“ Look with the greatest intensity at the bird as it rises, and coolly observe its line of flight while deliberately bringing the barrels to your shoulder. Steadiness will be increased by your not removing the gun from your shoulder the instant you have fired. Never fire when your shot can be of no more advantage than a single bullet. If you have a bet about killing a jack snipe, seize the favourable moment for pulling the trigger when the pellets will be spread over a disk of more than a yard in diameter. ”

“ The considerable striking energy retained in a small portion of the mass—consisting of only the nose and a little more of the jacket of the bullet, but sufficient to fragment a large section of the bone, and then to traverse more than half the length of the forearm—leaves no doubt that the shot was fired at very close range, and that the bullet was broken on a nearly resisting surface, leaving in the nose of the bullet a striking force equal to that of the entire projectile at long range. ”

“ A wave of the curious spectators rushed across the street and gathered around the injured man. They found that he had been shot through the fleshy part of the thumb, and the bullet, ranging down the arm, had sliced a furrow to the bone all the way to the elbow. ”

“ The public think that a bullet goes only where the shooter wants it to go, “You pull the trigger and the bullet does the rest” sort of idea.
They believe the bullet goes direct of itself to that object and stops there, when the trigger is pulled. They have no idea that the bullet may miss that object and hit someone beyond.
People will stand in the direct line of fire to watch a wounded buck in a park being shot, and are indignant if asked to move to one side. ”

“ You feel that there is an element of fluke in the shooting. You may make a very good shot and [Pg 316] the bullet being too soft or the barrel too hot that bullet does not take the rifling properly and gives you an unmerited miss.
Seeing your adversary raise his arm as you do yours and trying to anticipate his let-off by hitting him before he can hit you, is the great advantage of the Devilliers bullet as training for a duel.
In snapping practice with an empty pistol, it is well to practice facing your reflection in a mirror to get used to the adversary’s arm rising. ”

“ 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. ”

“ A target will be assigned to you, and you will repair to the firing point and load your arm. It is well to let your coach fire the first shot or two, to see if your piece is sighted approximately right. If so, you are ready to begin shooting. If the sights appear to be as in Fig. 85 at the moment of discharge, then the bullet should hit the center of the bull’s-eye. If, after several shots, you are convinced that the bullet does not strike where it should, the arm is not properly sighted for you. ”

“ Should he then be quite satisfied that his second bullet has struck the right spot behind the shoulder, and should the beast still continue to stand in the same position, or move on only a short distance, he can be pretty sure that the case is one of those I allude to, and he had better either finish with a shot in the brain or the vertebræ of the neck, or leave it to die quietly, as it very soon will do. ”

“ Good, who is an execrable shot, missed the head of the bull altogether, the bullet merely cutting the side of his face as it passed. On glancing up, after I had fired my second shot, I perceived that the people we had fallen among were evidently ignorant of the nature of firearms, for the consternation caused by our shots and their effect upon the animals was prodigious. ”

“ Such being the case, those who have been through several battles become naturally careless and fearless. At first we involuntarily lower our heads a little at the sound of a small bullet. Even the officer who scolds his men, saying, “Who is it that salutes the enemy’s shot?” cannot help nodding to the enemy at first. ”

“ I prefer a big-calibre pistol in competition, as it gives a better chance to score; a shot which would be just out of the bull with a small bullet, may just cut the bull with a large ball. The bullet-hole is also more easily seen, but the bullet must be spherical, or you will have to use too heavy a charge of powder to propel it. ”

“ It is particularly requisite to attend to the perpendicular line; and that no shot be allowed to count, which strikes the butt at more than five feet from the ground. In service, it is far better that the bullet should fall rather short, than that it should go over the adversary’s head ”

“ Men were issuing from the burning compounds, singly and in twos and threes. All firing had ceased, and not a native of the place was to be seen anywhere. As I approached the square at a staggering trot I ran a great risk of being shot, for—as I learnt subsequently—the men were so startled at my appearance that they were seriously thinking of putting a bullet through me. ”

“ I stooped to take it up, and while stooping he fired one of the pistols at me; and on examining my person, I found the mark of a bullet and twenty-seven grains of shot in my side, just under my left arm. ”

“ With the employment of a gas-check at the base of the shot to prevent windage and so secure the full force of the exploding charge, the use of studs in a shot appears to be unnecessary, sufficient spin being imparted to the projectile by the soft metal of the gas-check before named, which causes the shot to rotate after the manner of a Snider bullet. ”

“ The assistant stands with his back against the back-cloth, and the ball is on his head so that the steel spike is just clear of the middle of the ball; the shooter then fires at the trophy of flags, or what not (which is eight or more inches above the man’s head, and therefore a practically easy and safe shot) ; the bullet hitting the disk, drives it back; the other end of the lever with the spike comes forward; the spike goes through the scenery, breaks the ball, and at once returns out of sight. ”

“ Following the trail a distance of fifty feet, I found her lying dead with her throat cut, and, in fact, a considerable portion of it shot away. The express bullet, driven by a heavy charge of powder, has such a high velocity that when it strikes flesh it invariably makes a big hole in it. ”

“ It may be taken as a general rule that all big game should be shot behind the shoulder.
Roughly speaking, a bullet placed in the lateral centre of the body, or a trifle below the centre, and a few inches behind the shoulder in a perpendicular line with the back of the foreleg, will kill anything, provided, of course, the bullet has sufficient penetration; as, even if the heart is not touched, the lungs, which are a much larger mark, and almost equally vital, certainly will be. ”

“ Nowadays, with the wax bullets driven by fulminate out of a duelling pistol, shooting off the heads of assistants can be done with very little risk except to the eyes, whereas with a leaden bullet a bad shot means the death of the assistant unless provided with a steel skull cap under a wig. ”

“ But make122 now one final shot with a charge sufficiently powerful, and away flies the bullet, following this time the curvature of the earth, for the earth’s attraction has the effect of bending the path of the bullet from a straight line into this circular form. By the time the bullet has travelled a quarter of the way round, it is no nearer to the earth than it was at first, nor has it parted with any of its original speed. Thus, notwithstanding its long journey, the bullet has practically just as much energy as when it first left the muzzle of the cannon. ”

“ The aim is then taken at the bottom of the candle in order that the bullet hits the wick, and therefore there is no glare in the eyes from the flame.
The “assisted” way of doing this shot is to have a pair of bellows with nozzle curved at right angles, the side of the bellows towards you made of steel, the nozzle pointed at the candle wick, behind the candle, of course concealed so that when the background is struck the bellows blow the candle out. ”

“ During my many wars with the Mexicans I received eight wounds, as follows: shot in the right leg above the knee, and still carry [Pg 110] the bullet; shot through the left forearm; wounded in the right leg below the knee with a saber; wounded on top of the head with the butt of a musket; shot just below the outer corner of the left eye; shot in left side; shot in the back. I have killed many Mexicans; I do not know how many, for frequently I did not count them. Some of them were not worth counting. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In our own opinion, a single ball of tolerable size is not only more manageable, but more effective. The mode of producing the bullet also varies. Some, instead of producing it in the mouth, hold up a china plate by way of target, the bullet being held under the two first fingers against the front of the plate. When the pistol is fired, the plate is turned horizontally, and the bullet released from the fingers. ”

“ As the head of the first man appeared my companion raised his pistol and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the poor wretch exactly on the bridge of the nose, making a clear round hole from which, an instant later, a jet of blood spurted forth. A second bullet carried another man to his account, and by this time the remaining four were upon us. ”

“ When I leisurely contemplated the massive frame before me, seeming as though it had been cast in a mould of brass, and protected by a hide of an inch and a half in thickness, it was no longer matter of astonishment that a bullet discharged from a distance of eighty or ninety yards should have been attended with little effect upon such amazing strength. The extreme height from the crown of the elegantly moulded head to the hoof of this magnificent animal, was eighteen feet; the whole being equally divided into neck, body, and leg. ”

“ I have told you that the more the air is pressed the greater is its springiness. In what is called the air-gun, a great deal of air is crowded into a very small space—much more than there is in a pop-gun; and a bullet can therefore be fired from it with force enough to go through a board. It is done in this way: The pressed air is shut up tight, and all at once it is let into the barrel of the gun where the bullet is. It throws the bullet out just in the same way that the gas of the powder does in a common gun. This air-gun is only a curiosity. ”

“ But when the shot begin to come like a shower of rain, we can no longer give each shot a bow, but become bold at once. The boom and roar of big shells excite in us no special sensation. When we know that by the time we hear these horrible sounds the projectiles have gone far past us, our courage is confirmed and, instead of bowing to an empty sound, we begin to think of standing on the breastwork and munching rice-balls to show off to the enemy! And the shot seems to shun those audacious ones as a rule, to go round them and call upon others!
[214] ”

“ The 18-pounder field-gun makes a most ear-splitting crack for those who stand in front of the battery, and, moreover, the sound seems to come from only a few yards away. The sniper’s bullet will strike the parapet with a resounding crack, followed by the whirr of its passage through the air, and a new-comer might easily imagine that one of our own men had fired from the next traverse. ”

“ You then discover that although you can see the dim shadow of your game, your bullet will have to cut its way through at least twenty twigs before it can reach its goal. A solid bullet may deflect slightly, but it will generally deliver its message direct, unless the opposing objects are more formidable than ordinary small branches. A hollow bullet from an Express rifle will fly into fragments should it strike a twig the size of the little finger. This is quite sufficient to condemn the hollow projectile without any further argument. ”