PISTOL AND REVOLVER SHOOTING AT LONG RANGE.
Pistol and revolver shooting has been almost wholly confined to short
range, both in America and Europe. Occasional reports have reached this
country of shooting in Austria to a distance of about 400 yards. This
shooting was done with heavy single-shot pistols, weighing from three to
five pounds, of about .40 calibre, fitted with sights capable of very fine
adjustment, with set triggers and appliances to aid in securing good
results.
To learn the capabilities of an American-made single-shot pistol, the
author ordered a pair of the Remingtons, with 12-inch barrels, .32
calibre, and chambered for the cartridge made by the Winchester Repeating
Arms Co. for the .32-calibre repeating rifle; the charge being 20 grains
of powder and 115 grains of lead. The sights fitted to these pistols were
very crude, and not suitable for the work attempted. With better sights,
doubtless much finer results would be chronicled. The first attempt at
long-range shooting with these pistols was made by Mr. W. W. Bennett, at
Walnut Hill. He shot on the 50-yard Standard American revolver target,
at a distance of 75 yards, scoring as follows:--
8 10 5 10 9 10 9 9 8 7 = 85
[Illustration: MR. W. W. BENNETT, EXPERT PISTOL AND REVOLVER SHOT.
(Shooting a Stevens Pistol.)]
Falling back to 100 yards and using the same target, he made the following
scores:--
5 7 7 6 8 4 5 9 8 7 = 66
10 5 5 5 10 8 5 5 7 7 = 67
Nineteen of the twenty shots being in a circle of 19-68/100 inches. He
then proceeded to the 200-yard firing-point, where military marksmen were
practising, and several times scored in ten shots 36 points out of 50.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in sighting on the eight-inch
bull's eye at a distance of 200 yards, and a trial was given on the
second-class target, which has the following dimensions:--
Size of target, 6 x 6 feet.
Bull's-eye, circular, 22 inches in diameter.
Centre, " 38 " "
Inner, " 54 " "
Outer, remainder of target.
The first trial was at a distance of 150 yards, where the following scores
were made:--
_Six shots, possible 30._
5 5 5 5 5 4 = 29
_200 yards._
3 5 5 4 5 5 = 27
[Illustration: Mr. B. J. ROBERTSON, Expert Revolver Shot. (Champion of
Kentucky, 1887.)]
_250 yards._
3 4 4 3 5 5 = 24
_300 yards._
2 5 2 3 3 5 = 20
_350 yards._
5 5 3 4 3 4 = 24
All of the above shooting was done off-hand, with the right arm fully
extended.
It was generally believed among the expert pistol-shots the author has
met, that the modern American revolver could not be depended on much
beyond 75 yards, and it was thought useless to try to accomplish good work
beyond.
On Oct. 27, 1887, Chevalier Paine devoted the entire day, in company with
a representative of THE RIFLE, in experimenting with the revolver at
Walnut Hill. Among the numerous experiments tried was shooting with Smith
& Wesson revolvers, at long range. It was decided to shoot on the
second-class target, commencing at 125 yards and falling back until it was
thought the limit of accuracy with the revolver was found. It was agreed
that each one should take sighting-shots at the several distances until
the target was hit, the first shot striking the target and the following
five to count.
[Illustration: Mr. WALTER WINANS, EXPERT REVOLVER SHOT.]
The result was as follows:--
REPRESENTATIVE
CHEVALIER PAINE. OF THE RIFLE.
_125 yards._
3 2 5 4 5 5 = 24 2 4 5 5 4 5 = 25
_150 yards._
3 4 5 5 5 5 = 27 4 4 5 5 4 4 = 26
_200 yards._
5 2 2 4 0 5 = 18 4 3 3 3 3 4 = 20
_250 yards._
3 4 5 3 2 3 = 20 4 3 2 4 0 0 = 13
_300 yards._
4 5 0 0 4 0 = 13 2 0 2 0 2 4 = 10
In some cases the first sighting-shot struck the target. At 300 yards it
took three shots from one party to find the target; at all other times one
or two shots were sufficient. The scores given above are not intended to
show excellence in marksmanship, but to record the results obtained at the
first trial by persons unacquainted with the range of the revolver and the
sights. The ammunition used was a condemned lot sent to the range by
mistake, but which, doubtless, was better than supposed to be. It had been
loaded several years, and the lubricant was hard, and in many cases
partially detached from the bullet. After the first score had been secured
at the several distances, Chevalier Paine shot at 200 yards, and secured
29 out of a possible 30, making five bull's-eyes and one centre.
Two weeks later Mr. F. E. Bennett, with a .44-calibre Russian-model Smith
& Wesson revolver, shot over about the same distances, with the following
results:--
_2d class target.--150 yards._
5 5 5 5 5 5 = 30
_200 yards._
5 2 4 0 4 5 = 20
_250 yards._
3 4 5 4 3 0 = 19
_300 yards._
5 3 0 0 0 0 = 8
If the revolver is properly sighted, there is little doubt that good
shooting with this arm can be done up to about 300 yards, under favorable
weather conditions. With a single-shot pistol it has been shown that good
work can be done at 400 yards. The revolver being a more practical weapon
than the pistol, it is likely that the single-shot pistol will in future
be confined almost wholly to indoor target practice, and the revolver will
be used exclusively in many clubs who shoot their matches out of doors. It
has been proven that the revolver is a powerful and accurate weapon from
10 to 250 yards. The results of experiments which have been recorded in
this chapter were made with the object of showing that a marksman, or
soldier with ordinary skill, ought to hit every time, with a shot from an
army revolver, a standing object the size of a mounted cavalryman, from 50
to 250 yards off. As stated, the results given in this chapter were the
first attempts with no previous knowledge of the range of the weapon, and
if practice is carried on it will not surprise the writer to hear that
perfect six-shot scores have been made on the second-class target at
distances from 100 to 250 yards. With the sights used on a Smith & Wesson
.44-calibre Russian-model revolver at 30 and 50 yards one can shoot up to
250 yards without aiming off the target.
[Illustration: Standard American Target, reduced from 50-yard target,
one-sixteenth; from 30-yard, one-eighth. Designed by Major C. W. HINMAN.
Adopted and used by American Pistol and Revolver Clubs.]