DETAILS AS TO DUELLING
The following remarks on duelling apply only to countries where duelling
is permitted.
In duelling the challenged has the right to choose what weapons are to be
used, pistols or swords.
The pistol is the weapon for any one deeply wronged, provided he is
anything of a pistol shot.
In a sword duel the duellist can parry; in a pistol one, he cannot parry,
but he can shoot first. If his adversary is a good shot and intends to
kill him, his best chance is to hit him before he can fire. A man who
knows he is in the wrong and also knows he has a man in front of him,
determined to kill him, is very apt to shoot too hurriedly and wildly.
Suppose A. who is a good pistol shot and an indifferent fencer, wishes to
fight a duel to the death with B., who is a good swordsman but a bad
pistol shot.
It would be very bad policy for A. to send a challenge to B. It would be
equally bad policy for B. even if he does not want to fight, to refuse
A.’s challenge, if he knows A. wants to kill him.
The reason A. makes a mistake in challenging is that B. when challenged,
can choose swords as the weapons, which gives him the advantage.
If B. does not want to fight, having nothing to gain by killing A. and
objecting to have A. try and kill him, refusing to fight avails him
nothing. It puts him in a worse position. A. has merely to take the
opportunity when B. is in a public place to insult B. and compel B. to
challenge him else B. is publicly branded as a coward. A. now being the
challenged can select weapons and chooses pistols, thus signing B.’s
death-warrant.
The most important thing of all in a pistol duel, is _not to lift the
pistol before the word_ “_feu_.”
There is very little danger of shooting too late, each wishing to hit the
other first prevents that, but there is a very serious risk of lifting the
pistol _before the word_ “_feu_.”
The best way to avoid this risk is to be determined, at whatever cost,
_never_ to lift too soon either in practice or competition, so that in
case of having to fight a duel there is no risk of lifting too soon; it
should become so mechanical to wait an appreciable interval before lifting
the pistol after the word “_feu_,” that there can be no shadow of a doubt
that the pistol has not been lifted too soon.
It is an unpardonable fault to get into the habit of lifting the pistol
too soon in competition.
The best way to cure this fault if acquired (the most difficult of all
faults to eradicate, it being one of nerves) is to lift _just before the
word_ “_un_,” not after the word “_feu_,” and get into the habit of
treating the word “_feu_” as you do _attention_, as just an order to get
prepared to lift, not as the order to lift.
In time you will entirely lose all desire to lift at the word “_feu_.” You
may be a shade slower in your shots, but this is counterbalanced by the
absence of the dread of being too soon.
A man who has been several times disqualified in competition for being too
soon, may get very slow in lifting and wild in his shooting, as his whole
attention is fixed on the words of command instead of on doing good
shooting.
Some men adapt a slightly forward lean in shooting, like pigeon shots or a
runner on the mark. I do not think there is any advantage in this as there
is no recoil to stand up against in a duelling pistol as in a pigeon gun.
The objection to this position is that it does not give the appearance of
absolute ease and confidence, so necessary in duelling. It looks like
anxiety.
Now half the battle, as any one who has boxed knows, is to “get a healthy
funk” in his adversary before the fight begins.
If you draw yourself up slowly to your full height, plant your feet firmly
and look your opponent well over, it will have much more effect on his
nerves, than if you stand in an eager excited attitude.
Carpentier has this gift to perfection, better than any other fighter I
have seen. He has such an air of perfect reliance in himself and
confidence and contempt for his adversary, that the latter seemed almost
to quail before him.
When the pistol is handed to you, you are not allowed to test the
trigger-pull, but you can make a shrewd guess of its strength as you cock
it, if you lift the hammer high and let it drop clean back into the bend.
A heavy trigger-pull gives a much louder click in cocking than a light
one. I bought Ira Paine’s hair trigger Smith & Wesson revolver, which he
used for his dangerous feats on the stage, and I hardly hear any sound in
cocking it,--the trigger-pull is so light.
Byron, speaking of duelling, in _Don Juan_, says:
It has a strange quick jar upon the ear,
That cocking of a pistol, when you know
A moment more will bring the sights to bear
Upon your person, twelve yards off or so;
A gentlemanly distance, not too near
If you have got a former friend or foe;
But after being fired at once or twice,
The ear becomes more Irish, and less nice.
Canto IV.: Stanza XLI.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
OUGHT DUELLING TO BE ABOLISHED?
It is a mistake to think that it is to the universal satisfaction that
duelling is no longer allowed in England.
Probably it was abolished, owing to some agitation by a few cranks, like
that against stag-hunting and Sunday amusements, and even at the time of
the abolition, there were many who thought duelling was a necessity and
its abolition a mistake.
Even a judge of the present time doubts if his abolition was not a
mistake.
On May 17, 1911, it is reported that at the dinner of the Union Society of
London, Lord Justice Vaughan Williams said:
In recent years a statement that man is a liar does not bear the
weight it used to do.
There were times when if one man called another a liar, that man was
called to account for it, it might be even in a duel. But long since
duels came to an end.
If a man called an Englishman a liar in a public place, that
Englishman had a habit of knocking that man down; I am afraid that
habit is dying out.
He said he was sorry he had come to that conclusion, that the “world in
general, as it was accepted in England was coming to think that it did not
matter very much if one’s neighbour called one a liar or not.
“One would smile, meet him in society, go out and play golf with him, and
shake hands with him.
“He wished people would resent more this imputation of being liars.”
“Vanoc” in the _Referee_ newspaper said:
For some reasons the abolition of duelling is a mistake. Insolent and
offensive language is now too frequently indulged in with impunity ...
the best rule of all is never to take liberties yourself, and never to
allow liberties to be taken with you, and to remember that
self-defence is still the noble art.
Over the signature of “Les Armes de Combat,” a writer after referring to
“the deplorable” inefficiency of the mass of English officers with the
revolver, says:
The reason Englishmen take no interest (as a nation) in pistol
shooting, whereas pistol shooting is of national interest in countries
where pistol duelling still exists, is because in those countries
every man of the upper classes, soldier or civilian, has at the back
of his mind the possibility that he may be called out.
Amongst this class therefore, fencing and pistol-shooting is a
national sport, with a spice of utility behind it. In Great Britain
this incentive has ceased to exist.
Whilst duelling is allowed in one country and not in another, it puts an
inhabitant of the latter country in a very unenviable position if he is
insulted in the other country.
He cannot shield himself behind the plea that duelling is not customary in
his own country, without laying himself open to be called a coward, and
yet he must not fight.
At the actual time I was writing the above, an English officer was having
to submit to the indignity of being tried for murder under circumstances
in which, in a duelling country, he would have had a perfect right to kill
the man.
As I sat down to resume writing this morning, the morning papers were
brought in. I picked up the nearest, which happened to be the _Daily
Mirror_, and the first words my eyes fell on were:
With the verdict of “not guilty” the great love drama trial came to an
end at the Old Bailey yesterday. Scarcely had the foreman of the jury
uttered the words which set Lieut. X---- free, than frantic cheers
rose in Court, and were taken up by the enormous crowd, which,
seething with excitement, awaited the result in the street outside.
Can any one doubt what answer this crowd would have given, if asked if
duelling should be made legal in England?
How the law at present stands, for citizens of the United States of
America and for British subjects, will be found in the supplement of this
book (reprinted from my _Art of Revolver Shooting_).
The American law does not apply to the case of a duel fought by a citizen
of the United States outside the geographical limits of that country.
According to Mr. R. Newton Crane _no offence is committed_ by the fact
that an American citizen has participated in a duel beyond the
jurisdiction of the United States. The citizenship of the combatant, is in
such circumstances, immaterial.
On the other hand, sending, knowingly bearing, or accepting a challenge in
England or America, renders the sender, bearer, or accepter, liable to
punishment by the laws of England or America, as the case may be, whether
the duel is subsequently fought or not, and whether it is fought in
England or America or abroad, and whether the offending party is an
Englishman, American, or a foreigner. Provoking a man to send a challenge
is also an indictable offence.
The law applicable to the punishment for actually fighting the duel, is,
on the other hand, the law of the place where the duel is fought, and that
law only, applies to the offence.
Provocation, however great, is no excuse, although it might weigh with the
court in fixing the punishment.
Under the English law the punishment for sending, bearing or accepting a
challenge is fine or imprisonment without hard labour, or both.
Each of the States of the United States has penalties for the offence,
which though differing in detail are practically the same in substance as
those provided by the law of England.
It seems, therefore, that a citizen of the United States of America, can
safely fight a duel in a country where duelling is permitted with a man of
any nationality, provided he does not challenge, accept a challenge, or
fight him on American _or_ British soil.
CHAPTER XXXIX
HOW TO PREPARE A NOVICE IN HALF AN HOUR FOR A DUEL
A duel takes place only a few hours after the challenge, generally early
next morning, to prevent interruption.
Suppose a man has never had a pistol in his hand. How should he be trained
in the half-hour at his disposal?
This is easy--if he is experienced with the shotgun at game or clay
pigeons.
Show him the hind sight of the pistol; tell him it is merely to assist him
in aligning the pistol.
Tell him that as there is only one barrel, it would be difficult to align
it without this sight, pointing out to him that his double barrel shotgun
can be aligned without this aid as in that case he looks along the rib.
Tell him to imagine he is using a shotgun, and to use his pistol exactly
as he would use his gun if shooting at a rabbit which sat up on its hind
legs for a moment, to listen.
Tell him he must be careful to keep the butt end of his pistol against his
thigh, till he hears the word “_un_,” and that he must not fire after the
word “_trois_”; in fact, he must not fire a poking shot.
On no account, unless he unfortunately knows it already, let him know the
pistol may be raised after the word “_feu_.”
If he is a good snap shot with a gun, he is sure to shoot quickly enough.
Show him that keeping his arm straight corresponds to keeping the left arm
well out in shotgun shooting.
Tell him that “_attention, feu!_” will first be said by the master of the
duel, just as “Are you ready? pull!” are said in pigeon shooting, but that
it will be a “no bird” if he lifts his pistol before the word “_un_,” or
if he fires after “_trois_,” his adversary being considered “out of
bounds” at the word “_trois_.”
Load the pistol and hand it to him, and tell him to cock it.
See that he is standing with the butt properly against his thigh.
Say “_attention, feu!_”--with a good interval apart, then sharply “_un,
deux, trois_.”
He is almost certain to hit the figure, and well before the word
“_trois_.”
Say, “I knew you would find it very easy,” and take him away at once: _do
not on any account_ let him have _another_ shot.
This one successful shot is all that is necessary, even for an expert
duellist before a duel.
If your pupil should miss, explain to him his fault, and chaff him as to
his inability to hit a “sitter.” Above all do not let him get to aiming.
If he hits next shot, his lesson is finished.
In the very improbable event of his again missing, then you will have to
continue your instruction as for one of the below class of pupil.
It is of vital importance to give him absolute confidence in his ability
to hit his man.
He should on no account be allowed to see others pistol shooting.
The most difficult pupil to instruct in half an hour is the man who is an
expert pistol shot at a stationary target, but who has never attempted to
shoot rapid-firing or at a moving target.
If he has besides never used a shotgun, his is almost a hopeless case.
He is certain not to raise his pistol before the word “_feu_,” but it must
be drummed into him that if he cannot let off his pistol before the word
“_trois_” _he must not shoot at all_, or he will be hung for murder.
Then the half hour can be spent in trying to get him to squeeze and let
off in time, but probably the only result will be terribly wild shots, and
he will finish with a feeling of despair as to his ability to hit his
opponent.
I think it is best with such men not to let them have any practice but
merely to tell them that they must keep the butt of their pistol to their
thigh, till the word “_feu_” and that they will be hung if they fire after
the word “_trois_.”
In the actual duel, they will either miss or, what is more likely, lift
the pistol well up to the sky, begin slowly to lower it, and that will be
all, as they will not have fired before the word “_trois_” is spoken.
They will be fortunate if they do not let off involuntarily after the word
“_trois_,” but if they are of the sort who keep their finger outside the
trigger guard till they have had a ten seconds’ aim, there will be no
danger of that.
I have just been reading a book in which the hero “aimed for well over
thirty seconds before firing straight at the light”; he must have had an
arm of steel to be able to fire “straight at” it after aiming for over
thirty seconds.
Another type of pupil is one who has shot both shotgun and rifle, but both
on entirely different principles.
He is a splendid man with a shotgun, quick as lightning in snap-shooting,
or a “tall” bird coming down wind.
He scorns to take advantage of a cantering hare, or a low bird. But the
moment he has a pistol or rifle in his hands, he alters his method
entirely.
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.
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.
It is called “not quite cricket.” That is not a happy simile; Cricketers
do not, I am told, hit at a ball whilst it is stationary, but when at full
speed.
“Not quite golf” seems to me more appropriate; in golf the poor little
ball is treacherously hit whilst sitting on its little nest, basely built
for it by the very hand that strikes it.
A man who is a crack shot with the gun, and who unfortunately is also a
crack shot with the rifle in its restricted conventional sense, at slow
deliberate aim, can perhaps be prepared for a duel by impressing on him to
forget all he knows about rifle-shooting, and to imagine he is using a
shotgun, but the moment he sees the back sight of his pistol in the actual
duel, he will try to use it for deliberate aim and miss. The habit of a
lifetime cannot be altered in half an hour.
The shotgun man who has never fired a rifle, has no need to be told not to
“poke.”
Dwelling on the aim must be entirely drummed out of the target rifle shot,
and he must be again reminded just before he shoots in his duel.
The “shotgun man” on the contrary has to be told--“Don’t pay any attention
to the director of the duel, if he tells you you can fire after the word
‘_feu_.’ You fire after the word ‘_un_’; you do not need all day to hit a
sitter; show them what snap-shooting is.”
It is hopeless to try to instruct in half an hour for a duel, the utter
novice, the man who has never had firearms in his hands. He is either of
those who are frightened at firearms; are sure “it will explode” when
“examined,” or “when you do not know if it is loaded,” or is of the type
who is “not the least afraid” of it. He cocks it pointing at you, turns to
speak to you whilst familiarly poking you with the muzzle to emphasize the
joke. He is of the type that rides at a five barred gate with spikes on
top of it.
It is the courage of ignorance, to use the polite term, but to put it
bluntly--it is because he is “a d--d fool.”
All that can be done with such men is to try to prevent their shooting the
seconds or themselves, and “losing off” at unexpected and inopportune
moments.
They may even in an excess of caution “fire into the air.”
People are very fond of doing this in crowded neighbourhoods “merely to
frighten a man,” and are very much surprised when someone gets hit.
CHAPTER XL
PISTOLS FOR SELF-DEFENCE
These can be divided into two classes.
Pistols to be carried on the person and pistols to be kept by the bedside
against attacks at night.
The pistols to be carried on the person can again be subdivided into
pistols carried openly, and those carried concealed.
For a pistol carried openly, the big army pistols are the best, my choice
being the U. S. .45 Army Colt Automatic (see Plates 13 and 14).
Such pistols, it must be remembered, have great penetration, and if fired
in a room the bullet can go through a closed door or a thick partition, as
if they did not exist.
Hiding behind a door or closing and locking the door is no protection
against a bullet from an automatic pistol, even the very smallest calibres
having great penetration.
The only way in which closing a door _may_ protect those on the other side
is that the one shooting cannot actually aim at them.
As very few men can hit what they aim at with a pistol, this is not much
advantage. In fact, the person shot at by a bad shot is safer than those
at the sides. It is difficult to hit what is desired but something else is
sure to be hit however badly the pistol is aimed.
A pistol intended to be carried concealed is more difficult to decide on
than one to be kept by the bed.
Take the latter first.
The main object of a bedside pistol is to frighten the intruder, without
having to shoot, the next most important point is, if it has to be fired,
that no innocent person in another room should be hit.
For the first reason, to frighten the intruder, the pistol should be as
big and formidable looking as possible. A big double-barrelled,
pistol-shooting dust shot would probably answer best, and need not be
loaded; its looks are enough.
It is more formidable than the largest automatic. It can be fired without
aim; even in darkness it is almost sure to hit what it is intended to
owing to its spread of shot.
If No. 8 or less size shot is used and a light charge of powder, it would
not go through a door or partition.
It must be remembered that such a charge is very deadly at close range,
more so than a bullet even, so should be fired only as a last resource,
also it is of no use to fire at one of two people struggling together, it
will hit them both.
For a burglar escaping, if care is taken to let him get well away, say
thirty yards, before firing, it would mark him for identification. It is
a very ticklish job to shoot at a man running away, as far as the law is
concerned, and had better be avoided.
The other alternative for a bedside pistol is a .44 Smith and Wesson
Russian model with gallery ammunition, and in the hands of a good shot
this is the best of all, as he need not shoot to kill unless necessary.
They are now no longer made, but can still be picked up occasionally.
Now as to a pocket pistol to be carried unobstrusively. It must be borne
in mind that if any one is shot with a pistol the shooter may get into
more trouble, and get less sympathy, than if he carried a pistol openly.
One sees advertisements giving illustrations of vest pocket automatic
pistols of minute size, particular stress being laid on their small size.
This is not the most important feature to be desired in pocket pistols.
A smoker does not complain of the size of his cigarette case, therefore a
pocket pistol need not be smaller than a cigarette case.
Even these smallest automatic pistols are _thicker_ than a cigarette case
and it is thickness which bulges out pockets, not superficial size.
As a rule, a very small automatic pistol means very small bore; small bore
means inefficiency.
A pocket pistol of all pistols must have instant stopping power, as the
shooting is done at a few feet or even inches off.
A pistol which does not instantly render the assailant harmless is worse
than useless. It makes the assailant angry and desperate; he also knows
that now if he kills his man he can claim self-defence, having been shot
at first.
Very few wish to kill their man. He can be held off with a pistol which
commands respect, but a little toy is only laughed at.
[Illustration: PLATE 11. COLT DERRINGER .41 calibre, rim fire]
These modern small size automatic pistols are built on a mistaken idea
that they are the modern prototype of the old Derringer pistol, which was
the most deadly pistol in existence, and the weapon used most frequently
in old-time saloon shooting quarrels.
The Derringer was a vest pocket pistol smaller and more compact than most
vest pocket automatic pistols, but it was not a small bore pistol. (See
Plate 11).
It was just the essential parts of a big powerful pistol, shooting a big
powerful cartridge.
The want it fulfilled was a pistol having great power in a small compass;
one shot was all that was required, as the shot was fired at very close
range.
Some Derringers had a second barrel below the other, but the typical
Derringer was a one shot pistol.
Now if you take a big single shot pistol, how would you reduce it in size
to fit the waistcoat pocket?
First you would cut off the barrel except the actual chamber in which the
cartridge lies.
Then you would take off as much of the hammer as is compatible with
leaving enough grip for the thumb in cocking.
Then you would whittle away all the stock till only the lock mechanism
remained; and this was practically what the Derringer was.
This could be still further improved upon by making it “hammerless”; that
is with an internal hammer.
The Derringer was a rim-shot fire cartridge. My pistol would shoot a
central fire shot.
For those who desire to be able to shoot several shots rapidly and who do
not care to carry two Derringers, an automatic pistol built on the
Derringer principle might suit them.
The difficulty is that the reciprocating mechanism takes up room. It is
attempted to overcome this by making the pistol shaped like a hammer, the
stock coming at right angles out from under the middle of the barrel, but
this is awkward to hold, and to shoot.
One good shot, well directed, is worth a whole pistol full of shots blazed
away.
This is not the popular opinion, for, as long as a constant fire is kept
up, and plenty of smoke and noise, people think great things are being
done. It is only after all is over and there is no result that they begin
to wonder what it was all about.
[Illustration: PLATE 12. COLT AUTOMATIC PISTOL .25
Capacity of magazine, 6 shots. Length of barrel, 2 inches. Finish, full
blued, with case-hardened trigger, slide lock safety and grip safety, or
full nickel plated; rubber stocks. Weight, 13 ounces. Length over all, 4½
inches. Cartridge, cal. .25, rimless; smokeless; metal patched bullet.]
The typical _Air Raid_ newspaper report says, “He fired at least three
tray loads of cartridges, the stream of smoke could be distinctly
noticed”; and the reporter is in ecstasies, and the unimportant detail
that all this “losing off” resulted in nothing does not occur to him.
It is the noise, not the results of shooting, that impresses and frightens
people.
If noiseless firearms were invented nobody would pay the least attention
to an air raid except the people actually struck.
A woman was taken to an asylum a raving lunatic after an air raid. She was
near some anti-aircraft guns which had been firing, no bombs were dropped
near where she was. It was the mere noise of firing that frightened her.
It is the noise that frightens game; I have shot one bird after another
out of a covey of black game on the ground. The rest did not fly off at
the shots because I was hidden and was using a “.22 short” rifle and the
noise of a waterfall drowned reports.
If I had fired a shotgun at one, the rest of the covey would have been off
at once.
For actual protection in a house at night without endangering any one, a
big pistol loaded with blank ammunition (black powder so as to make plenty
of smoke and a little “red fire” powder added to make plenty of flash)
would drive off almost any burglar.
I think this is the best house protection for a houseful of women to have
by their beds at night. The only thing is to avoid burning peoples eyes or
setting things on fire when “losing off.”
“A stern chaser” of coarse salt is a good man stopper without being fatal
and the pain makes the victim think he is mortally wounded.
CHAPTER XLI
DRESS
The dress one can wear when pistol shooting is limited to what the company
present is wearing at the time.
The ideal dress on a warm day would be that of a rowing man with the
addition of a sombrero and nailed shoes, but of course this is
inadmissible.
The absolute essentials are to have the right arm, shoulder, and neck
free, and a firm grip of the ground with the feet.
A soft front shirt is not so necessary in pistol shooting as in rifle or
shotgun shooting.
With the two latter the stock does not get properly imbedded into the
shoulder when wearing a stiff shirt, but in pistol shooting as long as the
neck and right shoulder are not interfered with, a stiff shirt does not
hamper.
Moderately tight clothes, if the right shoulder is free (sleeves cut well
out underneath), help to keep the body rigid.
An overcoat is inadvisable. The sleeve not only hampers the movement of
the right arm but its weight on the outstretched arm is a great
handicap.
An Inverness cape, even if thrown or buttoned back, is also inadmissible;
it hampers the right shoulder.
As having the body rather tightly buttoned up is an advantage, a tight
fitting frock coat is permissible. It is better buttoned than open as
otherwise the skirts are in the way.
A lamb’s wool vest, or a second waistcoat may be worn when shooting
out-of-doors in cold weather. I prefer a thin leather Swedish sleeveless
waistcoat under my coat instead of the usual waistcoat.
In wearing the leather waistcoat it need not show. The coat can be
buttoned over it.
There is a shooting coat, I believe the invention of the late Mr.
Cholmondely Pennell, which has a waistcoat of thick material to wear over,
instead of under, a thin coat. This keeps the body warm whilst the arms
are light and free.
Boots or shoes with corrugated rubber soles or nailed boots should be worn
if the ground is heavy, wet, or slippery.
As nailed or rubber soled boots cannot be worn when in formal dress it is
best to make sure of your foothold when wearing ordinary boots or shoes.
The heel can be stamped into the ground a few times to get a firm stand or
the soles rubbed on gritty sand.
Out-of-doors it is best to wear a hat, as one can see much better when the
eyes are shaded. Have a hat that holds well on your head.
Do not wear the hats made of hard straw with low crowns and narrow brims.
They fly off at the least provocation and the mere fact of your hat
feeling like a partridge who is on tiptoes about to take wing will upset
you and spoil your shooting.
I took a man who had never been to a shooting range before to see the
finish for the King’s Prize at Bisley.
There was a puffy breeze blowing up the range.
He was wearing one of these hard flat straw hats with his college ribbon
on it.
I told him he had better be careful that his hat did not blow off and
interfere with the shooting.
We stood behind the two men who had tied for the Gold Medal, and were
shooting off the tie.
He had just begun to say “my hat never blows off,”--when his hat soared
off his head like a clay pigeon out of a trap, and landed just in front of
the man who was aiming. My companion was a “hat worshipper,” one to whom
his hat is everything. They hold it on when on a runaway horse. If it
blows off they will dive under a train in motion after it, or do things to
save their hat which would gain them the Victoria Cross in battle.
He at once started to jump over the prone shooter after the hat, but I
held him back. All interest in the match was gone, he had eyes only to
watch his hat.
I finally got him a little calmer by explaining that though the shooters
were most probably wishing the hat in a place where straw would soon
kindle, they would not shoot through his hat (I am not talking thus, only
slightly exaggerating).
Men who worship their hats do not like trotters because they splash them.
There was one of the rare winters in England when one could get a few
days’ sleigh driving.
A man had long worried me to let him take some photographs of my trotters
in a sleigh. I telegraphed him to come at once and I would take him out in
a sleigh and he could take snow photos.
I met him at the station with a pair of trotters, both able to trot below
2:18, hitched to a light two-man cutter sleigh.
He was delighted, got tucked in beside me with his camera and said he
would take one or two photos of the horses from where he sat.
I told him not to begin before we got clear of the town, on to the big
open straight road.
Now some men will go out in a cranky boat, or rush a motor car round a
corner through a crowd of children without a tremor, but are frightened to
death of a trotter, especially a keen one who takes hold.
Now my mares had often raced against each other and when together as a
pair had racing in their minds.
They were fresh, the day cold, there had been a thaw and then a frost; the
road was just right and the horses shod with new steel spikes, sharp as
chisels.
I let them step along, the snow came back in a shower of balls on us,
varied by a sharp sliver of ice, which cut like a knife. The horses and I
were enjoying ourselves, and then I remembered my companion.
I called out “Take them now,” as the mares were squaring away racing
against each other.
I only heard, “Wow--Oh” as each snowball hit him. Fortunately he was
holding on to his “sacred” hat with one hand and to the side of the sleigh
with the other, so he had no hand to spare to snatch a rein to upset the
sleigh, he was only able to groan, “Stop, Stop!”
He scrambled out and took the photos from the safety of the side of the
road, and said he preferred to walk back to the station, and the last I
saw of him was with his camera in one hand holding on his sacred (in the
French meaning of the word) hat with the other.
CHAPTER XLII
SELF-DEFENCE
If a man is found in the house at night, he can be generally captured by
getting the drop on him, that is to say, getting an aim on him before he
aims at you, and make him hold up his hands.
But there are cases when, in order to save another or yourself, to attempt
this is merely to get killed.
If a man is rushing on you it is no use calling “hands up.” Shoot instead
of talking.
This especially applies to a man rushing on with a knife. He most probably
will throw it into you if you are not quick.
With an automatic pistol there is little in a room to hide behind which
gives protection and it only gives the opponent courage and time to take a
deliberate shot through the obstacle, if you try to shelter yourself. If
he tries to take shelter behind something impenetrable, if you fire into
what he is sheltered behind it often brings him out and enables you to get
a shot at him.
If he is behind a small tree the big bullet of a .45 Army Automatic would
probably go through and hit him and, even if it did not go through, it
would frighten him so that he would show himself and give you the
opportunity to shoot him.
A big-game shooter knows of many dodges to induce a dangerous animal who
has hidden, to show himself, or charge.
Calling to an imaginary person behind the attacker as “Look out Tom, he’s
coming your way, shoot,” will perhaps make a man, expecting an attack from
his rear, expose himself to you in front. Throwing something towards him
may make him move. The great thing is to keep him moving and prevent his
shooting back.
If attacked by several men at the same time, take a fresh one for every
shot, hit or miss, and then you can begin to take only those not already
hit.
This is the only way to keep the lot off and prevent being attacked by the
rest while you are fighting one.
Get your back against a wall or something if possible so that they can
only get at you from in front.
Taking a fresh one for each shot is my experience in big-game shooting
when you come on a lot which are all shootable.
If you pick out one and he does not drop to your shot and you pump several
more shots into him till he does drop, you may find afterwards that you
have wasted shots on an already dying animal, and let others within range
escape.
As an instance of doing everything wrong and being praised for it, the
following quotation from a daily paper is hard to beat.
The writer of the article evidently approves greatly of a woman firing at
random into the darkness when she hears a suspicious noise.
Even if the noise was made by burglars outside, she was just in the best
position in the lighted window, to get killed. An innocent man might plead
he was shooting her in self-defence.
A pleasant neighbourhood to live in when a woman shoots at random into the
night when she hears a noise!
Below is the article in question omitting names. The passers-by as well as
the lady must have had an “exciting experience.”
SHOTS IN THE DARK
_Lady’s Midnight Encounter with Burglars_
Mrs. X. had an exciting experience just after midnight on Saturday.
She was in her bedroom, which is on a level with the lawn, when she
heard noises in the shrubbery.
As she thought that men were there she procured a revolver, and,
standing in the lighted window, called out, “If you do not leave I’ll
shoot.” There was no answer, so she fired, and there was a scurrying
of feet to another clump of trees. Again she called out and as there
was no reply she fired a second and a third time, and then the figures
of several men were seen running off as fast as they could.
And no wonder!
CHAPTER XLIII
PROTECTING THE EYES AND EARS
There is no direct danger to the eyes in pistol shooting, that is to say,
with a good pistol there is no chance of a blow back of fire into the
eyes, as there is in a cheap, rim fire rifle. The eyes are apt, however,
to get bloodshot and sore from powder smoke blown back into them in a head
wind, especially from the ejecting cartridge of an automatic pistol.
When doing much shooting daily out-of-doors it is well to wear a pair of
big diameter spectacles fitting well behind the ears so that they do not
shift. The spectacles may be of plain white glass, or else of a colour to
suit the state of the sunlight.
Blue or grey used to be the usual colours; lately yellow-green seems to be
the colour most recommended by oculists.
I found such yellow-green glasses a great relief to the eyes when bear
shooting in the glare of sunlight on snow.
I am referring to men who have normal eyesight, not to those who have
already to wear glasses _to correct vision_.
It is important to protect the ears, perhaps even more important than the
eyes. There is very little danger to the eyes but the ears are in very
real danger when shooting.
Even the comparatively slight noise when shooting the gallery .44
ammunition or the short rifle .22, from constant pounding on the same
note, affects the ears unless they are protected.
A concert pianist, one would think, by the noise he makes on the piano,
would injure his ears even more than a pistol shot does, as the noise he
makes is much louder.
Perhaps he does injure his ears and that is the reason he has to pound so
hard and breaks the piano strings in his efforts to hear his own music.
Be that as it may, playing a variety of notes saves his ears as he does
not have the constant hit on the one note and with the same intensity.
The ear is the least known of the various organs and is the one least
successfully treated.
The usual medical man has the following treatment:
Pour warm oil into the ear, then wash out with warm water (a very
successful way to introduce hurtful microbes into the ear).
When this fails the Eustachian tubes are blown out with a “Politzer Bag.”
When this also fails some have a little instrument which buzzes like a
bumble bee or sings like a mosquito which the patient has to listen to.
If even this treatment fails then the patient is bowed out as incurable.
Prevention is better than non-cure, so protect your ears when shooting.
A pistol is unlikely to burst the ear drum unless fired with a full charge
in a small room or close to the ear, but pistol-fire seems to have a worse
effect on the ears than the louder report from a rifle or shotgun, owing
probably to the shortness of the pistol barrel bringing the discharge
nearer to the ear.
The worst of all for the ears is when a man shoots past another’s head
from close behind.
Gout or catarrh aggravates this evil and a man who never shoots may get
“hard of hearing” and have constant singing in his ears from these
diseases alone.
There is the later stage of attacks of vertigo when the semicircular
canals are involved. Few aurists are successful in curing this.
There is only one ear protector which I have found of any use and I have
tried all that have come out.
It is called the Elliott Ear Protector and is made by J. A. R. Elliott,
Box 201, New York City, U. S. A.
Savory & Moore of 143 New Bond Street, London and Gieve, Mathews &
Seagrove, Portsmouth, England have them in stock.
Most other ear protectors act on the wrong principle and are painful to
wear and they bring on giddiness.
To stuff the ears with cotton wool makes the pressure of air on the
outside of the drum differ from the air coming through the Eustachian tube
if this latter is blocked more or less by catarrh (as it is in nine out of
ten persons, especially smokers or residents in damp climates). This
inequality is increased and harm is done to the ear.
When a cold is supposed to be cured, it often is not but has gone from the
early, through the acute, and on to the chronic stage. It then lies
dormant, to wake up every time a fresh cold is caught, and then takes a
deeper hold in the outer, middle, and inner ear. Often what is put down to
gun deafness is really chronic catarrh and gout. People who have never
fired a shot suffer from gun deafness and noises in the head.
As soon as a cold has ceased “to run” people think it is cured. They
neglect to drive it entirely out of the system and it lies smouldering to
take the earliest opportunity to flare up again, like a banked-up fire.
Some recommend wool mixture with modelling wax forced into the outer ear.
This not only has the defects of plain cotton wool but it is a compound
impossible to fully take out again. The modelling composition sticks and
remains in all the crevices of the ear and if forced repeatedly in
dislocates the outer ear passage.
I use modelling wax for sculpture, and it is impossible to clean it out of
the nails even with manicure instruments. It has to be dissolved with
turpentine and peroxide which would ruin ears if used for them.
The Elliott Ear Protector acts on an entirely different principle and it
reduces the noise of a heavy express rifle to a mere thump, like striking
the fist on a wooden table. It takes all the sting out of the shot.
A man who was a gunner at the front during the war tells me that his ears
are quite right owing to his having used the Elliott Ear Protectors,
whereas a man standing next to him had an ear drum burst after a few
shots.
The principle of this protector is to let the sound strike the side of the
tube of the outer ear, instead of directly on the ear drum. The protector
closes the ear tube so that only a very minute, hair-like passage remains,
through which a whisper can come, but any big volume of sound is checked,
like a crowd trying to push through a narrow door and allowed only to
dribble in one at a time.
Even the small amount of sound which does get through is impinged on to
the sides of the outer ear passage. None reaches the drum of the ear
direct, but indirectly by the action of a rubber diaphragm.
The result is arrived at as follows:
A short celluloid rod has a hair thin hole running down it, but not quite
reaching the far end. It enters a hole of the same size running across the
tube.
There is a soft India rubber disc at each end of the rod, the transverse
hole being between the two discs.
In use this rod is inserted into the ear till the uppermost disc just
closes the passage into the external ear, and the lower disc cuts off
access to the ear drum.
Any sound reaching the ear can therefore only pass down this hair thin
passage in the rod and into the space between these two rubber diaphragms.
The sound cannot reach the ear drum. It passes through the transverse hole
into the space between the two discs.
No sound reaches the ear directly. It only hears the vibration of the
inner rubber diaphragm and the diaphragm receives only a very minute part
of the original sound which reaches the ear.
The minute hole in the rod allows of the entry and escape of the outer
air. Thus each side of the ear drum receives an equal pressure of the
external atmosphere.
When very heavy gunfire has to be withstood, care must be taken that the
outer disc fits airtight into the tube of the ear. A little vaseline or
other antiseptic ointment round the edge of this disc makes an airtight
joint, or a third rubber disc is added, but the two discs are ample for
pistol shooting.
The ear protector is easily kept clean and antiseptic by washing
occasionally in a weak antiseptic solution.
There is no inconvenience in wearing these ear protectors and they are not
very noticeable.
With some other forms of protectors, made of hard vulcanite which are
forced in to make an airtight closure, pain and soreness arise if they are
worn for any length of time and this unyielding vulcanite may displace the
anvil and bones of the middle ear, or a sore may be caused and set up
grave inflammation. Any ear plug which requires forcing or stretching the
ear passage is dangerous or painful to wear.
CHAPTER XLIV
EYESIGHT
The back sight of a revolver is held further from the eye, as compared
with a rifle back sight, and the object to be hit is under fifty yards’
distance. The eyes best suited for pistol shooting therefore are those of
moderately long sight, the normal eye in fact.
A near-sighted man, without glasses, has difficulty in seeing the back
sight although the range, twenty to fifty yards, would suit his eyes
better than rifle shooting at long ranges of eight hundred and one
thousand yards.
If a near-sighted man wears glasses the difficulty of seeing equally well
at varying distances comes in.
Men who have worn glasses all their lives cannot be made to realize that
they cannot adjust their focus.
They, unfortunately, have never experienced the blessing of being able to
see a thing close and at a distance with equal distinctness.
Most of them can read without glasses, in fact they take off their glasses
if they want to examine anything minutely which they hold in their hands.
For seeing anything further off they wear glasses (but glasses are only a
compromise). The glasses are made to enable them to see objects clearly
across the street, or to see a motor car before it runs them down.
Anything further is more or less blurred, the further it is the more
blurred it looks.
If their glasses were correct for one thousand yards they would butt their
heads into everything at fifteen yards off.
It is always best when driving to treat any one wearing glasses very
carefully, to remember he can only see in front of him; sideways of his
direct vision he may be as blind as a bat or a horse with blinkers on.
It is on account of this that so many people wearing glasses are run over.
When in addition to this they cross a road holding an umbrella well before
their glasses, it is best to stop the horse and wait till they are across.
This adjusting of a glass for a fixed distance can be seen with
deer-stalking telescopes and Zeiss glasses.
When spying for a deer one makes a mark on the draw tube to suit one’s
usual spying distance, which is about one thousand yards.
One can see deer clearly with this adjustment from the one thousand back
to about three hundred yards, but for a closer view you have to readjust
the focus.
If with the focus correct for the one thousand yards you attempt to look
at an object only as far off as your back sight or even your front sight,
you will see only an indistinct blur.
A near-sighted man, shooting a pistol full arm stretch, without his
glasses, sees his back sight a blur and his front probably not at all, and
the target like a post impressionist picture.
If he puts on glasses to see his hind sight properly, his front sight will
not be distinct, and the target still more indistinct.
I think for a near-sighted man it is best to have glasses made so that he
can see his front sight very clearly.
Then he would see the man target at twenty-five meters quite well enough
to be able to hit it. It is not necessary for him to see his back sight
distinctly.
A good pistol-shot does not focus his eyes on his back sight. That comes
in line by itself when he gets into the mechanical lift of his arm.
As I have already mentioned a long-sighted man can continue pistol
shooting without wearing glasses after he needs them for reading. But a
long-sighted man is apt, when he finds he begins to see the hind sight of
his rifle not as clearly as formerly, to use glasses. Then he has all the
insurmountable imperfections of a glass which cannot accommodate itself to
varying distances like the eye can.
Instead of wearing glasses all he needs to do is to shift his hind sight
forward on the barrel till he can see it distinctly.
The long-sighted pistol-shot does not have this difficulty. He holds his
pistol so far from the eye that the back sight is right for his long
sight.
It is a most extraordinary thing that men who have such bad eyesight that
they have to wear very strong glasses and even then blink and are
half-blind in the sunlight, can shoot very well in those dark coal cellar
shooting galleries.
A clerk who, when writing, puts his nose right down on the paper, holding
his head on one side, in fact a man semi-blind and suffering with extreme
myopia made extraordinary good scores with a miniature rifle in a coal
cellar shooting gallery, at a minute stationary bull’s-eye.
A cellar in which a normal-eyed man would not be able to shoot or to see
his sights!
He is longing to get to the open air ranges with a full charge rifle, but
I discourage him all I can as I know he will be painfully disillusioned of
his skill in rifle shooting.
It is the abnormal conditions of a coal cellar gallery which suits his
abnormal vision. A normal sighted person would only blind himself by
trying to imitate him.
CHAPTER XLV
THE WEATHER AND SHOOTING
Rain, as far as the actual shooting goes, does no harm to shooting. In
fact, if your adversary has to wear glasses it gives you a great advantage
over him as his glasses get covered with a film of water.
A dull drizzle is often accompanied by a dead calm and better shooting
light, than a sunshiny day.
Wind is the great enemy to pistol shooting.
In rifle shooting, in the prone position, the wind not only lends interest
to the shooting, but brings out the best shot, the one who can calculate
how to aim to compensate for the wind’s action on his bullet.
The pistol-shot, on the other hand has to stand against the wind and hold
his pistol with one hand and wrestle with the wind which blows his arm
about.
It is not a question of calculating how much of the bull’s-eye you must
aim at to compensate for the force of the wind from the side; but it is a
matter of mere physical strength to try and hold the pistol steady whilst
being buffeted by the wind.
It is as if you were trying to draw a straight line whilst someone
twitches at your sleeve.
No amount of practice will make you able to draw a straight line or shoot
a pistol under such circumstances. It only discourages you and wastes time
and ammunition. It gets you into timing and letting off wrong. If in a
shooting competition there is a wind and you are shooting at deliberate
aiming, then wait for lulls between gusts, and snap shoot during the lull.
If you are doing shooting “Au Commandmant,” or rapid-firing, you have to
take the wind as it comes.
Bringing up with a very stiff arm, rapidly, is the best defence against
your arm being blown about.
In England all open air pistol ranges have the firing points unprotected.
From a financial point of view this is a mistake. It is better to spend
money on making the range usable in all weathers. Otherwise it is often
deserted as nobody cares to shoot in a high wind.
From the point of view of health it is not wise to shoot in the rain as
there is no walking about to make the blood circulate.
If you keep moving and get into a perspiration and keep so all the time
and take a hot bath and a change of clothing directly you get home, rain
will not hurt you.
Getting chilled after perspiring, or sitting about having afternoon tea by
a hot fire before changing your damp things, does the mischief. Even if
there has been no rain it is much better to change your things at once and
have afternoon tea afterwards. If you get wet and cannot change your
things on the spot it is much better to walk home fast than drive home and
feel cold all the way.
I broke through ice in intense frost when wild boar shooting at Couvain,
Ardennes Belges, and got my boots full of icy cold water (long boots over
the knee). I walked four miles to the lodge and felt all in a glow the
whole way, took a hot bath, had dinner in bed, and felt none the worse for
it.
The others being dry drove home, but if I had done so, I should most
likely have had a dangerous illness.
It is a very great mistake, when overtaken in summer by a thunder shower,
to take shelter when you are in a perspiration; you will get chilled for a
certainty.
Walk home fast, even if you get wet to the skin in so doing. Keep on
walking, or if you are on a horse, keep on trotting and cantering
alternately, till you get home.
If your horse is tired after a hard day’s hunting and it is a cold wet
evening, keep him moving for his own sake as well as your own.
I had ridden fifty miles during the day (a run with stag hounds which had
taken me twenty-seven miles from home). The mare was getting leg weary, so
I unwisely stopped at an inn, six miles from home, and put her in the
stable to give her warm gruel with beer in it.
When I started half an hour later to lead her home she was unable to move.
I had to leave her for the night at the inn and after making her as
comfortable as possible and rubbing her legs with brandy I walked home by
myself.
If I had taken her straight home without stopping to gruel her she would
have reached home all right, and had her gruel there and laid down
comfortably.
Keep moving when cold and wet, take a hot bath and change the moment you
get home. If you feel at all as if you had a chill, go to bed after the
bath, put a hot bottle to your feet, pile the eider-down on top of you,
drink dried raspberry tea, go to sleep, and perspire. Dried raspberries, a
Russian peasant’s remedy, are the best sudorific I know. The raspberries
are dried and then used just as if they were tea leaves, and the tea thus
made drunk very hot, with sugar to taste.
The leather Swedish waistcoat which I mentioned in my chapter on dress
should always be worn if there is the least wind when pistol shooting. It
can be worn on the hottest day as it keeps the sun out also and as long as
one stands still it does not make one perspire, and wind or rain cannot
get through.
A thin mackintosh does not hamper much in pistol shooting.
An umbrella is worse than useless against rain but may be used to keep
the sun off. Of course a hat worshipper invariably carries an umbrella.
In rain an umbrella protects only the hat and it drops the water on your
shoulders, the worst place you could get wet. People run into others and
drip the water onto other people, in fact there ought to be a tax on
umbrellas like there is on pistols.
As to snow, I cannot understand any one wanting to hold up an umbrella
when it snows. One never sees people do that in a country where snow lies
half the year any more than does one see people turn up their collars in
really cold countries.
They have their coats fit properly up to the neck, not with lapels turned
back exposing the chest.
It always amuses me to see a man with a big fur coat turned far back on
the chest so as to show the rabbit skin, dyed to represent sable.
A Russian has his fur “Shuba” double-breasted and buttoned up right under
his chin. His deep collar protects his shoulders, but he does not turn up
his collar about his ears at the least zephyr of air.
CHAPTER XLVI
MILITARY AUTOMATIC PISTOLS
It is the military use of pistols which has doomed the revolver.
During the war, England was the only country which still retained the
revolver as regulation. Every other country had adopted the automatic
pistol in its place.
There are two opinions as to the proper calibre for a military pistol.
England, having to fight savage tribes, had always preferred a large bore
pistol with stopping power. Fanatics who do not value their lives can do a
lot of mischief, even if wounded fatally, by a small calibre bullet,
before they die.
On the Continent a much smaller calibre is deemed sufficient; a .32 or .38
or a 7 millimetre, whereas England and the United States consider .45 or
.455 the best size.
In my opinion the United States .45 Regulation Colt Automatic pistol is
the best of all army pistols. (See Plates 13 and 14.) The way it was
chosen should guarantee this.
It was first chosen because it passed all the military tests such as
sand, rust, and freedom from jamming under rough usage. Then it was put
into the hands of all the best pistol shots in the United States and their
reports examined. It has, therefore, not only passed military but expert
shooters’ tests, and alterations were made in accordance with their
reports.
It may seem a great presumption on my part therefore to suggest an
improvement, but I have been a big-game shot all my life and used ivory
front sights, and I think a black front sight is a mistake.
I am sure a white or silver front sight is the only practical one.
This morning I went out before daylight after deer. It was very misty and
I saw a stag eighty yards off, hardly distinguishable in the mist and
darkness. My white front sight shone like a star on his shoulder when I
took aim and I had no difficulty in taking the shot.
A black front sight would have been so indistinct that I should have
missed or rather not fired at all, as I do not like making a mess of a
shot and letting an animal go off wounded.
It is self-evident that if you want anything to be as visible as possible
you paint it white.
White reflects light better than any colour. If you distribute twenty
white, thirty yellow, fifty red, and eighty blue spots over a piece of
black paper they look to the eye as being of equal numbers, owing to the
blue being so inconspicuous compared with the red, the red compared with
yellow, and the yellow compared with the white.
[Illustration: PLATE 13. UNITED STATES ARMY REGULATION .45 COLT AUTOMATIC
PISTOL
Capacity of magazine, 7 shots. Length of barrel, 5 inches only. Length
over all, 8½ inches. Weight, 39 ounces. Finish, full blued, checked walnut
stocks.
[Illustration]
Cartridges. Calibre .45 U. S. Government, 230 grain bullet. Calibre .45
Colt Automatic, 200 grain bullet. (Both rimless; smokeless powder; full
jacketed bullet.)]
White being the most conspicuous of all it takes fewer spots of white to
dominate. As these spots are on a black sheet of paper very few spots of
white would draw attention from all the colours.
As ivory is fragile, a big silver or plated bead front sight is better for
a military automatic pistol or rifle.
The first thing I did when I got my United States .45 Colt Automatic
pistol was to put on it a white silver bead front sight, first removing
the regulation black knife edge front sight.
I then made the U in the hind sight very big. This pistol has been carried
through the war by my chauffeur, W. Francis, who entered the Russian Army
as a volunteer and has gained the St. 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.
The best sights for such purpose are those which are used on duelling
pistols.
It is most extraordinary that all pistol sights except the French duelling
ones are so very unsuitable.
The military front sight consists of an upright narrow rod as seen when
aiming. This is very thin and high and is black, with the top, when it has
been used for any time, polished a dull grey, from use.
The hind sight has a very minute notch in it. The result in aiming is as
follows: You faintly see a very thin black rod with a hazy top against
the dark object you are trying to shoot.
By searching for it very carefully you see a microscopic notch in the hind
sight, much too small to enclose this rod when aiming.
You cannot keep your elevation in shooting. As soon as you try to take the
top of this front sight in your minute notch you lose sight of it
altogether.
The rod so blocks the notch that you do not know if you have the front
sight centrally in the notch or at one side.
In fact if I was asked to devise a set of sights to prevent a man being
able to shoot well, the regulation military sights are what I would
choose.
If strong enough the ivory ball would be the ideal colour for a front
sight, as it is a dull white, instead of the reflection which sometimes
comes from silver highly polished.
What is called “frosted” silver would be a good surface for the silver
front sight if it did not tarnish.
The back sight should be just high enough above the barrel to avoid blur
when the barrel gets hot, but otherwise the lower it is the better, having
a big U-shaped notch large enough to enable the white front sight to be
seen in the notch when showing a slight ring of daylight all round it;
both sights as low on the barrel and as far apart as possible.
This combination of sights is seen instantly without any searching or eye
strain. All you have to do is to look at the object you want to hit,
paying no attention to sights, till your fully-outstretched arm, coming up
by sense of direction, points the pistol at the object, and you see before
your eyes this silver ball in the middle of the U of the back sight.
Snap-shooting is made more difficult with military sights on a pistol and
accounts for many men being blamed for being bad pistol shots, whereas, it
is really the fault of the sights. I cannot make good shooting even at a
stationary target with such sights and for rapid firing or at moving
targets my shooting is much inferior to that with the same pistol, when
fitted with duelling sights.
I can understand the English-speaking nations not using duelling sights,
as very few ever shoot a duelling pistol, but that the Continental
nations, with their knowledge of duelling, have not adopted duelling
sights is to me very strange.
The same remark applies to military rifle sights which are such as no
big-game shooter would dream of using.
METHOD OF OPERATION
A loaded magazine is placed in the handle, and the slide drawn fully back
and released, thus bringing the first cartridge into the chamber, leaving
the hammer cocked and the pistol ready for firing.
If it is desired to carry the pistol fully cocked, the safety lock may be
pressed upward, thus positively locking hammer and slide. The safety lock
is located within easy reach of the thumb of the hand holding the pistol
and may be instantly pressed down when raising the pistol to the firing
position.
[Illustration: PLATE 14. UNITED STATES ARMY REGULATION .45 COLT AUTOMATIC
PISTOL. SECTIONAL VIEW]
To lower the cocked hammer, draw it back with the thumb until it forces
the grip safety in flush with the frame; at the same time pull the
trigger, then lower the hammer with thumb.
SAFETY DEVICES
It is impossible for the firing pin to discharge or even touch the primer,
except on receiving the full blow of the hammer.
The pistol is provided with two automatic safety devices:
The automatic disconnector which positively prevents the release of the
hammer unless the slide and barrel are in the forward position and safely
interlocked; this device also controls the firing and prevents more than
one shot from following each pull of the trigger.
The automatic grip safety which at all times locks the trigger unless the
handle is firmly grasped and the grip safety pressed in.
The pistol is in addition provided with a safety lock by which the closed
slide and the cocked hammer may be at will positively locked in position.
CHAPTER XLVII
RECOIL
When buying a pistol the amount of recoil you are able to stand plays an
important part.
This is not entirely a matter of physique.
A slight, wiry man, whose hands and muscles are in hard condition, and who
“gives” to the recoil will be able to shoot a pistol having a recoil which
would knock all the shooting out of a man who was in a flabby condition,
or not accustomed to manual work, even if that man were much heavier and
stronger.
Some men can bear punishment better than others.
The duelling pistol has not only no appreciable recoil, but the recoil is
distributed by the big stock over the whole of the hand.
The duelling pistol has the longest stock of any pistol and also has no
projections to hurt the hand.
The pistol most people would imagine has no recoil is the small .32 pocket
revolver and this is the very one whose recoil hurts more than almost any
other pistol.
Recoil depends on the proportion between the cartridge charge and the
weight of the pistol.
A pistol weighing 2½ lbs. would shoot the .32 cartridge with hardly any
appreciable recoil.
But this same cartridge in a small pocket revolver weighing only a few
ounces kicks very viciously.
Besides it has a very small stock made the same shape as a full-sized
stock.
The result is that, whereas in a full-sized stock the top of the comb is
designed to project over the thumb and forefinger, in the little
vest-pocket pistol this comb comes against the tender part of the palm and
the recoil drives it into the hand.
I have had my hand cut and bleeding after a few rounds with a pistol
intended for ladies’ use!
The surest way to make a beginner flinch is to let him begin with a little
pocket revolver.
I mention revolver because an automatic pocket pistol generally does not
have a stock with projections which can drive into the hand by the recoil.
The makers know that if the slide of an automatic pistol _did_ drive back
into the hand it would do very serious damage. They therefore make the
stock so that it cannot be held with the comb against the palm of the
hand.
Men accustomed to shoot a pistol having a heavy recoil get so used to
bracing against that recoil that they bob forward with an empty pistol to
a recoil which does not come.
A heavily loaded gun, if it misses fire, makes the shooter bob forward
involuntarily to meet the recoil he expects.
An automatic pistol can be used with a heavier loaded cartridge than would
be possible with a revolver.
Not only is some of the recoil taken up in working the mechanism in the
former pistol but the recoil is softer.
The recoil of a revolver can be likened to a blow with the fist, whereas
the recoil of the automatic pistol is like a hard push with the open hand.
The recoil first having to work the mechanism loses its sudden sharp
stinging blow.
I find I can shoot a heavily charged military automatic pistol longer than
I can a revolver which has much less recoil. There is none of the jar and
strain on the wrist in an automatic pistol which a revolver with the
English Regulation cartridge gives.
Cocking the revolver by trigger-pull is tiring to the hand, and a very few
rounds entirely paralyses the trigger finger for the time being.
It is a very unnatural strain to draw back the weight of the spring to
raise the hammer and revolve the chamber with the trigger finger. It tires
the finger very soon.
With the automatic pistol there is none of this strain. Therefore a man
can fire a hundred shots rapidly with the automatic pistol, when he could
not fire twenty-four rounds with a double action revolver, using the
double action, without his trigger finger giving out.
I merely mention this as a matter of interesting ancient history.
Revolvers are obsolete, but it is as interesting to understand how they
were used as it would be if we knew all such lost details concerning the
ancient cross bow, or Bushman’s long blow tube.
When one thinks of the unhappy men who were forced in their training to
shoot heavy military revolvers with alternate hands working the double
action trigger, it is extraordinary more of them did not dislocate their
trigger finger or sprain their wrists.
Let any one take one of these relics and work its double action for ten
minutes without stopping, and when added to this each shot drives the
wrist upwards with great force, he will no longer wonder why men used to
shirk “revolver practice.”
CHAPTER XLVIII
JUDGING DISTANCE
With the revolver, which was not usually shot at longer range than fifty
yards, judging distance was of little importance.
With a full charge .45 revolver, sighted for twenty yards, the drop of the
bullet was not more than about 1½ inches at fifty yards.
With gallery ammunition in a .44 revolver the drop was about 4½ inches.
I am speaking from memory, not from actual calculations or measurements.
The duelling pistol, although shooting the same gallery charge, needs
slightly less allowance at fifty yards, as there is none of the escape of
gas the revolver has at the cylinder.
There was, therefore, no need to judge distance with a revolver but the
automatic pistol with its heavy charge shoots as far as the old time
rifles did and so needs knowledge of distance judging on occasions.
Owing to the shortness of the barrel it is very difficult to do accurate
shooting at long range, but the pistol itself carries and shoots well up
to rifle “midrange” (_i. e._, five hundred yards).
As it is so difficult to shoot at long range with a pistol there is all
the more necessity to be able to judge distance so as to avoid another
cause of error.
A long range revolver match took place in 1911 in Colorado, but many
important details are lacking.
It was gotten up by the Magazine _Outdoor Life_ of Colorado.
The conditions were five sighting shots, and then twenty shots to count.
The target was a brown paper profile of a turkey at three hundred yards’
range.
This description is very vague, as all reports of shooting by non-experts
are; they always leave out vital details and put in a lot of useless
matter; it may mean a target of fifteen inches in diameter (if it only
included the body of the turkey) or over thirty inches (if it included the
whole of the turkey, head, legs, feathers, and tail).
Probably it was the latter size as, if it was only fifteen inches in
diameter, that would correspond to an inch bull’s-eye at twenty yards, or
a 2½-inch one at fifty yards, much too small for revolver shooting.
It is extremely difficult to hit a four-inch bull’s-eye for a succession
of twenty shots at fifty yards. I have hit it ten times in twelve shots
(see page 349), and the much greater difficulty of hitting a corresponding
sized target at three hundred yards would make a full score impossible
with a revolver.
The winner, name not given, made three hits for his twenty shots, six men
hit it twice in their twenty shots, six hit it once, and six missed every
shot.
This is not a very encouraging result of a long range revolver shoot.
Though the automatic pistol would be much more accurate at that distance,
still I doubt if any one could get more than eight shots on the turkey in
twenty shots at three hundred yards.
To be of any use for comparison the actual diameter of the turkey would
have to be ascertained.
Judging distance should be constantly practised, under all conditions of
light, by judging when out walking how far off a man is, and then walking
up to the spot, counting your steps, to see if you have judged right.
Do not measure distance by yard strides and thus draw attention to your
movements and raise doubt as to your sanity.
First measure in private, say one hundred yards, and then walk it with
your natural length of step when walking at your usual speed, and see how
many of your steps go to one hundred yards.
When you know your number of steps for a hundred yards you can measure
distances in ordinary walking and without passers-by noticing what you are
doing.
My natural walk is 104 steps to the 100 yards at four miles an hour.
Try, when you think you are fairly accurate, to judge the distance a man
is off also judge how far a small boy is. You will find at first you think
him much further off than he is owing to having got into the habit of
judging the distance by the height of the man.
When you come back to judging how far off a man is you will underestimate
the distance for the same reason.
Mist makes an object appear much further off than it really is; a sheep
close by appears as large as a stag one hundred yards off.
Distance is very deceptive and if one is accustomed to judging the
distance of an object of a certain size and then has to change to a
similar looking object of a different size the difficulty is increased.
When I have been shooting at stags and judging their distance with fair
accuracy and then change to roe deer shooting, the roe always seems much
further off than the real distance, because a roe at one hundred yards
looks the same size as a stag at two hundred yards off.
This difficulty is increased if the objects are mistaken for each other.
Suppose a river with steep banks, fifty yards broad, in a flat meadow, and
you stand in clear atmosphere and full sunshine at a spot twenty yards
from the nearest bank. From where you stand you cannot see the breadth of
the river; the two banks looking like one line on the green of the
meadow.
A faded, weatherbeaten, red fire bucket, is standing on the edge of the
far bank, and a flower pot on the near bank.
Both objects look identical in size, shape, and colour because of the
linear and aërial perspective at these distances, and it is impossible,
unless they are studied very carefully with a telescope or field glass, to
know which is which and therefore which is the further off. If you are
accustomed to judging the distances of flower pots you would think the
fire bucket was a flower pot and therefore only twenty yards off instead
of seventy.
Be sure you know what the object is when using it as a means of judging
distance, it may be something much larger or smaller of a similar
appearance.
A pony, when seen through a thick haze, mistaken for a horse would
entirely upset your calculations.
The use of being able to judge distances accurately is to enable you to
decide how much to aim above a distant object to make up for the distance
the bullet drops in going that distance.
The drop of the bullet increases rapidly as the distance increases.
Whilst at short range the drop is so slight that it does not signify
except for extremely accurate shooting, the bullet does not drop in
similar proportion at further range.
At two hundred it may not drop more than double what it does at one
hundred, but the proportion of drop between two hundred and three hundred
is still greater and so on; the flight of the bullet describing, not a
section of the circumference of a circle, but a parabolic curve.
When shooting at a man standing upright this drop can be ignored up to
four hundred yards with the Military Automatic pistol; as long as the aim
is taken at the top of the chest it will hit him somewhere.
But if only a man’s head shows it may be missed over or under according as
the distance is misjudged, too far or too short.
If a puff of dust or a splash of water can be seen where the first bullet
strikes it will serve to correct the aim for the next shot.
CHAPTER XLIX
GAME SHOOTING
The single shot .22 pistol is much used in the United States for small
game shooting for the pot, when camping out after big game. It does not
make much noise and also has the advantage of being very portable.
Game birds sometimes come close to a camp in the early morning or evening;
and a sitting shot for the pot can be got at them without disturbing the
ground, when a shotgun would clear all the ground for miles round.
I find a .22 pistol has not enough stopping power to prevent a wounded
rabbit getting to ground and consequently lost. A great proportion of
rabbits hit with this bullet are lost.
I use a .44 duelling pistol for rabbit stalking when they are sitting
outside their holes. If a rabbit is hit by it he very seldom gets into his
hole.
The big bullet does not spoil the rabbit as much as might be thought, the
bullet being round and solid it only makes a hole of its own size and goes
straight through the rabbit.
A .22 hollow pointed bullet makes much more mess and has the
disadvantage often of not stopping the rabbit though it maims it. The
duelling pistol would spoil a game bird if hit in the body but it is all
right for a head shot.
It makes slightly more noise than a .22 pistol but it is a soft noise and
does not travel far.
I think when game for the pot has to be shot that a “.22 short” cartridge
out of a rifle with a telescope sight is best.
After all, hitting the bird at forty or fifty yards off with a pistol
takes some doing, whereas with a telescopic sighted rifle the shot would
be a certainty.
The pistol is very little used for what seems to me to be a very useful
function.
When shooting big game there are many occasions when another shot has to
be fired at wounded game unable to get away.
Say a wild boar for instance is brought to bay by the first shot.
He cannot be approached with safety to use the knife, he is killing the
dogs, he has to be shot again.
Now you do not want to fire your rifle, which makes a boom like a cannon,
as that would disturb the rest of the beat.
If you have a pistol which shoots a big .44 calibre ball with a reduced
charge of powder you can go close up to the boar and kill him without
making much noise.
If a wounded animal gets you down, a pistol which lies close to your hand
may save your life, and if it shoots a heavy charge and is rapidly fired
several times into his body, it would stop most animals except an elephant
or rhinoceros.
A rifle can be lost in falling or lain on, the length of barrel prevents
it being used at close quarters.
The objection to carrying a pistol in big-game shooting is that every
possible ounce in weight has to be saved, especially in a hot climate. The
pistol is so much extra weight and when climbing amongst rocks it is a
great nuisance. To be of any use against dangerous game the pistol must
shoot a big bullet.
In the instance of the wild boar, I mentioned a reduced charge but my idea
is to carry the two sorts of cartridges and to have the automatic loaded
with full charge cartridges, but if game has to be finished which is not
endangering your life, I recommend putting in a gallery charge cartridge
for this particular finishing shot so as not to make more noise than
absolutely necessary, and not to disturb other game which may be near.
An automatic pistol built for a big charge will not function with a
reduced charge. Such a charge does not give enough recoil to introduce the
next cartridge and an automatic only works properly with the exact load it
is designed for. With a reduced charge the automatic pistol, after the
shot, remains half open.
If the magazine and also the cartridge which is in the barrel are first
taken out, the gallery-load cartridge can be put in the barrel and fired.
Afterwards the loaded magazine can be put back again and the pistol is
ready to shoot the heavy charge.
A single-shot .44 gallery ammunition pistol with very short barrel like
the old-fashioned Derringer, could be carried without taking up any room
or appreciable weight and be used for finishing deer, or other
non-dangerous game.
The forester who goes with me moufflon shooting carries a 9 Millimetre
Mauser Automatic pistol for self-defence against poachers and he shoots
small game with it when he comes across it. It is, however, a noisy little
pistol.
Do not take a smaller calibre pistol than a .38 for finishing big game. It
does not kill them clear.
CHAPTER L
SHOOTING FROM HORSEBACK
This needs an entirely different training to shooting when on foot.
It needs knowledge of “Horsemanship” above all else.
Ninety per cent. horsemanship and ten per cent. pistol shooting skill will
beat the finest pistol shot if he has only ten per cent. horsemanship to
his ninety per cent. shooting skill.
By “horsemanship” I _mean_ “horsemanship,” not mere skill in sticking on a
horse’s back.
A man may have ridden all his life and be able to stick on the back of any
horse and yet be no “horseman.”
Merely keeping one’s seat, and “horsemanship” are two entirely different
matters.
The “rider” (_i. e._, sticker-on) turns his horse by pulling a rein. If he
wants to go faster he hits his horse or kicks his heels into it, if he
wants to stop he pulls with both hands.
If he wants to turn, he pulls his horse’s head round and the horse pivots
on his fore legs and his hind legs follow in a wider circle.
The “horseman” uses the aids, that is, his left hand on the reins and the
calves of his legs against his horse’s sides.
By the pressure of the calf of his leg, feeling the horse’s mouth, and the
rein against the horse’s neck, he can make the horse obey his every wish,
because the horse understands, without any tugging, hitting, or forcing.
“Horsemanship” is having the horse under perfect control and obedient to
an indication so slight that it is imperceptible to the onlooker.
The “rider” tries to compel the horse by main force to obey him, and the
horse, even when it understands and obeys, does it in his own way, not his
rider’s way.
It is the difference between two perfect dancers moving as one, and a man
who has a vague idea of dancing trying to lug round a partner who knows
nothing about dancing.
The “horseman” and his horse are one.
The “rider” and his horse are like a policeman taking off an unwilling
prisoner who does not know what he is accused of.
In the one case the horse is watchful for every wish of his rider and
instantly obeys, in the other the horse is all the time misunderstanding
what his rider wants and being punished for his ignorance.
Unfortunately very few Americans or Englishmen know even the rudiments of
the “High School.”
That is why so few “riders” can play polo, both man and pony must be of
one mind and understand each other and that can only be learned in the
“High School,” which is “Horsemanship.”
The reason foreign officers are so successful in the jumping competitions
at the Olympia Horse Show is that they are horsemen in the “High School”
and their jumping horses are trained to it also.
Matador, the celebrated Belgian high jumper, can do the Spanish trot like
a circus horse.
Ladies riding astride generally know nothing of “horsemanship,” but
exaggerate the faults of men “riders.”
Their stirrup leathers are so short that the heels are drawn back and the
toes point downwards. To go faster they hit the horse with their whips or
strike their heels into it but immediately back go their legs into the
“heel up toe down” position with their feet almost driven through the
stirrups.
The legs stop in this position during the whole ride, as if they were
stuffed dummy legs.
They only know one use of the legs, that is to grip the saddle so as to
keep their seats in it.
The “High School” rider uses his legs for giving the indications to his
horse of what he wants it to do, supplemented by the reins, which, by more
or less pressure on the mouth and against the horse’s neck, indicate the
horseman’s wishes to the horse.
A “horseman” does not pull at one rein to turn the horse any more than an
expert cyclist turns the handle bars when he wants to turn a corner.
The cyclist leans to the side he wants to turn to and comes round like a
pair of compasses do when you lean them over and let the pencil swing
round.
If a “horseman” wants to open a gate he does not kick his heels into the
horse and thus force him up to the gate and then lean over the horse’s
neck to try and reach the gate, which the horse is backing from. The
“horseman” holding his reins in his left hand, squeezes the horse with the
calves of his legs and this makes the horse go forward.
As he gets to the gate the “horseman” puts his left calf further back
against the horse’s left side, at the same time putting his left hand
slightly to the left so that the right rein presses against the horse’s
neck.
This turns the horse’s neck and shoulders to the left whilst the pressure
of the left calf against the horse’s left side makes him put his right
hind quarters to the right. The horse now stands broadside up against the
gate and the “horseman” can easily use his right hand on the gate lock,
without having to lean over.
When he has taken hold of the gate a slightly greater pressure of his
right calf whilst tightening the reins makes the horse’s back and quarter
turn, and the gate is opened. He eases his horse’s mouth, squeezes with
both calves, and the horse walks through the open gate whilst the gate
closes behind him.
Suppose two equally good pistol shots, one a good “rider” and the other a
good “horseman” are in a mounted pistol competition.
They are told to walk their horses past the target and shoot at it one
shot out of their automatic pistol as they pass. Both of the horses have
not seen the target before and are rather shy of it.
The “rider” having to hold his pistol can use only one hand to his horse
and being accustomed all his life to guide his horse by pulling at the
reins cannot guide the horse properly with only his left hand.
As the horse comes up to the target he turns his head towards it and his
quarters away from it and begins to sidle away, walking all crooked, the
rider kicks his heels into him to try and get him up to the target and
when he puts out his arm to aim the horse sidles away still more and whips
round away from the target spoiling the shot.
After the “rider” has fired he needs both hands to turn the horse and
bring it back, and, having the pistol as well as a rein in his right hand,
fires one or two more shots, unintentionally.
The “horseman” squeezes his horse by pressure of the calves into his
bridle, his horse like the former horse seeing the target tries to turn
his head towards it and to sidle away from it.
The “horseman” merely moves his left hand slightly to the left, causing
his right rein to press against his horse’s neck and thereby turns the
horse’s fore part straight again; at the same time he puts his left calf
back along the horse’s side and this puts his hind quarters straight into
place. If the horse tries to resist, the left spur touches him and he
gives in.
When the shot is fired the horse is wheeled round to the left by the
pressure of the left hand and right calf whilst at the same time the right
thumb slips on the safety of the automatic pistol.
If the reader is not a “horseman” and wants to learn pistol shooting from
horseback, he and his horse should go through the cavalry course first.
Even when a horse is standing still, he is breathing, so it is difficult
to make good shooting with deliberate aim off horseback.
All shooting has to be done with swing and snap shooting. Care must be
taken not to shoot too close past a horse’s ears; it may be advisable to
put on a hood with closed ear covers, so that he does not get the full
noise into his ears.
There is not much to teach as to the actual shooting, it is almost
entirely horsemanship, finding out which angle suits you best to shoot
from, at what speed the horse moves smoothest, etc.
An automatic pistol is safer than a revolver for use on horseback. There
is no putting to half-cock but only slipping the safety on or off.
If the horse begins to plunge, slip on the safety at once, in fact at any
indication of trouble with the horse put on the safety.
Do not slip off the safety till the instant before firing and slip it on
the moment you have fired.
As you cannot shoot blank ammunition out of an automatic pistol you will
have to use a single barrel pistol for teaching a horse to stand fire.
Be very careful not to scorch him or shoot past his eyes as that will make
him always apt to flinch.
An underbred horse is better than a blood horse as a rule for shooting
off, but when you do get a thoroughbred who will stand fire, as he has
more courage, he will stand fire better than any other horse, and his
paces are easier, especially the canter and gallop.
A handy polo pony makes a good shooting pony if it stands fire, as it is
used to starting, stopping, and turning.
CHAPTER LI
GALLERY AUTOMATIC PISTOLS
Rifles and pistols though greatly improved in some respects are now
progressing too much in one direction.
The inventor’s sole idea seems to be to get the most powerful cartridge
possible.
They have now reduced the rifle to a small bore with an extremely heavy
charge and therefore the rifle has to be made very heavy to be safe from
bursting.
This may be very necessary for war but it is a great disadvantage for the
many other purposes a rifle is used for.
The new rifle is unsuitable for dangerous game shooting. People think that
as such game is shot at very long ranges and that the further off the game
is shot the better the sportsman.
I am constantly asked, “When deer stalking, how far off do you shoot a
stag?”
They expect the answer to be, “A thousand yards or so.”
When I say, “as close as I can possibly get, generally from about fifty to
seventy yards, I never shoot at deer beyond two hundred yards” they form
a very low opinion of my skill.
With bears and wild boar seventy yards is a long shot, from ten to forty
is the usual distance.
Often these animals are in rapid motion. I stand up to shoot, there is no
lying down on the face and aiming for ten minutes.
Modern “improved” rifles are quite unsuited for this.
The long distance they carry is a great drawback and makes them very
dangerous to use in a populous country and for the beaters.
Their small calibre does not knock down an animal instantly like a big
bullet does. They have too much penetration and are apt to hit two or more
animals with the same bullet.
A charging animal a few yards off may do a lot of damage after being hit
by a small bore rifle. There have not been fewer, but more, fatal
accidents from wounded lions and buffalo in Africa since these small bore,
high power, rifles have come into use.
The heavy weight of a double high power rifle is of a prohibitive weight
for snap-shooting.
The recoil also is so great that aim cannot be instantaneously taken for
the second shot.
In the black powder days sportsmen’s requirements were not subordinated to
military requirements.
Express rifles were used by deer stalkers in Scotland and the typical U.
S. rifle for grizzly bears was the .44 Winchester repeater which shot a
small charge of powder.
For big game shooting accuracy is not needed beyond two hundred yards but
a big bullet giving a knock down blow and a rifle capable of firing
several shots in succession with great rapidity. Rifle to be light and
handy as a shotgun.
Needing a smokeless rifle answering to the above requirements, I first
tried gallery ammunition in a .303 rifle, double rifle.
I found the weight of the rifle was too great and the calibre too small.
I then tried a .400 double rifle, lightened very much and shooting a small
charge of smokeless powder, I got the weight down to that of a double
12-bore pigeon gun.
Then I discovered there was danger of getting a full charge cartridge into
the rifle by mistake and bursting it. The difficulty was solved by having
a special chamber and a straight cartridge of large calibre, and small
powder charge of cordite. No high power cartridge can be got into the
chamber of this rifle, as they are all bottlenecked so there is no danger
of shooting the wrong ammunition. This double rifle is light and handy,
very accurate up to one hundred yards and all it hits it knocks down like
Thor’s hammer.
Unfortunately, the automatic pistol also has been “improved” on modern
rifle lines.
The utmost possible power has been put into the cartridge and the pistol
has to be heavy and clumsy to stand this and it has a big recoil and a
terribly loud report.
As it is, at the first shot, all within hearing scuttle underground like
rabbits, under the impression that an air raid is on.
A full charge automatic pistol is such a nuisance in a pistol gallery,
owing to its deafening noise, that nobody cares to use one there, and if
he did, he would very soon be asked by the other shooters to desist.
Inventors vie with each other as to who can produce an automatic pistol
having the most powerful cartridge, just as rifle inventors do.
What is wanted is not a more powerful automatic pistol, the present ones
are far too powerful, but a weak power, large bore one with an extremely
light charge corresponding to the duelling pistol, that is to say, one
shooting a round bullet of .44 calibre with a very small charge of
smokeless powder.
Such a pistol would be an ideal weapon for shooting galleries and would
popularize pistol practice, _then_ pistol shooting would be a pleasure
instead of a penance, when shooting has to be done indoors.
The automatic pistol inventors should experiment as follows:
The external lines should follow the Gastinne-Renette duelling pistol as
nearly as possible.
The calibre and cartridge the same as it is (_i. e._, .44), the bullet
being of lead, and spherical.
The magazine of a size to _take only this cartridge_, as otherwise, if a
heavy charge cartridge were introduced by mistake and fired, it would
smash and perhaps burst the pistol. An automatic pistol made for the light
charge would have too weak a recoil spring to withstand a heavy charge.
The duelling pistol cartridge has the bullet seated far down it, and there
is a lot of spare useless length in the cartridge.
In the automatic pistol I am advising to be made (the Winans model), the
cartridge should be, though of .44 calibre, very short, the round bullet
crimped in the end of it, like the .22 bulleted cap cartridges.
The cartridge being so short and the magazine made to fit, the usual high
power cartridges would be too long to go into it by mistake.
The sights should be those of the duelling pistol.
I think such an automatic pistol would be much superior to any existing
automatic pistol except for military purposes.
As there would be no danger of putting in a higher power cartridge the
pistol could be lightened and balance better, all the weight possible
being taken off the barrel and fore end, the barrel fluted, etc., so that
the balance would be even better than in a duelling pistol, owing to its
shorter barrel.
It may be found that the barrel could be lengthened, so as to be longer
between the sights, without spoiling the balance.
As the gallery charge is so light, the recoil would be all expended in
operating the mechanism--there would be no recoil left against the hand.
Most of the difficulties in designing automatic firearms are having to
withstand the enormous pressure of modern cartridges. If you go back to a
light pressure in the cartridge, all these difficulties vanish and all
parts can be made light.
Such a pistol ought easily to beat all existing rapid-fire revolver
records, as good scores as those under duelling conditions should be made,
in fact I think better scores, as there is no necessity to raise the hand
after the first shot.
With a Winchester .22 automatic rifle I can put the ten shots in three
seconds into a two-inch bull at twenty yards, the only time spent is in
getting the aim for the first shot, the other shots can be put in as fast
as the trigger can be pressed, as there is no recoil, and therefore no
time spent in getting a fresh aim for each shot. The .22 Colt long barrel
automatic pistol (see Plate 4) fulfills most of these conditions, but a
.44 gallery charge automatic pistol would be better.
CHAPTER LII
SHOOTING GALLERY
Pistol shooting in competitions or for practice is conducted either under
cover, in the open, or partly under cover. The latter is much the best
way, so I will keep this to the last.
An open-air range can only be installed in the country, away from
buildings or annoyance to others. Even then it is not immune. Just before
the war several rifle ranges in England were ordered to be closed because
they inconvenienced golf players, and of course golf is much more
important than shooting.
The present automatic pistol with its heavy charge makes such a noise that
it can only be shot in an open-air range, well away from houses. The
objection to such a range is that it takes so long to get to.
Instead of being able to fire a few shots at odd moments, as in Paris, a
man who has a few minutes to spare must take a train into the country,
wasting time and money getting there and back, and he can therefore only
shoot if he has a whole afternoon free and “money to burn.”
It requires great keenness in pistol shooting to endure all the discomfort
of waiting for trains, standing in the wet, etc., for the sake of a few
minutes’ shooting.
The usual indoor range practice is even worse.
It is true it is “only round the corner,” and takes only a few minutes to
get to, but when you _do_ get there!!!
The range is in a part of a building too dark and uncomfortable to be used
for any other purpose.
If a narrow underground dungeon is too bad for a wine or coal cellar, a
brilliant idea strikes the owner of the property: “Why not turn it into a
public shooting gallery, and make it pay?”
The gallery is run on the pay, pay, always pay, and receive nothing,
principle.
The shooter pays for the pleasure of ruining his eyesight and ears, pays
for the target, pays for the cartridges, pays for the hire of a dirty,
greasy, worn out old revolver.
However good a score he makes he receives no prize or encouragement.
No wonder, after one such visit, the public gives the place a wide berth.
The Gastinne-Renette Pistol Gallery at 39, Avenue d’Antin, Paris, is
constructed and run as a pistol gallery should be.
The first essential is to have it in a building well-lighted by daylight
and airy, and where the neighbours will not object to the sound of
firing.
The ideal range is, as at Gastinne-Renette’s, with the firing point
covered and the range itself open to the air, but this is only possible
under exceptional circumstances, and where gallery ammunition only is
fired.
I am strongly of the opinion that unless gallery ammunition is used
exclusively, an indoor or semi-indoor range is inadmissible, otherwise the
shooting must, of necessity, be done in the country and in the open, with
all its attendant inconveniences.
If the range is in an entirely closed gallery it should have plenty of top
light (not artificial light), like a sculptor’s studio, or be situated and
lighted on the top floor of the house, like a photographer’s studio.
Or it may be a long shed with windows down both sides.
A riding school or a gymnasium having plenty of daylight might do.
By the way, although gymnastics do not need daylight (artificial light is
just as good for them), one never hears of a gymnasium in a coal cellar.
It is only the shooter, who is a crank anyhow and not worth serious
consideration, who has to put up with a coal cellar.
It is difficult to get an indoor range large enough for practice at moving
objects.
So-called moving targets which run for a few feet are not moving targets
at all.
To learn shooting at moving objects they should go fast and for a
reasonable distance, not less than ten yards, and the further they run,
and the more varying the speed, the better.
CHAPTER LIII
THE GASTINNE-RENETTE GALLERY
This gallery has been in existence for some seventy years and is
constantly improved and it is the best gallery I know of in any country.
In describing it I will be describing what an ideal shooting gallery
should be like.
The entrance is through a well-lighted daylight passage past the
gunmaker’s shop of the proprietor. A pistol can be bought or hired, or
alteration made to the sights or trigger-pull of one’s own pistol, on the
spot.
One then comes to a long, well-lighted gallery, with cupboards containing
the pistols of the members and very accurate, well-kept pistols, for
lending to shooters who have not brought their own (see Plates 2 and 10.)
Several pistol clubs, such as the “Le Pistolet” and the “St. George,”
shoot here on certain days, at which times the range is closed to the
outside public.
The gallery is heated by hot water pipes in winter.
The secretary sits at a desk and sells the entry tickets, gives the
prizes (gold, silver, and bronze medals and plaques), and also keeps an
accurate record of all winning scores made.
[Illustration: PLATE 15. GASTINNE-RENETTE GALLERY]
The walls are hung with the framed targets which have won the Grand
Medaille d’Or and other prizes.
Two marble slabs, engraved with the names of the winners of the
championship of each year, are by the mantelpiece where hangs the stuffed
head of a Sika stag I shot with a duelling pistol.
One of the long sides of the gallery faces a blank wall in the open air
about thirty yards distant.
Along that side there are cubicles with glass doors facing this wall, and
glass sliding doors opening into the gallery.
Each cubicle has a loading table with drawers for cartridges, etc.
These cubicles have transverse walls in pairs leading to this wall, so as
to enable pairs of shooters, if they so desire, to shoot, without being
disturbed by the rest of the shooters.
The shooter goes with an attendant into one of the cubicles; the door
leading to the gallery is shut and the door on to the range is opened.
The shooter can be seen from the gallery but he is not disturbed by people
talking or coming near him.
The assistant loads the pistols, works the metronome, keeps the score,
etc.
If the score is good enough to win a prize the assistant calls the
secretary to see the target and verify the score and record it in his book
before the shots are painted out.
Paper targets shot at are brought to the secretary for verification and
signed and kept by him.
Over the top of these open-air passages down which the shooting takes
place, wires are stretched to break the sound, so as not to annoy the
neighbours.
There are also sloping boards at intervals above, so that a shot let off
by accident cannot do any harm--the boards catch all wide bullets.
[Illustration: PLATE 16. GASTINNE-RENETTE GALLERY--FIRING POINTS]
The prizes are given on a gradually increasing scale of difficulty, so
that nobody need be discouraged.
The bronze medal for shooting at plaster figures at sixteen metres is easy
enough for the most moderate pistol shot to win, he is thus encouraged to
try for the silver medal at these figures, which is a little more
difficult, and so on.
No medal in any of the series can be won more than once.
If a man wins the gold medal at that series at the first attempt he can
still go in for the silver and bronze medals of that series, but, when he
has won all three medals of a series, he can never compete in that series
again, but of course can shoot for practice at them.
Some series call for extreme accuracy and some for endurance, as that for
breaking a hundred small plates in succession--rapid-firing--under
duelling conditions.
In Chapter XXXIII, I described the target used at Gastinne-Renette’s
Gallery for the three series for the Grand Medaille d’Or.
There are no second prizes in these series.
One gold medal is for twelve shots deliberate shooting with the .44
calibre duelling pistol.
A similar one for the .44 calibre revolver, and also a similar one for the
duelling pistol, shot under duelling conditions.
All are shot at sixteen metres range (seventeen yards one foot).
To win either of the first two gold medals all the twelve shots must be
inside the first ring round the bull’s-eye, that is inside (not cutting a
ring of five bullets’ diameter (2⅕ inches).
To win the third gold medal all the twelve shots must be inside, not
cutting, the second ring round the bull’s-eye, that is to say inside seven
bullets’ diameter (3.08 inches).
This latter appears the most easy competition, but on the contrary whilst
some forty or more have won the first two medals, only five have won the
latter, during the seventy years.
Chevalier Ira Paine is the only man who won both the first named gold
medals. I do not think he tried for the third. In fact I have not seen or
heard of any score of his shot under duelling conditions.
I am the only one during the seventy years the competitions have been in
existence who has won both the gold medals for rifle shooting at moving
objects at this gallery, the Running Rabbit and the Running Man, about
five have won either one or the other of these medals.
CHAPTER LIV
OPEN AIR RANGES
A row of white squares, each with a black bull’s-eye on it, and men
aiming, aiming, and finally letting off their pistols at them, is such a
mistaken idea of learning pistol shooting.
It is all so futile, so useless, except as a sport and a means of getting
fresh air and relaxation.
To occasionally put a series of shots very close together on a stationary
target is interesting, and shows what a good pistol and men are capable of
when working in harmony. But to consider this the sole object of pistol
shooting is the greatest mistake.
Rapid fire, the faster the better, is the essence of pistol shooting, the
only practical use of it.
Deliberate shooting is a game, a sport, and a very good sport, but it is
neither practical pistol shooting or the way to learn it.
An outdoor range gives the best practice, as figures can be put up at
various distances and shot at in rapid fire, moving and disappearing
targets can run in all directions, and come up unexpectedly like at a
shotgun shooting school.
A shelter to shoot from under in wet or windy weather has the disadvantage
of the noise from the shooting when full charges are shot, as is
invariably the case in England.
A corrugated roof gives a terrible echo. It is better to stand in the rain
and wind rather than be deafened.
Six hits in four seconds is the best I know of with a revolver when
shooting at life size figures taken one after the other at distances
varying from about fifteen to thirty yards.
This can be beaten with an automatic pistol. With an automatic pistol it
is a matter of finding the right speed to swing across the figures.
A good open air pistol range can be made behind a rifle butt.
Behind the big butt for a thousand yards’ rifle shooting makes a very big
butt for twenty-five yards’ automatic pistol shooting and allows for
swinging and moving targets on an ample scale.
In an open air range great care must be taken to be very strict as to
rules of safety.
There becomes a tendency to walk down to the butt to examine a target
without first giving warning; to walk about with some cartridges still in
the pistol, etc.
Things which would not be done in an indoor range seem to come natural to
some men when in an out-of-doors range.
Targets that can smash are the best. Plaster heads are much better to
shoot at in rapid firing than to try and hit the six heads of wooden
targets.
In the former case you see the débris of the smash as you pull the trigger
and do not pause in your swing to the next target.
If there is no smash to the shot but only a bullet hole, one is apt to
hesitate after each shot to look for the bullet hole.
It looks so much better and gives such a satisfactory feeling to instantly
see the result of your shot.
A row of plates or bottles placed at various distances and smashed one
after the other very rapidly is much more of an encouragement than, after
having fired without visible result, to be told ten minutes later that you
have made all hits.
There are small rubber balloons manufactured in France which can be filled
with water.
The balloons when empty pack in very little space. A small pump is sold
with them, it can be regulated to deliver a pre-arranged quantity of water
into each balloon, and then a twist at the neck of the balloon closes it.
If the water is coloured with Condy’s Fluid a hit looks very conspicuous
and pretty when the balloon bursts on being struck.
Have them thrown up to shoot at. Great care must be taken that the bullets
go where they can do no harm.
A full charge automatic pistol should not be used for this--a duelling
pistol, having a smooth bore barrel, and shooting No. 8 shot is good
practice and can be shot where shooting a bullet would be dangerous. I
have killed 44 out of 80 live pigeons in this way.
It is dangerous to shoot bullets at hard substances. To shoot at a stone
thrown up, a ginger beer, or a soda water bottle, may cause very dangerous
ricochets.
CHAPTER LV
SHOOTING IN LITERATURE
Most extraordinary ideas prevail amongst writers as to shooting in general
and especially pistol shooting.
One novelist makes his hero see “a flame zigzagging in the darkness,” he,
not troubling to ascertain who was carrying the light, friend or foe,
without hesitation “drew his pistol, took an aim of a good thirty seconds’
duration and fired straight at the flame.”
To aim “straight at” a moving object is the way to miss it, and if the aim
is taken for thirty seconds the hand gets so shaky that a miss is certain,
but most marvellous thing in literature, the hero _does_ miss.