Part 9 (1/2)

When instructing, it is best to stand at the beginner's left side and be ready to clutch his pistol if he turns it dangerously.

The target should be a white bull's-eye of about five inches diameter on a black ground, and at six to ten yards' distance.

The target should be of cardboard, so that the bullets will go through and into the b.u.t.t--a hard target may make the bullets rebound.

The duelling pistol has a silver bead front sight, and a big U back sight.

The black front sight on most pistols is quite wrong. It prevents quick shooting, and I am in this book teaching quick, practical shooting only.

Practice at hitting minute stationary objects with a long aim died out the same as the revolver did.

Formerly, much of the revolver shooting was done at stationary black bull's-eyes on white targets, just like rifle shooting was done. I always protested against this, claiming that the revolver was meant for quick shooting at moving or suddenly appearing objects, and that extreme accuracy at stationary targets was not its metier.

The war has proved I was right, and now these deliberate shooting exhibitions are used only to show what accuracy a pistol is capable of, like shooting rifles off a gunmaker's rest. A pistol shot out of a vise can show its capabilities better than any man can hold it.

It was this shooting at black bull's-eyes on a white target which caused the front sight to be made black so as to show on the white target, when sighted at ”6 o'clock” under the black bull's-eye. This is all wrong. When the black front sight is placed on a dark object, as a man's coat, it cannot be seen.

The white or silver bead sight on the duelling pistol is instantly seen and is the only practical sight for a pistol.

All this goes to show how worse than useless the old method of revolver shooting was, and I do not intend to revert to it in these instructions on shooting its successor, the automatic pistol.

Load the pistol, put it at full-c.o.c.k, and take it in your right hand pointing in the direction of the target.

Put it into the beginner's hand with both yours, the pistol pointed horizontally at the target. Make him grip it with three fingers, his thumb horizontal and slightly crooked downwards along the stock, his forefinger fully stretched along the outside of the trigger guard, and clear of the trigger.

Tell him he must not put his finger inside the trigger guard till he has the pistol pointed enough towards the target to prevent the bullet going in a dangerous direction in case he fires it accidentally.

Then show him how to see his front sight, in the middle of the U of the back sight, and to press the trigger.

This preliminary stage ought for safety to be learned with an empty pistol.

A person who is used to firearms (not necessarily one who is a pistol shot) should stand beside the pupil till the pupil learns the rudiment of safety against accidental discharge, and in aiming.

If there is no such person available then the pupil should be quite alone, two people ignorant of firearms trying to learn at the same time are very apt to shoot each other.

After the beginner can safely load, aim, and press the trigger, then he can begin to learn to shoot.

Load the pistol, stand with the arm fully extended, the pistol resting against the further edge of the table or ledge.

Fix the eyes on the bull's-eye, slowly raise the pistol, the arm fully extended (keeping the head quite upright). Raise the pistol till the right eye looks through the U of the back sight and sees the front sight in the U at the middle of the bull's-eye and press the trigger.

Do not stand sideways, stand almost facing, only slightly forward with the right shoulder, the feet slightly apart, knees straight, arms straight.

Nothing is worse than to shoot with a crooked or flabby right arm. You will never learn to shoot in this way, and a heavy automatic will hit you on the nose with the recoil.

Stand rigid and upright, the swing of the arm upwards should continue and the shot go off as you come horizontally to the target.

The idea is to fire the shot, just as you deal cards, raise and let off when you are horizontal. Do not poke with your head to see the sights, or find the sights and then hunt for the bull's eye with the muzzle of your pistol (like the rifle target shots do).