320 Rev. Mr Somerville's Methods of Preventing the 



Daniel, in his valuable work on Rural Sports, has the fol- 

 lowing observations on these subjects: " In shooting with a 

 stranger," says he, " who perhaps keeps his gun cocked, and 

 the muzzle usually pointed to the left, plead for the right- 

 hand station, and that you cannot hit a bird flying to the left; 

 with a game-keeper take the right hand without ceremony. 

 In getting over a fence, constantly endeavour to go last, not- 

 withstanding the usual assurance of, My dear Sir, I am al- 

 ways remarkably careful : and if a person beats bushes with 

 a cocked gun, get out of his company, as a shooter, with all 

 possible expedition. 



" Always," continues he, " hold the gun with theleft hand 

 close to the guard, (and not forward upon the barrel, to strong- 

 ly grasp it near the entrance of the ramrod, notwithstanding 

 it has been so strenuously recommended ;) all the requisite 

 steadiness in taking aim, and even of motion, in traversing the 

 flight of a bird, can be obtained by thus holding the heaviest 

 pieces ; and in case of a barrel's bursting, the certainty of hav- 

 ing a hand or arm shattered, by grasping the barrel, is redu- 

 ced to a chance of escaping the effects of such an accident, by 

 placing the hand close to the guard beneath it." 



The fifth advantage which the writer now states is, that he 

 thinks a steadier aim can be taken by his mode of holding the 

 gun, than in the ordinary way. He is convinced that one 

 great cause of bad shooting is occasioned by grasping the gun 

 too firmly with the right hand, or giving the right hand too 

 much to do in the act of firing. The more easy the right 

 hand holds the gun, and the less it has to do, with the greater 

 precision it will act upon the triggers at the proper time. The 

 right hand, therefore, should hold the gun very loosely, anil 

 have only one thing to do, namely, to pull the trigger, when 

 the gun comes into the proper position to be discharged. 

 Now, the gun we are here considering admits of this to the 

 fullest extent. With it the left hand should do as it were the 

 whole work, except pulling the trigger. The safety-spring 

 being worked solely by the left hand, it should press the gun 

 firmly to the shoulder, by which the safety-spring will be un- 

 locked, and thus leave the right hand at perfect freedom, and 

 with nothing to do, but merely to touch the trigger, when the 



