262 MY SOMALI BOOK 



of a good gun-maker, is assumed. In the first i)lace, 

 ^vhat exactly do we want our rifle to do ? I think 

 two things : — 



(i.) To hit. In order to be able to hit our mark 

 with sufficient certainty, we must have accuracy of 

 flight on the part of the bullet. This involves, in a 

 greater or less degree according to the range, lowness of 

 trajectory, trajectory being largely dependent on 

 velocity and form of bullet. But accuracy in the bullet 

 is of no use unless the rifle is correctly aimed in the 

 first instance. To ensure this being done, with a 

 motionless target, correct sighting is the main thing 

 wanted. But in shooting at a moving object, and 

 especially in a snap-shot, additional qualities in one's 

 rifle are desirable, which may be summed up in the 

 general term " handiness." Handiness is mainly a 

 matter of weight and balance, also to some extent of 

 make {e.g. single, magazine, or double). 



(ii.) To kill. Hitting one's game is, after all, only 

 the necessary step towards killing it. Our second 

 requirement, therefore, is killing-power in our bullet. 

 Killing-power depends mainly upon the bullet's capacity 

 for causing injur}^ This capacity is derived from its 

 striking energy, the effect of which, however, is liable 

 to considerable modification in accordance with the 

 composition and form of the bullet itself. Striking 

 energy is a product of two factors, velocity and weight 

 of bullet. 



What we principally need in a rifle then, whatever 

 the quarry, are handiness, accuracy, and killmg-power. 

 But before trying to find what class of weapon is most 

 likely to meet our^requirements against lion or tiger 



