240 MANUAL FOR NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 



and thence around the left upper arm. The loop should be so 

 tight that about 50 pounds tension is placed on it when the 

 position is assumed. This position is uncomfortaljle until prac- 

 ticed, when it quickly ceases to be uncomfortable. It will be 

 steadier if small holes can be found or dug in the ground for 

 the elbows. In this position the sling binds the left forearm to 

 the rifle and to the ground so that it forms a dead rest for the 

 rifle, with a universal joint, the wrist, at its upper end. Also 

 the rifle is so bound to the shoulder that the recoil is not felt 

 at all. This is the steadiest of all firing positions. 



The gun sling can also be used in this manner with advan- 

 tage in the other positions. 



Section 8. Calling the shot. 



It is evident that the sights should be so adjusted at each 

 range that the rifle will hit where you aim. In order to de- 

 termine that the sights are so adjusted, it is necessary that 

 you shall know each time just where you were aiming on the 

 target at the instant your rifle was discharged. If you know 

 this and your rifle hits this point, your rifle is correctly sighted. 

 If your shot does not hit near this point, you should change 

 your sight adjustment in accordance with the table of sight 

 corrections on page 191. 



No man can hold absolutely steady. The rifle trembles 

 slightly, and the sights seem to wabble and move over the tar- 

 get. You try to squeeze off the last ounce of the trigger 

 squeeze just as the sights move to the desired alignment under 

 the bull's-eye. At this instant, just before the recoil blots 

 (»ut a view of the sights and target, you should catch with your 

 eye a picture, as it were, of just where on the target your 

 sights were aligned, and call to yourself or to the coach this 

 l)oint. This point is where your shot should strike if your 

 sights are correctly adjusted and if you have squeezed the 

 trigger without disturbing your aim. Until a man can call his 

 sliots he is not a good shot, for he can never tell if his rifle is 

 siglited right or not, or if a certain shot is a good one or only 

 ♦ ho result of luck. 



