EARLY DAY STORIES. 139 



Chester, which was the strongest shooting gun I ever used, 

 when fired at a mark a hundred and eighty-five yards off, 

 the ball would strike about eight inches below the mark. Of 

 course all these hunting rifles have sights that can be raised, 

 and they will all shoot to kill at a half mile or even a mile 

 or more. But there are so many difficulties in the way when 

 shooting at game beyond the distance to *which the gun will 

 carry with "level sights," that it is better not to shoot at 

 all under such circumstances, but rather to wait for a better 

 chance. In shooting at long range, the distance must be 

 correctly estimated so that the rear sight can be properly 

 adjusted, the rifle must be held with great steadiness, which 

 is not easy to do, the eye sight must be very sharp so as to 

 distinctly see the game, the direction and force of the wind 

 must be taken into account, as it is liable to swerve the bul- 

 let from its true course, and the sunlight, whether too bright 

 or too dim has its effect. Shooting at a target where the 

 distance is exactly known, and where the target itself is of 

 such a color and so placed as to be distinctly seen, and where 

 the rifle is equipped with peep sights, and wind gauge, is 

 very different from shooting at game that is more or less 

 indistinctly seen, and where the distance must be guessed 

 at and where the wind and sun have to be reckoned with. 

 Two hundred yards, therefore, is a long shot for the hunt- 

 er, and two hundred and fifty yards a very long one, even 

 with our present day long range guns. 



It makes a good deal of difference in hunting what 

 kind of sights are used on the gun. If the front sight be- 

 comes worn so that it is bright, while it may be all right in 

 a cloudy day it will glimmer in the sunshine, and will be 

 apt to cause bad shooting. And besides, metal sights of 

 any kind cannot be clearly seen after dusk. The best sights 

 for hunting that I have ever used are an ivory bead for the 

 front sight, and a double rear sight consisting of two pieces 

 of flat steel hung on a hinge so that one or both can be turned 



