JUDGING DISTANCES ON MOUNTAINS. 307 



are inclined to think, because for the same reason the 

 whole of the powder charge is not consumed in the 

 barrel, but is blown out either unburnt, or else it burns 

 in the air, after it has left the muzzle. The advantage 

 of long barrels therefore is generally very marked in 

 mountain shooting. There is also the rugged nature 

 of the ground to be taken into account, which likewise 

 has its effect, and makes it exceedingly difficult for an 

 eye unaccustomed to hill-shooting, to determine what 

 the ranges are when firing at game a certain distance 

 away. These effects are most keenly felt when firing 

 up or down steep declivities, or across broken ground 

 and streams, where a portion of the intervening space 

 is hidden from view. The gigantic size of cliffs and 

 other natural objects in the immediate vicinity, as well 

 as the peculiarities of the atmosphere, all combine to 

 increase the difficulty of the new-comer in estimating 

 the correct distance that a small object like an animal 

 is away from him. We believe the only way to 

 overcome these difficulties is to practice occasional shots 

 at marks, and afterwards ascertain what the correct range 

 was; this is the course recommended by Mr. Macrae 

 in his handbook on deer-stalking, and it seems the 

 common-sense course to take. Without practice at 

 marks few men make good rifle-shots; and yet as 

 we have already insisted, such practice alone will 

 not make men good game shots ; both species of prac- 

 tice, at marks and at game, are essential to make a 

 good rifleman. 



The great thing in rifle-shooting is to acquire a sound 

 acquaintance with the exact powers of the weapon in 

 all its details, and thus make the most of experience 

 gained. General Crealock therefore, who was himself 



