424 



Popular Science Mont/il/j 



vision; the eye must be above ilic line of 

 the rib or barrel. At no lime must the 

 left eye be closed. 



There is at times, the fatal presence 

 of a "master left eye." One eye or the 

 other does the guiding, the other or non- 

 aiming eye merely aiding in the estimate 

 of the distance and angle of the bird. If 

 the left eye is the master eye then the 

 remedies are four. One is to learn to 

 shoot from tiic left shoulder: the second, 



shot, fought this trouble for years with 

 the shotgun and finally had to take to 

 closing one eye with this weapon. 



Some of the finest shots with firearms, 

 rifle, pistol and shotgun, practice assidu- 

 oush' at home with the empt>' weapon. 

 \\'h\- should the t\ro feel that he can 

 learn all there is to learn by actually 

 firing? 



Let him ]iraciice pointing the empty 

 gun a little below horizontal as he would 



A Night Scene at the Chicago Gun Club Where Some Famous Shoots Have Been Held 



to make the right eye the master by 

 persistent practice at the right shoulder 

 with both eyes open; the third, to have 

 the stock made to fire the gun from the 

 right shoulder but crooked so as to bring 

 the barrels before the left eye, and the 

 fourth, to close the left eye at the instant 

 of aiming, which is done by some trap- 

 shots but should not be done unless it is 

 imperative through the left master eye. 



The quick and infallible test is to hold 

 up a finger-ring at arm's length and to 

 gaze through it with both eyes open at 

 some distant object. Without mo\ing 

 it, close the left eye and see if the right is 

 still gazing through it. Reverse this, 

 still without moving the ring. Repeat 

 several times. The master eye will be 

 found looking through the ring every 

 time, and the other eye will see the ring 

 off to one side apparently several inches. 



If the gun is shot with lioth e\'es open 

 from the right shoulder, with the left e\e 

 the master, the left eye will infallibK- 

 drag the muzzle over between itself and 

 the bird, j)utting tjie gim entirely out of 

 alinement and making the shooter miss 

 the bird to the left. The lady of the 

 writer's family, a line ritle and pistol 



at the edge of the for\vard side of the 

 trap-house, say "pull" to himself, and 

 then swing rapidly up after the imagin- 

 ary bird, pres.sing the trigger wlien the 

 gun reaches what he feels is the right 

 spot. A black spot on a white wall, a 

 generous spot like a one-inch black paster 

 at a distance of a dozen feet, is right. If 

 he is standing at the imaginary No. ,> 

 peg, which is just back of the center of 

 the trap, then the birds can come out 

 at any angle within forty-fi\e degrees of 

 the straight line before him to the 

 imaginary trap. 



How to Handle the Gun 



I'iist he must learn the fixed, glued 

 relation of face, hands and gun stock. 

 All movements in trap-shooting are done 

 from the hips. Read this again, and 

 study it. The position of face on stock 

 is the rear sight of the gmi. Regardless 

 of any held cxiierience or of an\" beliefs, 

 the tyro must glue himself into an im- 

 )iio\able relation witii the gun after it 

 comes from the shoulder. If he swings 

 after a bird, the swing must be from the 

 hips; the face, hands and stock must not 

 change relation until the shot goes. If 



