HOW TO LEARN TO SHOOT. 137 



hurry or agitate the learner, either by impatience, or by 

 rebuking any clumsiness or oversight. Encouragement is 

 needed, not rebuke ; and practice can alone make perfect. 



It is, also, advisable not to persevere, at any one time, 

 so long as to weary the pupil ; who will soon begin to feel 

 proud, as he acquires handiness, in perceiving his aptitude 

 with the piece and his quick control of the mechanism ; and 

 will take more and more interest in the lessons, as he finds, 

 even at the quick practice I have described, that he 

 catches occasionally sights of the mark over his barrel. 



All this should be done invariably with both eyes 

 open. 



The next lessons are merely for the acquisition of 

 steadiness. They are first to snap the locks, cocking and 

 uncocking the piece, as before, with caps only on the gun. 

 In this case, a good wad of well greased rag should be 

 rammed into the breech of both barrels, and it will be 

 better, also, to pour a drop of oil into the orifice of the 

 nipples, as the explosion of the percussion powder is most 

 detrimental to the gun, which should be cleaned at once, 

 when the lesson is ended. 



This lesson should be practised, as before, while pitch- 

 ing up the gun at a mark, and may be varied by occasion- 

 ally, at uncertain intervals, loading the gun with extremely 

 light charges of powder, the pupil not knowing when the 

 powder is inserted, and when he shoots with the caps only. 

 This will give him confidence and steadiness, and will 

 effectually prevent him from flinching, unconsciously, in 

 anticipation of the flash and report. 



Observe, that nothing is so much to be avoided as the 



