HOW TO GET IT. 105 



to whether a fine or coarse sight ought to be taken 

 through the sight as now arranged. 



The very best sight, and the one almost universally in 

 use by sportsmen and professional hunters on the plains, 

 is the plain ' buck-horn,' a description of which is un- 

 necessary, as every gunsmith knows it. 



The very large mass of -game 4 bagged ' is killed 

 inside of 200 yards. A good gun will carry a ball 

 to that distance with almost a flat trajectory. 



Of the best gun I have ever owned, the line of fire 

 never cut the line of sight at all, but was tangent to or 

 coincident with it ; in other words, the gun did not shoot 

 too high at any distance, and I took precisely the same 

 sight at an object at ten feet as at 100 or 200 

 yards off. This is very unusual, but a gun is good as it 

 approximates to this extreme accuracy. After 200 

 yards, however, the curve of the trajectory of even 

 the best gun increases with great rapidity, and it is only 

 by constant practice that the sportsman can keep himself 

 up to the mark at long ranges. Sportsmen who use the 

 ' buck-horn ' must learn to sight ' on the barrel.' With 

 practice there is no reason why this should not become 

 second nature ; and a sportsman soon learns to take his 

 sight at a distant object and elevate his gun to the proper 

 angle, just as the trombone player learns by practice to 

 stop his hand at the exact spot to give the correct note. 



The greatest difficulty of this kind of shooting is that 

 when the barrel is elevated it shuts out the sight of the 

 game. This difficulty I obviate by shooting with both 

 eyes open. With the right I keep the line of sight and 

 estimate the distance ' on the barrel ; ' with the other I have 

 a clear view of the game and its surroundings. This is 

 very easy to learn ; and, though I have never known any 

 other sportsman to shoot a rifle in this way, it has been of 

 such invaluable use to me, especially in antelope shooting 

 and at running game, that I recommend every young 

 sportsman to learn and practise it. 



