142 POINT-BLANK RANGE. 



strike about 1 foot 5 inches below; the power 

 of gravity having made it deviate from the 

 line of fire, and drawn it towards the earth, 1 foot 

 and 5 inches, in a flight of 100 yards. Therefore, 

 if the barrel were as thick at the muzzle as it is at 

 the breech, it would be necessary to aim 1 foot 

 5 inches above the mark in order to hit it ; but 

 this is not the case, for, as I have before observed, 

 every barrel has in itself a certain degree of 

 elevation, on account of the increased thick- 

 ness of metal at the breech end. The Enfield 

 rifle-barrel has elevation in itself for about 75 

 yards. 



p ' blank ^ ne Pi nt -blank range is the extreme 

 point at which the trajectory intersects 

 the line of fire, or the greatest distance to which 

 a rifle will throw a ball in a direct course parallel 

 to the line of sight. 



If an Enficld rifle be held with the axis of the 

 barrel parallel to the ground at the height of 

 4 feet 6 inches above it, the first graze when the 

 bullet strikes will be about 200 paces distant, 



