BULLET AND SHOT 



leading firms can, if desired, fit any rifle with a 

 telescopic sight, whereby great accuracy of shoot- 

 ing can be secured ; but the difficulty of taking aim 

 at running animals with such a sight is a serious 

 objection to its use. Moreover, in the case of 

 rifles firing heavy charges, this sight is not recom- 

 mended. 



A common fault in rifles is over-sighting. Con- 

 sidering that when still-hunting in the forests, as 

 also when tiger, panther, bears or deer are driven 

 out by beaters, very close shots are obtained, there 

 is no advantage in the standing backsight of an 

 express rifle being regulated to shoot at more than 

 100 yards. The majority of animals are killed 

 at much shorter ranges, and for hill stalking and 

 antelope shooting, when longer shots may have 

 to be taken, two folding flaps for use at long ranges 

 may be added. By target practice, the sportsman 

 will soon learn how much difference in elevation 

 is caused by taking the foresight fine, or the re- 

 verse, and he must always be on his guard against 

 shooting over, since the tendency in shooting game 

 with a rifle is to shoot too high. A standing back- 

 sight regulated for 100 yards will afford a better 

 chance in firing at moving objects than one which 

 is set for 150 or more yards, since the common 

 error of shooting too high is accentuated in the 

 case of running shots, owing to the difficulty of 

 taking a sufficiently fine foresight. In firing from 

 a hard, rigid rest, such as a rock or a log, it is 

 necessary, in order to prevent the barrels from 

 flying up at the shot, to interpolate some soft 



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