Hunting the Mule -Deer in Colorado. 



275 



can judge of the perpendicular from bead to notch just as well with- 

 out the upright bar, or "elevated sight," to waste time in adjusting. 



This is the practice of all the old hunters of my acquaintance : 

 Draw on your object fine, as if close by; then, keeping the bead on 

 him, lower the breech carefully till you can see such full elevation of 

 sight, or portion of barrel below it, as in your judgment, guided by 

 experience, is equivalent to the distance, and cut loose. If your rifle 

 is of small caliber, say iVo. and uses the long ball, with a heavy 

 charge of powder, making a low trajectory, you will rarely, in these 

 mountains, need to draw coarser than the whole height of the " front 

 sight," or up to, say, twice its height for three hundred yards or a 

 little over. Of this you must know by experiment, however, the 

 amount and strength of powder, weight and density of ball, etc., 

 varying in many cases, as well as the height of sights and distance 

 between them.* 



At first, you had better take only such chances as offer within 

 sure range. Take the body rather than the head, and well forward, 

 — just at the point of the shoulder is best. Pull as though you had 



OPEN SIGHT. 



ELEVATING SIGHT. 



got all day to do it in, even if you use double triggers, which are an 

 abomination. 



• In showing the hunter's method of " elevating," I have also illustrated a device 

 of my own, which, upon careful trial, will be found to serve as a ready and faithful 

 substitute for the bar and slide. Let your gunsmith sink a line from behind the bead 

 straight toward the notch of the " buck-horn " sight. At intervals, to mark the degree 

 of elevation for 150, 200, 300, 400, or 500 yards, these intervals determined by experi- 

 ment, or by looking through a " peep " sight placed, as usual, back of the breech, cut 

 cross-lines wide and deep enough to be distinctly seen. Of course, the perpendicular 

 line from the bead must, in sighting, fill the notch center, and the cross-line for the 

 distance required may seem to rest upon the top of the buck-horn. The novice in 

 " off-hand " shooting will find this a great help to his progress. 



