Men Who Ought to Make Good Rifle Shots 



Not the Kentucky "Moonshiner," not the 

 "Bad Man" of the West, but the city dentist 

 and the surveyor make the best shots 



By Edward C. Crossman 



NOW that learning to shoot the rifle 

 will be the job of some million — 

 mayhap five million — Americans, it 

 is interesting to note the effect previous 

 training in civil pursuits has on the ability 

 to shoot the rifle straight and fast. 



It does not make a romantic feature 

 story, I know, but the cold fact remains 

 that the peaceful gentlemen about the 

 country, chiefly in the large cities where 

 feuds are unknown, 

 who have acquired the 

 mastery of the .22- 

 caliber rifle indoors, 

 are far better shots 

 than the legendary 

 "bad men" of the 

 West, who shoot on 

 sight in the moving 

 pictures. 



Successful shooting 

 depends primarily on 

 the accurate laying of 

 the sights shot after 

 shot to keep the dis- 

 persion of the fire as 

 small as possible; 

 secondly on the abil- 

 ity to make muscles 

 respond instantly and 



Successful shooting depends first of all on the 

 accurate laying of the sights, shot after shot 



smoothly to the commands of the nerves. 



Riflemen describe this more or less loosely 

 by the term "coor- 

 dination." Particu- 

 larly is this true in 

 rapid-fire and snap 

 shooting, where great 

 accuracy and high 

 speed are called for. 

 A charge on your 

 own trench calls for 

 about fifteen rounds 

 "rapid," according to 

 my British friends; 

 which means fifteen 

 shots fired in about 

 one minute. By this 

 time the Teutons are 

 either in the trench 

 with you, preceded 

 by a shower of hand 

 grenades and more 

 immediately by sharp 

 bayonet, or else the 

 gray ranks are 

 broken, and the Teu- 

 tons are on their way 

 back — some of them. 



What " Coordination" 

 Means in Shooting 



Now fifteen rounds 

 rapid cannot even be 

 fired out of the rifle 

 by a man not skilled 

 in its use, while fifteen 

 rounds rapid fire in a 

 minute with accuracy 

 calls for perfect co- 

 ordination — perfect 

 command of the trig- 

 ger-finger to the end 

 that the shot may go 



Sometimes the man who 

 is stubborn enough to 

 persevere gets the training 

 of muscle and eye from 

 ordinary target practice 



The surveyor who 

 can run out a series 

 of accurate levels for 

 twenty miles is not 

 likely to get care- 

 less with rifle sights 



732 



