THE PRACTICE OF SHOOTING 



MR. WALTER WINANS has expressed the opinion that 

 the better a shooter grows at the rifle targets the 

 worse he becomes at moving objects with the rifle and gun. 

 But it is probable that all good shooting at moving objects is 

 based upon a beginning of steady alignments. Those who 

 believe that shooting at flying game is to be well learnt before 

 still objects can be accomplished seem to the author to neglect 

 the first principles, and would run before they can walk. There 

 is this to be considered : that one often does get, even in grouse 

 and partridge driving, marks that are exactly equivalent to still 

 objects. That is to say, they are coming perfectly straight at 

 the gun. Is one to let them off without shooting quite straight 

 because one has been taught not to align ? There is no doubt 

 the best shots do align for the very fastest crossing game if 

 there is time to do it ; and the belief of the author is that a 

 man cannot be really quite first-rate unless he can shoot in 

 every style as occasion requires. That is to say, he will be 

 able upon occasion, when circumstances and time admit of but 

 a brief sight of a crossing bird between the branches of fir trees, 

 to throw his gun ahead to a point, as he thinks, and tries to do, 

 without swing, and will be able to kill his game. The author 

 has occasionally risen to such success himself, but only when 

 he has not been trying to do it, but has grown up to it, out of 

 the more certain method of consciously swinging past the bird 

 to a point in space ahead, and pulling trigger as the alignment 

 was getting to the spot, and without checking the gun. In the 

 first-named style of shooting, when the kill comes off, there is 

 probably always swing, by reason of the gun being put up 



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