THE EFFECT OF RECOIL UPON SHOOTING. 327 



or heavy ones with light charges of powder. Double 

 sights are not such a nuisance as one would suppose, 

 for after a little practice the eye shifts at the same 

 time the finger does, and with as little danger of 

 mistake, so that the quickest kind of running shots 

 may be made with them. 



From all these facts important consequences flow. 



ist. A rifle or pistol may kick so as to be worthless 

 unless lightly loaded. 



2d. It may be perfectly accurate and yet require 

 different sighting for different balls or charges. 



3d. Bullets and charges should not be changed in 

 any rifle without testing carefully to see the effect. 



4th. A double gun may need double sights for heavy 

 charges. 



5th. The force of a ball may be affected by the 

 yielding of the gun. The heavier the ball, in propor- 

 tion to the caliber, the longer it will take it to pass 

 along the barrel, and consequently the longer the time 

 the gas will have to overcome the gun's inertia, and 

 the greater will be the loss of force in recoil if the gun 

 yields. This becomes of some importance in long 

 shooting, especially with a long heavy ball; and if the 

 gun be loosely or carelessly held, instead of well 

 backed by a solid shoulder, the ball may drop enough 

 below where it should go to miss a deer at three hun- 

 dred yards and even less. 



6th. A gun may also throw irregularly, to one side 

 or other, by being carelessly held or not always held 

 alike, such as the pistol above mentioned. I have not 

 noticed this, however, in any rifle I have owned, and 

 should pronounce one that would do it as either over- 

 loaded or worthless. 



In buying a rifle this should always be looked after. 



