THE SIGHTING OF HUNTING-RIFLES. 365 



hand and with open sights. And a very swift and 

 velocity-sustaining ball may be thus sent for a hun- 

 dred and seventy yards without missing a turkey any- 

 where along the line. 



But if the rise at the middle of the course be too 

 great there is, as we have seen, a loss. And this may 

 be so great as to overbalance the advantage. A rifle 

 sighted to a point blank too far off, or having so slow 

 a ball that it has to rise high to reach a short point- 

 blank, will miss far more game inside of a hundred 

 and fifty yards than it will catch beyond that point. 

 Such is the case with many rifles as they come from 

 the factory; and attempting to hold low enough 

 with them is one of the most delusive things in the 

 world. 



Keeping, then, clearly in mind that the less rise 

 there is to the ball the better, the adjustments of the 

 sights for large game will depend entirely upon the 

 kind of ground upon which you are to hunt. Remem- 

 ber, however, that, on account of the strong tendency 

 to overshoot, an inch of rise above is in the long-run 

 as bad as two inches of fall below or three inches of 

 deviation to either side the mark. And remember the 

 natural tendency to overestimate the distance at which 

 most game is killed, and that the most advantageous 

 point at which to shoot at game is much closer than is 

 commonly supposed. 



The following rises of bullets at the middle point 

 will, I think, be fully enough, supposing you use a 

 swift ball: 



For the woods, one inch. 



For the open hilly ground, two and a half inches. 



For the plains, four inches. 



No rise of ball higher than the above should be 



