HOW TO HOLD A GUN 175 



master of his gun, and thoroughly test its balance and 

 fitting. 



I may here mention a most important point. I 

 believe that, after a man has acquired the confidence 

 and perfect command of his gun which are necessary, 

 the whole secret of his being a quick and brilliant shot 

 consists in his holding the gun loosely ; nowhere 

 should it be grasped tightly, except by the thumb and 

 three last fingers of the right hand, round the small of 

 the stock. I have proved that, in numerous cases of 

 failure in shooting which have come to my knowledge, 

 the cause has been overtight handling of the gun for 

 fear of the recoil, and the result has been that such 

 individuals always shot behind and below everything 

 they aimed at. 



Invariably when this habit and the fear of recoil 

 (which latter should never exist with the gun in use 

 nowadays) were overcome, they became first-class, 

 steady shots. It is a very difficult habit to eradicate, 

 and one which is ruinous to stopping a bird quickly ; 

 but it can be overcome by practising with an unloaded 

 gun, swinging it loosely, and snapping the trigger at 

 some object. In practising to overcome this habit in 

 a room, as before described, the gun should be carried 

 on the shoulder when facing the window, and at the 

 word 'four' it should at the 'right-about' or ' left- 

 about' turns fall naturally into the left hand at the 

 correct balance. 



When the beginner has made himself perfect in the 

 above-mentioned practice at fixed angles, he can com- 

 mence practising at a swinging-bird, which can be set 

 in motion by an assistant. For this purpose an iron 

 plate, painted white, and made in various sizes, from 



