THE RIFLE ON GAME AT REST. 275 



that error you will be troubled some with under- 

 shooting. 



This will be caused by 



i st. Fear of overshooting causing you to take too 

 fine a sight at distances where you have learned that 

 it is unsafe to attempt to allow for the drop of your 

 bullet, because of the liability to overestimate dis- 

 tance. This you can never entirely overcome. There 

 is a certain point at which the ball if fired on a level 

 will certainly drop below the game. And yet the 

 only safe rule for shooting at that point in cases of 

 doubt whether to shoot higher or not is to resolve 

 the doubt always and instantly in favor of the level 

 sights. This will insure the most hits, but will neces- 

 sarily cause some misses. 



2d. Not understanding how far your rifle shoots on 

 a line practically level, and holding a fine level sight 

 on game that is plainly too far beyond the point blank. 



3d. Very long shots down a steep hill. This is 

 partly from underestimating the distance of the ob- 

 ject aimed at from the foot of a line dropped per- 

 pendicularly from the rifle to center of earth, a thing 

 we are very apt to do on a long steep hill. It may 

 also be that the coincidence of gravitation with the 

 downward motion of the ball increases the ratio of 

 its fall. 



4th. Underestimating distance over water, over clear 

 snow, and across a deep valley with a broad bottom. 

 These three with the long down-hill shot which is 

 analogous to the shot across the deep broad-bottomed 

 valley are about the only cases in which you will 

 underestimate distance. And you will be troubled 

 little with them until after the beginning of a re- 

 action from overestimating. 



