THE RIFLE AND THE SPY-GLASS. 9 



one. It should be mentioned that the telescopic sight 

 cannot be used on large bore rifles, as the recoil of the 

 telescope on the eye strikes it far harder than is pleasant 

 or even safe. 



And now as to the all-important matter of the rifle 

 sights. It is often stated that the man who shoots 

 brilliantly at game rarely is a good rifle shot, but all the 

 experience of the writer is dead against this theory. 

 Doubtless one can with practice learn to shoot well at 

 a mark with any sight; for the sighting of a rifle 

 only requires learning by plenty of shots and close and 

 careful observation. Practise, practise, practise! if you 

 want to become a dead shot, at a mark on the level, 

 at sea-birds on a smooth sea, at rocks and stones, up- 

 hill and down-hill and across valleys, and by degrees 

 a perfect knowledge will be gained as to what sort of 

 a sight should be taken, that is, how much of the 

 foresight should be seen to ensure a hit at the distance 

 a mark is judged to be. It is quite possible to take 

 out a gun to the heather or the stubble, and without 

 ever having had it in the hand before, or fired a shot 

 out of it, good practice if not quite brilliant shooting 

 may be made ; but with a rifle used against deer fur 

 the first time this would be almost impossible. 



The most common sight is the V sight, and the more 

 obtuse the angle of the V the easier it is to use it. 



The whole matter, however, when actually shooting 

 at deer is so totally different from firing at a mark, that 

 the sight which serves best for the target is hardly any 

 guide to that most suited for actual service. In shooting 

 at deer the firing position is generally cramped, the 



