HOW TO LEARN TO SHOOT. 1387 
hurry or agitate the learner, either by impatience, or by 
rebuking any clumsiness or oversight. Encouragement is 
needed, not rebuke ; and practice can alone make perfect. 
It is, also, advisable not to persevere, at any one time, 
so long as to weary the pupil; who will soon begin to feel 
proud, as he acquires handiness, in perceiving his aptitude 
with the piece and his quick control of the mechanism ; and 
will take more and more interest in the lessons, as he finds, 
even at the quick practice I have described, that he 
catches occasionally sights of the mark over his barrel. 
All this should be done invariably with both eyes 
open. 
The next lessons are merely for the acquisition of 
steadiness. They are first to snap the locks, cocking and 
uncocking the piece, as before, with caps only on the gun. 
In this case, a good wad of well greased rag should be 
rammed into the breech of both barrels, and it will be 
better, also, to pour a drop of oil into the orifice of the 
nipples, as the explosion of the percussion powder is most 
detrimental to the gun, which should be cleaned at once, 
when the lesson is ended. 
This lesson should be practised, as before, while pitch- 
ing up the gun at a mark, and may be varied by occasion- 
ally, at uncertain intervals, loading the gun with extremely 
light charges of powder, the pupil not knowing when the 
powder is inserted, and when he shoots with the caps only. 
This will give him confidence and steadiness, and will 
effectually prevent him from flinching, unconsciously, in 
anticipation of the flash and report. 
Observe, that nothing is so much to be avoided as the 
