190 



RECREATION 



HANDLING FIREARMS. 



Editor Recreation : 



Many a time during his life did the late 

 James T. Conlin, the shooting master, arge 

 me to write a book on the subject of how to 

 safely handle firearms. Safety was his 

 hobby, and his criticism of most books on 

 firearms was that they failed to inculcate 

 the lesson of eternal vigilance and careful- 

 ness in the handling of deadly weapons. 



Conlin conducted shooting galleries and 

 ranges all his life, but after one fatal acci- 

 dent in a gallery he never would have a 

 counter or barrier of any sort between the 

 shooter and the gallery attendant. Always 

 he stood by the elbow or behind the man 

 with the gun. The front end of a gun. he 

 said, was always dangerous, no matter who 

 held the weapon, and he handled guns on 

 the theory that they were always loaded and 



speak softly to him or pay any attention to 

 his protestations that his rifle isn't cocked 

 and that he knows guns. Call a halt and 

 settle the matter emphatically. 



Except while actually in pursuit of game, 

 it is unnecessary to carry a loaded rifle on 

 the trail. Most persons hunt with maga- 

 zine rifles, and the motion of throwing a 

 cartridge from the magazine into the cham- 

 ber is so simple and quick that it can be 

 executed, when game is seen unexpectedly, 

 without causing the hunter to miss the* 

 chance of a shot. 



If two are walking in Indian file, and it is 

 advisable to carry loaded guns, the leader 

 should carry his weapon muzzle forward, 

 and the other should carry his piece over 

 the shoulder. If there are three in the party, 

 the middle man should carry his gun either 

 so that it points to one side, or at such an 



THE RIGHT AND THE WRONG WAY. 



cocked. That is an excellent working 

 hypothesis. 



Probably everyone who shoots much, no 

 matter how expert and careful he may be, 

 has had narrow escapes from shooting some- 

 body or getting shot accidentally. At least 

 he has had a gun "go off" unexpectedly in 

 his own hands. I profess to be a very care- 

 ful man with a gun, but the cold shivers 

 have chased up and down my spinal col- 

 umn more than once at the report of a gun 

 that I had no intention of firing. I never 

 shot anyone, but I have been shot by my 

 friends often enough to make me mighty 

 watchful of the business ends of firearms 

 and mighty sceptical of any man's assur- 

 ance of his carefulness. Nothing like pick- 

 ing number eights out of your scalp, or 

 digging a few buck shot out of your legs, 

 to make you particular in choosing hunting 

 companions. 



The chap to call down promptly and hard 

 is the one who carries his rifle over his 

 shoulder, pointing rearward, when he leads 

 on the trail, or under his arm and pointing 

 forward when he walks behind. Don't 



angle on his shoulder that it cannot menace 

 the man behind. But there is seldom any 

 good reason why more than one rifle in a 

 party should have a cartridge in the cham- 

 ber. The man in the lead is the only one 

 likely to get a snap shot, and if game is 

 jumped Ihe others can load from their 

 magazines. 



However, no man having real good sense 

 goes hunting with a crowd. One man with 

 a gun is enough to watch, and to look out 

 for when firing one's own weapon. 



One thing that a man who handles fire- 

 arms cannot learn too soon — many learn it 

 too late and at terrible cost — is not to trust 

 the lock mechanism of the best gun ever 

 made. When working the lever or bolt of a 

 magazine rifle to transfer a cartridge from 

 magazine to barrel, see that the muzzle 

 points in a safe direction. The cartridge 

 may be exploded by the closing of the ac- 

 tion. A friend, walking behind me, once 

 worked his magazine lever to load for a 

 shot at a deer, which appeared suddenly, and 

 his bullet struck the ground an inch from 

 my heel. It was the first time his rifle ever 



