268 
FOREST ANB STREAM. 
XMarch 30, i^i. 
Cast-Off and Bend* 
The following, treating of fitting the gun to the shooter, is 
taken from "Experts on Guns and Shooting," by G. T. Teasdale- 
Buckell: 
Correspondence is frequently taking place on the question of 
bend and cast-off, and it seems to be believed that the latter is a 
new thing introduced by the try-guns. This is not so. Some be- 
lieve because they can shoot without either of these that other 
people can do so too. This is a very common mistake. It does 
not argue a very great acquaintance with the world to believe that 
what suits one must necessarily suit others. The late Sir Victor 
Brook could kill rabbits shooting from the hip, but he did not 
make the mistake of believing that therefore the hip was the best 
l)iace to shoot from, either for other people or at other game. 
The man who would abolish cast-ofif and cast-on might just as 
•Well attempt to abolish bend of stock also. The only use of either 
is to enable the eye to get in a straight line with the center of the 
rib and the sight. Of couse, if any individual is so gifted that he 
can shoot without getting the eye in this aligtiment, neither cast- 
loff nor bend is of the smallest service to him. But a man who 
attempted to do this could only shoot moderately well in any case. 
Certainh' a stock can be so bent that the eye can align the barrel 
without cast-oif or cast-on, but this can only be done by means 
of a totally unnecessary bend.. Put it the other way: Cast-off might 
be made so violent as to admit the eye into alignment without 
any bend whatever. But the general consensus of opinion of 
experts is for a little of both, for the reason that it makes a more 
sightly gun, and an equally effective one. 
We cannot discuss the question of cast-off or bend with any 
one who shoots without getting his eye into alignment with the 
center of the rib and the sight. He is unique, and disarms 
criticism by placing himself outside the rules of the game. If, 
however, any one desires to imitate that style of shooting, we 
would suggest the following experiment before new guns are 
ordered. Take a try-gun, make it as straight as it will go^ — so 
straight that it is mechancally impossible to align the eye with 
its rib — and then load it and shoot at a bullseye target 40yds. away. 
If this is a success — which it is 99 to 1 it will not be — then it 
is not to be taken for granted that perpendicular and side shots 
can be equally well taken; they must be actually tried and suc- 
ceed before the gun can be called a success, and when they have 
come off satisfactonlj', our advice is to discard such a straight 
tool. The reason for this is that if a man can shoot well without 
the power of alignment, he is in the most perfect health. Some day 
it may happen that, like poor city men, he will go out with the 
gun in search of health. Or, to do less violence to imagination, he 
may be a bit off color, and then he will find that hand and eye do 
not work with perfect agreement. 
The reason why cast-off and bend were invented was probably 
not to compel a man to take unnecessary aim, but to enable him 
10 see his mistake when it arose. When bad shooting comes 
on, confidence is shaken, and without confidence good shooting 
carmot be restored. We believe that the ability to align the rib 
is a ready means to the restoration of confidence. It has often 
happened with our experiments in trying new guns for gunmakers 
that we start by doing really good shooting with a gun that we 
are unable to align. Then suddenly shooting goes off; and this 
very inability to alight has always prevented us getting into form 
again, whereas with our own guns nothing is easier than this re- 
covery. The reason is that with a gun that can be aligned we 
know what we are doing, and where we shoot, whereas with another 
weapon we only know we miss, nothing more. Now we are not 
going to fall into the mistake we condemn of judging others by 
our own weaknesses. We prefer to take the majority as our own 
guide when we can. In advocating bend and cast-ofl', we are 
merely repeating the arguments that have influenced all experts 
from Joe Manton, the father of gun making, to the makers of 
to-day. We have frequently been told that our bend and cast-off 
are abnormal, but we do not think so. The very straight-stocked 
gxins— ^the outcome of pigeon shooting — are abnormal, inasmuch 
as they -^are special tools for special work. Some days ago we 
were in a gun maker's place, when he gave us an old Joe Manton 
gun, and upon putting it up we found it was precisely our bend 
and cast-off, both at comb and heel. The gun has a particularly 
low comb, very different from the majority of the guns made to- 
day. Our opinion was challenged by the gun maker in question, 
but on measurement it proved to be correct to within l-16in. of 
bend at the comb, and to 1-lOin. at the heel, and if we shoot with 
abnormal cast-off, one at least of Joe Manton's customers must 
also have done so. \A'e have had precisely the same stock for 
thirty-five years, and we got it, like everybody did in those days, 
by trying several tmtil we foimd the right one. It is probable 
that the country gun maker from whom we got this stock had 
not designed himself, but copied from some weapon by Joe 
Manton, for there are such a multitude of possibilities in the shape 
of a gun stock that no two could ever be so near alike unless 
they were copied, indirectly perhaps. Bend and cast-off then have 
been considered a necessity from the days of Joe Manton at least. 
To alter or even modify opinion will be found a very difficult 
task," and one that does not appear to us worth the undertaking. 
VVithout bend or cast-off, or some of both, it is mechanically ini- 
possible to align the rib of a gun. The object of a perfect fit is 
that the eye should not have to feel its way to this alignment, but 
that the touch of the cheek upon the stock should insure the 
correct position of the eye in respect to the line of the rib or of 
the rib in respect to the eye. The advantage of this arrangement 
can best be understood by those who have struggled to find a 
peep sight on a rifle that does not fit while shooting at moving 
deer. It is that, whether the shooter wants to align or not, he 
sees by simply looking at the game or the point of aim, whether 
the gun is pointing at it or not. 
If a sharp pencil or a table knife, or any other pomted and 
knife-edged object, be taken in hand it is easy to bring it up 
quickly to cover an object just as if it were the sight of a gun. 
Most people can do it with one hand or the other and with one 
eye or the other. There are some who, using the right hand, 
will make the right eye the aligning eye, and in using the left 
hand will make the left eye do the aligning. This is an old test 
for sight, and to discover which is the master eye. But when one 
takes hold of a gun it is with two hands, not with one only, and 
it seems therefore that in order to test sight for shooting, both 
hands should be engaged. The simplest ^yay is the way of our 
fathers— put up a gun and let some one tell you if it covers the 
object. But, although this covers most of the ground, it caniiot 
prove whether the man needs cast-off or cast-on naturally and in- 
dependently of acquired habit. When a gun is put to the shoulder 
there is a mechanical influence on alignment always more or less 
present. This mechanical assistance must be got rid of if it is 
desired actuallv to find out whether there is any advantage in "fit" 
— that is, whether a perfectly straight weapon, made like a fishing 
rod or a walking stick, could be used with accuracy to shoot from 
the shoulder. 
In order to test this it seems to be necessary to take two 
sharp-edged pointers, and holding them in a vertical position, one 
in either hand, to endeavor at the same moment to cover an object 
with both of them. In the ordinary way of shooting the pointer 
in the right hand will represent the breech end of the rib of the 
gun and the pointer in the left will represent the fore sight. Put 
them up smartly, and if the two points are m exact alignment 
between the eye and the object looked at, without any after correc- 
tion whatever, then it is possible that the fitting of a gun is all 
lost labor in such a case. But we believe that there is absolutely 
no individual who can bring these two points to bear exactly at the 
same instant of time— that is, so that one should exactly cover the 
other and both cover the object looked at. We have seen many 
.shooters attempt the single point held in one hand, generally to 
their own satisfaction. But this test, representing the foresight 
and its alignment, is no use whatever unless it is presupposed that 
the eye is brought mechanically into line with the breech end of 
the gun. The pointers in both hands coming up at the same time 
will show how much that time-honored phrase "hand and eye 
working together" has been abused. The man who fancies hands 
and eyes work together with extreme accuracy will on trial gener- 
ally be as much disappointed as when he discovered how little lie 
could hofd a rifle still on first looking through a telescopic sighr. 
He will generally find himself neither able to keep the line or the 
elevation either. And yet this ought to be easy tc a man who 
can shoot with any bend or any cast-off or cast-on. It is a lesson 
which proves just how much time is lost in correcting the "put 
np" of a gun by sight alignment when that gun does not me- 
chanically come into position with the eye at the breech end. 
When it does come into mechanical position all the alignment 
necessary is between the sight and the object; when it does not 
tliere is the same trouble, only worse, as there is to find the true 
alignment with a pointer in either hand. We say worse for two 
reasons: First, it is optically impossible to get the breech of a 
gun and the sight in alignment with the eye when the stock is 
much too straight. Second, there will always be a mechanical 
jnflttence in putting a gun up to the shoulder, and when that in- 
fluence is not in the right direction it is obviously in the wrong. 
So that it is not only a question of hand and eye going together, 
but also one of hand and eye working together in spite of undue 
interference or mechanical presstire in the wrong direction. 
\\c are aware that people who have given but little time and 
study to shooting matters will tell us that we know nothing of the 
matter, that you should never look at the sights, but only at the 
game. And they argue from this that neither sights nor ribs are 
any good whatever, and that therefore bend and cast-off don't 
matter. \\'e have had it pointed out to us that men have shot just 
as well as ever when they have lost their sights by accident and 
liave been unaware of the fact. We do not think that this proves 
non-ahgnment. The flash of light down the rib. of the gun is 
always more conspicuous than the sight itself, and is certainlv as 
good a guide to correct alignment. As for not looking at' the 
sight, nobody ever suggested looking at it, but it is impossible to 
look at an object and then cover it with another object without 
seeing the latter. We are quite willing to admit that almost any 
shooter can hit a 6ft. target with almost any gun. But for good 
game shooting it is necessary to hit a 6in. target, and there are 144 
Gin. targets in one of 6ft. 
Quickness is so absolutely the essence of good shooting, espe- 
cially with driven game, that any gun that "comes up" in such 
a manner as to require correction cannot be the best. So that 
whether a shooter can bring up one pointer correctly or not, he 
will always save time if the second pointer — i. e., the breech of 
his gun — is mechanically and automatically brought up for him by 
the perfect fit of his stock; by the cast-off' that allows the pressnr'e 
of his cheek to tell him when his eye is opposite the breech in 
respect to the horizontal, and by the bend which tells him that 
when his cheek touches the stock his eye has the correct elevation 
for the center of the rib. 
Grand American Handicap Entries for J90I» 
Alkire, F. D., Woodlyn, O. 
Arno, Syracuse, N. Y. 
Ahlers, L. F., Cincinnati, O. 
Alabaster, J. L., Chicago, 111. 
Angier, Clarence, Atlanta, Ga. 
Buzby, Willis T., Chatsworth. N. T. 
Bill. Thos. P., Middleton, Conn. 
Bates, H. D., Ridgetown, Ont., Can. 
Burk, Chas. A., Long Branch. N. T. 
Budd, C. W., Des Moines, la. 
Blarney, J. R., Holyoke, Mass. 
Barto, T. B.. Chicago, 111. 
Bond, "R. B., Jessups, Md. 
Burnside. Guy, Knoxville, 111. 
GRAND A.VI.ERrC.'\N HANDICAP TROPHY — I90I. 
Budd, I. W., Pemberton, N. J. 
Banks, Edward, New York. 
Brownell, C. M., Stroudsburg, Pa. 
Courtney, Col. A. G., Sj'racuse, N. Y. 
Collins, PI. P. Baltimore, M:d. 
Crosby, W. R., O'Fallon, 111. 
Cartledge. Dr. A. M.. Louisville, Ky. 
Canon, W. S., Newark. N. J. 
Clay, T. PL, Jr., Austerlitz, Ky. 
Cook, Myron PL, Dover, N. J. 
Cella, Tony, Atlantic City, N. J. 
Chapin, Brookfield, Mass. 
Claridge, B. W., New Plaven, Conn. 
Comstock, G. A. Racine, Wis. 
Coe, E. B., Baltimore, Md. 
Cooper, F. W., . Mahanoy City, Pa. 
Darby Geo. D. B., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Daly, Phil., Jr., New York. 
De I^ong, C. L., Hot Springs, Ark- 
Dickey, O. R., Wellington, Mass. 
Duston, J. S., Jersey City, N. J. 
Duncan, Dr. Ellis, Louisville, Ky. 
Dover, A. B., Wilmington, Del. 
Doc, Waterville, Me. 
Desmond, T. J., Hagan, Ga. 
Du Pont, P. F., Greenville, Del. 
Du Bray, A. W., Avondale, Cincinnati, O. 
Douglas, J., Springfield, Mass. 
Doty, Aaron,, Haledon, N. J. 
Davis, J. IL, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Donley," Thos., St. Thomas, Ont.,, Can. 
Casey, Dr., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Emmers, E., Royersford, Pa. 
Elliott, J. A. R., Kansas City, Mo. 
Edey, PL, New York. 
Feigenspan, C. W., Newark, N. J. 
Fanning, J. S., Jersey City, N. J. 
Farmer Jones, Cincinnati, O. 
Foster, Waterville, Me. 
Fulford, E. D., Utica, N. Y. 
Froeligh, P. D.. New York. 
Fox, A. H., Baltimore, Md. 
Fort, E. C, Fostoria. O. 
Frazier, J. B., Fairmont, Minn. 
Gardiner, Alf., Brenham, Tex. 
Gieikler, C. E., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Glover, Simon, i<-ochester, N. Y. 
Gilbert, Fred, Spirit Lake, la. 
Guild, Rupert, Vt. 
Geoffrov, E. A,, Newark, N. J. 
Gottlieb, Chris, Kansas City, Mo. 
Greiff, C. E., New York. 
Griflith, E. C, Pascoag,' R. I. 
Gaughen, J., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Hallock, John IT., New York. 
Ilanlon, J. H., Ligonier, Pa. 
Henry, H., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Hallowell, John J., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Ploward, L., Easton, Pa. 
Heikes, Rolla O., Dayton, O. 
Hopkins, W., Aqueduct, N. Y. 
Henry, C, Newark, N. J. 
Hughes, H., Easton, Pa. 
Hunnewell, G. R., South Danville, Me. 
Hickman, Ed., Kansas City, Mo. 
Head, J. L., Peru Ind. 
Hathaway. S. H., Madison, N. J. 
Hood, Baltimore. Md. 
Ilassinger W. H., Newark, N, T. 
Hull, J. R„ Merid en, Conn. 
Hawkins, J. M.. Baltimore, Md. 
Hicks, John C, Baltimore, Md. 
Hoffman, J. W.. .New Germantown, N. T. 
J. R. P.. Philadelphia, Pa. 
Johnson, E. S., Atlantic City, N. J. 
Johnson, A. C, Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Kaufman. F., Two Rivers, Wis. 
Keenan, Jas. P., New York. 
Kommodore, Salem, N. Y. 
Kno\\lton, J. G. New York. 
Linderman, C. D., Lincoln,' Neb. 
Langdon, C. E., Rockville Center, X. Y. 
r^ockwood, C. A., Jamaica, N. V. 
Lentilhon, Edw. D.. New York, 
Lyons, H. J,, Louisville, Ky. 
f^oomis. Geo. AV., Omaha, Neb. 
I^^ambert. C. F. Lynn, Mass. 
I^e" Roy, Campello, Mass. 
Lincoln, C. M., New York. 
Losee, W. h., New York. 
Lillv, Tohn AL, Indianapolis, Ind. 
Mink, "Chas. E., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Merrill. R., Milwaukee, Wis. 
.Morris, tieo. McG.. Cincinnati. < >. 
.VlacWilcox, F., Atlanta, Ga. 
Morris, John, Philadelpliia, Pa. 
McCamev. Edwin W.. Buffalo, N, Y. 
Marshall," "T. A., Keithsbnrg, 111. 
Malone, Jas. R., Baltimore, Md, 
Mitchell, Frank, Sarnia, Ont., Can. 
Money. Capt. A. W., Oakland, N. L 
Money. Harold B., Oakland, N. J." 
.Morrison, T. L. D., St. Paul. Minn. 
Maier, Frank R., Newark. N. J. 
Mills, H. T„ Bristol, Conn. 
Massey. \Vm., Wilmington, Del. 
Mathewson. Frank, Wilmington, Del. 
Morfey, T. W., Queens, N. Y. 
Mack. J., New Yoi-k. 
Munson, C. H., Jr., Dover, N. J. 
-Vlosher, G. A., Syracuse, N. V. 
Mingo, Itavenna, O. 
Norton, B. IL, New York. 
Nutting, Ralph, A\'ashington, D., C. 
Nauman, C. C, San Francisco, Oal. 
North, Paul. Cleveland, O. 
O'Brien, J. A., Dover, N. J. 
On-da-wa. .Salem, N. Y. 
Outwater, J. PL, Carlstadt, N. J. 
I'ophain, 15. F., Memphis, Tenn. 
J'iercy, Geo. H,, Jersey City, N. J. 
Parm'elee, F. S,, Omaha, Neb. 
Puck, ]5oston, Mass. ' 
Phil, iMcchanicsburg, O. 
Peirce, R. L., Wytheville, Va. 
I'arker, W. F. Meridcn, Conn. 
Page, Geo. W.. Trenton, N. J. 
Parker, L. E., Minneapolis, Minn. 
Parker, John, Detroit, Mich. 
Oiiimby, W. Fred, Newark. N. J. 
Rex, Columbus, O. 
Rogers, M., New York. 
Rogers, Jack, New York. 
Ranger, Peru, Ind. 
Rahn, R., Pittsburg, Pa. 
Roll. Geo., J.. Blue-Island, 111. 
Red AVing, Cleveland, O. 
Robertson, J. T!.. New Haven, Conn. 
Rhodes. Chas., E., Altoona, Pa. 
Reed. .S. D , Tunkhannock, Pn. 
R. t;. C, Philadelphia. Pa. 
."-^tevens, M. D., Gtiilford, Conn. 
Stephens. C, R., Moline, 111. 
Scott. J. A.. Miami, Fla. 
.Stearns, Franklin, Richmond, Va. 
Spcrry, A. D., Rock lisland, III. 
l^lubener, I'hilip, Washington, D. C. 
.Steffens. Eniilc, New York. 
Sloan, J. T., New York. - - 
.Simmonds, Marcy, N. Y. 
Sen-Sen, Rochester, N, Y. 
Snyder, Dr. PL. Allentown, Pa. 
Schimmell, Howard, Easton, Pa. 
Stroud, John, Hamilton, Can. 
.Ravage, J. B,, Ne\v' Haven, Conn. 
Sani])s<3n, Jas., Trenton, N. J. 
Schwarz, Fred, Jr., Bridesburg, Pa. 
Stroh, W. IL, Pittston, Pa. 
Sherburne, J. A., Philadelphia. Pa. 
Tramp. L. R., Ch icago. 111. 
Tar Heel, Tarboro, N. C. 
Thompson, Walter J., Savannah, Ga. 
Trumhauer, TL, Royersford, Pa. 
Tallman, Isaac, South Millbrook, N. Y. 
Teal, Columbus, O. 
Townsend, W. D.. Omaha, Neb, 
Tripp, E. H., Indianapolis, Ind. 
Trimble, R. .L., Covington, Ky. 
13-27, Herman, Neb. 
3.33, Buffalo, N. Y. 
United, C. K., Schenectady, N. Y. 
Von der Bosch, O. W., New York. 
Van Allen, S. M., Jamaica, N. Y. 
Voss, John PL, New Y'ork. 
Voris, Ed, Crawfordsville, Ind. 
Vermont, Rupert, Vt. 
Von Lengerke, Carl, Jersey City,. N. j. 
V^on Lengerke, J., Orange, N, J. 
Von Lengerke, O., Chicago. 111. 
Werk, Emil, Cincinnati, 0. 
Woodruff. Aaron, Elizabeth, N. J. 
Wellbrock, John T., New York. 
A\'agner, W., Washington, D. C. 
Ward, J. Ouincy, Paris, Ky. 
Wolstencroft, W'. II. . Frankford, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Weller, I. L., Rochester, N. Y. 
Wheeler," F. G., Buffalo, N. Y. 
White, K. G., St. Johns, Quebec, Can. 
Young, C- A.J Springfield, O. 
Chesapeake Gun Club. 
Newport News, Va.— The Chesapeake Gun Club held an interest- 
ing shoot on March 20. Mr. Franklin Stearns, of Richmond, Va., 
was a visitor. The scores were: T. F. Stearns 24, Franklin 
Stearns 22 E. S. Robinson 22, R. Lee Robinson 21, B. B .Semmes 
19, G. B. James 17, A. G. Fifer 16, H. J. Moyer 14, Frank 
Latimer 13. W. K. Stow 13. E. W, Milstead 12, Joe HaUtz 12, ' 
ILLUSTRATION SUPPLEMENTS. 
Continuing: the illustration supplements which 
have been an acceptable feature of the Forest 
and Stream, -we have prepared a new series of 
four pictures which will be §riven with the first 
number of the month, as follows? 
April 6 — ^The Trapper's Camp. Drawn by E. W. Deniv- 
ing. 
May 4 — Rap Full. The schooner yacht Constellation m 
a northeaster. From a photo by Stebbins. 
' June I — Between Casts. On a trout stream. Drawn 'by 
W. P. Davison. 
July 6— The Home of the Bass. Drawn by W. P. 
Davison. 
