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  J. H. Snook, George Armstrong, P. J. Dolfen   " " 78   Standard American Target     PAGE 87   U. S. R. A. Combination Target     " 88   The International Union Target     " 89   Target L. (U. S. Army)     " 91   Combination Set: Revolver, Pistol, Utensils, and Case     " 109   Details of Alternating Targets, Pit, etc., for 50-yard Range     " 114   Details of Booths at Firing Line, “Trolleys,” and Butts for Gallery Ranges     " 117   Shooting Gallery of the Crescent Athletic Club, Brooklyn, N. Y.   FACING PAGE 120   Correct Manner of Holding the Revolver   " " 124   Correct Position of the Sights in Aiming at the Target     PAGE 128   Showing the Travel of the Line of the Sights About the Bullseye in Aiming     " 130   Moulding Bullets     " 151

 

 

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PISTOL AND REVOLVER SHOOTING

 

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY AND HISTORICAL

 

Pistol shooting has been practiced ever since “grained” gunpowder came into general use. It is only recently, however, that it has developed into a popular pastime and has been recognized as a legitimate sport.[1]

The useful and practical qualities of the pistol and revolver have been developed almost wholly during the last half-century. Before this period the small arms designed to be fired with one hand were crude and inaccurate, and were intended to be used only at short range as weapons of defense. The single-barreled muzzle-loading pistol has, nevertheless, been part of the army and navy officer’s equipment since the sixteenth century. These pistols were of large caliber, smooth-bored, heavy, and unwieldy. The load was a spherical bullet and a large charge of powder. Enough accuracy was obtained to hit a man at 15 to 20 paces, which was deemed sufficient. The usefulness of these arms in action was limited to the firing of a single shot, and then using them as missiles or clubs.

The pistol in early days was considered a gentleman’s arm—a luxury. It was the arm generally selected for duelling when that code was in vogue, the contestants standing 10 to 20 paces apart and firing at the word of command.

The development of the pistol has been contemporaneous and closely identified with that of the rifle. With the grooving or rifling of the barrel, the accuracy was greatly improved and the arm adapted to conical bullets. Although numerous attempts were made to devise a multishot arm with flint, wheel, and match locks, it was not until the percussion cap was invented that a practicable arm of this character was produced. This was a “revolver” invented by Colonel Colt of Hartford, Conn., in 1835, and consisted of a single barrel with a revolving cylinder at the breech containing the charges, the mechanism being such that the cocking of the piece after each discharge revolved the cylinder sufficiently to bring a loaded chamber in line with the barrel.

The greatest advance in the development of firearms was the introduction of the system of breech-loading, employing ammunition in the form of cartridges. This principle rendered the operation of loading much simpler and quicker, and vastly improved the efficiency and general utility of the arms.[2]

The present popularity of pistol and revolver shooting is due, no doubt, to recent improvements in the arms and ammunition. The arms are now marvels of fine workmanship, easy to manipulate, durable, and extremely accurate. With the introduction of smokeless powders, the smoke, fouling,