< Previous48 SHOOTING T O LIVE For a long shot in the standing position, we think the two-handed methods shown in Figs. 15 and 15a are best calculated to produce results. The right arm is rigid and is supported by the left. Practise at any reasonable distance from 10 yards upwards. Fig. 15 shows the proper method to employ if you have to shoot from the prone position (Fig. 16). Incidentally, do not be afraid to adopt this position immediately if circumstances demand it, as might WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKT R A I N I N G : A D V A N C E D M E T H O D S 4 9 be the case if you had to deal with several adversaries simultaneously. Practise yourself in getting quickly into the prone position, rememhermg that it gives you the dual advantage of being able to do your shootmg from a steady position at a mark which is against the skj^-line, as it were, while you yourself offer a less conspicuous target for your opponents than if you Avere standing up. Itind providence has endowed us aU with a lively sense of self-preservation and some of us with a sense of strategy as well. If our readers are in the latter class we need not remind them of the advantages of taking cover whenever possible. It is possible, how ever, that some of you have not thought of a telephone pole or electric Mght standard in that connection. Fig. 17 Avih show you a side vieAv of how to do it most conveniently, and Fig. 18 shoAvs how an adversary AviU Anew the matter. Note in the former illustration the position of the feet, knees and left forearm. The left knee and forearm are pressed against the pole, left hand is grasping the right AArist, thumb of Fig. 16.—Two-Haiidod, Prone. D WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UK50 SHOOTING T O LIVE WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKTRAINING: ADV ANCED the light liand resting against the pole. Fig. 18 also demon strates the almost perfect cover provided. If the long shot gives you enough time to be deliberate, so much the better, because the two-handed position and that of Fig. 17 permit of almost rifle- Idce accuracy. But do not take i t f o r g r a n t e d t h a t y o u w i l l have time to be deliberate. It is wiser to assume that you will not, and it will be to your advantage, therefore, to practise all three of the two-handed methods at the same surprise targets as are used for short- range work. We h a v e c o n d e m n e d t h e u s e of sights for all forms of short- range shooting, but for long shots, such as we have been describing, sights offer a distinct advantage. We have little faith, however, in those usually fur nished. Go.od as some of them are for use against a white t a r g e t a n d a b l a c k b u l l ' s e y e , „ , „ ^ , ^ F i g . 1 8 . — F r o n t V i o w . t h e r e a r e v e r y l e w t h a t c a n WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UK52 SHOOTING T O LIVE be picked up instantly against a dark background, and this difficulty is increased to the point of being insuperable if the light is bad. To over come this, the authors' personal pistols are fitted with foresights of silver, of exactly the shape of the ordinary shot-gun bead and about the same size. If kept bright, these sights collect any light there is from any angle and can be seen instantly in all circumstances except pitch-darkness. They stand up very well to rough work and can be easily replaced if damaged. We see no reason against the adoption of this type for service issue if some suitable white- metal alloy were used instead of silver. Though not claimed as suitable for target work, these sights answer their purpose admirably where speed is the prime consideration. The best rear-sight for use m conjunction mth the s U v e r b e a d i s a w i d e a n d s h a l l o w " V . " T h e r e a r - sight should be affixed with a distmct slope to the rear, and once the gun is sighted-in, should be kept in place with a email set-screw. It will not shoot loose then and will be less liable to displacement or loss by accident or iU-usage. WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKCHAPTER V PIST OL AND CAR TRIDGE Mechanical defects. Cartridge defects. Care of ammunition. Supplies, current require m e n t s a n d r e s e r v e s t o c k s o f a m m u n i t i o n . This chapter relates only to the products of manufacturing concerns of good standing and with well-deserved reputations which they are not likely to hazard. There are plenty of the other kind of manufacturer but with them we have nothing to do beyond remarking that it is due to then- existence that many crhninals have been brought to justice and the lives of many pohcemen have been saved. The modern one-hand gun and its ammunition have been brought to such a state of perfection that, assummg reasonable care in their use, malfunctions of the former and defects m the latter are of rare occurrence. The great majority of malfunctions of the modern pistol are due, not to faults m design or manufacture, but to ignorance, neglect or rough handling, accidental or otherwise, on the part of the user. Generally speaking, the private individual owning a good pistol is too much of a " gun-crank " to be guilty of wilful neglect or rough handling and to him it is superfluous to recommend that, in case of 53 WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UK54SHOOTING T O LIVE accident, his pistol should be promptly overhauled by a competent armourer. In the Services, however, matters are rather different. Of necessity, very often, weapons are subjected to rough treatment, and it may happen that the most careful man may drop his pistol by a c c i d e n t . I f i t i s m a d e e l e a r t o t h e m e n t h a t s u c h accidents are not regarded as punishable offences, they will be far more apt to report them quickly and so ensure that their weapons, on which their lives may depend, are put as soon as possible into serviceable condition once more.' We are not legis lating for the man who commits wilful damage or the genius in whose hands everything comes to pieces quite naturally. Men of that kurd do not, or should not, go very far -without being recognised for what they are, and there are suitable and well- established methods of dealing with them. As far as our experience goes, a comparison between t h e a u t o m a t i c a n d t h e d o u b l e - a e t i o n r e v o l v e r, i n respect of their habUity to damage, results in favour of the former . Aecident and ill-usage can have deplorable effects on revolvers in the way of broken firing pins, damaged pawls or cylinder ratchets and bent cranes, the last mentioned giving rise to much more trouble than is commonly supposed. Dropping the gim on to a hard surface is often sufficient to put the crane out of alignment, even though there is no -visible damage done, and no overhaul of a revolver is complete WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKPIST OL AND CAR TRIDGE 55 unless the alignment of the crane is verified by the apphcation of the requisite armourer's gauge. Then, too, there is the fact that barrel catch-springs, if of the flat or leaf variety, break far more frequentty than they should, and it is surprising that manu facturers contmue to fit them when it is a perfectly simple matter to substitute coil springs, which would be much more reliable. An automatic of good make is much less hable than a revolver to damage from being dropped on a h a r d s u r f a c e . T h e f e w i n s t a n c e s o f c r a c k e d s h d e s are due, not to the weapon being dropped, but to long use in rapid fire, such as might be the case with a pistol used by an instructor. Nevertheless, a fall may damage the hammer and sights or may loosen pins and screws. The extractors and ejectors occasionally give trouble, but this is usually due to wear after very long use. Otherwise, there is little about the pistol itself that is hable to damage. We must look, rather, to its magazine for the cause of 90 per cent, of the troubles which we used to encounter, and in this connection we shall relate our own experiences in the care and maintenance of large numbers of automatic pistols having magazines of the detachable type. We have to admit that in the beginning we paid httle attention to the magazines or their condition. We soon noticed, however, that some of the magazines WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UK56 SHOOTING T O LIVE in our charge were getting rusty and that others, if not rusty, were clogged up with tobacco dust, fluff and bits of matches, the sort of stuff that is found in most men's pockets. We took the hint and, as opportunity served, had every one of some 9000 magazines stripped and cleaned. The rust was removed, together with astonishing quantities of the stuff referred to above, and, more important still, the overhaul served to reveal a certain amount of damage due to hard knocks and wear and tear. The only sensible thing to do was. to recognise at once the wear and tear that existed, "and would continue to exist, in an arduous service, the conditions of which could not be modified, and then to apply the remedy of periodic overhauls. It has long been our custom, therefore, to have every pistol, with its two magazines, sent to the armoury for inspection at intervals of six months, regardless of whether or not any defects are apparent. On these occasions, not only do the pistols receive whatever attention is necessary, but, as part of the routine, the magazines are stripped and cleaned (rehlued if they need it), the springs are greased and, if found necessary, dents are removed from the shells, base plates are straightened out and splayed sides replaced in position, the completed job having to measure up to gauges specially constructed for each essential dimension. The results of these periodic overhauls have been entirely satisfactory and jambs are now of rare occurrence. WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKPIST OL AND CAR TRIDGE 57 Enough has been said to show that the condition of the magazine is of the utmost importance to the reUahle functionuig of the pistol and at least ordinary care, therefore, should he exercised in its regard. Those individuals who use their magazines as screw drivers, or to open beer bottles, have no one to blame but themselves when their pistols refuse to function." If any doubt exists as to its condition, a magazine should he regarded as defective until competent inspection is avaUahle. If the doubt is confirmed, competent inspection will include a rapid-fire test ■with the magazine charged to full capacity. A worth while precaution, to keep the spring efficient, is to remove one or two cartridges whenever circumstances permit. This apphes, of course, to conditions which necessitate the magazine being kept charged more or less permanently. Properly treated, there is no reason why a weU-made magazine should not last twenty years. No ammunition can he expected to Avithstand indefinitely the wear and tear of daily use, which impUes not only carrying it in aU weathers hut the frequent loading and unloading of weapons. It becomes necessary, therefore, first to ascertain the period for which ammnnition may safely remain in daily use and then to ■withdraw it from circulation immediately the limit of that period has been reached. Our conclusions in the matter are based upon the WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKNext >