Items related to Match Shooting With the Enfield Rifle, by a Man of...
Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1866. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... MATCH SHOOTING. All the practice a man can make will not rank him amongst the prize winners, unless he can shoot with the same confidence when his skill is brought to the proof, that he would do on his quiet range without the stimulant attendant upon competition. There are men, who in practice give promise of the highest excellence, but who, when they are brought to the public test, almost as a matter of course, make a sad exhibition, and this not once, but many times in succession, until disgusted they retire from the arena. These cases are not numerous: as a general rule the nervous tremor attendant upon the excitement of a match, wears gradually away, until the day comes when the name of the aspirant appears in the prize list, and from that moment the real difficulty is almost overcome. Nervous trepidation is the greatest enemy to good shooting, and yet there is no specific panacea for the evil, at all times and all seasons. To be a rifleman, a man in the moment of firing should possess, outwardly, (save with one finger) the immobility of a log of wood. Inwardly, the keen perception of intellect; and to arrive at such a desideratum, there must be the "mens sana in corpore sano." No fast, dissolute living will qualify for the prize list. Good exercise, moderate living, and a temperate life, are the qualifications for this pastime, as they are for almost every other of our well known national sports. It does not require the severity of training, or any alteration from ordinary habits, if such be regular and moderate. The lover of "the weed" must, for once, deny himself the tempting luxury. I do not say the constant smoker is not a good shot, for I have experience to the contrary; but there are always exceptional cases, and, as a general rule, it may be laid dow...
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