The A B C Of Rifle Revolver And Pistol Shooting

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Pistol and Revolver Shooting" by A. L. A. Himmelwright. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

There is now no use learning revolver shooting. That form of pistol is obsolete except in the few instances where it survives for target shooting, or is carried for self-defence; just as flintlock muskets even now survive in out-of-the-way parts of the world. If a man tries to defend himself with a revolver against another armed with an automatic pistol he is at a great disadvantage. The automatic is more accurate than a revolver, as the “blow-back” does not vary as much as does the escape of gas past the cylinder in a revolver. The bullet in the revolver has to jump into the cylinder, whereas in the automatic it is already fitted up against the rifling, before being fired. The single-shot pistol is the most accurate of any, there being no escape of gas. The automatic has not only a much longer range than the revolver (although the popular idea that it can be shot accurately at a thousand yards or more is nonsense) but it cocks itself instead of having to be cocked by the thumb, or trigger finger. Cocking by trigger-pull is such a strain on, not only the trigger finger, but the whole hand, that, after a few shots, good shooting cannot be made. I won all my rapid-firing revolver competitions using the single action and cocking with the thumb, as this rested my trigger finger. With the automatic, cocking is unnecessary and, with its lighter recoil, good scores in rapid-firing are very much easier to make. The penetration of the nickel-coated automatic bullet propelled by its big charge of nitro powder is very great. A man brought me a “pistol-proof” cuirass to test; I put a bullet at twelve yards clean through it and then through two “bullet proof” ones, placed one behind the other. (I used a regulation U. S. .45 Automatic pistol.) This was before the war. The inventor was disappointed. He had experimented only with revolvers shooting soft leaden bullets and these his cuirass had stopped. Unfortunately, in its present comparatively imperfect development, the automatic is the most dangerous firearm of all pistols for a novice to handle. The long barrel of a rifle can be struck aside if a beginner swings it round and points it at the instructor or a nearby spectator, but the short barrel of a pistol is easily pointed at and with difficulty brushed aside by the unfortunate person standing near a “brandishing” and “flourishing” man who is learning to shoot. In spite of all warnings even those who ought to know better do this swinging about. In fact, it is the recognized way of handling a pistol; according to reporters, they always say So and So “was brandishing a pistol” if he happens to be armed.

Excerpt from Pistol and Revolver Shooting, Vol. 34 Interest in pistol and revolver shooting has increased very rapidly in recent years and particularly since smokeless powder has been introduced. The revolver and the magazine pistol now constitute part of the regular equipment of army and navy officers and cavalry troops. Regulations governing practice shooting with these arms have been issued and adopted by both branches of the service and by the National Guard of the various States. In the National Rifle Association and in the various State rifle associations that have recently been organized, pistol and revolver shooting has an important place, and the matches provided are largely patronized. In the numerous civilian shooting clubs scattered throughout the country pistol and revolver shooting has become extremely popular, and in many cases the majority of the members practice more frequently with the smaller arms than with the rifle. Practice with the pistol and revolver affords training in sighting, steady holding, and pulling the trigger, which are the essential features of rifle shooting also. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Ed McGivern needs no introduction to gun enthusiasts and serious marksmen. For more than 50 years he was revered as one of the top authorities in the field of small firearms. A world champion marksmen who made The Guinness Book of World Records, he trained scores of law enforcement officers and developed a system of teaching that is as effective today as it was when this book was originally published. It resulted from years of experimentation and research conducted by McGivern, who utilized electric timers and other devices to determine the angles and techniques that would produce the fastest, most accurate revolver shooting. Packed with handgun lore and original photographs from the first edition, this much-sought-after classic contains a wealth of facts for marksmen everywhere.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Automatic Pistol Shooting" (Together with Information on Handling the Duelling Pistol and Revolver) by Walter Winans. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.