If several bullets hit high on the target, the gun is sighted for a greater distance; and if they hit low, the target is too far from the gun. After finding the range for which the sights are set, the trajectory of the bullet can be determined by shooting at targets placed at different distances from the shooter and observing where the bullets hit these targets. All shots nearer the zero target will be high and all that are beyond will be low. The shooter must take these differences into consideration when he shoots at any distance other than the one for which the gun is sighted and he should aim low for the closer distances and high for the greater ones if he expects to place a bullet where he wants it to go instead of where the sights indicate. The use of the adjustable rear sight will move the point of impact away from the shooter, but this point cannot be moved nearer than the base setting without considerable work and the average hunter should not attempt to change this setting. That is a job for the factory or a well-trained gunsmith.



On the target range, it is a simple matter to allow for the vertical deviation of a bullet from the line of sight; but when hunting deer, the shooter desires a bullet which will travel near enough to the line of sight so that any errors in judging distances will not be great enough to cause a complete miss.

The largest vital target area on a deer is the chest cavity, which contains the heart, lungs and important blood vessels. This area is about a foot in diameter in large deer and a hit in this area is usually fatal. It follows that if a bullet travels within six inches of the line of sight and the shooter aims for the center of the chest cavity, the bullet will hit somewhere in that cavity. For the smaller brain and spine targets, the bullet would need to follow the line of sight with less than two inches of deviation in order to compensate for errors in judging distance.

The deer gun should throw a bullet that does not deviate more than six inches from the line of sight, regardless of the distance of the base sighting range, and most hunting guns are sighted to keep within this limit. If we have a gun that is sighted to hit the target at two hundred yards, the bullet will reach its highest point at about one hundred and twenty-five yards; and if this point is six inches above the line of sight, the bullet will not fall six inches below this line of sight until it reaches a point somewhat less than one hundred yards beyond the target. This gives the shooter a deer hunting range of nearly three hundred yards that he can use without changing the sights of his gun or considering the trajectory of his bullet.

On the target range, it is a simple matter to allow for the vertical deviation of a bullet from the line of sight; but when hunting deer, the shooter desires a bullet which will travel near enough to the line of sight so that any errors in judging distances will not be great enough to cause a complete miss. So, know how your gun works before hunting for a better shot.