Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 208, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 September 1915 — TELLS WHY THERE ARE SIGHTS ON A RIFLE [ARTICLE]

TELLS WHY THERE ARE SIGHTS ON A RIFLE

Without Them the Marksman Firing at Long Range Could Never t Hit His Mark. The average person, if asked to I explain why a rifle is sighted, would probably be unable to do so bewond some vague remark about taking rect aim. Sights are necessary because a i bullet does not travel in a straight'line, but under the influfence of gravity and friction, begins to; drop almost as soon as it leaves the muzzle. Thus the bullet of the army rifle drops six inches in the first 100 yards, but when it has gone 200 yards it .will have dropped, not twelve Inches, but two febL The drop Increases by ‘ leaps and bounds with the distance. Where there no sights on the rifle and you wanted to hit a mark at 200 yards, you would clearly have to aim two fleet above it This wooil be awkward, for you lose sight of the object aimed at to say nothing of the difficulty of correctly estimating at a distance of two feet at 200 yards. The Bights on a rifle enable yon to keep your eye on the mark, although the muzzle of the rifle is actually pointing above it The moving slide of the back-eight enables yon autCihatjcaTTy to point the muzzle Just so many feet above the mark aimed at as Is necessary to counteract the down drop at the bullet at various ranges.