content_output-089_2 (Q6829)

The methods of holding the gun whilst firing were as various as the weapons used. From the illustration on page 62 it will be seen that many shots were made with the butt of the gun against the hips or against the breastbone. Short guns appear to have been held against the cheek, and, as already shown, the earliest hand-cannon were fired whilst the butt rested upon the shoulder—a method confirmed by the shape of gun stocks of very much later date.