Chapter 39

"Let's go slow first." Scott said. "Here you go."

He handed Alex a rifle.

This is how you hold it. Pretty obvious. Feels OK. I've done this before, apparently. What next?

"Hang on to it, I'll get some more stuff." Scott said.

He put a few items into a zippered bag, closed it.

"OK, let's go. You girls want to watch?"

"I wouldn't miss it." Jessica said.

Alex carried the rifle, muzzle slightly down. It seemed natural if not familiar. Scott led the way to a position a hundred yards or so from the fence separating the yard from the field and stopped. A couple of hundred feet away several posts held targets. Alex had noticed them earlier. Michelle carried a handful of new targets and affixed them to the posts.

"Let me see that." Scott said.

Alex handed him the rifle. Scott took a small box magazine from the bag and inserted it in the rifle, giving it a sharp blow on the bottom.

"There we go." he said. He pulled back the bolt and released it.

I recognize it, know what he's doing. Put in the magazine, chamber a round. I know that. But I don't remember it until I see it.

Scott shouldered the rifle, sighted, rapidly fired ten shots. Alex couldn't see the targets at that distance but guessed they all hit it.

Scott handed the gun back to Alex.

"Turn it over, press that button there."

The small box popped out slightly, Alex removed it.

"Ruger 10/22." Scott said. "Probably about the best general-purpose .22 ever made. There's a few million of them around. Bill Ruger was a rare genius."

Never point at people. Or anything you don't plan to shoot. Makes sense, where'd I hear that?

Alex turned toward the targets, raised the rifle to his shoulder. Looked through the sights at the targets.

I can do this. I can do it.

"Good." Scott said. "Here you go."

He handed Alex a magazine.

Lessee, turn it over, push it in. Push until it clicks, won't move. There you go."

"Good." Scott said. "Ready to give it a try?"

Think so.

Alex pulled the bolt back and released it, as he had seen Scott do.

"OK man, you're ready."

Alex shouldered the gun again, looking through the sights at one of the targets.

I know you line them up like this, easy enough to figure out.

He aligned the sights, squeezed the trigger.

The recoil, slight as it was, still startled him. He aimed again, fired again. Easier now. Again. And again.

"OK, drop the mag." Scott said.

Turn it over, push, pop, extract. Good.

"Great." said Scott. "Let's go take a look."

Still carrying the rifle at muzzle down Alex accompanied Scott to the target.

I guess that's the way to do it, seem to remember.

"You actually hit a couple." Scott said. "Good work."

They returned to their previous position, and Scott handed him another magazine. Alex loaded the rifle, and prepared to shoot again.

He took his time with each shot, and they walked over to the targets.

"Damn," Scott said, "you hit almost all of them. You were actually better than me, and it doesn't look like you've lost your touch."

Scott had brought several magazines, and Michelle and Jessica had reloaded the ones they had emptied. Alex emptied two more, and Michelle and Jessica reloaded them.

"I'd say you're gonna be all right." Scott said. "You girls want to take a few?"

Alex watched as Jessica and Michelle each fired a couple of magazines, not bothering to check the targets.

I guess I will get it back. Some of it anyway. May take a while.

"Did Scott teach you to shoot?" Jessica asked Michelle.

"Yeah," Michelle answered. "He told me right away he wasn't hanging with a woman who can't take care of herself."

"Alex taught me," Jessica said. "I knew almost nothing about guns when we met. But it's fun, in addition to being an essential survival skill."

"You're doing great." Scott said. "Whenever you're ready bring some guns of your own out and you can get used to them again. Meanwhile I've got plenty."