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They picked Jennifer up on way to Scott's place. When they arrived they found Scott and Michelle had another visitor. "This is my brother," Michelle said. "Myles, Alex and Jessica, and this is Jennifer." She looking to fix Jen up with a guy? Probably. She seems like a nice kid, maybe he is too. Myles looked like an older brother, Michelle being in her early thirties. He had a little grey in his beard, was well groomed and neatly dressed in a military-style shirt like those Alex and Scott favored. Jeans and black roper boots completed the outfit. Easy smile, casual, seems real. Never know with people though. "Myles has been wanting to look at your place," Michelle said to Alex. "He's looking for something around here." "We were planning to go over," Alex said. "Want to go now?" "Sure. You guys will probably want to do some shooting after lunch." "Let's arm up," said Scott. Alex had brought several of his guns but left them in the car and followed Scott and Myles to the armory. "How about a Mini?" Scott asked Myles. "Not that people up here get exercised about seeing ARs, if anyone sees us at all, but these attract less attention." "Sounds good. I haven't used mine much lately." "I've got two, you want one Alex?" "That'll work. What are you taking?" "This." Scott took down a black rifle that looked like an AR-15 type with a heavier build. Looks like a .308 magazine. Didn't know they made one like that. "SFAR. I think that means small frame. .308, in case we run into a bear or a cougar. Bears usually avoid contact, especially with groups, but cougars have been known to eat people. Mostly out west though. Anyway, doesn't hurt to be careful." He inserted a magazine and seated it firmly, then put on a belt holding two more magazines. "Ready to roll?" "Let's do it." Alex replied. They drove over to Alex's place and parked near the road. Need to get started working on this place. But when am I going to get time? They spent a couple of hours showing Jennifer and Myles around before returning to where they had parked their vehicles. "What do you think?" Michelle asked her brother. "Ready to move to the country?" "I've been ready for years," replied Myles. "But they're paying me too much to give up just now. I'm getting to where I can take more time off though, and out of the city is where I want to be." "We'll keep an eye out, if you're looking to buy something." Michelle said. "I may be looking soon. Way things are going, I'm getting serious about preparations." "Quite a few of our type out here," Scott said. "Most of us in fact." They drove back to Scott's place where Jennifer and Jessica joined Michelle in preparing lunch. "You guys go have a smoke and we'll gossip and maybe get something ready to eat," Michelle said. "Don't have to tell us twice," Scott replied. "Let's go." They went out to the smoking area and lit up. "I definitely need to get a place out here," said Myles. "At least for weekend getaways for now." "You get spoiled in a hurry," Scott said. "Once you get away from the city. Never want to go back." "I can see how you would." "I'll tell Laura you're looking." As they finished their cigars Michelle came to the door. "Come and get it."
After lunch they went out to the range. "How about we make it ladies day?" Scott said. "Sounds good to me," Myles said. "Let me see how Michelle's doing." "I get a lot of practice," said Michelle. "Almost every day." "I brought a couple of new ones for you to try," Scott said to Jennifer. "Double action revolvers. Want to try one?" "Sure." "Here you go. This is a .22, like the Ruger you shot last time. It's a double action revolver." Scott demonstrated loading it, and handed it to her. "This is a Colt Diamondback. It's a good one to learn with. It's double action, so you just pull the trigger like the Ruger. It's a little harder to pull, but it's smooth. Give it a try." Jennifer raised the gun and sighted, squeezed the trigger. The first shot just did hit the target. "That's the heavier pull," Scott said. "You can see how much it threw you off. Give it another try." She fired again, this time hitting closer to the center. The last two shots were in the eight ring. "Not bad at all. Here you go, reload and try again." He showed her now to release the cylinder and eject the cases and reload. "Now," he said, "go ahead and aim again, but don't fire yet." She complied. "Now use your thumb to pull the hammer back. Then it will fire with just a light squeeze, like an auto. Go ahead and try." She fired again, then repeated the process five more times. "OK, release the cylinder and empty it, and leave it open. Let's take a look." They walked over to the target. "All nines and tens. Good work. Let's try something different." Jennifer followed him to the bench and laid the Diamondback down. Scott picked up a snall revolver and handed it to her. "Press the cylinder release," he said, "like on the Diamonback." She did as instructed and tilted the gun to let the cylinder swing out. "Just five rounds," Scott said, "and bigger. That's a .38 snub, as most people say. It's not an ideal weapon for general self-defense, more of a backkup. Or something you use when you can't conceal a bigger gun. But at close range it's effective if you place your shots right." He placed a box of cartridges on the bench. "Just drop'em in and close it up." Jennifer carefully loaded five rounds. They were larger and heavier than the .22s, a lot. She closed the cylinder and waited, pointing the gun down at the ground. "That's a Charter Arms Undercover," said Scott. "You'll notice the hammer doesn't have a spur so you can cock it for single action. Or you can, but it's not easy. If you have to use it'll be double action anyway. Now the gun's lighter and the .38s will kick more anyway, so be prepared for some recoil. Go ahead and give it a try." She carefully sighted and squeezed off a round. The pull was heavier and the gun pushed back and the muzzle rose sharply. She noticed she had barely hit the target. High and outside the rings. "It takes some getting used to," Scott said. "You can see how it affects your aim. Go ahead." She fired again, this time getting it in the seven ring. The last three were in the zone, but none near the center. "Pretty good," Scott said. "As I said, it's for close range, generally when someone is close enough to hurt you they're about close enough to touch. So it's hard to miss." They seem pretty casual about it. Could I do it? If it was life or death? Alex noticed her expression. "We all hope we never have to do it," he said. "But it's better to be prepared. These days you never know." |
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