“There is nothing on earth more serious than a firearm. It is not a toy, it is not a tool, it is not a curiosity. It is in a category all its own. A gun exists for one purpose only. To take a life.”
The boy nods.
“Now. You never draw it unless you intend to use it. Repeat that.”
Colter is mesmerized by the solemnity of the moment. He does as told.
“Never point it anywhere but at your target or a safe place, and that’s down, never in the air. Some people disagree but a bullet in the ground is a bullet in the ground. One in the air could hit a schoolyard.”
“Target or down.”
“Never fire it unless you have a clear target. You never fire blind.”
More repetitions from the concentrating boy.
“You never shoot to wound. You shoot to kill. You shoot to take another life. So you don’t draw your weapon unless you’re prepared to do that. And, therefore, you never use a gun unless there is no other option for your survival. Repeat that.”
“You never shoot to wound. You—”
“—shoot to kill,” Hannah said. “And, therefore, you never use a gun unless there is no other option for your survival.”
“Good. Again. All the rules.”
She repeated everything. Word perfect.
And held his eyes, never looking away.
He pointed the muzzle toward the ground and pulled the trigger several times. “This’s double action.”
She was listening attentively, frowning, studying.
“The hammer’s down. You pull the trigger. Draws the hammer back and when it’s all the way back it releases and hits the cartridge.” He did this again. “It takes more effort that way and because of that it’s less accurate.”
She’d been watching. “Yeah, the end moves around.”
“The end. The muzzle. So if you can, you fire single action. You pull the hammer back until it clicks. That’s called cocking. Then when you pull the trigger the muzzle doesn’t move so much.”
He illustrated this too.
“I want to try it.”
He didn’t belabor the rules.
Never sell your students short...
He handed her the gun.
“It’s heavy.”
“Forty-two ounces.”
Math prodigy Hannah came back with “Two pounds, ten ounces.”
“Dry fire it.”
“Dry fire. Oh, without bullets. Even though itisloaded.”
“Go ahead.”