Gun Safety
I didn’t want to bore people too much with putting some real guns safety into my story, but it’s something you never hear in movies and tv shows where characters who have never handled a gun are suddenly thrown into a situation where they have to learn. Somehow, shotguns don’t kick on TV, and making a headshot from 20 feet away with a handgun is as easy as taking down a cow with a bazooka at close range (OK I actually have never tried that, I only assume it would be easy, though also messy and potentially harmful to your health). Characters walk around with their guns held up, barrels waving in each other’s faces willy-nilly when anyone with basic gun safety instincts keeps the barrel aimed downward pretty much at all times except when shooting.
I’m a lot like Joel in that I was raised by my mom, so I never really touched a gun until I was older. I had pretty typical views on guns before I started shooting them, namely a mystical idea about them that they were A.) super easy to shoot stuff with and B.) evil. I learned when I began shooting with friends that a gun is like most tools. It has a use, and it requires a certain amount of practice before it becomes useful, and if you dont use it properly you could accidentally lose finger or kill someone.
I think we’d be better off in general if everyone took gun safety and learned to fire a gun. It would dispel some of the myths and there’s a chance more good people would own them, which would not be a bad thing. I know, that’s small town thinking. I come from a small town where a majority of gun owners are good people who want to defend themselves and their neighbors, which makes gun violence rare. In a large city it seems to be the opposite. The good people don’t have guns and the majority of people who do have bad intentions.
This could easily turn into a soapbox, so I’ll stop for now. Let’s pause and reflect on today’s page. Our characters are taking up arms. What that means for the story is that things are about to get real.
Ethan
Thanks for the accurate (but not pedantic) depiction of responsible gun use. It was funny, too!
sensibility is how we’ll survive the bearpocalypse
I have a feeling this will lead to a humorous montage of them figuring out guns, and Joel either being the absolute worst, or some sort of prodigy/natural pulling out straight up Hollywood shots that shouldn’t work (with appropriate “how is that even happening, he’s not even a buck fifty & those’re slugs” reactions from the others)
On the not-comic side of things, I’m all about proper safety taught to everyone, just so there are fewer accidents (that alone would save numerous lives each year). I was pretty fortunate, since my dad did a pretty good job of imparting common sense about guns into me at a young age (though we still haven’t ever gone to the range together). He was a cop, had a few guns at home, and made sure I knew about them & knew the basic rules (and, since it wasn’t a secret, my curiosity never got thr best of me & nothing bad ever happened because of them). There was only 1 time growing up where I thought I might have to grab one (the shotgun: potential home defense situation) but fortunately for everyone it de-escalated on its own without any conflict & without anyone doing anything regretful (at 16 I would have been more rash, so if the guy in question went from “crazy yelling & banging at the front door” to “breaking window & opening door” then things would have been a lot worse [especially with dad working & my mom & sister at home with me])
Huh, got a bit sidetracked there. Anyway, gun safety good, impending action in story is impending.
Most appreciative of proper weapons handling enforcement. Keep fighting the good fight! (By which I mean, Kill All Bears!)
Can’t be cautious enough with them guns. Pretty embarassing if the attack party blows itself to bits before getting in contact with the enemy.
Guns were natural for me when I joined the Army but I hate them because shit tends to malfunction sometimes. I put a fellow soldier in hospital because my gun had a loading failure and two ammo rounds in my gun went off at the same time. I was not at fault as the gun was old and the ammo could have been flawed, too… but such memories tend to stick around.