People often ask me what I do for research. Well, here’s one example. I have never shot a gun in my life, except for a BB gun at camp when I was a little girl. The idea of them frightens me to death, actually. But I recently started work on a new novel whose main character is an expert markswoman, and I realized that if I was going to convincingly talk about shooting, I needed to try it, at least once or twice. So below are a few pictures that follow my first gun lesson, step by step. I went with my friend, the wonderful writer Sarah Manguso (if you have not read her memoir, The Two Kinds of Decay–you must put it on your wish list–it’s one of the best books I’ve read in years). In the end, here’s how things ranked up:
Gun: .22 Caliber Rifle
Bullet Type: Lead Round Nose
Bullet Weight: 40 grains
Dangerous: within 1 1/2 miles (that’s how far it would go in open air)
Shots: 50
Distance: 50 feet
Bullseyes: 20
Win Hannah’s Target: The first person to comment below with the correct page number of The Good Thief where a gun first appears will receive a signed paper target (with bullseye) from this lesson.
I’m glad the cupcake came first and whiskey last and not the other way around! 😉
p.41 — . . . and after a few minutes a candle appeared at one of the windows, and then the sash was up, and the barrel of a shotgun slid out and pointed at them.
Congratulations, Margaret!!! That went a lot faster than I thought it would. Margaret’s time=2 hours. But take heart, Good Thief fans–I will give away more bullseyes, and other knickknacks, as I continue to research the next book. Especially now that I know that someone out there is listening.
cheers,
Hannah