After reading some other posts and thinking about my own general unfamiliarity with guns, I got curious about how Arnold's gun could have accidentally fired—not that I ultimately think it matters in regard to what the author is trying to do, but I thought it was interesting. Well, I had to go down a bit of a gun-nut internet rabbit hole …
After reading some other posts and thinking about my own general unfamiliarity with guns, I got curious about how Arnold's gun could have accidentally fired—not that I ultimately think it matters in regard to what the author is trying to do, but I thought it was interesting. Well, I had to go down a bit of a gun-nut internet rabbit hole to find it, but I think I found a good candidate for the offending rifle in the story: the Marlin Model 39 (or 39A), a .22-caliber hunting rifle popular with the youngsters, which was produced in the U.S. in the 1920s, '30s, and early '40s, *without* the cross-bolt safety introduced later to prevent the kind of accident that killed Eugie. Arnold would have had to have cocked the rifle with the lever, which would make it easier for him to quickly shoot a duck. But without the cross-bolt safety, a fence wire or something else could have caught or knocked the hammer, making it fire without having to pull the trigger. (Yes, I said "pull" not "squeeze" the trigger, which is how you know I know nothing about guns.) The cross-bolt safety makes that kind of accident impossible. And, of course, there is a YouTube video showing you how to disable the newer model's safety. So, while I didn't doubt the plausibility of the accident before, now I'm certain it could have happened.
After reading some other posts and thinking about my own general unfamiliarity with guns, I got curious about how Arnold's gun could have accidentally fired—not that I ultimately think it matters in regard to what the author is trying to do, but I thought it was interesting. Well, I had to go down a bit of a gun-nut internet rabbit hole to find it, but I think I found a good candidate for the offending rifle in the story: the Marlin Model 39 (or 39A), a .22-caliber hunting rifle popular with the youngsters, which was produced in the U.S. in the 1920s, '30s, and early '40s, *without* the cross-bolt safety introduced later to prevent the kind of accident that killed Eugie. Arnold would have had to have cocked the rifle with the lever, which would make it easier for him to quickly shoot a duck. But without the cross-bolt safety, a fence wire or something else could have caught or knocked the hammer, making it fire without having to pull the trigger. (Yes, I said "pull" not "squeeze" the trigger, which is how you know I know nothing about guns.) The cross-bolt safety makes that kind of accident impossible. And, of course, there is a YouTube video showing you how to disable the newer model's safety. So, while I didn't doubt the plausibility of the accident before, now I'm certain it could have happened.
Wood stove, the lanterns, ointments, huckleberries all paint a picture.