Okay I'm busily writing a Traveller based story and have a question. Below is the description of a character who the party is trying to train to shoot. These describe the start point. So how long do people think it should take to get her 'up to speed?'
=====
It was mid morning now and I was standing in the Gubashiidi's shooting range. I smiled, this was one way of working off my irritation from breakfast. Isabella had finally taken me up on my offer to help her improve her skill with a pistol. I was waiting for her, squeezing off a few rounds on my own first. I'd borrowed a pistol from Gubashiidi Geenant for Isabella to use and was refreshing myself with it. My grouping was off, I guess being annoyed was not helping my aim. I heard her approach “Hey I borrowed this for you.”
I carefully put the gun down and turned, she was carrying one of those metal attaché cases “It's okay, I've brought my own.”
She opened the case “Isabella, where the hell did you get that and what in Sesh's name are you expecting!” there was a <<snub machine carbine>>() in the case.
She smiled “That's for later, I thought I'd start with this.”
She pulled a small pistol from the case, a <<body pistol>>(). “Okay where did you get either of those. They're both illegal.”
“It's okay, I've got permits for them.”
She was talking like these were the most normal things in the world. This wasn't the Isabella I knew “You don't like guns, what's going on Isabella?”
She started to load the pistol “Sakuya.”
“Sakuya?”
“Yeap.”
“What about him, here let me.” She was struggling to load the magazine.
She handed me the gun, it felt so light and the polymer frame odd “The Imperium will be sending people after him.”
“So you thought you'd learn to shoot just in case?”
“Pretty much. I've been practising on my own a bit and Ariaryn's said he'll help too.”
“You're mad Isabella, an Imperial agent would eat you for breakfast.” She grinned at that. I finished loading “Okay lets she how good you are to start with.” I handed her the pistol. She stepped up to the line, took aim and fired six times. I was glad I was standing behind her. She managed to hit a target, just not the one she was aiming at. I dreaded thinking of the havoc she'd wreak with a <<snub machine carbine>>.
========
Afira had 'warned' Ariaryn. She'd used words such as menace and lethal, so he thought himself ready. He'd decided to start with the longarm, much easier to learn the basics on. He'd carefully shown her how to load, the four settings of the selector. He'd paid special attention to that, lowest safe, next single shot, then burst and finally cyclic fire. Her time as a naval reservist seemed to given her an understanding of basic range safety at least. It was time to see what she could do. “Okay Isabella, lets try it. Start with single shot. So push the selector up one notch” He saw her thumb move, a bit clumsy but he was confident. He'd run over it four times with her. “Now take careful aim. Slowly, no need to rush. Breath, now gently squeeze the trigger while exhaling.” He watched closely as she slowly moved her finger.
The <<snub machine carbine>> spat 15mm HEAP shells at 750 rounds per minute in all directions. He instinctively threw himself on the ground. She must have kept her finger on the trigger for several seconds. He looked up and waited for the dust to settle. She was smiling “Well at least I hit the target.”
He was not amused “You hit all the targets, and the bank and the trees and pretty much everything.” He wasn't sure how she'd managed to get the <<squirrel analog>>(), probably in one of the trees he thought.
=====
It was mid morning now and I was standing in the Gubashiidi's shooting range. I smiled, this was one way of working off my irritation from breakfast. Isabella had finally taken me up on my offer to help her improve her skill with a pistol. I was waiting for her, squeezing off a few rounds on my own first. I'd borrowed a pistol from Gubashiidi Geenant for Isabella to use and was refreshing myself with it. My grouping was off, I guess being annoyed was not helping my aim. I heard her approach “Hey I borrowed this for you.”
I carefully put the gun down and turned, she was carrying one of those metal attaché cases “It's okay, I've brought my own.”
She opened the case “Isabella, where the hell did you get that and what in Sesh's name are you expecting!” there was a <<snub machine carbine>>() in the case.
She smiled “That's for later, I thought I'd start with this.”
She pulled a small pistol from the case, a <<body pistol>>(). “Okay where did you get either of those. They're both illegal.”
“It's okay, I've got permits for them.”
She was talking like these were the most normal things in the world. This wasn't the Isabella I knew “You don't like guns, what's going on Isabella?”
She started to load the pistol “Sakuya.”
“Sakuya?”
“Yeap.”
“What about him, here let me.” She was struggling to load the magazine.
She handed me the gun, it felt so light and the polymer frame odd “The Imperium will be sending people after him.”
“So you thought you'd learn to shoot just in case?”
“Pretty much. I've been practising on my own a bit and Ariaryn's said he'll help too.”
“You're mad Isabella, an Imperial agent would eat you for breakfast.” She grinned at that. I finished loading “Okay lets she how good you are to start with.” I handed her the pistol. She stepped up to the line, took aim and fired six times. I was glad I was standing behind her. She managed to hit a target, just not the one she was aiming at. I dreaded thinking of the havoc she'd wreak with a <<snub machine carbine>>.
========
Afira had 'warned' Ariaryn. She'd used words such as menace and lethal, so he thought himself ready. He'd decided to start with the longarm, much easier to learn the basics on. He'd carefully shown her how to load, the four settings of the selector. He'd paid special attention to that, lowest safe, next single shot, then burst and finally cyclic fire. Her time as a naval reservist seemed to given her an understanding of basic range safety at least. It was time to see what she could do. “Okay Isabella, lets try it. Start with single shot. So push the selector up one notch” He saw her thumb move, a bit clumsy but he was confident. He'd run over it four times with her. “Now take careful aim. Slowly, no need to rush. Breath, now gently squeeze the trigger while exhaling.” He watched closely as she slowly moved her finger.
The <<snub machine carbine>> spat 15mm HEAP shells at 750 rounds per minute in all directions. He instinctively threw himself on the ground. She must have kept her finger on the trigger for several seconds. He looked up and waited for the dust to settle. She was smiling “Well at least I hit the target.”
He was not amused “You hit all the targets, and the bank and the trees and pretty much everything.” He wasn't sure how she'd managed to get the <<squirrel analog>>(), probably in one of the trees he thought.
