[Cyn71]

I totally missed your latest comments, sorry about that.

Originally, I've opted for the protagonist just reaching for the gun, not fumbling with bullets because he's actually just a teenager and doesn't really know the first things about guns. It's there, he grabs it out of desperation. (ETA: he is *not* the one who ends up firing successfully ... even though he does make the effort, I'm trying to avoid the scenario of a kid being the one who shoots the antagonist.)

BUT - I do like the idea about him fumbling for the bullets. That adds to the drama. Because of the constraints of my storyline, it's rather important that there are one/or two false fires (safety on, bad primer, etc.). That's why I'm trying so hard to make it work.

If the safety is on, does this affect loading the gun in any way?