Basic Principles Of Gun Ownership
December 4, 2005
11:34 PM CST
There are all sorts of rules about guns and gun handling, most especially Col. Jeff Cooper’s excellent manual (see below).
But that’s not what I’m talking about here. What I want to lay out are Kim’s Principles of Gun Ownership, which are more eccentric and iconoclastic, but no less relevant than any others. They are not concerned with safe gun handling, gun storage or gun care, which are duh! issues to me. My principles of gun ownership are far more basic, and set a foundation for every gun owner.
They are as follows (in no order of importance):
1. A .22 rifle is a household commodity, like salt or sugar, and every household should contain at least one .22 rifle, with at least 500 rounds of ammunition for it. A .22 rifle can do almost any job asked of it, and does it with the minimum of noise, fuss and expense.
2. Every gun owner should have on hand at least a hundred rounds of ammunition, in each caliber they possess (with the exception of .22 LR, as noted above). More is preferable, but one hundred rounds is the absolute minimum reserve.
3. The starting-point for any good home defense system is a shotgun: caliber, make and type are secondary considerations.
4. The minimum levels of accuracy for any shooter should be as follows (using 5-shot strings for each, untimed):
- defensive handgun: 5” group center-mass at seven yards, offhand (unsupported);
- rimfire rifle: 3” group at 25 yards, offhand;
- centerfire rifle (unscoped): 4” group at 50 yards;
- centerfire rifle (scoped) 3” group at 100 yards.
Practice time should be sufficient to enable such accuracy to be achieved consistently.
5. Every gun owner has a duty to pass on their skills and knowledge to subsequent generations.
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Cooper’s Rules:
Condition 0: The weapon is loaded, charged, cocked, and no manual safety mechanism is engaged. The weapon is ready to fire, and will do so if the trigger mechanism is actuated.
Condition 1: The weapon is loaded, charged, and cocked, with a manual safety mechanism engaged. To fire, the safety must be disengaged and the trigger mechanism actuated. This is often referred to as “Cocked and Locked”
Condition 2: The weapon is loaded, charged, but not cocked. A safety may or may not be engaged. To fire, the weapon must be cocked (either manually or through a double action mechanism), the safety disengaged, and the trigger mechanism actuated.
Condition 3: The weapon is loaded, but not charged or cocked. To fire, the weapon must be charged (in most handguns and rifles by chambering a round), cocked (this may occur automatically with charging), the safety disengaged, and the trigger mechanism must be actuated.
Condition 4: The weapon is not loaded, and not charged. To fire, the weapon must be loaded, charged, cocked, the safety must be disengaged, and the trigger mechanism must be actuated.
It is important to note the following points:
1. Not all firearms require all of the steps above to fire.
2. Many firearms do not have manual safeties, or do not allow manual safeties to be engaged before loading, charging, or cocking.
3. Most conventional firearms cock automatically when they are charged; thus once charged, most firearms are ready to fire unless they are manually decocked, or a safety is specifically engaged (or both).
4. Some weapons may not require charging once loaded (eg. double-action revolvers)
5. Some weapons are cocked and charged as part of the loading process (most break open shotguns and some rifles) and thus do not need to be charged or cocked to fire.
For example, most double action revolvers have no safety, and of course do not need to be charged separately from loading; therefore they are always in condition 2 after loading, and condition 0 when cocked.
Most double-action only, and striker-fired pistols are always in condition 2 after charging.
In fact the argument can be made for both weapon types that they are always in condition 0 because a single long trigger pull will fire them without any other action being performed by the user.
This is why it is important to:
A. Always treat all firearms as if they are loaded, and ready to fire.
B. Always learn and understand the manual of arms of a weapon before attempting to handle or operate it.
And following from this come the Four Rules of Gun Handling:
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET, AND BE AWARE OF WHAT’S BEHIND IT.
