A Straight Shooter
It's a Different Era in D.C. If You've Got Questions About the Armed Life, Dr. Guns Has All the Answers.

By Stephen Hunter
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 18, 2008; C01

Advice for the gunlorn.

Dear Dr. Guns:

The big day at last! I can own a handgun in D.C. But am I ready? Where does my mind have to be to acquire such a thing? Why do I feel somewhat queasy about the whole process? What do I need to know about the mind-set of the responsible gun owner?

Anxious in Adams Morgan

Like any new relationship, the issue is commitment. This is not the sort of thing one does casually, nor hesitatingly, nor for what-the-hell-because-I-can reasons. I know a lot about pistols and I can tell you that if you acquire a pistol for self-defense, you must embrace it. Love it. Treat it with respect.

But be aware that it sits at the center of a system. It's not, in and of itself, the single answer to your fears about your personal security. Think of it as an A-bomb; yes, devastating, but in practical terms demanding a whole culture to sustain it, a monitoring system, training, facilities, the dedication of its operators and deliverymen, eternal vigilance. Without those, either bomb or gun is meaningless.

It should be part of something larger: locks, lights, cellphones, safety rooms, whatever. It's not the only resort, it's only the last resort. But because that awful day can come, for God's sake, shoot it! Understand its textures, its traits, its problems, its issues. Teach it to your hands so that, in the dark with a boatload of adrenaline in your blood, it will feel like an old piece of soap and not a prickly, sharp-edged conundrum wrapped inside a riddle. You don't want to be thinking: What do I do next? You want the gun to be second nature, its mechanics a confidence-building given. If you're worried about the gun, you will not dominate the upcoming transaction.

You must master sound marksmanship fundamentals. Sight, picture, hold, press. Maximize recoil control, follow through (as in any sport) and most important, from your practice, believe in yourself and your entitlement to life and property. Know how to manipulate, change hands, reload, deal with jams. Learn the gun.

Dear Dr. Guns:

I've got a gun. I thought I'd feel better but . . . I'm scared. Suppose it goes off by itself? Suppose a burglar finds it? Suppose I can't remember if it's loaded or unloaded and I can't remember how to check? Suppose I forget where I hid it? Can't we just talk about this?

Tormented on Capitol Hill

Get rid of it. It's not for you. No shame in that. You have certain deep-seated reservations and cannot really accept the mental stress associated with the gun's presence, and almost certainly would not be able to handle the physical stress of a confrontation. Nor have you made friends with the ultimate meaning of the gun, which is that it expresses the belief that in certain circumstances, you are justified in killing. (That's probably your biggest problem.) It's just not your bag, baby. Get it out of the house. You are, in fact, the most dangerous man alive; the gun has become a demon in your imagination and you fear it more than you fear what's outside in the dark. You should not have it, at least not without a lot more work on your part. If you've doubts about the gun, go to the rental ranges. Shoot a lot. Get used to it. Try to commit to the idea that it is a tool, not the Devil's Right Hand. Enjoy the boredom of the last box of ammo. You'll be surprised how quickly you pick it up, that is, if you go slowly, a step at a time. You may even learn to like it. But don't force it. Nothing good can come of it.

Dear Dr. Guns:

My husband wants to keep the gun in the house. We have kids. It scares the hell out of me. I don't want to be a nervous wreck in my own house. What should I do?

Upset in Foggy Bottom

You'll never get over it, really, and you'll never feel at home. If wife and hubby don't agree on this, it should default to no-go.

Yes, it happens that guns kill children, and here in D.C. there have been some particularly Gothic tragedies. But that said, let me make the case for guns and kids in the same home. It can happen without any mishaps, as I proved and millions of other parents proved over the years.

You can't demonize the gun and fear it, make its presence in the home a kind of antichrist. Again, embrace. Let the kids see it. Having made certain it's empty, let them touch it, feel it. If you make it forbidden, you guarantee they will be fascinated by it. (That's what happened to me.)

If you examine the culture of guns -- that is, the true culture, not the baloney on the tube -- you'll see how positive the values of the firearm are: They train self-discipline, responsibility, stamina, hard work, commitment, respect for structure (the competitive shooting world is one of the most over-structured systems in the world!), deferred reward, the wisdom of waiting for maturity. These are all good things, and kids brought up in such a world rarely blow away competing crack dealers or the football and cheerleading teams.

You also have to preach safety. What are the four rules of firearms safety? If you can't list them now, this second, you're probably not ready for a gun in the house and never mind the kids.

1. All guns are always loaded. Put it another way: All guns are always loaded. That is, develop an extremely short-term memory. It doesn't matter if you checked it one second ago, maybe it magically loaded itself or a cartridge fell off an airplane and not only was it the right cartridge, but it landed just perfectly to fit into the cylinder. (You scoff, but most gun accidents involve extraordinarily unpredictable catastrophe chains.) Check it again. Get in the habit of checking it.

2. Never let the muzzle point at anything you aren't willing to destroy. I see this one violated more than any other, as people, once they know the gun is unloaded, let their muzzle discipline go away. No, no, uh-uh. You can't have different behaviors with guns, one for loaded, one for unloaded. Tragedy lurks therein. Remember, all guns are always loaded. Always. That makes you responsible for it and the direction of its muzzle all the time.

I will admit to three accidental discharges in my 30 years shooting, and all were jokes rather than tragedies because, though I violated Rules 1, 3 and 4, I had trained myself to be very uncomfortable if the muzzle wandered toward something human.

3. Don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to shoot. This is probably the hardest to obey, because the ergonomics of the gun make the trigger lure the finger onward, toward destruction, and it's so easy to forget. And the bullet once fired can never be recalled.

4. Know what's behind the target. In case you're a complete idiot, allow Dr. Guns to point out what you should already know: A firearm releases a hard, pointed object into the world at speeds over (usually) a thousand feet per second and up to 4,000 feet per second. People think they know so much about guns from TV and movies, but the media almost never communicate the power of the bullet and its ability to penetrate, bounce, do insane things that no Caltech grad student could predict, much less replicate in a lab. Thus you must be responsible in understanding the ultimate destination.

Since most shooting in this urban area takes place under controlled range circumstances, that's not a problem. But no gun should ever be discharged outdoors, upward, into darkness, at fields or trees or even traffic signs. (I put a coupla .25s through a "SLOW" sign on Waukegan Road in Glenview, Ill., in 1967, so I know the temptation to irresponsible young men.)

Dear Dr. Guns:

What gun should I get?

Puzzled in Potomac

Under D.C. law, you're pretty much limited to revolvers. The revolver has these advantages: It's reliable, it points well, it requires no fumbly protocol of hard-to-remember steps to get it into action, it can be left at rest in a non-volatile situation, it fits most hands and can be adjusted, via aftermarket grips, to fit most other hands. It will shoot anything from the most powerful .357 hunting rounds to the softest wadcutter target round; uncocked, it's difficult to accidentally misfire, and for the ranges at which you'll be shooting, it's quite accurate.

I've said this before, but the most dangerous gun in the world is the gun as object of shame that must never be acknowledged. It's loaded and forgotten, and no one knows how to unload it. This is a tragedy waiting to destroy somebody's life.

You have to reach out to it. You have to get to know it. That means you have to shoot it to know it; you have to clean it to know it; you have to be responsible for it in order for it to be responsible to you. If you don't let it down, it won't let you down.