Guns and writing gunmen

Is there an action story set in the even vaguely modern world that doesn't in some way feature firearms? Guns, especially fictional guns and the badasses wielding them, are everywhere. After a while, they become white noise and even someone like me, who's never touched one, can be fooled into thinking they know how the things work. Maybe not the specific technical details, but how difficult is it to point at something and shoot?

And then I tried to imagine writing an expert gunman, a typical action hero or heroine. It did not go well. Though I know (vaguely) that revolvers, shotguns, and rifles are different, I do not have the words to describe how they are different. I couldn't even say the difference between the handgun that has that rolling thing in the middle where you slide in bullets one by one, versus the other gun that cops use in all those TV procedurals that has a thing in the handle were you slide a rectangular bullet-holding thing. Which might or might not be called a magazine.

From the paragraph above, you can probably imagine what a disaster it would've been if I'd tried to write a scene from the point of view of any character that knew anything about guns, never mind the point of view of the typical action hero/heroine badass. Clearly, I had work to do.

Enter The Cornered Cat.

On Amazon.

A friend of mine with extensive knowledge of firearms recommended Kathy Jackson's website and book. He said it was an excellent resource for people like me, who've never touched a gun. This weekend, I spent some time reading some of her entries on gun safety, and I thoroughly agree with him.

Usually, I don't recommend any books or websites until I've spent significant time with them. This is the first time I feel compelled to recommend anything before I'm well into the material. I found this website that useful.

I've tried to research guns before and was put off by the use of esoteric terminology, confusing diagrams, and the inevitable political discussions around guns that almost always seem to devolve into fruitless flame wars.

The Cornered Cat is the first site I've found on the subject that organizes information on gun maintenance, use, and safety in a way that's palatable and welcoming to a beginner. From what I can tell, Kathy Jackson is not approaching the subject from a writer's perspective, but from the perspective of a responsible gun owner. Nothing I've seen in the site has anything to do with writing, and everything to do with handling firearms with the respect they deserve.

Just from reading a couple of entries, I've learned to think of weapons in a way that I never have before. I'm now analyzing the way I see them presented in fiction, and I've decided I never want to include them in my story in such a careless way.

Take a moment to read and understand The Four Universal Rules about handling any firearm, as presented by Mrs. Jackson:

1. All guns are always loaded. (Treat them so!)
2. Never point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target (and you have made the decision to shoot).
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. 

I can't recall many books, TV shows, or movies with expert gunman who followed even a single one of these rules. Now that I have a slightly better understanding of gun safety, I can look back at many stories I enjoyed that had their supposedly responsible gun experts treating their weapons like toys.

Reading this website/book has inspired me to do better. If I ever include an expert gunman in my fiction, I'm going to do my damnest to present this expert as someone who respect their weapons' power.