Greatly influenced by the life and writings of Frederick Russell Burnham, Cooper published an article in the 1980s describing his ideal of a general-purpose rifle, "... a short, light, handy, versatile, utility rifle", which Cooper dubbed a "scout rifle". This was a bolt-action carbine chambered in .308 Winchester, less than 1 meter in length, less than 3 kilograms in weight, with iron sights, a forward mounted optical sight (long eye relief scope), and fitted with a practical sling (such as Ching sling). Cooper defined his goal: "... a general-purpose rifle is a conveniently portable, individually operated firearm, capable of striking a single decisive blow, on a live target of up to 200 kilos in weight, at any distance at which the operator can shoot with the precision necessary to place a shot in a vital area of the target". Cooper felt the scout rifle should be suited to a man operating like the scout Burnham, either alone or in a two- or three-man team.