Great fun, aren't they ... Sometimes I wish I hadn't moved mine on . I always cocked first when loading my Mohawk, but I don't really suppose it matters too much which way you do it really, so go with whatever feels right. There is an argument that cocking once the pellet is loaded may cause lead fragments to be drawn into the action when cocking however, but my very simple brain can not see this (providing the lever has already been pulled to charge the action), so as stated, go with what feels good. Hope this helps. Atb: G.