As noted by others (and here) Jeff Cooper has passed away.
I have more quotes from Cooper (147) in my collection than from any other person. Greg Hamilton comes in at a distant second with 82, Heinlein comes in at third with 61. And I stopped collecting Cooper quotes years ago when people said they were getting just a little tired of me posting the latest gem from him.
For the next week rather than trying to mix things up the QOD will be nothing but Jeff Cooper material.
Update: Due to popular demand I'm posting my entire Jeff Cooper quote collection here and now. See also the collection at Front Sight, Press.
Update2: I should have mentioned in my original post that when I teach a self defense class part of the materials I hand out are a copy of Cooper's book Principles of Self Defense. This book is tool independent. Whether you defend yourself with your bare hands or rifles and hand grenades what is most important is your state of mind. In this book Cooper points out, in hindsight, the obvious.
I also mention to my students that Cooper is the Father of IPSC. IPSC is the PC term for a game/sport that is in essence combat pistol. Cooper created the game in order to advance the state of the art in pistol craft. He succeeded in a big way. Shortly after the beginning of the sport it was considered world class if you could shoot an El Presidente in nine seconds. Today nine seconds is way below average with world class being half that. It was partly better equipment but mostly it was because of better technique. Technique that came from the creation of the sport and the competition that followed. Even if Cooper's contribution were simply this he would earn a place in history but his contributions were far, far, greater. The quotes below give only a hint of his genius and his contributions to our society.
----
Found 147 quotes.
----
At the S.C.O.P.E. Conference we attended in Buffalo, New York, as guest
speaker, a young man was honored for successfully defending himself and
family after he had been shot twice in the forehead with a 22. We saw the
pictures and the two holes were quite close together and almost centered
between the hairline and the eyebrows. The victim fell down, but was able
to pick himself up, move to another room, seize his shotgun, and dispose of
the would-be murderer. I guess the moral is, do not worry about your
condition, make your assailant worry about his condition.
-Jeff Cooper-
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 1, No. 10
15 November 1993
----
Jack Furr, who was an Orange Gunsite Rangemaster, reports that one of his
Mexican students last year had a most successful engagement south of the
border. When set upon by two goblins, he precisely acquired the kneeling
position, as taught here, and put two rounds in two targets each. One was
dead on the scene, the other was dead on arrival. Though he was using only a
9mm pistol, his technique was exactly as put to him by Jack, and he came out
in complete charge of the situation. This is elegant vindication of the
technique.
On that subject of repelling boarders, we discovered recently that Ty Cobb,
the legendary baseball player and notorious curmudgeon, was once hit upon by
what today would be called a mugger in a dark alley. Cobb relieved his
assailant of his pistol and beat him up with it so badly that his face could
not be identified in the morgue. Street punks should be careful to pick on
the right people - or the wrong people, depending upon your viewpoint.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 6, No. 5
May 1998
----
During our recent motor touring, we noticed on several occasions the road
sign "Gusty winds may exist." Now I find that pretty fascinating. The notice
that gusty winds may exist suggests some thought be given to the
relationship of reality to existence. Whether such winds may or may not
exist opens the door to questions about what constitutes existence.
Descartes declaimed, Cogito ergo sum (I think: therefore I am). Whether
winds may or may not really and truly exist calls for serious thought. I
almost ran off the road considering this matter.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
----
When driving in our current urban battle zones, remember that when a car
stops suddenly in front of you and two people get out simultaneously, you go
to Condition Orange. This is particularly true if you have rear-ended the
car in front of you slightly with your bumper. This is a pre-planned
car-jacking technique. Bear it in mind!
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 6, No. 4
April 1998
----
The profusion of new pistols makes a detailed survey of the market too large
a job for a newsletter. We may note, however, that the Europeans retain
their preoccupation with the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. This is due primarily
to the fact that the Europeans as a group are not interested in stopping
power. As one Frenchman once told me, if in Europe you shoot a criminal, he
sits down on the curb and bursts into tears. In America he will shoot back
and kill you if he can. Different attitude.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 6, No. 2
February 1998
----
The Barret single-shot 50 BMG is now selling well in the United States, and
the Germans have come up with their own version of the same sort of piece.
The item is very attractive to the eye, but I have not had the chance to
shoot it. I have reason to believe that it will shoot very well. Its price
is high and it is forbidden in the United States as a "destructive device"
by the BATmen. I cannot regard this as any more than the usual annoyance I
feel with government regulation, but I really cannot see a purpose for this
rifle. It is doubtless great fun to shoot at medium- and long-range, if you
can afford the ammunition, but the only really appropriate target I can
conceive for it is the 55 gallon oil drum, suitably decorated. (Of course,
you can hit that drum just as well with a 30-caliber rifle such as an M1 -
but to bring up that point would be to spoil the fun.)
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 6, No. 2
February 1998
----
Family member Mark Terry tells us that his nephew was decisively shot up last
October with a 32 auto. Range was very short and one of the hits was in the
head, but he was conscious and pretty chipper when the paramedics arrived.
At the hospital it was discovered that he had one of those little 32 pills
inside his skull, and so, rather than mess with an operation, they left it
there. As Mark says, that miniature bullet probably won't even set off metal
detectors at airports.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 6, No. 1
January 1998
----
We see now that the Russians are pushing for police pistols of very small
caliber and very high velocity, presumably to defeat the body armor they
assume will be worn by their criminals. There are a couple of things wrong
with this approach, but I am quite content to let these people pursue their
own strange gods.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 6, No. 3
March 1998
----
At long last I have discovered that most shooters are not interested in
firearms as tools, but rather as toys. Such people do not acquire their
weapons because of what they will do, but rather to gratify the "Christmas
morning joy" that we largely left behind in our childhood.
For many decades I have striven to design firearms that were primarily
useful, but now I discover that only a few people care about that. Well, so
be it. Let each one enjoy himself according to his tastes.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 6, No. 3
March 1998
----
And now how about this new 440 Corbon cartridge? It is supposed to be
available in a new pistol by Magnum Research Incorporated, and it is said to
start a 260-grain bullet at 1700 f/s. This is just the ticket for the power
hungry pistolero always troubled with aggressive polar bears in Svalbard. I
suspect that anyone who can fire a 308 rifle, one hand, unsupported, at arm's
length, will have no trouble managing this new item.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 6, No. 3
March 1998
----
Do you know what the "Big Twenty" is? The Big Twenty is the placement of 20
shots in a 20-inch circle in 20 seconds at a 1000 yards. Old time target
shots claim that this is impossible, but then for most of the 20th century
it was held that it was impossible to run a mile in 4 minutes.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 5, No. 5
April 1997
----
The following nifty anecdote from our old friend Ian McFarlane, the
professional hunter from Botswana:
"About 0:300 we received a radio message that a Bushman tracker had returned
to one of the camps with a chest shot from an AK and was brought into Runtu
Hospital by helicopter. On notification that the patient had arrived and was
in theatre, we found him standing there smoking a cigarette. He had a wound
on the left chest in front and in the back. We took x-rays and found indeed
that it was through and through. We cleaned and closed the wound, and kept
him for a week in case of infection. This did not happen, but during that
time we found out that the Bushman had been wounded early in the morning of
the previous day. He tracked his antagonist during the day for about twelve
hours. He said he could have shot his man a few times during the day, but he
wanted to shoot him in the abdomen so that he would die painfully and
slowly. Just before sundown, he got his shot properly placed, and then
walked another eight hours back to base."
The wound, of course, was delivered by the 30 caliber Russian Short cartridge
of the AK47. Presumably the bullet had an iron core and a copper jacket,
allowing no deformation. Still, getting shot through the chest with a 30
caliber Russian Short might be thought to be enough to spoil one's appetite,
but these Bushmen are great little guys. I have associated with them just
enough to appreciate their admirable qualities.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 5, No. 2
February 1997
----
We have discovered a marvelous use for the laser pistol sight. It is a nifty
toy for pet dogs, who can spend many happy hours chasing that orange dot all
over the living room.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 5, No. 1
January 1997
----
Anyone who studies the matter will reach the conclusion that good
marksmanship, per se, is not the key to successful gunfighting. The
marksmanship problem posed in a streetfight is ordinarily pretty elementary.
What is necessary, however, is the absolute assurance on the part of the
shooter that he can hit what he is shooting at - absolutely without fail.
Being a good shot tends to build up this confidence in the individual.
Additionally, the good shot knows what is necessary on his part to obtain
hits, and when the red flag flies, the concentration which he knows is
necessary pushes all extraneous thinking out of his mind. He cannot let side
issues such as fitness reports, political rectitude, or legal liability
enter his mind. Such considerations may be heeded before the decision to
make the shot is taken, and reconsidered after the ball is over; but at the
time, the imperative front sight, surprise break must prevail.
Thus we have the paradox that while you almost never need to be a good shot
to win a gunfight, the fact that you are a good shot may be what is
necessary for you to hold the right thoughts - to the exclusion of all
others - and save your life. This may come as a shock to a good many
marksmanship instructors, but I have studied the matter at length and in
depth, and I am satisfied with my conclusions.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 5, No. 1
January 1997
----
There has never been much question about it, and it is indisputable after
decades of observation that the single-action self-loading pistol - the Colt
1911 and its clones - is the easiest, heavy-duty sidearm with which to hit.
The crunchenticker is the most difficult, and the Glock is somewhere in the
middle. Shooting a Glock is simply shooting a single-action self-loader with
no safety and a very poor trigger. If real excellence is not the objective,
this is a satisfactory system to employ.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 16
December 1996
----
Family member Norm Vroman recently went down to a cop gathering in Mesa
attended by about 400 lawmen. Norm's 1911 was one of only two in evidence on
the range, and was the object of considerable wonder, as many of these young
people did not know what it was. Norm entered the shooting, and, not
surprisingly, won his class. Then they knew.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 14
December 1996
----
Our old buddy Gene Harshbarger from Guatemala reports a recent episode with
the 25 ACP pistol cartridge. It seems that Gene's cousin was set upon by a
trio of car thieves who shot him once almost dead center with that dinky
little pistol. The bullet entered at a very flat angle, however, proceeded
laterally just inside the pectoral muscle, and exited after about 5 inches
of traverse, continuing on into the target's left arm.
The cousin hit the deck and started shooting back, whereupon the assailants
split. When he stood up the bullet slid out of his left sleeve and bounced
on the pavement. It penetrated the jacket, but not the skin of his left arm.
As we used to teach in the spook business, carry a 25 if it makes you feel
good, but do not ever load it. If you load it you may shoot it. If you shoot
it you may hit somebody, and if you hit somebody - and he finds out about it
- he may be very angry with you.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 14
December 1996
----
We hear from neighbor Colonel Bob Young that the penalty for possession of a
hollow-point bullet in the great state of New Jersey is $1,000 per bullet.
Sometimes it seems that New Jersey should be treated as suggested for
Somalia - surrounded by an impenetrable wall and allowed to stew in its own
juice.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 13
November 1996
----
Among the new 10mm pistol cartridges, the "Cor-Bon .400", as reported to us
by Dick Davis of Second Chance, is supposed to put out a 165-grain bullet at
1300 f/s. Dick comments: "If we open it up to a 45 caliber and increase the
bullet weight to, say, 230 grains, we might have a real man-stopper."
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 13
November 1996
----
From Chechnya via Time magazine:
"They are simply afraid of us. We saw it in their eyes during battle. They
have very strong weapons - but not very strong spirits."
As always, it is the man, not the gun, that wins.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 11
September 1996
----
According to our official informant from the Smallarms Development Division,
we learn that the proposed personal arm of the individual soldier will be a
two-phase, handheld weapon basically equipped with night vision. Its lower
barrel will be a semi-automatic 223 for use against individual targets up to
perhaps 200 meters. Its top barrel will be a 40-millimeter grenade launcher
utilizing laser sight setting and good for proximity hits out to 1,000
meters.
This is just one of many proposals which may be due for experimental
adoption, and all of which seem to run on batteries. Our informant, who
spent much of the Gulf War racing around trying to keep people supplied with
batteries, advises us to invest in Duracel. (Which was just recently
purchased by Gillette.)
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 11
September 1996
----
On a considerably less tragic line we may consider a case which happened not
long ago here in Arizona in which a felon undertook to engage the police
from a sixth floor balcony. The police smothered the target (with their
Glocks) who came down airborne to his death. When it was attempted to find
out how many shots the felon had taken, it was discovered that it was the
fall that killed him - no bullet wounds.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 11
September 1996
----
European designers, including Lapua and Heckler & Koch, among others, are
hard at work producing what they call oberfliegeren. These are rifle
cartridges which serve about the same purpose as hot rods, which is to gain
attention. One of the most prominent is the 9x90mm, which uses a case
somewhat similar at the head to the 50 BMG, but is necked down to a 36
caliber. But the manufacturers of these remarkable cartridges maintain that
they are designed for police snipers, but it is pretty hard to see just what
tactical niche they fill. Pushing a 280-grain missile out the muzzle at
4,400 f/s may indeed accomplish something, but I can't imagine what that
might be.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 9
August 1996
----
In a recent curious case the subject was struck in the left side of the face
by a 380. The bullet was deflected by his jawbone down through his neck and
into his torso beneath the shoulder blade. The subject did not respond to
the blow, walked to the ambulance, was treated at the hospital for infection
and sent home with a Tylenol. According to the account he was laughing and
joking with bystanders throughout the experience and did not return for
medical assistance on the following day. Moral: If you insist on using a
miniature sidearm, confine your hits to the eye sockets.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 3
February 1996
----
Up at a cop session at Bakersfield, we were treated to the usual round of
extraordinary cop stories. One such involved a goblin who unbelievably
accepted nine pellets of double 0 amidships without apparent distress. He
was annoyed, however, and called out to the shooter, "What did you do that
for?" We hunted around for a good answer to that question, and finally
settled upon, "My foot slipped."
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 3, No. 12
October 1995
----
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity."
Sigmund Freud in "General Introduction to Psychoanalysis" via John Pate
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 3, No. 11
September 1995
----
We hear from our overseas agents that law enforcement and the whole judicial
system in Kenya has now broken down to the extent that the people are now
largely executing summary justice on the spot. There is a good deal to
recommend this, but it does have certain disadvantages, principally in what
may be called over-control. (Shoplifters are frequently beaten to death at
the scene.)
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 3, No. 11
September 1995
----
We have a good anecdote from our neighbor and colleague, Colonel Bob Young,
who did a stint not long ago in Saudi Arabia. It seems that on this occasion
an American aircraft was parked on a runway, and being rather a sensitive
item it was given an individual sentry to keep unauthorized personnel at a
proper distance. In a demonstration of bad judgement, somebody in charge
gave this job to a girl soldier, the idea of which is extremely offensive to
a devout Muslim. In Saudi Arabia at this time the purity of the faith is
enforced by priestly types who prowl the country on the lookout for
violations of doctrine. These characters are armed with long, heavy whips.
One of them wandered onto the base and became totally scandalized at the
sight of this girl patrolling the aircraft with her M16. Shouting holy
imprecations, he endeavored to use his whip on the lass, who quite
reasonably shot him six times in the chest with her 223.
International Incident!
Bob tells us that the Air Force moved with uncharacteristic alacrity and got
the girl out of the country in a matter of minutes, and the whole incident
was immediately swept under the rug. It is hard to say who won that round,
but it recalls the principles of Hastings' Third Law, which reads
"Do not throw rocks at people with guns."
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 3, No. 9
August 1995
----
War cry from darkest Connecticut: "Watch it, kid, or I will twist your head
around 'til your cap's on straight!"
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 3, No. 9
August 1995
----
Herewith an interesting tactical ploy for our times. Late night shopper comes
out of supermarket to be confronted by a hostile crowd of pickaninnies asking
for money. The shopper greets hostiles in friendly fashion and raises a
question,
"Any of you brothers seen my speedloader?"
"Speedloader?"
"Yah, something like this,"
and he brings out his Detective Special, fishes around in his pockets and
says,
"A speedloader is something you use to load this piece. It's round and made
of black rubber. I swear I dropped it around here someplace. Anybody see it?"
We have often noticed that one can frequently disconcert a goblin by asking
him a question he is not prepared for. This would seem to be a good one.
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 3, No. 6
25 April 1995
----
Through Randy Umbs, our man in Wisconsin, we have finally acquired a
practical explanation for golf. It turns out that dog droppings freeze
iron-hard in the Wisconsin winters, and one can make excellent practice
with his 4-iron lobbing these remnants onto adjoining property. Chipping
one down the neighbor's chimney is the equivalent of a hole-in-one.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 3, No. 2
31 January 1995
----
I find it odd that the great majority of "gun writers" insist upon doing
accuracy testing of rifles at 100 yards range. You cannot find out much of
anything at 100. You can begin to get the picture at 200, but only at 300
can you derive a true accuracy assessment of rifle, ammunition and sight. Of
course in the field you will do very little shooting at 300 (despite what
the ads say), but if you are looking for an accuracy index nothing you will
find at 100 will show you very much.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 2, No. 16
20 December 1994
----
Note that the goblins choose as victims only those they deem to be patsies.
Louis Awerbuck and Chris Pollack have recently gleaned the following
statement from a restroom wall:
There are no victims, only volunteers. You volunteer by looking
uncertain and afraid. You volunteer by being, as grass-eaters invariably
are, unprepared to confront the hazards of life.
As it used to be emphasized at Orange Gunsite, you are an easy mark in White,
but you are a difficult problem in Orange.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 2, No. 10
11 August 1994
----
Family member and Babamtulu veteran Jack Buchmiller notes that if Nicole
Simpson had studied at Gunsite she would now be a wealthy widow.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 2, No. 9
26 July 1994
----
As we have long taught, the rifle and the pistol serve two conceptually
different purposes, and while each may be called upon to perform the
function of the other, this is not a good practice and best results should
not be expected.
The essential difference is that the pistol is designed to solve totally
unexpected problems, whereas the rifle is taken in hand when the problem is
foreseeable. Thus instant readiness is the primary quality of the pistol. As
has been well said, "You cannot make an appointment for an emergency." When
you know there is going to be an emergency, you pick up your rifle. Now
there are all sorts of curious circumstances which may pose specific
exceptions to the foregoing principles, but the fact remains that the two
instruments fill different tactical niches, and training and practice
should be based upon that concept.
Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 2, No. 4
22 March 1994
----
Indian Country, 1994
Goblin shows up late at hamburger dispensary behaving obnoxiously.
Management calls the cops. Cop shows up and challenges goblin, who begins
shooting at him. Cop sustains several hits before returning fire and goes
down with a broken femur. Goblin runs dry and, bleeding from three wounds,
commences to reload. Two Navajos are trying to get their car started on the
parking lot. Analyzing the situation, they move in on the goblin and pound
him into the pavement, leaving him for dead. They then go back to the car
and continue fiddling with it. All manner of cop cars show up, complete with
flashing lights. County deputy attorney, who arrives with the cops,
approaches the two Navajos and asks if they can use any help. The answer is,
"Well, yes. You got a flashlight?" Cops furnish flashlight.
Moral: Always carry a flashlight in Indian country.
Jeff Cooper
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 2, No. 3
1 March 1994
----
I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary
Cooper.
Gary Cooper
On his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."
----
At Whittington I was asked, quite reasonably, by family member Art Hammer if
there was not some inconsistency in my emphasizing stopping power in
handguns while favoring medium power in rifles (short of buffalo guns.) Good
question!
The answer is essentially conceptual. A pistol is a defensive instrument,
designed to stop a fight that somebody else starts. It is strictly an
emergency device called for in an unpredicted emergency. The shooter has to
respond to an action initiated by another, thus he needs all the emphasis he
can properly control.
The rifle, on the other hand, is normally an offensive instrument with which
the shooter has the initiative and is carrying the play to his prey. Hence
the rifleman can shoot with great care, placing his bullets properly. He
needs only enough power to insure proper penetration into the vitals of his
target. Blowing down trees on the far side is an extravagance.
The pistolero defends. The rifleman attacks. The problems are different.
-Jeff Cooper-
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 1, No. 10
15 November 1993
----
Anyone who knows anything about marksmanship knows that it is something one
does not boast about. You may remember that Billy Dickson always attributed
his long shot on the Indian to pure luck, and this was always called mere
modesty on his part. Other examples will occur to you. However, if you would
like a conspicuous case study of how it was done, consider the famous
"Tinian shot" delivered during the occupation of Saipan and Tinian during
the Pacific War.
When we had taken Saipan, it was planned to move across the intervening
straight and land on the north end of Tinian Island, utilizing as much
supporting artillery as we could muster, in addition to aerial bombardment
and naval gunfire. To bring this off we moved all of the guns available on
Saipan to the southern tip of the island and set them into position to fire
across the straight on targets selected as appropriate. The smallest guns
were placed as far forward as possible. In the case of the 75 millimeter
pack-howitzers, this was right on the beach. Now the 75 millimeter
pack-howitzer in not much of a cannon. Its principal virtue is that it is
light and compact and can be moved around in difficult terrain with minimum
effort. It fires a 3-inch shell at high angle to a fairly modest range -
say, 2,500 yards. When all was ready, the signal was given to commence
registering across the straight, starting with the little guns first. One
battery of 75 pack-howitzers fired one round, which arched over the
separating water and came down almost vertically.
It so happened that I was present at this time, riding offshore some 3,000
yards to the east of the straight. I was looking right at the point of
impact. The result was unbelievable. The first thing I saw was a white,
hemispherical flash, perhaps 500 yards in diameter. Out of this boiled a
huge black column of smoke thrusting skyward into the traditional mushroom
cloud. There was no sound, but we could see the shock wave moving out
towards us across the water in a curved pattern. In a moment that shock wave
struck the escorting destroyers and heeled them radically over in the water.
The curve raced on towards us and we turned away and covered our ears. What
hit us then is indescribable in words, but it was a sensation one is
unlikely to forget.
What evidently happened was that first ranging shot from the 75-millimeter
battery had found its way down some sort of ventilating shaft into the main
ammunition depot on the north end of the island, and everything went up
together.
I never heard what reports were circulated around amongst the artillerymen
on Saipan, but one can guess at a number of appropriate wisecracks:
You want me to do that again?
Now you guys with the big guns can have your turn.
That was Number One gun. Now I am going to try with Number Two.
Why didn't I think of that last week?
Everybody break for chow.
And so on. That was the "Tinian shot." Anytime you feel like bragging about
something, keep that one in mind.
-Jeff Cooper-
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 1, No. 9
October 1993
----
Family member Dr. Werner Weissenhofer reports from Vienna. It seems that a
felon armed with a 357 revolver robbed a bank. As he left the bank, he was
accosted by a policeman whom he murdered with one shot. Great excitement
ensued, with the felon taking hostages and racing madly around from one
store to another. When the forces of law and order had been mobilized and
surrounded the goblin, a policeman volunteered to trade himself to the
goblin for two hostages. This offer was accepted, at which time the felon
fired at the policeman and seriously wounded him. The forces of law and
order opened up with everything they had, which was mostly AUG and Glock
fire. Shortly, the goblin killed himself with one round. He had fired three
times and achieved three hits. The police, according to their official
report, fired 1,261 rounds without drawing blood.
At one time, we used to refer to an event of this sort as a "Chinese Fire
Drill." Later we came to call if "Father's Day in Harlem." After the
interment of the Ayatollah Khomeini, we began to call it "An Iranian
Funeral." Now, I guess we can call it "A Viennese Bank Robbery."
As I have often stated, if someone wants to shoot at me, I sure hope he does
it on full-auto.
-Jeff Cooper-
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 1, No. 9
October 1993
----
We read in a recent news item from Britain that officers from Scotland Yard's
elite firearms team foiled an attempted armed robbery on Barclays
Westminster Bank. These highly trained specialists were armed with MP5s and
achieved conspicuous success. There was special praise for Police Constable
John Benson, who shot himself in the groin as he jumped from a Landrover to
chase two of the suspects.
"He did a great job," said Detective Superintendent Albert Patrick.
A great job indeed! One wonders how he would do a bad job.
-Jeff Cooper-
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 1, No. 7
29 September 1993
----
When two opposing sides of an argument are presented, one by an honest man
and the other by a liar, the liar usually wins, simply because he is not
inhibited by the truth.
The Guru
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 1, No. 7
29 September 1993
----
Recently we glimpsed a bright red Ferrari driven by a conspicuous "flash
bird" with top down. The combination of the brilliant color of the car and
the bright golden mane of the driver was set off by the personalized license
plate, which displayed the two words, "WAS HIS."
-Jeff Cooper-
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 1, No. 7
29 September 1993
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Personally, I feel that the [International Practical Shooting] Confederation
might well consider going to the 22 rimfire cartridge since there is no
attempt at this time to relate the activity to defensive combat. The 22
would be vastly cheaper and even easier to machine-gun.
-Jeff Cooper-
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 1, No. 7
21 September 1993
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I have often preached that the proper antidote to fear is anger, and I see
no reason to change my opinion on this. However, there is another mental
condition that serves as well or possibly better, and that is concentration.
I have discussed this matter at great length with people who are in a
position to know, and I am not without experience of my own, and I can state
positively that when you find yourself facing deadly danger, your ability
to concentrate every mental faculty upon doing what needs to be done to save
yourself leaves no room for fear. If it happens that ret