John Dean "Jeff" Cooper (May 10, 1920 – September 25, 2006) was a
United States Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
, the creator of a "
modern technique The modern technique (abbreviation of modern technique of the pistol) is a method for using a handgun for self-defense, originated by firearms expert Jeff Cooper. The modern technique uses a two-handed grip on the pistol and brings the weapon to e ...
" of handgun shooting, and an expert on the use and history of
small arms
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
.
Early life and education
Cooper was born in Los Angeles where he enrolled in the
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools acr ...
at
Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans.
Los Angeles High School is a pub ...
. He graduated from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
with a bachelor's degree in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
. He received a regular commission in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
(USMC) in September 1941. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he served in the
Pacific theatre with the
Marine Detachment aboard . By the end of the war he had been promoted to major. He resigned his commission in 1949, but returned to active duty during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, where he claimed to be involved in irregular warfare, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. After the Korean War, the Marine Corps declined his application to remain on active duty. In the mid-1960s, he received a master's degree in history from the
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...
. From the late 1950s through the early 1970s, he was a part-time high school and community college history teacher.
[
]
Career
In 1976, Cooper founded the ''American Pistol Institute'' (API) in Paulden, Arizona
Paulden is a census designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 5,231 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Paulden is located at (34.900785, -112.484205).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CD ...
(later the Gunsite Academy). Cooper began teaching shotgun and rifle classes to both law enforcement and military personnel, as well as civilians, and conducted on-site training for individuals and groups from around the world. He sold the firm in 1992 but continued living on the Paulden ranch. He was known for his advocacy of large-caliber handguns, especially the Colt 1911
The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...
and the .45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
cartridge.[
]
The Modern Technique of the Pistol
Cooper's modern technique The modern technique (abbreviation of modern technique of the pistol) is a method for using a handgun for self-defense, originated by firearms expert Jeff Cooper. The modern technique uses a two-handed grip on the pistol and brings the weapon to e ...
defines pragmatic use of the pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
for personal protection. The modern technique emphasizes two-handed shooting using the Weaver stance
The Weaver stance is a shooting technique for handguns. It was developed by Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Jack Weaver during freestyle pistol competition in Southern California during the late 1950s.
Description
The Weaver stance has two m ...
, competing with and eventually supplanting the once-prevalent one-handed shooting style. The five elements of the modern technique are:
*A large caliber pistol, preferably a semi-automatic
*The Weaver stance
The Weaver stance is a shooting technique for handguns. It was developed by Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Jack Weaver during freestyle pistol competition in Southern California during the late 1950s.
Description
The Weaver stance has two m ...
*The draw stroke
*The flash sight picture
*The compressed surprise trigger break[Morrison, G. and Cooper, J., "The Modern Technique of the Pistol", Paulden: Gunsite Press, 1991.]
Firearm conditions of readiness
There are several conditions of readiness in which such a weapon can be carried. Cooper promulgated most of the following terms:
*Condition 4: Chamber empty, no magazine in the gun, hammer down, safety on.
*Condition 3: Chamber empty, full magazine in place, hammer down, safety on.
*Condition 2: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer down, safety on.
*Condition 1: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer cocked, safety on. Also referred to as "cocked and locked."
*Condition 0: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer cocked, safety off.
Condition 0 is considered "ready to fire"; as a result, there is a risk of accidental or negligent discharge
An unintentional discharge is the event of a firearm discharging (firing) at a time not intended by the user. An unintended discharge may be produced by an incompatibility between firearm design and usage, such as the phenomenon of cooking off a ...
carrying in Condition 0.
Bren Ten
Cooper, along with Michael Dixon and Thomas Dornaus, worked on the design of the Bren Ten
The Bren Ten is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for 10mm Auto that was made by Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises Inc. from 1983 to 1986. While the Bren Ten's design has an appearance similar to the 9×19mm Parabellum CZ-75, it is larger and stronger ...
pistol around the 10mm Auto, based on the Czech CZ 75
The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Czech firearm manufacturer ČZUB. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original " wonder nines" and features a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel. I ...
design. The cartridge was more powerful than both the 9×19mm Parabellum
The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge.
Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...
and the .45 ACP round.
Combat mindset and the Cooper color code
The most important means of surviving a lethal confrontation, according to Cooper, is neither the weapon nor the martial skills. The primary tool is the combat mindset, set forth in his book, ''Principles of Personal Defense''.[Cooper, Jeff, ''Principles of Personal Defense'', Paladin Press, ]
The color code, as originally introduced by Cooper, had nothing to do with tactical situations or alertness levels, but rather with one's state of mind. As taught by Cooper, it relates to the degree of peril you are willing to do something about and which allows you to move from one level of mindset to another to enable you to properly handle a given situation. Cooper did not claim to have invented anything in particular with the color code, but he was apparently the first to use it as an indication of mental state.
The following is from ''The Carry Book: Minnesota Edition'', 2011:
* White: Unaware and unprepared. If attacked in Condition White, the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy or ineptitude of your attacker. When confronted by something nasty, your reaction will probably be "Oh my God! This can't be happening to me."
* Yellow: Relaxed alert. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that "today could be the day I may have to defend myself". You are simply aware that the world is a potentially unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and realize that "I may have to shoot
In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spri ...
today". You don't have to be armed in this state, but if you are armed, you should be in Condition Yellow. You should always be in Yellow whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don't know. You can remain in Yellow for long periods, as long as you are able to "Watch your six." (In aviation 12 o'clock refers to the direction in front of the aircraft's nose. Six o'clock is the blind spot behind the pilot.) In Yellow, you are "taking in" surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner, like a continuous 360 degree radar sweep. As Cooper put it, "I might have to shoot."
* Orange: Specific alert. Something is not quite right and has your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. You shift your primary focus to determine if there is a threat (but you do not drop your six). Your mindset shifts to "I may have to shoot that person today", focusing on the specific target which has caused the escalation in alert status. In Condition Orange, you set a mental trigger: "If that person does 'X', I will need to stop them". Your pistol usually remains holstered in this state. Staying in Orange can be a bit of a mental strain, but you can stay in it for as long as you need to. If the threat proves to be nothing, you shift back to Condition Yellow.
* Red: Condition Red is fight. Your mental trigger (established back in Condition Orange) has been tripped. "If 'X' happens I will shoot that person" — 'X' has happened, the fight is on.
The USMC uses "Condition Black," although it was not originally part of Cooper's color code. According to Massad Ayoob
Massad F. Ayoob (born July 20, 1948) is an American firearms and self-defense instructor. He has taught police techniques and civilian self-defense to both law enforcement officers and private citizens since 1974. He was the director of the Letha ...
, "Condition Black," in Cooper's youth, meant "combat in progress." "Condition Black" is also used to mean "immobilized by panic" or "overwhelmed by fear".
In short, the color code helps one "think" in a fight. As the level of danger increases, one's willingness to take certain actions increases. If one ever does go to Condition Red, the decision to use lethal force has already been made — the "mental trigger" has been tripped.
The following are some of Cooper's additional comments on the subject.
He further simplified things in 2005:
Firearms safety
Cooper advocated four basic rules of gun safety:
#All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
#Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
#Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
#Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.
Rifle concepts
Cooper is best known for his work in pistol training, but he favored the rifle for tactical shooting. He often described the handgun as a convenient-to-carry stopgap weapon, allowing someone the opportunity to get to a rifle.
Scout rifle
Greatly influenced by the life and writings of Frederick Russell Burnham
Frederick Russell Burnham DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to the British Army in colonial Africa, and for teach ...
, Cooper published an article in the 1980s describing his ideal of a general-purpose rifle: "a short, light, handy, versatile, utility rifle", which he dubbed a ''scout rifle
The scout rifle is a conceptual class of general-purpose rifles defined and promoted by Jeff Cooper in the early 1980s that bears similarities in design and function to guide guns, mountain rifles, and other rifle archetypes that emphasize comfor ...
''. This was a bolt-action
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-action ...
carbine
A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges.
The smaller size and lighte ...
chambered in .308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...
, less than 1 meter in length, less than 3 kilograms in weight, with iron sights
Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers (usually made of metallic material) used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons (such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow or even compound bow), or less commonly ...
, a forward-mounted optical sight (long eye relief {{Short description, Optical instrument
The eye relief of an optical instrument (such as a telescope, a microscope, or binoculars) is the distance from the last surface of an eyepiece within which the user's eye can obtain the full viewing angle. ...
scope), and fitted with a practical 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.
In late 1997, with Cooper's oversight, Steyr Mannlicher
Steyr Arms () is a firearms manufacturer based in Sankt Peter in der Au, Austria. Originally part of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken up in 1989. Prior to 1 January 2019, the company was named Steyr M ...
produced a rifle to his "scout" specifications. Cooper considered the Steyr Scout "perfect." Riflemen regard Cooper's development of the scout rifle concept and his subsequent work on the evolution of the Steyr-Mannlicher Scout rifle as his most significant and enduring contributions to riflecraft. Ruger
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and Pr ...
(Gunsite Scout Rifle), Savage Arms
Savage Arms is an American gunmaker based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with operations in Canada. Savage makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns. The company is best known for the ...
, Springfield Armory
The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...
, and Mossberg have made versions of the scout rifle as well.
Ammunition concepts
Cooper was dissatisfied with the small-diameter 5.56×45mm NATO (.223 Remington) of the AR-15 and envisioned a need for a large-bore (.44 caliber or greater) cartridge in a semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...
to provide increased stopping power and one-shot kills on big-game animals at 250 yards. The so-called Thumper concept inspired the development of the .450 Bushmaster
The .450 Bushmaster is a rifle cartridge developed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms, and licensed to Bushmaster Firearms International. The .450 Bushmaster is designed to be used in standard M16s and AR-15s, using modified magazines and u ...
, .458 SOCOM
The .458 SOCOM (11.63×40mm) is a moderately large round designed to work in an AR-15 platform. This is achieved by installing a 458 bolt and barrel. The round offers a supersonic muzzle velocity of and , similar to a light .45-70 but with a m ...
, 458 HAM'R, .499 LWR, and the .50 Beowulf
The .50 Beowulf is a 12mm caliber rifle cartridge developed by Bill Alexander of Alexander Arms for use in an AR-15 rifle.
Design and specifications
The cartridge utilizes a rebated rim, sized to match the rim of the 6.5mm Grendel round. The ...
, among other cartridges, all suitable for integration into the AR-15
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporatio ...
/M16 rifle
The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
/M4 carbine
The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle.
The M4 is extensively ...
or AR-10
The ArmaLite AR-10 is a 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifle designed by Eugene Stoner in the late 1950s and manufactured by ArmaLite (then a division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation). When first introduced in 1956, the AR-10 used an innovative com ...
/M14 rifle
The M14 rifle, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire battle rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 in) cartridge. It became the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. military in 1959, r ...
platforms.
Along the lines of the Thumper concept, Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms developed .45 Professional, the predecessor of the .450 Bushmaster cartridge, and later built and delivered an AR-15 in .45 Professional to Cooper, while Bill Alexander of Alexander Arms developed the .50 Beowulf.
Encountering similar lack of stopping power issues as Cooper, the need for a large bore round for the AR-15 platform came about from informal discussion of members of the special operations
Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...
command, specifically Task Force Ranger
Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted in Mogadishu, Somalia, by an American force code-named ''Task Force Ranger'' during the Somali Civil War in 1993. The primary objective of the operation was to capture Mohamed Farra ...
's experience in the Battle of Mogadishu (1993) that multiple shots were required to incapacitate members of the opposing force. Many Somalis would chew the drug Khat
Khat or qat ( ''ch’at''; Oromo: ''Jimaa'', so, qaad, khaad, khat or chat, ar, القات ''al-qāt'') is a flowering plant native to eastern and southern Africa. Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone, a stimulant, which is said to cause e ...
all day and the effects of the drug
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
would both curb their appetite and increase their pain tolerance. Consequently Marty ter Weeme of Teppo Jutsu designed the .458 SOCOM cartridge in 2000 and Tony Rumore of Tromix was contracted to build the first .458 SOCOM rifle in February 2001. Later even more Thumper rounds have been developed for the AR-15 platform in the US and in other countries such as the .458 Alpine, .458 Silent death and .460 Alliance.
Among the Thumper rounds requiring the use of the AR-10 platform due to their larger cartridge dimensions are the .45 Raptor, .50 Thumper, .50 Razorback, .50 Krater, .500 Kratos/Enforcer, .500 Auto Max, .500 Phantom, .500 Whisper, .510 Whisper
The .510 Whisper is a subsonic rifle cartridge developed by SSK Industries for use in suppressed rifles. It is capable of firing a .51-caliber bullet weighing at roughly .
Overview
The .510 Whisper (13×47 mm) is the second of two 1/2 inch ca ...
, .510 Snipe-Tac and the .510 Winchester Short Magnum cartridges. This wide spectrum of calibers developed until today along the line of the Thumper concept ranging from Wildcat cartridge
A wildcat cartridge, often shortened to wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and/or firearms are not mass-produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic (such as the power, s ...
s to commercially available rifle/cartridge combinations and to calibers with approval through SAAMI or C.I.P. suggests that this field has not yet produced optimized solutions and is still subject to engineering optimization Engineering optimization
is the subject which uses optimization techniques to achieve design goals in engineering. It is sometimes referred to as design optimization.
Topics
* structural design (including pressure vessel design and welded beam ...
.
A modern Thumper round specifically developed for hunting large Scandinavian game is the .510 Førland which is mostly used in converted Sako TRG
The Sako TRG is a bolt-action sniper rifle line designed and manufactured by Finnish firearms manufacturer SAKO of Riihimäki. The TRG-21 and TRG-22 are designed to fire standard .308 Winchester ( 7.62×51mm NATO) sized cartridges, while the TRG ...
rifles, while Blaser in Germany developed the .45 Blaser
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case length
*''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the cartridge
*''Bullet'' refers to the diameter of the bullet
All me ...
for their R93 straight-pull action rifle. The .50 Alaskan
The .50 Alaskan is a wildcat cartridge developed by Harold Johnson and Harold Fuller of the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska in the 1950s. Johnson based the cartridge on the .348 Winchester in order to create a rifle capable of handling the large bea ...
developed by Harold Johnson and Harold Fuller of the Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan trib ...
of Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
in the 1950s based on the .348 Winchester
The .348 Winchester is an American rifle cartridge. It was introduced in 1936, and developed for the Winchester Model 71 lever action rifle. The .348 was one of the most powerful rimmed rounds ever used in a lever action rifle.
Performance
It ...
as well as the .45 Alaskan, .457 Wild West Magnum, and the .510 Kodiak Express are in some sense predecessors of Jeff Cooper's Thumper concept originating from the time of hunting large bears in Alaska using lever action rifles.
The Russian 12.7×55mm STs-130 cartridge is a military Thumper round designed in 2002. It is used in the VKS bullpup
A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...
sniper rifle, the ShAK-12
The ShAK-12, (Russian: ШАК-12) originally under the name ''ASh-12.7'' (АШ-12.7, which stands for "Автомат штурмовой 12.7мм" or "automatic assault 12.7mm") battle rifle is a dedicated CQB/Urban Operations weapon, developed ...
bullpup battle rifle
A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge.
The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to better differentiate the intermediate cartridge, intermediate-powered assault rifles (e.g. the S ...
and in the RSh-12
The RSh-12 is a Russian-made revolver chambered in 12.7×55mm STs-130.
It fires from the bottom chamber of the cylinder (like the Chiappa Rhino and Mateba Autorevolver) rather than the more common top chamber, and is chambered for the same amm ...
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
. Like the .510 Whisper round it was developed from the case of the .416 Rigby
The .416 Rigby is a rifle cartridge designed in 1911 by London based gunmaker John Rigby & Company, for hunting dangerous game. It is the first cartridge to use a bullet of .416 inch (10.57 mm) diameter. The rifles, as built by John Rigby & Co ...
/.338 Lapua Magnum
The .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70 mm or 8.58×70 mm) is a rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It was developed during the 1980s as a high-powered, long-range cartridge for military snipers. It was used in the War in Afghanistan and ...
cartridge.
Writing
In 1997, Cooper wrote that he coined the term hoplophobia
In the United States, gun culture encompasses the behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs about firearms and their usage by civilians. Gun ownership in the United States is the highest in the world, and constitutionally protected by the Second Amen ...
in 1962 "in response to a perceived need for a word to describe a mental aberration consisting of an unreasoning terror of gadgetry, specifically, weapons."
In addition to his books on firearms and self-defense, Cooper wrote several books recounting his life adventures plus essays and short stories, including ''Fire Works'' (1980); ''Another Country: Personal Adventures of the Twentieth Century'' (1992); ''To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth'' (1988); and ''C Stories'' (2004). His daughter Lindy Wisdom published a biography, ''Jeff Cooper: the Soul and the Spirit'' (1996).
Some of the comments from his "Gunsite Gossip" newsletter were printed in ''Guns & Ammo
''Guns & Ammo'' is a magazine dedicated to firearms, hunting, competitive shooting, reloading, and other shooting-related activities in the United States.
The magazine offers reviews on firearms, ammunition, optics and shooting gear. Also include ...
'' magazine as "Cooper's Corner" and later were compiled into ''The Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip.'' These were his thoughts on firearms interleaved with his wide-ranging musings on many other subjects, and acquired a large U.S. and international following from the 1980s up to his death. Cooper wrote extensively in defense of firearms rights.
A complete bibliography of Jeff Cooper's writings from 1947 onwards is available at the Jeff Cooper Bibliography Project.
Personal life
Cooper was married to his wife Janelle for 64 years. They had three daughters.[ He died at his home on September 25, 2006, at the age of 86.
]
Political views
In 1991, Cooper wrote in ''Guns & Ammo
''Guns & Ammo'' is a magazine dedicated to firearms, hunting, competitive shooting, reloading, and other shooting-related activities in the United States.
The magazine offers reviews on firearms, ammunition, optics and shooting gear. Also include ...
'' magazine that "no more than five to ten people in a hundred who die by gunfire in Los Angeles are any loss to society. These people fight small wars amongst themselves. It would seem a valid social service to keep them well-supplied with ammunition."[Grossman, Arnold. ''One Nation Under Guns: An Essay on an American Epidemic'', Fulcrum Publishing, 2006 (p. 65).] In 1994, Cooper said "Los Angeles and Ho Chi Minh City
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
have declared themselves sister cities. It makes sense: they are both Third World
The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
metropolises formerly occupied by Americans." Cooper had expressed support for Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi.
See also
*Handgun hunting Handgun hunting is a form of hunting primarily done with specialized handguns that have long barrels and mounted scopes (optical aiming devices).
Even the largest animals, such as elephants, can be killed with modern hunting handguns, although m ...
*Jack Weaver
John Harold Weaver (November 1, 1928 – April 7, 2009) was a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff and the developer of the Weaver stance, a popular shooting stance for firing handguns.
Biography
Weaver was born on November 1, 1928, in South Gate, ...
*Mel Tappan
Mel Tappan (1933 – 1980, born Melrose H. Tappan III) was the editor of the newsletter ''Personal Survival ("P.S.") Letter'' and the books ''Survival Guns'' and ''Tappan on Survival''. Tappan was an influential leader of the Survivalist movement ...
*Self-defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...
*Thell Reed
Thell Reed is an American exhibition shooter, stuntman, armorer, and movie consultant.
Shooting career
As a teenager, Reed competed in Jeff Cooper's Big Bear "Leatherslaps" shooting competitions at Big Bear Lake, California. The Leatherslaps bec ...
References
Abbreviations:
* CC: ''Cooper's Commentaries''
* GG: ''Gunsight Gossip''
* GGG1: ''The Gargantuan Gunsight Gossip'', Gunsight Press, Paulden, Arizona, USA, 1990, , contains ''Gunsight Gossip'' Volumes 1 to 9, 1981 to 1989.
* GGG2: ''Gargantuan Gunsight Gossip 2'', Gunsight Press, Paulden, Arizona, USA, 2001, , contains ''Gunsight Gossip'' Volumes 10 to 20, 1990 to 2000.
* GGG3: ''Gargantuan Gunsight Gossip 3'', Gunsight Press, Paulden, Arizona, USA, 2010, , contains ''Gunsight Gossip'' Volumes 21 to 26, 2001 to 2006.
''Cooper's Commentaries'' is an unedited superset of ''Gunsight Gossip'', with CC Vol. 1, No. 1 corresponding to GG Vol. XIII, No. 9, and an edited version of these were published as "Cooper's Corner" in ''Guns & Ammo
''Guns & Ammo'' is a magazine dedicated to firearms, hunting, competitive shooting, reloading, and other shooting-related activities in the United States.
The magazine offers reviews on firearms, ammunition, optics and shooting gear. Also include ...
'' magazine starting in 1986.[CC, Vol. I, No. 1, 1993, "With this issue, I am abandoning the editorial 'we' along with reference to Gunsite in the title since I no longer exercise control over the output of the Gunsite Press. What may henceforth appear as 'Gunsite Gossip' will be a censored and abbreviated version of my periodical commentary. ... "]
Further reading
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*
External links
Official Website of The Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation
at The Gun Zone
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Jeff Cooper Books
official site of Jeff Cooper and Wisdom Publishing (per Lindy Cooper Wisdom)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jeff
1920 births
2006 deaths
American columnists
American gun rights activists
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War
Firearm training
Gun writers
IPSC shooters
People associated with firearms
Stanford University alumni
Survivalists
United States Marine Corps officers
20th-century American non-fiction writers