Who is Col Cooper and why is everyone in love with what he says?

Because I like what he says and the way he says it.

He's also trained many on shooting tactics:

www.gunsite.net

In this age of easy Internet information access, do a search.
Read his writings. You'll either like him or won't.

Jeff Cooper's commentaries. Take some time to actually read them:

http://helpdesk.realise.com/~johnny/jeff/

http://users.binary.net/thomcat/Cooper/JeffCpr.html

http://users.binary.net/thomcat/Cooper/Aboutjff.html

Homework project now that you've been given some links:
What does 'DVC' mean?

Different gun rags usually have 1911 articles or special editions that mention him.

I love col. cooper hes my hero hes THE EXPERT on combat pistol fighting tactics and whats more he endoses the best handgun ever designed by man for that purpose the 1911!!! I had a few glocks and they're all sold now replaced with 1911's,who wants plastic anyways? 20 years from now they'll probably melt in the damn sun steel and wood are what guns should be made of. The 1911 is all I really shoot these days,because when you have a 1911 why would you need anything else anyways? If jeff cooper says it you can bet anything its right hes the man I hope this helps you out some.

Cooper is the bomb yo!

He's pimpin yo but don't be dissin my glock yo!

Dadman said, "You'll either like him or won't."

Count me among the latter. At times he makes good sense, but unfortunately, many of his opinions are so extreme that he has become a poster boy for the anti-gun gang, being quoted in many of their publications to "prove" that gun people are Nazis, racists, etc. Cooper may not always mean what he writes, but he sure doesn't think about what it will look like in print or how it can be used against us. I think that he is so full of himself that he really doesn't care a damn whether anyone else can own a gun or not as long as he can. He can be highly embarassing.

One of his biggest pieces of nonsense has been the "scout rifle", which he has convinced his disciples is absolutely necessary to hit anything over 20 yards. Thousands of the misled have not only spent $2500 or more on a perfectly ordinary rifle, but are convinced they have something akin to the holy grail. Cooper claims to not get a piece of the action, but somehow I doubt it.

Jim

many of his opinions are so extreme that he has become a poster boy for the anti-gun gang, being quoted in many of their publications to "prove" that gun people are Nazis, racists, etc. Cooper may not always mean what he writes, but he sure doesn't think about what it will look like in print or how it can be used against us. I think that he is so full of himself that he really doesn't care a damn whether anyone else can own a gun or not as long as he can. He can be highly embarassing.

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So we need more with pens?
Sanitize what we read, say, and write. Don't want to piss-off the anti's!



Nope, just for Art's Grammaw.

Cooper is a WW2 and Korea veteran, a retired Marine Colonel. He also has a PHd. He's an author, and in the fifties and sixties began the first modern combat shooting disciplines..... he was in on the beginning of IPSC, and is a major proponent of the .45 and the 1911. His whole scout rifle thing, is not a "be all and end all" or rifles, nor does he say it is. But he does think it makes a good general purpose rifle that can be used for just about anything. (It's not too long, heavy, and is in a decent caliber, and doesn't have a massive scope).

He IS opinionated, and doesn't apologize about it (rather like Rush Limbaugh). He is also a master shooter, has hunted all over the world, been in two wars and several gunfights, etc etc etc...

He knows what he's talking about. Whether or not you agree with him, his writings are generally well worth reading. I don't always agree with him, but I respect his knowledge enough to read what he thinks and make up my own mind after that.

He, like me, is an old codger who feels free to say what he wants without bothering to be PC. He has STRONG opinions and expresses them. You can take them or leave them. He WILL have reasons to back them up, but they still may not fit you. He doesn't care.

He HAS "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT" and he has "seen the elephant" which is WAY more than can be said of a lot of our modern 'arm chair gun scribes'.

One other aspect about the Col. that many don't mention is that he founded Gunsite, which is a firearms training facility. As a result, he met thousands, probably tens of thousands of people who have been there and done that. People who are the real deal. I am sure he discussed what worked, and what didn't work. What they saw first hand. Etc. He has worked with the best in sport shooting, hunting, military combat, law enforcement combat, and private citizen combat. He also made his living for a good portion of his life shooting, and instructing others in shooting. His knowlege comes from first hand experience. Imagine what you might know if you spent as much, if not more time shooting, or obseving shooting as you do at your regular job.
He has traveled the world as a military officer, firearms trainer, security consultant, and hunter.
He is highly educated and a deep thinker.
We read a lot of crap on the internet from people who probably can't back up what they say. We hear a lot of crap from gun owners and wannabes at the local gun clubs and gun stores. Yet none of this arouses the same kind of foul hatred aimed at Col. Cooper by the internet crowd. This is one more case where personal attacks are condoned on The High Road.

I have had the honor of meeting the man on more than one occasion and enjoyed a cold beverage at his home this year.

Love him or hate him, you can't deny that he's a member of the "Been There Done That Club," and that alone makes his opinion worth considering, at the very least...

I don't agree with every single thing he has written, but his opinions are very well thought-out and come with a strong dose of wit and common sense, and I'll keep reading his Commentaries until he goes to the great shooting range in the sky.

He is one of the few WWII vets still in the land of the living, and he's seen the elephant more than a few times; if you don't like him, you should at least respect him. Read his Commentaries and report back.

If I remember correctly he is a Stanford University graduate with a degree in English. During World War II he served aboard the battleship USS PENNSYLVANIA as a marine officer. He volunteered for shore duty during one of the island invasions and shot 3 Japanese soldiers with a 1911. He's around, they ain't.

He is considered by some to be "The Father of the Modern Pistol Technique."

I've read "Art of the Rifle," and "To Ride..."

If you bother to read his works and form your own opinion, you'll be a whole lot more enlightened than those who shun his opinions because they thing he's lying about kickbacks on a particular rifle. I agree with the majority of what I've read, disagree with a little, but in general he just knows a whole lot more about what he's writing about than I do.

Opnionated Marine, non-PC, kill them whre they stand, use enough firearm, police are garbagemen and I am responsible for me guru. I like his writings. I like most of his ideas. The Scout rifle I don't care for. He has a few sea stories to tell. He didn't create them, he lived through them. Most of his theories have been proven. Interesting fellow.

Does he have anything to teach? Certainly and he's responsible for a good bit of how we train and what we know about combat pistol and rifle shooting.

Does he blow on like an opinionated windbag, often making blanket statements and dismissing anything out of his interests or likes? More often than not.

If my memory is correct, Col. Cooper was also instremental in the development of the original Bren Ten pistol AND the 10mm cartridge. I happen to have the utmost respect for this man, even though I agree with his writtings only 98% of the time. Scott

"We" like reading his opinions, and "we" very seldom disagree with his views. In todays politically correct, feel good world, he says what he thinks with no apologies or sugar coating. Don't think he'll be booked for any appearance on Oprah or Dr. Phil in the near future.
His writing style with the overuse of the royal "we" sometimes drives me nuts, but then again, he published seveal books and has monthly magazine columns, so guess he knows what he's doing. I'm sutck writing operational procedures that nobody every looks at anyway. Maybe I should take note of he style and enhance the copy a bit.

I don't always agree with him,but I do find him amusing..he reminds me of all of my great Uncles....a generation of men who are actually MANLY....he is old school,but sometimes that's not bad thing...

Jim Keenan: I don't have so much difficulty with Cooper and his arrogance which I can take or leave but where I think it goes off the deep end is the "true believers" who take every word of his as if handed down from the mount. He is a charismatic figure and they all seem to draw some of the worst as their most devoted followers.

His commentaries are written in a style that reminds me of Burroughs (Edgar Rice) Since he has "Been there, done that" I am interested in what he has to say. I don't always agree with his opinions/statements, and do not own a scout rifle. Then again I have not hunted around the world for 40 years.

At times he makes good sense, but unfortunately, many of his opinions are so extreme that he has become a poster boy for the anti-gun gang, being quoted in many of their publications to "prove" that gun people are Nazis, racists, etc. Cooper may not always mean what he writes, but he sure doesn't think about what it will look like in print or how it can be used against us.

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SO? The anti-gun gang will always find something at fault with those that are against their agenda of disarming all but the criminals.
Especially anyone who dares to support thoughts and actions that promote individual responsibility.

I REALLY like his term 'Goblins" for the scum that prey on others. His thoughts on defense are right up my alley

"One of his biggest pieces of nonsense has been the "scout rifle", which he has convinced his disciples is absolutely necessary to hit anything over 20 yards. Thousands of the misled have not only spent $2500 or more on a perfectly ordinary rifle, but are convinced they have something akin to the holy grail. Cooper claims to not get a piece of the action, but somehow I doubt it."

I lost it over this hog wash of a rifle. American Shooter did an episode of him and he was showing off his Scout Rifle, funny thing, he tried to a a good sized target at like 50 yards, and missed

Had to shoot twice, if it were a game animal, it would have been looooong gone.

Since I saw that, I just cant get into his prechings anymore.

When I was VERY young, we lived in the small town of Jerome, AZ. One of the local LEOs, a friend of my dads, carried a .38/40 Bisley, and shot it from a two-handed hold. This was in 1939 and 40. "Men" held their guns in one hand. Military, police and civilian ranges were used by ranks of shooters, at stiff parade rest, with their guns at the end of one arm. The old codger in Jerome was snickered at, but only behind his back, because he could outshoot anyone he met. Three "Dillinger wannabes" once it the bank there. He was on the sidewalk across the street when they exited the bank. He very calmly shot the driver, one standing on the running board with a shotgun, and the last one out the door, still on the sidewalk. You younger guys can do a search on "running board". Cars used to have them. Cooper was not the first shooter to advocate a two-handed hold, but he was the first to develop, promote and teach a system of shooting around it. He was hoo-hawed for years, and then some of the agencies began to adopt his teachings, and he became the "father of modern pistolcraft". When my son was an AFOSI agent, one of the pure plumbs was being approved for advanced training at Gunsite. Applicants weren't lined up for this, they were STACKED up. As for Coopers "arrogance", he does have a degree in English, a high IQ and a wealth of experience. He uses the language with the same efficiency as he uses his 1911. Never believe you can buck him in a game of words. You don't know the language well enough, and you don't enjoy the game on the smae level as he does.

I think Cooper's appeal is that he's a crotchety old man who actually has walked the walk and is a genuine man of letters in addition to being a rugged indivualist. To many of us, an old-school "give 'em what for" kind of guy who has made his bones and isn't at all interested in being PC and who says what he thinks is very appealing even if we don't always agree with him.

He's also a window onto a mode of belief about the individual and his relationship with the world and his responsibilities to civilization that are rather refreshingly old-fashioned. Yeah, he's opinionated and has views that are way off the PC track. So do my dad and uncles and most people of that generation. You take the good stuff and smile at the stubborn old coot stuff and have fun with it.

I am not a Jeff Cooper groupie although I have read most of what he has written, been to his school and talked to him in person a few times. But I always get a laugh out of the people on this board who complain about his arrogance. The whole time, I am thinking about their arrogance. Here is a guy that I am pretty sure has done more than 99% of us. Here is a guy that has spent more time shooting than 99% of us. Here is a guy who has hunted more animals in more countries than 99% of us. Here is a guy that didn't just write a few lines on the internet: he wrote books, magazine articles, and magazine columns and people hired him to do so and people paid to read it. Then someone on the internet has the arrogance to question his writing style, his choice of rifles, on and on and on. What is this based on ? How many that critize the scout rifle have ever owned one: how about ever shot one ? Those who complain about his wirting style, have you ever been paid to write ? How many books have you published ?

I don't agree with Barry Bond's batting stance. He though he has hit more home runs than anyone alive except one, his feet are too far apart and the angle of his head is all wrong.
Yeah: I know what I am talking about.