Gonna Go Out on a Limb....

[Werewolf]

After having been a member of and reading most of the posts made here in the past 6 or so months one thing became obvious:

I needed to get a hold of and read the "Commentaries" of Jeff Cooper who was obviously a local icon.

So I did. And I've read '93 and am most of the way thru 94. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the commentaries all the way to present day - well almost anyway.

The man's thoughts are cogent and his style is vaguely reminescent of that of Robert Heinlein. I agree with about 90% of what Mr. Cooper has to say. His topics are an interesting and mostly enjoyable read.

BUT!

WHAT THE HECK IS THE DEAL WITH THE CONSTANT USE OF 1ST PERSON PLURAL when he refers to himself. Is it just us or is anyone else annoyed by that? It's so freaking annoying to us that as much as we enjoy the thought behind the tale that one little idiosyncracity makes us wanna rip the words right out of the page. We mean - who in the hell except some pretentious French aristocrat refers to themselves using 1st person plural. We are annoyed.

[dons flame retardant suit - grabs scout rifle and ducks and rolls behind nearest cover]

 

[Preacherman]

It's actually perfectly correct English to use the editorial "we". Unfortunately, today's English usage is a lot less correct than it used to be, and Jeff Cooper's adherence to correct language and style seems anachronistic to those who aren't used to it. Personally, I (I mean, we) love it!

 

[Dave R]

Its just a component of Cooper's style. Technically correct. Seldom used elsewhere. Maybe an example of when times were better?

 

[Eskimo Jim]

Maybe he actually confers with other people before he publishes one of his commenteries. I don't know.

I think that in some circumstances, the "we" means the entire shooting sports community.

Regardless of the gramatical circumstances, I like his commenteries very much. They are typically short and to the point. They are also very honest which is rare in today's writings.

The only thing that I find annoying is his constant plugging of the Scout rifle, it's 'in production'/'out of production' situation etc. I find it very repetitive to hear about the scout rifle at least once in his column.

He is no doubt a knowledgable man and I'll benefit from learning as much as I can from his writings.

-Jim

 

[BigG]

We are not amused. /Queen of Hearts

 

[DigMe]

Maybe he's a big Golem fan.

brad cook

 

[0007]

Call Gunsite in AZ. Order copy of Gargantuan Gunsite # 1 and 2. Have it autographed. The cartoons in the bookls are worth the cost. When you finished those you might start on his other books. They are all in print except for the first one. All good reads.

 

[swingset]

We don't like Jeff Cooper, because we think his hamfisted writing is annoying. That and we don't think much of scout rifles either.

We're sorry.

 

[Old Fuff]

Know the man ....

Like him very much, and agree with much (but not all) of his thinking. And yes, sometimes he changes hs mind on certain subjects over time.

The trouble with Jeff is that he was educated at a time when the schools taught english. It's not his fault that more recently educated(?) folks don't know the fine points of the language. Schools changed. Jeff didn't, and won't.

 

[sturmruger]

Where exactly are you reading all of these "Commentaries" are they online or is it in book form???

 

[entropy]

Cooper commentaries

Cooper's Corner on the back page of G&A. I disagree with his use of the editorial 'we' (After all, there's a reason it's called the "editorial" we. I recall a College English Prof. quoting, IIRC, Mark Twain: "Only, Kings, Editors, and people with tapeworms can use the 'editorial we' ." One can only infer from this that Col. Cooper should see a doctor about his parasite problem.
I do agree with a lot of his comments, he has some good original ones:
Feminazis, hoplophobes, copchick,etc... I relish the occasional recants he publishes, he doesn't eat crow much, but he must surely choke on it when he does....

 

[larry_minn]

It is his style. When you have done half as much as he has done you can find your own style. Anyone remember Hector? (mainly on GT)
You should learn to respect your elders. Even if you don't always agree with them the fact they lived this long means they SHOULD have learned something. (unless Democrats) (couldn't resist) Take what you can use and discard the rest. I tried the 1911 and it is not for me. So what? I don't care for Scout Rifle for my uses. Again so what? I would love to have had chances to talk with him 10 yrs ago. I know I would have learned a lot.

 

[Skofnung]

I for one, love his writing. I have read most of his work, and I agree with him (them?) about 80-95% of the time.

He is an elitist, and that rubs me the wrong way at times, but the more I think about it and the more I observe my fellow man, the more I think he may be on to something in that regard. Also, "proper English" is, at least to my mind, akin to "purebred mutt."

I would very much like to meet him. He has done much for the shooting community and he has put eloquently into writing certain things that I feel to be true. From what I have read, both from his writings and the writings of others, he seems to be a good example of the Warrior-Philosopher. The world could use a few more of his ilk.

 

[Werewolf]

SturmRuger queried:

Where exactly are you reading all of these "Commentaries" are they online or is it in book form???

I downloaded them in PDF format from a site in the UK. Unfortunately a search of my browser's history reveals that the visit to that site occured sometime long enough ago that it has fallen out of the que.

Maybe someone else has a link to get them from.

 

[PATH]

Regardless of style he writes well. You may not agree with what he writes but it is good reading none the less.

 

[yayarx7]

http://www.dvc.org.uk/~johnny/jeff/

Here you go.

(Google works.)

 

[George Hill]

http://users2.ev1.net/~mkreynolds/jeff/

 

[The Tourist]

I think the truly famous reach a point in their lives when they go by their first names only. Like 'Cher,' or 'Madonna.' You don't even have to say the name in context for me. Just say 'Cooper,' and I know you're not talking about a barrel maker.

To that end, some elasticity should be granted. The editors of some gun magazines said that Elmer Keith used no puncuation; he just started typing at the beginning, and then stopped at the end. He also 'created' his own spelling.

But these two gentlemen together know almost the entire history of modern and 19th century weapons and their use. If they have foibles, well, they've earned the right to them.

I never got to meet Elmer Keith. He was very sick as I started to write to him. In fact, his wife read his correspondence to him at the care center in his final days.

I don't want to make the same mistake with Co. Cooper, and I advise everyone else to sign up for a class, as well.