The Latest from Jeff Cooper

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Rich Lucibella

Staff
Many apologies to all here. This was a lengthy and lively topic about Cooper's words on safeties. Much pro and con as to the Colonel there. I've just returned from a 7 hour plane flight and responded. Then I attempted to edit my comments and by a delete/repost....I deleted the entire thread. Color me quite embarassed and apologetic to all the contributors, including the Cooper bashers.

Nothing in this thread warranted deletion; the action was inadvertent and unfortunate. Feel free to repost or resume here.
Rich
 
Mike-
I spent two weeks with him in Africa last year. Funny, he didn't mention you at all. At least, in your "meeting", he left an impression. ;)

Seriously, you surprise me. Making such pronouncements about a man you don't know, while holding back on the details that led to such a definitive diagnosis, is hardly your style. Try again?

This kind of bashing of strong public personalities always seems to fit a pattern: it occurs at the end of their lives. I wonder: is that because they all go crazy in the end (as you suggest with Jeff Cooper), or because such bashing of good men is in vogue in what Jeff would call "The Age of the Common Man"?
Perhaps it's because such persons are most unlikely to rebut, given their age?
Rich
 
Having read much of the Colonel's stuff over the years I guess my opinion would be while he wasn't always conventional in his thinking, ya had to respect the man. He did know his stuff. I didn't always agree with him on everything. I used what I felt would benefit me and anything that I didn't feel was relevent,(SP?) I just left alone. But I think that for me it was like that with most all the stuff I read from all the knowledgeable experts of the day. (Jordan, Skeleton, Ayoob, Gaylord, etc.) Even now I take a lot of stuff I read with a grain of salt. Use what ya can and discard the rest is my motto. Just my 2 cents worth on the subject.
 
Mike - I believe Rich is asking, as am I out of curiosity, why and how you came to the conclusion you did regarding Cooper's state of mental health.

Was it something he said, his demeanor? Did he use the pronoun "we" in a first person sense and you got the feeling he meant it? What?
 
I had the great distinction of being the chairman for a "Friends of the NRA" dinner/banquet several years ago.

Guest of honor was Jeff Cooper.

Most everyone was there because of him, I believe.

His beloved spouse, Jenelle, seemed to "be in charge"; we should all be graced in our lifetime with such a spectacular life-time partner as his charming wife.

He paid his own way, despite being the guest of honor.

My life is enriched beyond description for this selfless act in pursuit of our cause.

Say what you will; I do not agree with everything he has to say, but he is "of the blood".

'Nuff said.
 
"of the blood"

Arizona I believe there are many among us who never credit people with what they have contributed or what experience they bring to the table. They seek to emphasize the negative, no matter how slight; Instead of the positive, no matter how great. They seem to enjoy and revel in bringing down anybody who is recognized as an expert or authority as if it takes something away from them.....acting as though it is a zero sum game. I believe this began in earnest in the sixties (if not before) and it gets worse with every generation. Polls show this phenomena continues to occur affecting members of our society from judges on the Supreme Court, doctors, school teachers,etc. .......as well as just plain honest hard working individuals. Why should we be surprised when it comes to the likes of Jeff Cooper, Elmer Keith, etc? I suppose it's a sign of the times. As if recognizing someone else's accomplishments somehow deminish their own. Jealousy? Perhaps! Envy? Perhaps. A phenomena none the less.

Tis a sad state of affairs when those who have paved the way and contributed so much are not recognized for what they have done instead of emphasizing their possible short comings. I don't ever recall reading that Jeff Cooper professed being qualified to instruct in a school of journalism so why would I attack his writting skills. I prefer to credit him with his accomplishments in the area of firearms.

I can't help believing that all firearms enthusiasts are better off today because of many (including Jeff Cooper) who went before us. They have plenty of critics without me joining in and after all I believe, as you have pointed out, "he is ""of the blood"".

PigPen
 
One thing about these Jeff Cooper threads...

They always spark a lot of replies! ;)

Praise to Jeff Cooper, LTC, ret'd. Long may he reign as the king of the Modern Pistol Technique, architect of Scout Rifle concept, gun author, and curmudgeon!!
 
I had the honor of meeting Col. Cooper at Gunsite last year. He struck me as being anything but a 'nutcase'. He did appear however to lack patience with fools and foolishness.
 
I don't think it's so much Cooper himself as it is the Cooper Groupies. I resent it when people justify statements with, "because Col. Cooper said so." That's simply not a good enough reason to adopt any idea or object.

It's similar to the situation with John M Browning in that quite a few folks think that if JMB didn't design it, it's worthless, even though we know better. Now, I can't think of a JMB design that I particularly dislike, but there are tons of weapons out there that are excellent and not designed by JMB.
 
Destructo-
I agree with you in principle, but not in fact. I've not heard anyone voice the sentiment you reference. I do hear people quote Jeff in an effort to emphasize a point; I hear them paraphrase him in order to buttress an argument. But that's about it. We've done the same with TFL's Guardian Angel, Gale McMillan....and that's appropriate. However, no one who admires Jeff Cooper could possibly miss Jeff's emphasis and insistence on individual analysis of the problem at hand.

So when you take issue with Cooper's occasional hyperbole, you do your argument no justice by claiming that his readers simply regurgitate his words without independent thought. In that moment, you lapse into the very same hyperbole you so "resent".
Rich
 
It seems that we can always count on some folks to attack Jeff Cooper. I suppose it simply proves that the rabble can forgive anything, except excellence.

Rosco
 
I agree with Pig Pen. To keep it simple:

What did Cooper accomplish for shooters and hunters?

What did his critics accomplish for shooters and hunters?

Just make your own math.

To be a shooter/hunter doesn't mean that you have to switch off your brain.
 
I think that Col. Cooper's opinion regarding the importance of mindset in a gunfight is more consequential, for example, than anything that the well known "Hobbycop" ever wrote.

The one thing that Col. Cooper (and maybe Rich, also) does that I just don't relate to is shoot large animals in Africa. To me, shooting a zebra would be about like shooting Mr. Ed.

I also don't have much use for the scout rifle concept, but respect the input that Col. Cooper had with Steyr in their scout's design.
 
Well I can see a zebra hide on my wall.. but a morgan's pelt would just look silly.

I think Col. Cooper was just full of it on the scout rifle, at the price that it shipped at anyway.

And ifd the Good Colonel wants to change his mind about grip safeties after 80 years.. well fine.. just don't EVER expect him to say.. "It occured to me the other day that I have been wrong all these years" or "In the twilight of our days we have forund ourselves wrong.."

Ain't gonna happen. I like the Col. I really do. But i also reserve the right to disagree with him.
 
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