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Jeff Cooper (colonel)

Jeff Cooper (colonel):Colonel Jeff Cooper
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Colonel Jeff Cooper

John Dean "Jeff" Cooper (10 May 1920 - 25 September 2006) was recognized as the father of what is commonly known as "The Modern Technique" of handgun shooting, and was considered by many to be the world's foremost expert on the use and history of small arms.

Born John Dean Cooper, but known to his friends as "Jeff", Cooper was a former Marine Lt. Colonel who served in World War II and in Southeast Asia during the Korean War. He received a bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford University and, in the mid-1960s, a master's degree in history from the University of California, Riverside. In addition to his expertise in firearms, he was a history instructor, philosopher, adventurer, and author. He was also known as "the Gunner's Guru."

In 1976, Cooper founded the American Pistol Institute (API, later "Gunsite" when Cooper began teaching shotgun and rifle classes) in Paulden, Arizona to train law enforcement and military personnel, as well as law-abiding civilians. He sold the firm in 1989 but continued living on the ranch. He was well-known for his cogent and thoroughly-researched advocacy of large caliber handguns for personal defense, especially the 1911 Colt.

Cooper died peacefully at his home on the afternoon of Monday, September 25, 2006. [1]


Contents

The Modern Technique

Cooper's modern technique defines pragmatic use of the pistol for personal protection. The modern technique emphasizes two-handed shooting using the Weaver stance, replacing the once-prevalent one-handed shooting. The five elements of the modern technique are:

Cooper favored the Colt M1911 and its variants. There are several conditions of readiness in which such a weapon can be carried. Cooper promulgated the following terms:

Some of these configurations are safer than others (for instance, a single action pistol without a firing pin safety ought never be carried in Condition 2) while others are quicker to access (condition 1). In the interest of consistent training, most agencies that issue the 1911 specify the condition in which it is to be carried as a matter of local doctrine.

Combat Mindset - The Cooper Color Code

The most important means of surviving a lethal confrontation is, according to Cooper, neither the weapon nor the martial skills. The primary tool is the combat mindset, set forth in Principles of Personal Defense.

In the chapter on awareness, Cooper presents an adaptation of the Marine Corps system to differentiate states of readiness:

The U.S.M.C. also uses "Condition Black" as actively engaged in combat, as do some of his successors, but Cooper always felt this is an unnecessary step and not in keeping with the mindset definitions.

Also note that the Color Code was never meant to be a warning system. Rather, the Color Code was designed to be a mental crutch. It was designed to allow someone to "get over" the resistance that a normal person has in pointing a pistol at the center of someone's chest and pulling the trigger.

In short, the Color Code helps you "think" in a fight. As the level of danger increases, your resistance to shoot decreases. If you ever do go to Condition Red, the decision to use lethal force has already been made (your "mental trigger" has been tripped).

Firearms safety

Cooper advocated four basic rules of gun safety [2]:

1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.

2. 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.)

3. 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.

4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

The Queen of personal weapons

Cooper is best known for his revolutionary work in pistol training, but he favored the rifle for serious work.

"Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons."
"The rifle is a weapon. Let there be no mistake about that. It is a tool of power, and thus dependent completely upon the moral stature of its user. It is equally useful in securing meat for the table, destroying group enemies on the battlefield, and resisting tyranny. In fact, it is the only means of resisting tyranny, since a citizenry armed with rifles simply cannot be tyrannized."
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
—Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle

In the early 1980s, Cooper published an article describing his ideal of a general-purpose rifle, which he dubbed a Scout rifle. In the late 1997, Steyr-Mannlicher produced a rifle to his "Scout" specifications, with Cooper's oversight during the engineering & manufacturing process. While not a sales success, Cooper considered the Steyr Scout "perfect" and often made the point that "I've got mine!"

Other contributions

In the 1960s, he coined the term hoplophobia, an irrational fear of 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 (1998); and C Stories (2004). His daughter Lindy Wisdom published a biography, Jeff Cooper: the Soul and the Spirit (1996).

Cooper was also the world's foremost authority on big game hunting with the pistol. In 1965's "Complete Book of Shooting", he listed the five top pistol trophies as: European wild boar (Eurasia), Roosevelt elk (North America), jaguar (South America), saltwater crocodile (Australia-Oceania), and the gorilla (Africa). Of the last he says, "Skipping the giants and the traditional, I'll choose the gorilla. ... If you threaten his group he will charge, and a charging gorilla is a fearful spectacle. To stand your ground with a handgun and flatten him at 15 feet is man's work."

A complete bibliography of his writings beginning in 1947 is available atThe Jeff Cooper Bibliography Project

He was also the Founding President and Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the International Practical Shooting Confederation.

Categories


1920 births | 2006 deaths | American people | American World War II veterans | Cause of death missing | Gun politics | Korean War veterans | United States Marine Corps officers

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