My son, Shawn with Col. Cooper to the immediate right at the Whittington Center.
Posted on 09/26/2006 11:19:54 AM PDT by neverdem
World-renowned firearms expert Jeff Cooper, founder of the Gunsite firearms training center in Paulden, died Monday afternoon at his home near the training center.
Cooper, 86, had been battling several health problems in recent years.
The family plans a private burial ceremony and will announce a memorial ceremony at the National Rifle Association Whittington Center in New Mexico in the near future.
Cooper had been a member of the NRA Board of Directors.
Born on May 20, 1920, in Los Angeles, as John Dean Cooper, Cooper who always went by "Jeff," earned a master's degree in history and taught history.
He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II as well as in Southeast Asia and Korea.
In the 1960s, he organized a group called the Bear Valley Gunslingers and the Southwest Combat League. During the organizations' shooting competitions at Big Bear, he formulated the Modern Technique of combat handgun shooting which incorporates a large-caliber semi-automatic pistol, a two handed Weaver stance, breath control and a surprise trigger break.
In 1976, he founded the American Pistol Institute, or Gunsite, at Paulden to teach those pistol techniques and later added a full curriculum on pistols, rifles and shotguns.
Since then, more than 18,000 students, including celebrities like Tom Selleck, law enforcement officers, military members from many nations and many civilians have graduated from courses there.
Cooper sold the operation in 1992 and dissociated himself from the new owners but continued to live on the land in a home he called The Sconce. He became involved with the center again in 1999 when it changed ownership.
He was a frequent sight on the grounds clad in green military fatigues and riding around the sprawling property on a three-wheeled all-terrain vehicle.
Known in firearms circles as "The Gunner's Guru," Cooper taught about firearms in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, South Africa and Rhodesia. Many have called him the world's foremost expert on small arms (rifles, pistols and shotguns).
He was editor at large of Guns & Ammo Magazine and a prolific writer on firearms.
His books include "The Art of the Rifle," "Another Country," Sports Car Annual," "Fireworks," "To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth," "C Stories" and "Gunsite Gossip," Volumes I and II as well as the many articles he wrote for Guns & Ammo Magazine.
He also produced "Cooper's Commentaries," a series of monthly essays on the Internet.
In his writings, Cooper coined the term "hoplophobia" to denote the irrational fear of weapons.
He hunted big game all over the world and especially loved Africa. He also was an avid sports car enthusiast.
Cooper received the American Handgunner Award in 1995 and the St. Gabriel Possenti Award. St. Gabriel is the patron saint of shooters.
Surviving are his widow, Janelle Cooper; three daughters, Christy, Mrs. Chick Hastings of Prescott, Parry, Mrs. Bruce Health of Denver, Colo., and Lindy, Mrs. Joe Wisdom of Tempe, as well as five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
cooper bump
My son, Shawn with Col. Cooper to the immediate right at the Whittington Center.
Thanks for sharing the pic.
I have another if you want it. It's during one of his class sessions.
As I remember, he made several scouts. The most interesting one was a Remington Model 600 in 350 Remington Cal that he called the Fireplug.
(Someone will correct me if I'm wrong)
I don't have any trouble with the scout rifle concept, but I don't like the Steyr, because as I remember it, the receiver of the rifle is cast out of the same piece of metal as the barrel.
That means, if something happens to the bbl, like a plug of dirt in the end that is fired, the steyr is pretty much trashed.
I haven't read G&A for at least 10 years. Did he ever end up with the perfect scout rifle? I was going to ask earlier but I could remember what he called the darned thing.
I haven't read G&A for at least 10 years. Did he ever end up with the perfect scout rifle? I was going to ask earlier but I could remember what he called the darned thing.
I don't know if he found the "perfect" scout, but he felt like the Steyr Scout was as close as it got in a production scout rifle.
I kind of wish I had bought one of those Savage Scout rifles they sold three or four years ago. It was plain, but it fit the scout concept very well.
I think Cooper thought the 308 was the best compromise for a scout rifle caliber, and that's what the Savage...and the Steyr, are chambered in.
Cowboy devolve!!
Quixdraw strikes again
And the TV shudders in dread!!
Amusing indeed. Thanks for the visual. :-))
BTW: What was the Colonel's advice?
I well remember the "one handed stance" in military pistol training in the 1960s-I thought it was useless then (especially with a .45) and was delighted when the military started training using Cooper's now common sense two-handed point and shoot method for control.
There is no doubt in my mind that Cooper's advocacy and teachings saved thousands of LEO, military and citizen's lives over the years,
R.I.P. Jeff.
I have read Jeff Cooper's writings for over 10 years and witnessed his single-minded pursuit (in Coopers' Commentaries) of a lightweight rifle represented by the 7 lb. Steyr Scout released to production in 1998. I have just purchased that rifle (.308 used) and will always treasure it -- as I did the man who so supported the art and science of serious shooting.
May his legacy live on and may Americans (especially Freepers) come to appreciate what he was trying to tell us for so many years: it's the shooter, not the weapon, that determines the outcome.
Jeff Cooper Steyr Scout rifle info
http://www.remtek.com/steyr/scout/scout.htm
Steyr Scout Aficionado Site
http://www.steyrscout.org/project.htm
We also owe a great debt of gratitude to whoever taught the gangbangers to hold their guns sideways.
Since then, more than 18,000 students, including celebrities like Tom Selleck, law enforcement officers, military members from many nations and many civilians have graduated from courses there.
I was surprised in one of Selleck's Jesse Stone movies to see him execute a correct tactical reload and credited it to the technical advisor, but sounds like that might have actually been a Selleck touch. It's just not something you see done on television.
He was a hold out from an earlier less hysterical (as regards guns) era. Sorry to see him pass from the scene although at 86 the odds start to catch up with you.
That was the first thing I read in each issue.
RIP Colonel.
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