Few men have made a greater impact on the way we shoot than Col. John Dean “Jeff” Cooper (1920-2006). If it just seems like common sense that you should not point a firearm at anything you would not like to shoot, you largely have the Colonel to thank for it. It’s hard to find someone more influential in self-defense than Cooper. Let’s explore some of Cooper’s most impactful quotes, review his greatest lessons, and provide a short overview of the pioneer’s life.
The Quotes of Jeff Cooper
“Buy ammunition! Remember that a man cannot have too many books, too many wines, or too much ammunition. Our adversaries on the other side are reaching for the excuse of lead poisoning. If they can push that idea through, you may wind up still owning your guns but without anything to shoot in them.”
“It appears that the murder rate inside prisons is ten times higher than that outside prisons. It must be due to all those Kalashnikov rifles that are issued to prisoners upon their incarceration.”
“The consensus is that no more than five to ten people in a hundred who die by gunfire in Los Angeles are any loss to society. These people fight small wars amongst themselves. It would seem a valid social service to keep them well-supplied with ammunition.”
“A smart man only believes half of what he hears, a wise man knows which half.”
Quotes on Self-Defense
“It is true that a victim who fights back may suffer for it, but one who does not almost certainly will suffer for it.”
“If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it. The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury. Therefore what he must be taught to fear is his victim.”
“If a felon attacks you and lives, he will reasonably conclude that he can do it again. By submitting to him, you not only imperil your own life, but you jeopardize the lives of others.”
“We continue to be exasperated by the view, apparently gaining momentum in certain circles, that armed robbery is okay as long as nobody gets hurt! The proper solution to armed robbery is a dead robber, on the scene.”
“The police cannot protect the citizen at this stage of our development, and they cannot even protect themselves in many cases. It is up to the private citizen to protect himself and his family, and this is not only acceptable, but mandatory.”
“Bushido is all very well in its way, but it is no match for a 30-06.”
Quotes on Training
“Owning a handgun doesn’t make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.”
“Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons. The possession of a good rifle, as well as the skill to use it well, truly makes a man the monarch of all he surveys.”
“Any man who is a man may not, in honor, submit to threats or violence. But many men who are not cowards are simply unprepared for the fact of human savagery.”
“Let us reflect upon the fact that a man who covers his face shows reason to be ashamed of what he is doing. A man who takes it upon himself to shed blood while concealing his identity is a revolting perversion of the warrior ethic.”
“Don’t try to be fancy. Shoot for the center of mass. The world is full of decent people. Criminals we can do without.”
“The 1911 pistol remains the service pistol of choice in the eyes of those who understand the problem. Back when we audited the FBI academy in 1947, I was told that I ought not to use my pistol in their training program because it was not fair. Maybe the first thing one should demand of his sidearm is that it be unfair.”
Quotes Related to the 2nd Amendment
“Pick up a rifle and you change instantly from a subject to a citizen.”
“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.”
“One cannot legislate the maniacs off the street… these maniacs can only be shut down by an armed citizenry. Indeed bad things can happen in nations where the citizenry is armed, but not as bad as those which seem to be threatening our disarmed citizenry in this country at this time.”
“Without [weapons], man is diminished, and his opportunities to fulfill his destiny are lessened. An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.”
“People who understand history, especially the history of government, do well to fear it. For a people to express openly their fear of those of us who are afraid of tyranny is alarming. Fear of the state is in no sense subversive. It is, to the contrary, the healthiest political philosophy for a free people.”
“[E]very able-bodied man has a duty under the Constitution to become part of the ‘well-regulated’ militia, specifically to understand and perform well with the individual weapon currently issued to the regular establishment. . . . Thus one who has not qualified himself with the M-16 may not be considered to be a responsible citizen.”
The Lessons of Jeff Cooper
Cooper taught the modern technique of the pistol, a complete method for practical self-defense with a handgun. Its five elements are:
● A large caliber pistol, preferably a semi-automatic
● The Weaver stance
● The draw stroke
● The flash sight picture
● The compressed surprise trigger break
Jeff Cooper’s Firearm Conditions
Cooper laid out the firearm conditions of readiness, which assigns the five states a weapon can be in:
● Condition 4: Chamber empty, empty magazine, hammer down
● Condition 3: Chamber empty, full magazine in place, hammer down
● Condition 2: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer down.
● Condition 1: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer cocked, safety on
● Condition 0: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer cocked, safety off
The Cooper Color Code
“Your mind-set is your primary weapon”
The Cooper color code lays out the four mindsets in which a shooter can enter any given self-defense situation:
● White: You’re unprepared and unready to take lethal action. If you are attacked in White you will probably die unless your adversary is totally inept.
● Yellow: You bring yourself to the understanding that your life may be in danger and that you may have to do something about it.
● Orange: You determined a specific adversary and are prepared to take action which may result in his death, but you are not in a lethal mode.
● Red: You’re in a lethal mode and will shoot if circumstances warrant.
“If you find yourself under lethal attack don’t be kind. Be harsh. Be tough. Be ruthless.”
Cooper was also a preeminent advocate for the four basic rules of gun safety, unquestionably the most important lesson to learn before you pick up a firearm:
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 until 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 Life of Jeff Cooper
Cooper was born in Los Angeles in 1920, back when the city was still habitable. He joined the JROTC during high school and went on to become a Marine at the age of 21. He spent WWII in the Pacific theatre aboard the USS Pennsylvania, and continued his service into the Korean War. The USMC promoted Cooper to lieutenant colonel by the time he left active duty. Cooper went on to earn his master’s degree in history from University of California, and taught the subject at high school and college levels through the early 70s. (We would imagine that kids seldom acted out during his classes.) Cooper also traveled the world at this time to instruct the security details for heads of state and other prominent figures.
In 1976, Cooper founded the American Pistol Institute (now known as the Gunsite Academy) in Paulden, Arizona so that he could reach a wider audience. Few people could say that they instructed both King Abdullah of Jordan and Tom Selleck, and indeed Cooper alone may have been able to claim that distinction. Cooper was also a prodigious writer. He wrote much about about self-defense with a firearm, naturally, but also shared his experiences at war and big-game hunting, as well as many opinions that raised the eyebrows of left-leaning America. He coined the term “hoplophobia.” He described it as “a mental aberration consisting of an unreasoning terror of gadgetry, specifically, weapons.”
As far as his personal life, the Colonel married his wife Janelle and stayed with her for 64 years. Together, they raised three daughters.
Cooper sold Gunsite in 1989, but continued to live on its ranch until his passing in 2006. Cooper was interred at his beloved desert ranch to three volleys fired by Marines. Moments later, 90 of his students and fellow instructors let loose a deafening roar, firing on four separate ranges at once.
We’ll remember Jeff Cooper’s quotes and lessons in the shooting community forever. But it’s clear the man was much more than just a quick, clever quip.
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