Excerpts from the Writings of Jeff Cooper – August 2025
Our friend and colleague Wiley Clapp recently did a number on the Beretta pistol, now general issue in our armed services. His piece was both accurate and honest, and he told it like he saw it. The truth, however, is only coincidentally prized in the marketplace, where sales figures are equated with virtue. The Beretta people were much annoyed by Wiley’s piece and threatened commercial malice to the publication which was releasing the article. This is unfortunate, but unavoidable. Manufacturers regard periodicals as advertising vehicles, pure and simple. Most of them do not realize that the public sometimes catches on, and that there are a few journalists to whom the truth is still important. I understand that truth is “relative” in academia, and it is clear that truth is irrelevant at the marketplace – and it matters hardly at all to a politician. “To ride, shoot straight and speak the truth” were the classical personal attributes of a man. To ride is no longer a measure. To shoot straight ought to be, but seldom is. However, those who care can still make a maximum effort both to speak, and seek, the truth. Hardly anything else really matters.
Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.10 No.8 July 2002
“The main weapon that terrorists use against the West is not bombs or guns, but moral obfuscation.”
Netanyahu
Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.10, No.8 July 2002
We certainly hand out a lot of argument and confusion on the subject of “education,” but nobody seems to know just what it is. Is education the answer to 2+2=? Is it knowing the difference between a mammal and a reptile? Is it knowing how to run for office? Or is it owning some kind of certificate or diploma to tack your name onto? Certainly it seems that today a college degree is no more than a job ticket, and not a too reliable one at that. Looking back over all those years it does seem to me that a high school diploma in 1935 signified a good deal more in the way of “education” than a Ph.D. does today. Time passes, of course, and times change, but if we are called upon to spend money on education it would be nice to know what it is we mean to spend money on. Personally I do not think that education can be quantified. Some people are just brighter than others, all the way through the game. Taxpayers’ money may be of some help, but it does not seem to improve dumb kids much. According to recent widely publicized tests, American kids are conspicuously dumber than those in other First World countries. (What is called the Third World does not seem to count.)
It used to be said that one was “educated” at a given institution. My father was sent a letter from Mrs. Stanford explaining that he was the young man Mrs. Stanford desired to be “educated at the Stanford University.” Apparently what happened before or after his attendance at Stanford was not pertinent.
Well, we now have a United States Department of Education. I imagine those people know what they mean by the word, but if so they are not making themselves clear about it.
Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.10, No.8 July 2002
Those involved in competition should remember that the start signal should always be visual rather than audible. In the real world, you start because of what you see, not because of what you hear.
Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.4, No.3 February 1996
We happen upon two somewhat different conclusions from our friends down there in Iraq. On the one hand, our selected riflemen are scoring very well, sometimes at long range but mainly at inner city distances. On the other, we are bedeviled by reports that the people we send over there are basically unfamiliar with rifle shooting. This may be so, and if so it may be attributed to the increasing urbanization of our culture, in which there are large numbers of young men who have never touched a weapon of any kind (possibly excepting a baseball bat) prior to putting on a soldier suit. This may be a reflection of the “Nanny state,” in which a large proportion of young men have no fathers. Even if there is a man around the house, he is usually not a father figure. If he does not know anything about firearms, he is unlikely to have anything useful to hand on to his sons. This need not always be the case, of course, since my own father, who was expert in many things from viticulture to epic poetry, never owned a gun of his own and had to be educated by his sons.
Be that as it may, a great many old-fashioned American fathers have come to us for schooling at Gunsite. When we salute the flag, as we do here at Gunsite, we reflect that this country remains the last great hope of liberty, and that there is still enough personal dignity to leave an impression upon the youth. As a group Americans fight well, as the jihadis will learn as they pursue the jihad.
Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.12, No.10 September 2004
Family member Frederick Astaire contributes this selection from the Tonopah Miner of 22 April 1905 concerning the “Wild West.”
“A remarkable feature of the new town of Rhyolite is that there is no constable. None is apparently needed. This state of affairs is explained by the fact that every citizen believes that every other citizen carries a gun and as a result a perfect order prevails.”
Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.12, No.10 September 2004
We invite all members of the family to note the retirement of Larry Mudgett, one of the distinguished pistoleros of the age. Larry’s outstanding service was with the Los Angeles Police Department, and he not only shot expertly in competition, but also in various street fights. Among other things, Larry was the first man to employ the Harries firing stance in action in full dark, achieving a one-shot stop in a restricted sector. He was also awarded the Medal of Valor for rescuing a wounded comrade under fire. We need more like him, but I fear we will not find many.
Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.12 No.10 September 2004
We note that Gerhard Blenk is now offering African-style double rifles from his base location at Ifni in Germany. Herr Blaser is the designer of the ultimate trigger action, as demonstrated in his R93. We have confidence in his ingenuity.
Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.12, No.10 September 2004