Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation

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

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“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

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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 …

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Excerpts from the Writings of Jeff Cooper – July 2025

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I am often criticized for not “sticking to my guns” and veering off into politics, sociology and history. That criticism may be valid, but the more I see of it the more I become convinced that history and conflict are synonymous. This seems to be inherent in the nature of man. According to Clausewitz, war is politics carried out by other means, and war, of course, is conducted with weapons, hence weaponry remains fascinating and completely a part of the human story. Whenever I read fiction I reflect that fiction writers are rarely properly grounded in weaponry, and this causes much of their fiction to fall flat. Certain notable exceptions were Rider Haggard, Stewart White and Ernest Hemingway. They may not have got their weaponry sorted out correctly every time, but at least they tried, and that is more than you can say about most current tellers of tales.

Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.2 No.3  March 1994

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The problem is that only enthusiasts shoot well. Not many public employees are enthusiasts. This lowers both standards and potential, and gamesmanship is no help.

Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.2, No.3  March 1994

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According to a news item in the AIM Report, Major Robert Hines, of the DC Park Police, maintains that Vincent Foster, who was found dead in the park, was in possession of a “38-caliber 1911 Colt army revolver.” Now there is a collector’s item for you!

Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol.2, No.3  March 1994

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According to the politically correct (for that read “Cravenly Intimidated”) it is now considered unsatisfactory to make a fuss over Christmas. Christmas, after all, is a celebration both elitist and …

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