Jeff Cooper
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Jeff Cooper (10 May 1920 - ) is recognized as the father of what is commonly referred to as "The Modern Techniques of Shooting". Born John Dean Cooper, but known to his friends as "Jeff", Cooper is a former Marine Lt. Colonel who served in World War II and Korea. In addition to his experise in firearms, he is also a history professor, philosopher, adventurer and author.
Modern shooting techniques
Cooper's emphasis in the "modern technique" of shooting, or practical shooting, is the use of firearms in their intended roles as tools for personal protection and hunting rather than just instruments of recreation. ibid. (http://home.sprynet.com/~frfrog/cooper.htm)
- 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 (as cited at [1] (http://www.cybersurf.co.uk/johnny/dunblane/))
Cooper's pistol technique emphasizes two-handed shooting using the Weaver stance. Prior to this, one-handed shooting was the common practice. Cooper also developed a system of readiness stances for the Colt 1911 automatic pistol and similar models. Cooper writes of these techniques and general philosophies on self defense in a number of books.
Other contributions
In the early 1980s, Cooper published an article describing his ideal of a general-purpose rifle, which he dubbed a Scout rifle. He also coined the term hoplophobia, an irrational fear of firearms and formulated the four basic rules of gun safety widely used today. In addition to his books on firearms and self defense, Cooper has written several books recounting his life adventures.