Quote

Remember the first rule of gunfighting ... have a gun.

Jeff Cooper

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Jeff Cooper
Age: 86 †
Born: 1920
Born: May 10
Died: 2006
Died: September 25
Author
Celebrity
Journalist
Military Officer
Sport Shooter
Writer
LA
California
First
Gun
Rule
Remember
Firsts

More quotes by Jeff Cooper

Image
The best personal defense is an explosive counterattack.
Jeff Cooper
Image
It seems evident that the basis for civil safety is homogeneity. A culture which is socially uniform is pretty well devoid of informal violence.
Jeff Cooper
Image
Your physical safety is up to you, as it really always has been.
Jeff Cooper
Image
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.
Jeff Cooper
Image
Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands.
Jeff Cooper
Image
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.
Jeff Cooper
Image
If you must use your hands, use them with all the strength you possess... If you choose to strike, by all means strike hard.
Jeff Cooper
Image
It has long been my conviction that a masked man with a gun is a target. I see no reason to change that view.
Jeff Cooper
Image
By doing what our assailant least expects us to do, we may throw him completely off. ... what he usually least suspects is instant, violent counterattack, so the principle of aggressiveness is closely tied to threat of surprise.
Jeff Cooper
Image
Let us remind ourselves again that the Second Amendment of the US Constitution should be referred to as the Statute of Liberty.
Jeff Cooper
Image
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.
Jeff Cooper
Image
Therefore, if you are attacked, retaliate instantly. Be sudden. Be quick. Speed is your salvation.
Jeff Cooper
Image
Use your eyes. Do not enter unfamiliar areas that you cannot observe first. Make it a practice to swing wide around corners, use window glass for rearward visibility, and get something solid behind you when you pause.
Jeff Cooper
Image
I have long had a tendency to tie marksmanship to morality. The essence of good marksmanship is self-control, and self-control is the essence of good citizenship. It is too easy to say that a good shot is automatically a good man, but it would be equally incorrect to ignore the connection.
Jeff Cooper
Image
Fight back! Whenever you are offered violence, fight back! The aggressor does not fear the law, so he must be taught to fear you. Whatever the risk, and at whatever the cost, fight back!
Jeff Cooper
Image
In all history the only bright rays cutting the gloom of oppression have come from men who would rather get hurt than give in.
Jeff Cooper
Image
A fine marksman is with a second rate rifle is far more effective than the reverse.
Jeff Cooper
Image
Anyone who willfully and maliciously attacks another without sufficient cause jeopardize the lives of others.
Jeff Cooper
Image
The criminal does not expect his prey to fight back. May he never choose you, but, if he does, surprise him.
Jeff Cooper
Image
'Heroism' is not the same as coping. A man who does his job properly and succeeds through his own efforts is definitely to be commended, but he is not a hero in the classic sense until he deliberately lays his life on the line for a cause he deems to be greater than himself.
Jeff Cooper