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Not long ago it was easy to tell who the bad guys were. They carried Kalashnikovs. Now it is much more complicated, but one thing is sure - any man who covers his face and packs a gun is a legitimate target for any decent citizen.

Jeff Cooper

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Jeff Cooper
Age: 86 †
Born: 1920
Born: May 10
Died: 2006
Died: September 25
Author
Celebrity
Journalist
Military Officer
Sport Shooter
Writer
LA
California
Long
Guy
Citizen
Men
Sure
Carried
Face
Target
Faces
Decent
Easy
Gun
Kalashnikov
Tell
Complicated
Covers
Thing
Guys
Packs
Much
Citizens
Legitimate

More quotes by Jeff Cooper

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Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands.
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It seems evident that the basis for civil safety is homogeneity. A culture which is socially uniform is pretty well devoid of informal violence.
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At long last I have discovered that most shooters are not interested in firearms as tools, but rather as toys. Such people do not acquire their weapons because of what they will do, but rather to gratify the Christmas morning joy that we largely left behind in our childhood.
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Anger, as long as it is controlled anger, is no obstacle to efficiency. Self-control is one thing the sociopath does not usually possess. Use yours to his undoing.
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On the very instant that we know that our assailant intends us serious physical harm, we must work just as fast as we can.
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The perfect fight is one that is over before the loser really understands what is going on. The perfect defense is a counterattack that succeeds before the assailant discovers that he has bitten off more than he can chew.
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We thought everybody knew by now that barrel length has almost nothing to do with accuracy. I believe the myth of the superior accuracy of a long rifle dates from colonial days, when the only way to extend sight radius was to make the barrel as long as possible. It is interesting how long it takes a myth to die.
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If it is ever your misfortune to be attacked, alertness will have given you a little warning, decisiveness will have given you a proper course to pursue, and if that course is to counterattack, carry it out with everything you've got! Be indignant. Be angry. Be aggressive.
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Without the institution of slavery, civilization would never have been achieved, for no one could ever have done anything intellectual if he had to spend all his time hewing and digging and fighting.
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Anyone who appears to be triggered out of watchfulness and into action by your appearance must be explained. Anyone observing you carefully must be explained. Anyone whose behavior seems to be geared to yours must be explained. If the explanation does not satisfy you, be ready to take appropriate defensive action.
Jeff Cooper
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Anyone who willfully and maliciously attacks another without sufficient cause jeopardize the lives of others.
Jeff Cooper
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Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons.... Pick up a rifle - a really good rifle - and if you know how to use it well, you change instantly from a mouse to a man, from a peon to a caballero, and - most significantly - from a subject to a citizen.
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The best personal defense is an explosive counterattack.
Jeff Cooper
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The one who anticipates the action wins. The one who does not, loses.
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If I wasn't a trader, I would probably be in the film business in some capacity and writing in some other form. I went to NYU Film School and London Film School.
Jeff Cooper
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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.
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In all history the only bright rays cutting the gloom of oppression have come from men who would rather get hurt than give in.
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Don't try to be fancy. Shoot for the center of mass. The world is full of decent people. Criminals we can do without.
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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.
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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