Quote

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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Jeff Cooper
Age: 86 †
Born: 1920
Born: May 10
Died: 2006
Died: September 25
Author
Celebrity
Journalist
Military Officer
Sport Shooter
Writer
LA
California
Anyone
Carefully
Action
Appears
Triggered
Seems
Explanation
Watchfulness
Doe
Appropriate
Geared
Take
Appearance
Defensive
Must
Behavior
Explained
Whose
Observing
Ready
Satisfy

More quotes by Jeff Cooper

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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.
Jeff Cooper
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Beware the man with one gun. He can probably use it.
Jeff Cooper
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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
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When under attack, it is necessary to evaluate the situation and to decide instantly upon a proper course of action, to be carried out immediately with all the force you can bring to bear. He who hesitates is indeed lost. Do not soliloquize. Do not delay. Be decisive.
Jeff Cooper
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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
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An armed man, especially if he is armed with a firearm, is dangerous as long as he is conscious. Take no chances. Put him out.
Jeff Cooper
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Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands.
Jeff Cooper
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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.
Jeff Cooper
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If a felon attacks you and lives, he will reasonably conclude that he can do it again. By submitting to him, you not only imperil your own life, but you jeopardize the lives of others.
Jeff Cooper
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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.
Jeff Cooper
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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.
Jeff Cooper
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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
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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.
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.
Jeff Cooper
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The criminal does not expect his prey to fight back. May he never choose you, but, if he does, surprise him.
Jeff Cooper
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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
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Remember the first rule of gunfighting ... have a gun.
Jeff Cooper
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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.
Jeff Cooper
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A fine marksman is with a second rate rifle is far more effective than the reverse.
Jeff Cooper
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According to Herodotus, the ancient Persians felt that what was necessary in the background of a young man entering adulthood was his ability to ride, shoot straight, and speak the truth. Perhaps we should now grant our college degrees to young men who measure up to that standard.
Jeff Cooper