Jeff Cooper Quotes

Quotes about:

• 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

  Men, Gun, Evil

  1687 Copy quote

• If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it. The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury. Therefore what he must be taught to fear is his victim.

  Jeff Cooper

  Judging, Police, Doe

  Jeff Cooper (2006). “Principles of Personal Defense: Revised Edition”, p.44, Paladin Press

  404 Copy quote

• An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.

  Jeff Cooper

  Military, Men, Gun

  247 Copy quote

• That is why our masters in Washington are so anxious to disarm us. They are not afraid of criminals. They are afraid of a populace which cannot be subdued by tyrants.

  Jeff Cooper

  Gun, Tyrants, Criminals

  "Jeff Cooper's Commentaries", Vol. 2, No. 5, May 1994.

  165 Copy quote

• Blessed are those who, in the face of death, think only about the front sight.

  Jeff Cooper

  Blessed, Thinking, Sight

  192 Copy quote

• The police cannot protect the citizen at this stage of our development, and they cannot even protect themselves in many cases. It is up to the private citizen to protect himself and his family, and this is not only acceptable, but mandatory.

  Jeff Cooper

  Family, Gun, Police

  211 Copy quote

• 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

  Fighting, Law, Risk

  210 Copy quote

• Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.

  Jeff Cooper

  Inspirational, Guitar, Owning A Home

  235 Copy quote

• Political correctness is neither political nor is it correct. It amounts to social censorship, and the sooner we spit it out, the better.

  Jeff Cooper

  Political, Censorship, Social

  203 Copy quote

• One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that 'violence begets violence.' I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure - and in some cases I have - that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.

  Jeff Cooper

  Heart, Gun, Men

  "Cooper Vs. Terrorism" by Jeff Cooper, www.sightm1911.com.

  168 Copy quote

• The only acceptable response to the threat of lethal violence is immediate and savage counterattack. If you resist, you just may get killed. If you don't resist you almost certainly will get killed. It is a tough choice, but there is only one right answer.

  Jeff Cooper

  Choices, Savages, Answers

  129 Copy quote

• It appears that the murder rate inside prisons is ten times higher than that outside prisons. It must be due to all those Kalashnikov rifles that are issued to prisoners upon their incarceration.

  Jeff Cooper

  Rifles, Prison, Murder

  202 Copy quote

• The media insist that crime is the major concern of the American public today. In this connection they generally push the point that a disarmed society would be a crime-free society. They will not accept the truth that if you take all the guns off the street you still will have a crime problem, whereas if you take the criminals off the street you cannot have a gun problem.

  Jeff Cooper

  Gun, Media, Criminals

  "Jeff Cooper's Commentaries", Vol. 2, No. 5, May 1994.

  44 Copy quote

• If you don't understand weapons you don't understand fighting. If you don't understand fighting you don't understand war. If you don't understand war you don't understand history. And if you don't understand history you might as well live with your head in a sack.

  Jeff Cooper

  War, Fighting, Might

  157 Copy quote

• A smart man only believes half of what he hears, a wise man knows which half.

  Jeff Cooper

  Wise, Wisdom, Smart

  155 Copy quote

• Observe your cat. It is difficult to surprise him. Why? Naturally his superior hearing is part of the answer, but not all of it. He moves well, using his senses fully. He is not preoccupied with irrelevancies. He's not thinking about his job or his image or his income tax. He is putting first things first, principally his physical security. Do likewise.

  Jeff Cooper

  Jobs, Moving, Cat

  Jeff Cooper (2006). “Principles of Personal Defense: Revised Edition”, p.14, Paladin Press

  158 Copy quote

• In the larger sense, however, the personal ownership of firearms is only secondarily a matter of defense against the criminal. Note the following from Thomas Jefferson: The strongest reason for the people to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against the tyranny of government. That is why our masters in Washington are so anxious to disarm us. They are not afraid of criminals. They are afraid of a populace which cannot be subdued by tyrants.

  Jeff Cooper

  Gun, Government, Tyrants

  "Jeff Cooper's Commentaries", Vol. 2, No. 5, May 1994.

  40 Copy quote

• One correspondent, who is into psychology, notes that in his experience people who are hoplophobes are nearly always nutty in other ways, too. Hoplophobia [fear of guns], of course, is not simply an attitude but rather an aberration in which the sufferer clings to an idea which he himself knows to be unsound, such as the idea that inanimate instruments have a will of their own or that lawbreakers abide by the law.

  Jeff Cooper

  Attitude, Gun, Law

  98 Copy quote

• Pick up a rifle and you change instantly from a subject to a citizen.

  Jeff Cooper

  Rifles, Citizens, Subjects

  69 Copy quote

• 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

  War, Fighting, Loss

  Guns and Ammo Magazine, April 1991.

  153 Copy quote

• 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

  Gun, College, Men

  114 Copy quote

• Weapons compound man's power to achieve; they amplify the capabilities of both the good man and the bad, and to exactly the same degree, having no will of their own. Thus we must regard them as servants, not masters - and good servants to good men. Without them, man is diminished, and his opportunities to fulfill his destiny are lessened. An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.

  Jeff Cooper

  Opportunity, Destiny, Men

  191 Copy quote

• 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

  Country, Time, Gun

  169 Copy quote

• If you find yourself under lethal attack don't be kind. Be harsh. Be tough. Be ruthless.

  Jeff Cooper

  Finding Yourself, Be Kind, Tough

  Jeff Cooper (2006). “Principles of Personal Defense: Revised Edition”, p.45, Paladin Press

  163 Copy quote

• One of the notable aspects of the democratic process is that one need not know anything about a subject in order to pass laws about it.

  Jeff Cooper

  Order, Law, Needs

  28 Copy quote

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