Jeff Cooper > Quotes

“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

“A smart man only believes half of what he hears, a wise man knows which half.”
― Jeff Cooper

“There ain't many troubles that a man caint fix
With seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six.
”
― Jeff Cooper

“Man fights with his mind. His hands and his weapons are simply extensions of his will, and one of the fallacies of our era is the notion that equipment is the equivalent of force.”
― Jeff Cooper, To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth

“commander may be forgiven for being defeated, but never for being surprised.”
― Jeff Cooper, Principles Of Personal Defense

“If you are justified in shooting you are justified in killing, in all but a few quite obvious circumstances. 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, Principles Of Personal Defense

“ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE SECTIONS of Tom Lea's memorable novel, The Brave Bulls, deals with the visit of the impressario, Eladio Gomez, to a mythical bull ranch known as Las Astas, where the Homeric figure of Don Tiburcio Balbuena raises the finest fighting bulls in all Mexico.
By a fortunate chance I was once able to pay a similar visit to the reality on which Las Astas was based, and I found reality to be fully as fascinating as fancy.
In”
― Jeff Cooper, Fireworks: A Gunsite Anthology

“The world is full of decent people. Criminals we can do without.”
― Jeff Cooper, Principles Of Personal Defense

“Some people prey upon other people. Whether we like it or not, this is one of the facts of life. It has always been so and it is not going to change.”
― Jeff Cooper, Principles of Personal Defense