Quotessence
Home / Authors / Jeff Cooper
Jeff Cooper

Jeff Cooper Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllSelf DefenseGunIfsMenLongDoeMayRiflesWeaponsKnowsPeopleCriminalsFightingWellsActionCitizensGun ControlThinkingUseSeems

Famous Jeff Cooper Quotes

“I am sometimes perplexed by people who refer to defensive rifles, or defensive rifle shooting. The defensive arm is the pistol, since you have it at hand to meet situations that you do not anticipate. If you have the luxury of anticipating a lethal encounter, you pick up a long arm, either a rifle or a shotgun, but in that case you go on to the attack. Thus rifle shooting is offensive, and pistol shooting is defensive. Of course, life does not always duplicate theory, and there are exceptions to everything, but nevertheless the rifle is not a defensive weapon in concept.”

PeopleIfsLongDoeSometimesHandsCoursesSituationCasesTheoryArmsGoes OnWeaponsPicksGunConceptsLuxuryShootingEncountersExceptionNeverthelessOffensiveAnticipateRiflesPistolsPerplexedDuplicateShotguns
Author:Jeff Cooper
Create image

“Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons. The possession of a good rifle, as well as the skill to use it well, truly makes a man the monarch of all he surveys. It realizes the ancient dream of the Jovian thunderbolt, and as such it is the embodiment of personal power. For this reason it exercises a curious influence over the minds of most men, and in its best examples it constitutes an object of affection unmatched by any other inanimate object.”

MenMindWellsReasonUseDreamRealizingInfluenceMankindExampleObjectsExerciseSkillsWeaponsGunRaisedAncientAffectionPossessionCuriousQueensMudSurveysRiflesEmbodimentMonarchsPersonal PowerInanimate ObjectsThunderbolts
Book:Art of the Rifle: Special Colour Edition
Create image

“The rifle is a weapon. Let there be no mistake about that. It is a tool of power, and thus dependent completely upon the moral stature of its user. It is equally useful in securing meat for the table, destroying group enemies on the battlefield, and resisting tyranny. In fact, it is the only means of resisting tyranny, since a citizenry armed with rifles simply cannot be tyrannized.”

MeanFactsMistakeMoralEnemyGroupsWeaponsGunToolsTablesTyrannyMeatDependentDestroyingUsersBattlefieldsResistingRiflesStatureCitizenry
Book:Art of the Rifle: Special Colour Edition
Create image

“All the people constitute the militia - according to the Founding Fathers. Therefore every able-bodied man has a duty under the Constitution to become part of the "well-regulated" militia, specifically to understand and perform well with the individual weapon currently issued to the regular establishment. . . . Thus one who has not qualified himself with the M-16 may not be considered to be a responsible citizen.”

PeopleMenWellsMayAbleFatherIndividualDutyCitizensWeaponsGunConstitutionResponsibleIndividualityEstablishmentFoundingQualifiedMilitia
Author:Jeff Cooper
Create image

“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.”

MenEvilOpportunityDestinyAchieveMastersDegreesWeaponsOvercomingRegardServantGood ManCapabilityCompoundsFleeingUnarmedAmplify
Author:Jeff Cooper
Create image