Col. Jeff Cooper, the father of the Modern Technique of shooting, died today at his home with his wife and daughter by his side. Col. Cooper was 86.
I always associate him with The 4 Rules:
- The gun is always loaded
- Never point a gun at anything you don’t want to destroy
- Keep your finger off the trigger until the sights are on the target (also humorously know as “Keep your booger hook off the bang switch”)
- Know what your target is and what is behind it
However, his fame goes far beyond those rules, which I drill into everyone I teach to shoot. (My children are required to recite them before we go to the range, and to be able to give them to me by number. Failure means no range time–and they’ve never missed range time.) His book The Art of the Rifle is one of the premier textbooks of long gun use. He also authored the White-Yellow-Orange-Red continuum of readiness.
There is a good article about Col. Cooper on Wikipedia. A link to his commentaries has been on this blog since Day One.
God bless and keep you sir. Your teachings have taught many, saved many, and will continue to do so. You were one of my heros