Quotes from Jeff Cooper

Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands.

Remember the first rule of gunfighting... 'have a gun.'

If a principle exists it must be immutable, for that is what a principle is - a truth standing apart from the mood of the times.

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

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

A free man must not be told how to think, either by the government or by social activists. He may certainly be shown the right way, but he must not accept being forced into it.

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

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.

In all history the only bright rays cutting the gloom of oppression have come from men who would rather get hurt than give in.

It has long been my conviction that a masked man with a gun is a target. I see no reason to change that view.

The rifle is the queen of weapons and its effective use is one of the greatest satisfactions available to man.

Beware the man with one gun. He can probably use it.

On the very instant that we know that our assailant intends us serious physical harm, we must work just as fast as we can.

Anger, as long as it is controlled anger, is no obstacle to efficiency. Self-control is one thing the sociopath does not usually possess. Use yours to his undoing.

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

If I wasn't a trader, I would probably be in the film business in some capacity and writing in some other form. I went to NYU Film School and London Film School.

We continue to be exasperated by the view, apparently gaining momentum in certain circles, that armed robbery is okay as long as nobody gets hurt! The proper solution to armed robbery is a dead robber, on the scene.

The proper course of action, when under attack, is usually to counterattack.

The specific course you decide upon is, within certain parameters, less important than the vigor with which you execute it.

The essential thing is to bear always in mind that trouble can appear at any time. Be aware. Be ready. Be alert.

No sensible person ever opens the door of his house without knowing who is knocking.

The one who anticipates the action wins. The one who does not, loses.

Know what is behind you, and pay particular attention to anything out of place.

Any man who is a man may not, in honor, submit to threats or violence. But many men who are not cowards are simply unprepared for the fact of human savagery.