Top 80 Jeff Cooper Quotes (2024 Update)

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

— Jeff Cooper

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

— Jeff Cooper

3. “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

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

— Jeff Cooper

5. “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

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

— Jeff Cooper

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

— Jeff Cooper

8. “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

9. “Your mind-set is your primary weapon.”

— Jeff Cooper

10. “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

11. “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.”

— Jeff Cooper

12. “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

13. “Buy ammunition! Remember that a man cannot have too many books, too many wines, or too much ammunition. Our adversaries on the other side are reaching for the excuse of lead poisoning. If they can push that idea through, you may wind up still owning your guns but without anything to shoot in them.”

— Jeff Cooper

14. “Under any sort of attack, keep cool. And if you must shoot, shoot with precision.”

— Jeff Cooper

15. “The criminal does not expect his prey to fight back. May he never choose you, but, if he does, surprise him.”

— Jeff Cooper

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

— Jeff Cooper

17. “Owning a handgun doesn’t make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.”

— Jeff Cooper

18. “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.”

— Jeff Cooper

19. “It is high time for society to stop worrying about the criminal, and to let the criminal start worrying about society. And by “society” I mean you.”

— Jeff Cooper

20. “Bushido is all very well in its way, but it is no match for a 30-06.”

— Jeff Cooper

21. “A fine marksman is with a second rate rifle is far more effective than the reverse.”

— Jeff Cooper

22. “The one who fights back retains his dignity and his self-respect.”

— Jeff Cooper

23. “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

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

— Jeff Cooper

25. “I have long had a tendency to tie marksmanship to morality. The essence of good marksmanship is self-control, and self-control is the essence of good citizenship. It is too easy to say that a good shot is automatically a good man, but it would be equally incorrect to ignore the connection.”

— Jeff Cooper

26. “It is long been a principal of ours that one is no more armed because he has possession of a firearm than he is a musician because he owns a piano. There is no point in having a gun if you are not capable of using it skillfully.”

— Jeff Cooper

27. “Your physical safety is up to you, as it really always has been.”

— Jeff Cooper

28. “The best personal defense is an explosive counterattack.”

— Jeff Cooper

29. “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

30. “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.”

— Jeff Cooper

31. “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

32. “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.”

— Jeff Cooper

33. “It seems that the concealed carry policy now in effect in 30 states is unfair to goblins. They cannot tell who is armed and who is not, and when their intended victim shoots back it hurts their feelings – along with other things.”

— Jeff Cooper

34. “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

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

— Jeff Cooper

36. “Let us remind ourselves again that the Second Amendment of the US Constitution should be referred to as the Statute of Liberty.”

— Jeff Cooper

37. “The perfect fight is one that is over before the loser really understands what is going on. The perfect defense is a counterattack that succeeds before the assailant discovers that he has bitten off more than he can chew.”

— Jeff Cooper

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

— Jeff Cooper

39. “Colonialism has a bad reputation in the modern context, but Colonial Africa was a far better place for both black and white before the colonists gave up.”

— Jeff Cooper

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

— Jeff Cooper

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

— Jeff Cooper

42. “There ain’t many troubles that a man caint fix With seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six.”

— Jeff Cooper

43. “Therefore, if you are attacked, retaliate instantly. Be sudden. Be quick. Speed is your salvation.”

— Jeff Cooper

44. “Regardless of what we think we know and should happen the reality is that a lot of stock action is random. Therefore, money management is crucial if you want to be successful as a trader. To me, it’s the cornerstone of both making a living at trading and building wealth.”

— Jeff Cooper

45. “Never assume that simply having a gun makes you a marksman. You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”

— Jeff Cooper

46. “It may be that there is such a thing as racial memory, and it is supported by the undeniable observation that the goblins will get you if you don’t watch out.”

— Jeff Cooper

47. “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

48. “Speed is the absolute essence of any form of combat.”

— Jeff Cooper

49. “Aggressiveness carries with it an incalculable moral edge in any combat, offensive or defensive.”

— Jeff Cooper

50. “If you find yourself under lethal attack don’t be kind. Be harsh. Be tough. Be ruthless.”

— Jeff Cooper