Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Previously Gunsite Gossip
Vol. 2, No. 3 1 March 1994

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Ides of March
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I am often criticized for not "sticking to my guns" and veering off into politics, sociology and history. That criticism may be valid, but the more I see of it the more I become convinced that history and conflict are synonymous. This seems to be inherent in the nature of man. According to Clausewitz, war is politics carried out by other means, and war, of course, is conducted with weapons, hence weaponry remains fascinating and completely a part of the human story. Whenever I read fiction I reflect that fiction writers are rarely properly grounded in weaponry, and this causes much of their fiction to fall flat. Certain notable exceptions were Rider Haggard, Stewart White and Ernest Hemingway. They may not have got their weaponry sorted out correctly every time, but at least they tried, and that is more than you can say about most current tellers of tales.
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A couple of gun writers, who should know better, have taken it upon themselves to denigrate the Clifton bipod on the ground that it is fragile. It is true that one should not attempt to jack up a truck with the Clifton bipod, but properly trained rifleman will not do such a thing. Normally the Clifton bipod is retracted, and on those occasions when it is used, the shooter has time to treat it carefully. When you need a bipod you do not need it in a hurry, so treat it properly and all will be well.
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We have received a couple of positive reports about the Chinese 1911 clone known as "Norinco." Quality control in a slave society can be anything the commissars decide, and, of course, slave labor is a lot cheaper. If you have a Norinco that works well, be satisfied.
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As we proceed for our planning for the Babamkulu adventure in May, we note a small but troublesome tendency for wives to be negative about Africa. It is certainly true that Africa is an adventure, and adventures always involve risk. Who, however, can enjoy life without risk? As we have often written, danger, not variety, is a spice of life. Personally I do not see any more danger in an African hunting trip than I do in daily life in an American big city - probably a good deal less, but in any case we can only feel sorry for the timid soul who, as the saying goes, "dies a thousand times, while a brave man dies but once."
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The problem is that only enthusiasts shoot well. Not many public employees are enthusiasts. This lowers both standards and potential, and gamesmanship is no help.
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Indian Country, 1994
Goblin shows up late at hamburger dispensary behaving obnoxiously. Management calls the cops. Cop shows up and challenges goblin, who begins shooting at him. Cop sustains several hits before returning fire and goes down with a broken femur. Goblin runs dry and, bleeding from three wounds, commences to reload. Two Navajos are trying to get their car started on the parking lot. Analyzing the situation, they move in on the goblin and pound him into the pavement, leaving him for dead. They then go back to the car and continue fiddling with it. All manner of cop cars show up, complete with flashing lights. County deputy attorney, who arrives with the cops, approaches the two Navajos and asks if they can use any help. The answer is, "Well, yes. You got a flashlight?" Cops furnish flashlight.

Moral: Always carry a flashlight in Indian country.

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Colonel Bob Young, USMC, Retired, is no longer employed by the new owner of the Gunsite Training Center. We understand that "He was too much of a Colonel."
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According to a news item in the AIM Report, Major Robert Hines, of the DC Park Police, maintains that Vincent Foster, who was found dead in the park, was in possession of a "38-caliber 1911 Colt army revolver." Now there is a collector's item for you!
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The newspaper accounts coming out of the Waco trials are quite unbelievable at this distance. It would appear that the attorneys for the FBI are talking about some other occurrence entirely. They are quoted as telling the jury that "These people (the Branch Davidians) wanted to destroy your country!" Somehow I never got that impression. What I would like to find out, however, is what sort of wounds caused the death of the three BATmen who entered the upper story first. Those men were buried before anyone got a good answer to that question, and evidently it was not raised at the trial. It matters, however, if the BATmen shot each other, as seems likely. That might well be verified by the nature of their wounds.
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In a follow-up on the Waco atrocity, someone suggested to Bob Crovatto, our man in the murder capital, that the Branch Davidians could be characterized as "just a bunch of religious nuts with guns." Bob's response was, "Just like the people who founded this country. Right?"
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Family member and Orange Gunsite stalwart Barrett Tillman attended Janet Reno's appearance in Phoenix last month and noted the following commentaries:
Reno: "I come from a community where I was born and raised."

Napolitano: "With both my hands I want to jump into this program with both feet."

A youth commenting upon the way to prevent gang violence: "Teach them education."
Well, we elected them!
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In an article appearing in the "Oregonian," a cop spokesman claimed that law enforcement people should be worried about the Voere caseless cartridge since it throws no cases around, and thus makes tracing of the weapon in a homicide more difficult. Let us take up a collection to provide people who make statements like this with a thousand dollars for evidence of the first murder committed with a caseless cartridge.