In honor of Col. Jeff Cooper May he R.I.P.

[H&Hhunter]

This of course is 100th anniversary of the creation of the ubiquitous .30-06. It is also a bit ironic that one of the greatest proponents of this round Col Jeff Cooper passed from this earth during the year marking the 100th anniversary of this outstanding and useful rifle round.

With the death of Col Cooper we have suffered a great loss in the firearms and hunting world and a mighty voice in the right to keep and bear arms. But we should take this time to remember and celebrate all that Jeff stood for and practice what he's thought us through the years.

Over the last week or so I've spent a great amount of time behind my lovely little Kimber 8400 in .30-06. There are a few things that I'd forgotten about this wonderful cartridge.

First it is just so easy and sweet to shoot. Even from a sling in a prone position I can always see the round hit the target there is so little recoil and virtually no muzzle rise. It is very simple to become a very good shot with a .30-06. It is truly a gentlemen’s rifle.

Second I've been dinging steel plates out to 400 yards from field positions, seated and prone. It is easy to forget how flat shooting this little round is. At 400 yards there almost is no perceptible difference in hold over between this rifle shooting a 180 gr bullet @ 2700 and a .300 win shooting the same bullet @ 3000. From a field position it is so little to be a non factor. And of course at realistic game shooting ranges 300yards and under there is no difference what so ever except that the 06 is nicer to shoot from a prone position. I've been playing with both rifles one right after the other. You should try it some time.

In any case this has been a good opportunity to get reacquainted with a fantastic hunting round that carries enough punch for anything in the hunting fields of our great country.

In honor of Col Jeff Cooper and in respect to the 30-06 on it's 100th birthday. I am going to use nothing but a .30-06 for hunting for the rest of the year. I'm hoping for some good luck from Diana but even if the goddess of the hunt doesn't shine for me this season, it'll be an honor just to carry this rifle in the field on this very special year.

Regards,

H&Hhunter.

 

[sm]

H&H,

A very powerful, informative, well written post and tribute.

Thank you!

Steve

 

[nico]

H&H,
well said, as always.

I don't have a 30-06, but I'll hopefully take a few deer this year with my .270

 

[Rich K]

Very well said, Sir.

 

[Harve Curry]

Col. Cooper. Enough can't be said about that man.
As I understand it he invented the idea of color codes white, yellow, orange, red and applied it to mental conditions of awareness and readiness at Gunsite. I took a course that applied it to pilots. Now it's used for the terrorism threat level.
Pressing a trigger instead of squeezing it always made better sense to me when teaching someone to shoot better.
He hunted mnt.lions (Cooper called them cougar ) here in the Black Range Mnts with Mike Root, but I never got to meet him.
His words, methods, and ideas will live on and on..........................

 

[LAK]

Fine tribute to a man who had, and possessed a tremendous sense of, character.

To those - like myself - who never had the pleasure of meeting him, spending time around him, or under his instruction, there are his written works. My favorite being The Art of the Rifle.

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http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org

 

[Art Eatman]

I'm another admirer of the good Colonel. I had a little correspondence with him when I started the IPSC club in Austin in 1981, and later on some issues concerning ethics.

My father and my uncle combined to put me into the '06 and the reloading business back in 1950. I bought a 26"-barrelled Wby Mk V in 1971, and that's been "Ol' Pet", ever since. It stilll shoots inside one MOA.

Jeff's gone, but his words live on. That's about all anybody can hope for; immortality is only in the minds of your family and friends--and Jeff had a helluva lot of true friends.

Art

 

[Zeke Menuar]

Years ago I read something from Col Cooper about the Commander being the proper size for a 1911.

Based on that quote I bought a LW Commander. It's was and is my favorite pistol.

He was right.

ZM

 

[MSgtEgress]

"WE" will certainly miss his sharp wit and no-nonsense way of viewing the world. He didn't suffer fools gladly. We also owe him for development of the "scout" rifle, the "conditions" of a single action auto(and Concealed carry readiness). Rest Well My Good and Fathfull Servant Until we meet again