Picked this up at the library the other day. What a fantastic book on shooting marksmanship, discipline etc.

Probably the best gun book I've ever read in my life and I'm 39 years old! The ironic thing is it was in perfect shape, brand new like it had never been checked out before. Isn't that something?

I bought it many years ago. My first reaction is that it was overly simple and basic; my second was that Cooper just managed to present a complex subject in very simple terms. The guy must have spent a pile of time thinking and questioning everything, always going back to the purpose of the rifle. The introduction is worth the book all be itself.

Now I have to find it and read it again.

Cooper was one of the most literate firearms writers I've read. Like Hemingway he could be so concise as to seem simplistic.

"Art of the Rifle" is full of useful information worth rereading.

Even more concise is "Principles of Personal Defense", which should be required reading for any self-defense/CCW course.

I see you live in Saskatchewan Dogleg. All Saskatchewan libraries are connected. Simply go to your nearest library and request the book. They probably have 4 or 5 copies scattered throughout the province in the bigger locations and will bring it in for you.

I too think of it as more of a overview rather than a detailed manual.

I would think that it would fit right in as a text in a rifle training program, but it does leave out a lot of the "how to" in favor of the "what" and "why."

Cooper was more of a philosopher than a practical man in his writings. I suspect his classes were much more practical and hands on as he would be able to see and physically correct error. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to take a class from him.

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Originally posted by ar corey:
I see you live in Saskatchewan Dogleg. All Saskatchewan libraries are connected. Simply go to your nearest library and request the book. They probably have 4 or 5 copies scattered throughout the province in the bigger locations and will bring it in for you.

I bought it years ago. Finding it is more a matter of where it is hiding in th ehouse.

You guys just opened the old box full of souvenirs and memories. I happen to have known Jeff Cooper rather well, having been trained as a defensive pistol expert in his American Pistol Institute (API). The man was an exceptional coach and instructor. As a shooter himself, he may has been best renown as a combat pistol shooter but actually,on targets, I outshot him with the Colt .45 ACP. However, he was pure magic with a rifle and he was much admired for his breaking outgoing clays with a CF rifle !

.I found a few old pics dating back from that time :

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3 shots do not make a group, they show a point of aim or impact.5 shots are a group.

3 shots repeated makes better analysis in my opinion than (1) 5 shot group. For example I can fire (2) 3 shot groups for a total of 6 shots and if they measure the same, I am more confident in that representation vs. (1) 5 shot group. That is because things change while hunting and they also change when firing different groups: i.e. breathing physiology, pulse rate and pressure, focus etc.

2 separate groups of the same size shot at different times will always reveal more consistency in a rifle/load combination than 1 single larger group.

OK, then let's examine two 5-shot groups realized on different days or, still better, make it two separate 10-shot groups...

Ergo, "...3 shots do not make a group, they show a point of aim or impact.
5 shots, or better yet 10 shots, are a group

That gets too expensive!

I am more in the order of (3) 3 shot groups for a total of 9 shots vs. (2) 5 shot groups for a total of 10.

I will take the former any day.

I agree with Andre and others, 5 shots are a group. Three shots are a point of aim.

Shoot three or five; or even 2, take your pick. After you do that, put another identical target on top of it and shoot through both of them. Repeat with as many targets as you want until you either run out targets or ammo, or reach a point that you think the number is representative. You can rationalize away anything on an individual group, and people will practically stand on their heads to explain away everything they don't like.

You know what you can't do? You can't argue with the bottom target of the stack and it's a heartless, unforgiving bastard. It doesn't care about your excuses, rationalizations, zero shift, "flyers" that aren't flyers, or your dusted off high school math. It knows where every last shot went and you can't bullshit it. Alternately, pick a few of the individual groups that you like and claim them as representative. Its not very accurate, but you may be a happier person.