Howdy y'all....

Us folk downunder don't often get to see many (if any) high grade rifles...

Mate sent me a link to Cooper rifles, and they sure look the goods, and their accuracy standards are certainly up there.

From a few enquiries I've made, there appears to be a 'bit of an issue' about donations made, but let's leave that out of the discussion, please.

What are your thoughts about the rifles Cooper produces? Worth the money? Are there better rifles out there in the same price range?

I'll be posting the exact same question on the small bore forum as well.

Ta Muchly.

I don't own one, but have been mulling the thought of allowing one the privelege of residence in my safe. They are certainly well-made rifles that exhibit outstanding accuracy. The quality of the wood they are using on their wood-stocked models also appears very good.

I haven't been able to ferret out the bottom line price as you can find price quotes all over the place, but if some of the more reasonable quotes I've seen are legitimate, then I'd say that the Coopers are a reasonbly good value. Put another way, I can name several rifles that are similarly priced that are not the value a Cooper appears to be.

First, it is REALLLLYYYY tough for me, knowing what I do, to recommend one specific rifle to one specific person, because that's what you end-up doing. The numbers or 'specs.' may be great, but the ergonomics or the looks may be not what the other guy likes. That being the context, I have to say that I could not steer you away from a Cooper rifle. For ME I'd take a wood stocked model over a Kimber wood stocked model. But then, that's just on reputation. I have a friend with a GREAT Kimber in 325 WSM. In the aggregate, do the 'thumbs-up vs. thumbs-down' stats say one is better than the other? Hard to say, because despite the aggregated stats and opinions, ultimately it's ONE man with ONE SPECIFIC model of rifle. For that amount of money, though, the Cooper is a pretty safe bet on a small batch, high-end maker.

All that said, if I had a chance and the $$$,I'd hop on one like a hot, drunken waitress!

I own a few Coopers and one thing that you can ALWAYS be sure of in a Cooper is the out of box accuracy. They also use VERY nice wood. The only problems I've encountered with them is the crappy magazine system they use. I've sent two in for repair and now they work flawlessly.

As soon as they come out with a short action repeater, I WILL have one in .308.

Though I've never owned nor shot a Cooper, a friend of mine, now long gone, had several in the smaller calibers. One was a .220 Swift ( I think) and at least one other was a .22-250 (again, I think). They both shot lights out but he still complained about his getting groups in the 1/4" - 3/8" area. To be honest, he was a bit on the eccentric side tho. At one time, I had plans to relocate to Wyo. or Montana. Had I done that, I planned to get a Cooper for small game hunting. I personally think I'd go for it, at least from their performance reputation.
Bear in Fairbanks

I have found this rifle to be well worth the dollars spent, and find the craftsmanship to be above average.

I have several--fine rifles, with the comment about the magazines made previously being true, and a sense of a PITA to me, rather than a big problem....

Very accurate, all of mine, .270, 280AI, 22-250, 204 Ruger, 17 HMR. I really like the 'rollover' Jackson Squirrel design stock--center feed magazines by the way on the bigger calibers as well, function well without the stagger of the cartridges.

They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. If not I'd be breathless.
I've made the statement before,"If the only thing I was interested in was accuracy, I would exclusively own savages." However I think the Coopers can compete with savage and boy howdy, they look every bit as good as they shoot. I have replaced almost all my contenders with coopers in the small calibers and haven't looked back. All of mine will shoot sub inch groups at 100 yds with my handloads. The fit and finish is excellent. Triggers are adjustable with relative ease down to 1.5 lbs. The classics make great walking rifles and the varminters ride the bags like champs.
From top to bottom, my collection
Model 22, 6.5 x 284 montana varminter with 26" fluted barrel
Model 52, 25-06 Jackson Game Rifle, 26" fluted barrel
Model 21, 17 Remington, Varmint
Model 21, 17 Mach IV, Varmint
Model 38 Classic, 22 Hornet
Model 21 Classic, 20 Tactical
Model 38 Classic, 17 Hebee



I don't think you can go wrong with the Coopers.
GWB

Own a 17 HMR which would not feed correctly out of the box. Cooper paid the shipping both ways and had the rifle returned to me within 2 weeks and feeding perfectly. Used to own a 22mag which was a thing of beauty but in a moment of stupidness sold it off.
Have two more on order one being a custom classic with upgraded wood. Wood was not the quality I expected so they agreed to restock the rifle before sending it out and it is due to be finished soon.
I guess my point in all of this is Coopers customer service is as good as it gets. Have personally witnessed a stock Cooper 20 VarTag shoot under .25 for 5 shots at 100 yards. I plan on ordering one of these as finances permit.
The one area I will fault Cooper is with there upgraded wood options. Seems it is hit or miss at best and the grades keep on sliding downward. If you are looking for great wood search the auction sites for ones you like as the older models seem to carry nicer stocks.

GW, I like that photo, nice colors surrounding the rifles.

Did one of the coopers account for the beaver in the background?

quote:

Originally posted by rugeruser:
From a few enquiries I've made, there appears to be a 'bit of an issue' about donations made, but let's leave that out of the discussion, please.

Sorry. What Mr. Cooper did should not be swept under the rug or minimized. Mr. Cooper did donate money to and did support the campaign of our current President. This is his right and I applaud him for exercising his voice in our democracy. I will exercise my right and never purchase anything from him or his company. Mr. Cooper did nothing wrong, but we should never forget that he supported an extremely liberal anti-gun president. We can all decide if this matters to us. For similar reasons, I will never purchase products from Colt or Smith and Wesson (Clinton era sellouts).

That aside, Cooper does make an excellent rifle. Decide what matters most to you and lay your money down knowing you'll get a great rifle with a Cooper.

Rugeruser: Sorry again for any derailment, but this does matter a great deal to many of us here in this country. It is not a "bit of an issue". Good luck with your quest for info.

Wes

I do not disagree with what you are saying but what Mr Cooper did or didnt do just does not matter anymore. The company was sold and has been under new management for many months now and every source I read states Mr Cooper is not employed there in any fashion.
No reason to punish the existing workers for the actions of an ex employe.

Besides, I would bet money that employees or managers at Remington, Ruger, S&W, Winchester, etc have donated money to causes we may not of liked as well in the past.

Fish 30114,
Actually, its knida hard to tell, but that is a porcupine, and no, (don't tell anyone) I shot it out of a tree with a glock 36, in 45acp. But it makes for a nice backdrop.
GWB

WESR,
Whil I respect the position you've taken on Dan Cooper, here is mine

Although I am both fiscally and socially conservative (I label myself as an unreconstructed redneck southern cracker), I think one has to pick their battles.
Every Cooper rifle I own I bought used from another American citizen, either individually or off GunBroker. If you take your line of reasoning to its logical conclusion then...
The Nazis in world war I and WWII killed thousand American GI's. Do you own any watches, autos, scopes, rifles (mausers) made in Austria or Germany.
The Japanees did likewise. Do you have any appliances, stereos, TV's, electronics made in Japan.
Do you use any petroleum products or plastics refined from Saudi Arabian crude. I believe at least 20 of the hi-jackers on that ill-fated day, 9/11/2001, were Saudi's.
Although I do believe we have elected the "Manchurian Candidate" as our current POTUS, and his policies will go a long way to the destruction of our liberties, to this date, I do not believe that he has "out and out" planned or been involved in events that have directly resulted in the loss of American life. To demonize an exquisite rifle because of the political leanings of the head of company who has since been forced to sell his interests in that company seem a bit hypocritical.

If my logic is faulty, please explain.
Thanks,
GWB
PS, Sorry for hijacking the thread.

quote:

Originally posted by Snowwolfe:
....every source I read states Mr Cooper is not employed there in any fashion.
No reason to punish the existing workers for the actions of an ex employe.

Geedubya and Snowwolfe,
I too respect your opinions. I just want to let people know where their money is going. To each his own. My personal choice is to not contribute to Mr. Cooper. My understanding is that Mr. Cooper is still the major interest owner in the company and his resignation is in name only.

My intent is not to start an argument. As I said they are great rifles. I wouldn't feel bad about buying a used one at all (but more of a mauser/winchester/dakota person myself).

Wes

WESR,
10/4, I happen to enjoy mausers and winchesters, as well as savage, remington, weatherby, browning, ruger, kimber, T/C's. I'd love to own
Dakotas (even after what CK did to the company) but $1,500 is about my pain threshold and I haven't seen many dakota's at that price. Love to own a Niseka also. Perhaps one day.
Anyway,
Best to you and yours.
GWB

Rugeruser, to keep it somewhat 'on post' I will say that I just got in my newest acquisition, a Cooper in .270 Win with custom wood, coordinated by Pats Luxus Cooper--aka Pats Sporting Goods associated with Luxus walnut. It was not even remotely close to the blank I ordered, but who knows where the fault in that lies. I can tell you it pisses me of, but the rifle is well made and I'm sure it will shoot like all of my coopers. Prolly just worth a mention.

GW, I thought that I couldn't discern a tail on the critter in the background, plus he is shiney--I guess thats what makes him not a beaver! The procupines were a real scourge according to my gradfather who had a little place about 50 acres in SW Colorado, said they killed all kinds of good trees....don't know much about them really, except the first one I killed he sent me after, and it soaked up about 10 22lr shells before he came crashing down--seem to be tough old bastards to me.

sounds like good shooting with a 36 to me!

Fish30114,
Its amazing how much lead these small critters can soak up. Because of hogs, I carry hardball rather that jhp's in my 45 at the lease. After I hit him with three FMJ's I swithched to JHP's, first hit knocked him out.
GWB

Aha, the right bullet helps with them I see!

Best--Don

Supposed to be great rifles, but I'll exercise my right to free speech and not purchase a gun from a guy who publicly endorsed Obama. I wonder how he feels now that Obama's regulatory czar is an open anti-gun/animal rights wacko?

Dan Cooper has a right to free speech, so do the rest of us.

Thanks for the on track replies fellas, they certainly look like nice rifles.

Geedubya, my resaoning / logic is pretty much the same as yours - I posted a little more info on the other thread.

I own 2 Cooper rifles, one in .280 and one in .30-06 which I gave to my father. One is the Classic, the other is the Jackson Game rifle. Both are nice to look at, great wood and shoot lights out with several different factory and handloads.