Story by Elden Carl (Second from the left.) There were five pistoleros who are credited with developing the modern technique of the combat pistol. Jeff Cooper, practical pistol shooting’s founder and driving force, arrived first in the mid 1950’s followed closely by Jack Weaver. I arrived on the scene in 1960, with Thell Reed and Ray Chapman joining the fray the following year. By the end of 1961 all of the important techniques of the craft had been developed. At a later time I will discuss the developmental process that led to the modern technique of the pistol, but for now I’d like to … [Read more...]
July Gunsmith Corner
Last week a crazy idiot attacked a theatre full of innocent law abiding people who were simply doing something they had every right to be doing in a place they had every right to be. He killed two and injured several others before he killed himself when confronted by police. Why is this in the Gunsmith Corner? Because that was my hometown, my Police Department, and even the theatre that my wife I went to when we went to the movies. Interesting that even in a very gun friendly state like Louisiana the theatre was a firearms free zone. The most important lesson that I ever learned working … [Read more...]
Jeff Cooper’s Gunsite Gargantuan Gossip
The editorial staff of the Southwest Pistol League magazine has come up with a curious debate about what may be the purpose of the Southwest Pistol League. Well, I do not know what the purpose is now, but I do know what it was when the league was founded, because I founded it. The purpose of the league, when founded, was to discover, by means of open, unrestricted, diversified competition with the heavy-duty sidearm, just what weapons, what tactics, what principles and what general equipment would serve best in a fight. I remember that on one occasion the late, great John Plähn exclaimed … [Read more...]
Sheep or Sheepdog
Miss Edwards, I read of your student activity regarding the proposed memorial to Colonel Greg Boyington, USMC and a Medal of Honor winner. I suspect you will receive many angry emails from conservative people like me. You may be too young to appreciate fully the sacrifices of generations of servicemen and servicewomen, on whose shoulders you and your fellow students stand. I forgive you for the untutored ways of youth and your naiveté. It may be that you are simply a sheep. There’s no dishonor in being a sheep, as long as you know and accept what you are. William J. Bennett, in a … [Read more...]
July Newsletter
So many good sources come to mind to consider for an Independence Day Newsletter: Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan and more. But with pondering, it came to me that my best consideration of topic and source was here at Gunsite last week. As the United States celebrates our 239th birthday, honoring life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, what should we look to as a source of excitement and hope for the future? Does it come from the writings and wisdom of our founding fathers, from review of our Constitution, from reading Teddy Roosevelt? That answer was on the Gunsite … [Read more...]
