Col. Jeff Cooper pistols

[John]

Gentlefolks,

Please find below, some pictures that Col. Cooper has forwarded to yours truly, as a response to my request to show some of his pistols to our members, in order for us to see what the pioneer of pistol fighting prefered.

I hope you enjoy.











These are four of Col. Cooper's 1911s. And here is a gun I was not expecting to see.



Mind you, this is a new world first, for M1911.ORG. I do not believe (and please correct me if I am wrong) that any other publications, electronic of printed, has ever presented more than one Cooper's pistols.

I want to thank Col. Cooper for allowing us to use these pictures. I also want to thank those who helped my request reach Col. Cooper, who are Elin Ray and Jane Ann Hulen from Gunsite, as well as Mrs. Janelle Cooper, who was nice enough to call and discuss our request with my partner, Hawkmoon. Many thanks to all.

[Blasterboy]

Very interesting, John and I am sure that all the members here will enjoy viewing these historic pistols. I sure did. Just a brief and short observation...Col. Cooper liked his 1911's blued and dark in color and seemed to favor stag and/or metallic style stocks on his pieces. He obviously did not care for all the "whistles and bells" that adorn today's 1911's. Thank you again for bringing us these pictures.....

[Hawkmoon]

I'm sure it's accidental or coincidental that ALL of the 1911s are Colts.

My thanks go along with John's to Mrs. Cooper and to the folks at Gunsite. When I picked up the phoe that day (just after I had returned from the hospital) and realized who was on the other end, I was so awed I almost couldn't talk. Mrs. Cooper is a tremendously genteel and refined LADY in every sense of the word, and I feel honored to have spent a few minutes talking to her. (Even though it was a case of mistaken identity and she thought she was calling some Greek guy).

[jaybo292]

Very nice job folks, Nice collection.

Jay

[garrettwc]

Interesting that all but one had standard safeties, no extended tactical this or that attached. Just basic guns that work. Something to be learned there.

John and Hawkmoon. Thank you. It's a real treat to see these historic pistols.

[OD*]

Something to be learned there.

Not really Garrett, if you remember the good Col's axiom,
"... We have long maintained that the only accessories that a 1911 needs are a trigger you can manage, sights that you can see, and a dehorning job. That still goes."
Then again, maybe you're right Garrett, we did learn something, he means what he says.

Congratulations John, that is quite a coup!
I have an episode of American Shooter were they interviewed Col. Cooper in his gun-room (den?), they showed a lot of his firearms, long-guns and handguns, many of which were gifts.

[Rio Vista Slim]

To: John and Hawkmoon (with thanks also to Elin Ray, Jane Ann Hulen, Mrs. Janelle Cooper, and especially Col. Jeff Cooper)

You cannot know how appreciative I am that you were able to get these photos of the Colonel's guns. As a very young man, I began reading Col. Cooper's writings, and was tremendously influenced by his dedication to the 1911 platform as a fighting handgun. Thanks again, John and Hawkmoon, for going that "extra mile" in continuing the legacy that makes M1911.org the premier 1911 site on the internet.

One other observation; the Colonel wasn't fond of the grip safety on the 1911, and his personal pistols (as represented in the photographs) indicate this. Col. Cooper did not, however, advocate that others do what he did to his own personal guns.

Hawkmoon, I did notice that all of the 1911 pistols were Colts!

[wichaka]

I had a chance to chat with him some years ago at our state's L.E. firearms Instructors Training.

He believes if you're going to use a Commander model, it should be a LW type. As the weight diff. between a Combat Commander and GM is not that much.
If you're going to choose a Combat Commander, the little diff. in weight doesn't justify the drop in barrel length and loss of sight radius.

Also interesting is most are in 38

[Hunter]

Great thread John. I am with Hawk strange how those 1911s were all Colts. Could Col. Cooper have some insight on quality 1911s? I would like to think so. You did good John getting those pictures and sharing them with us. Thanks.

[Elmo C]

These Colts are some I have never seen,Ive seen a lot of old Colts and owned one but never a one like the Super 9 with the extened barrel. What was the idea behind this,was this a factory option,or did Col Cooper do this? Thanks to all who made this possible.I can only wish.