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JEFF COOPER'S COMMENTARIES Vol. 8, No. 10
Previously Gunsite Gossip
SUMMERSET
Indeed, these are the times that try men's souls. We
mistakenly attributed that to Patrick Henry in a previous
issue, but the author, as several people have pointed out,
was Thomas Paine. I cannot excuse the error, or even
promise that it will not happen again, but regardless of
who said it, the message is one to be taken seriously.
The United States of America now faces the threat of the
loss of its sovereignty to the United Nations Organization.
Those people are serious about this, and there are even
traitors in our midst who support their view. Our own
Department of Justice has stated offi-cially for the
record that the Founding Fathers did not mean what they
said, and that the Bill of Rights is effectively invalid.
We have used federal military strength against unarmed
citizens who were not even charged with any sort of
felonious transgression. And now we face the threat of
re-instituting the regime in Washington that has
countenanced these atrocities. Trying times indeed!
The effect from the left is serious indeed, at least
according to the media, who report that a majority of
American voters are simply not interested in liberty.
Those of us who do so believe stand amazed and
unbelieving at the result of these "polls." Who asks
those questions, and whom do they ask? Nobody we know.
Any individual's personal experience is too trivial to
count, but we have asked around at length and we find
no one who asserts that he will vote left in this next
election. But there must be some people out there who
will. We must find them and talk to them. The issue
now is to make a strong attempt to locate one of these
people and turn him around to the path of righteousness.
It is hard to hit a target that you cannot identify, but
the attempt must be made. The Nation is in deadly danger
and we must leave no stone unturned. God save the Republic!
""""
The autumn meeting of the NRA board of directors was
refreshingly "upbeat", considering the peril in which we
stand. NRA membership is now well over four million and
continues to grow. I think this reflects the mood of the
times better than these polls we read about. The head
table at Arlington was roundly applauded by the
directorate, and exhorted to work twenty-six hours a day
from now to November to pull the nation back from the
edge of catastrophe. Our financial situation seems more
sound than it has been for many years past, and our
various propaganda campaigns are producing excellent
results. Charlton Heston proposed from the chair that an
electoral victory for our adversaries in November will
produce a socialist nation in two years-but that victory
shall not happen. From where I sit this country has had
enough socialism to pass as "socialist" since FDR.
Socialism is a lousy idea based on the notion that the
state is better able to look after people's private
affairs than they are themselves. Sometimes it seems
that, Mr. Lincoln to the contrary, you can fool all of
the people all of the time. But perhaps "all" is not
necessary. Perhaps "most" is enough. Well, let us
pray that the unthinkable will not happen and that we
will survive this crisis, as we have survived others
from Valley Forge to our defeat in Southeast Asia.
Those who attended the meeting at Arlington came away
refreshed, despite the strong head-winds and heavy
seas we now face. We are now bound to put lesser
matters aside and devote all our energies to victory
in November.
""""
On the cheerful side we report that the good
people at Swift Bullet Company now have a proper bullet
suitable for the Dragoon. This is a 270-grain 375-caliber
partition bullet, just right for the 376 Steyr cartridge.
I have no word yet on a 270-grain JTC bullet for the
same cartridge, but this was under development in South
Africa at last notice.
""""
You all remember that striking footage released by
Linda Thompson in connection with the Waco atrocity. We
are alarmed to learn that Linda Thompson seems to have
vanished and cannot be reached by any previous address
or number. We got this information from the New American
magazine, but we hope that it is not properly founded. We
do not quite yet live in a country where political
opposition simply disappears. If anyone has any information
about this, it would be good to let us know.
""""
It is curious that in the midst of all this excitement
about the Olympics, almost no publicity has been concerned
with the nature and history of the Olympics. How many
"sports fans" know what "Olympic" means? It has always
been interesting to me to note that the contest as
originally conceived was almost ostentatiously non-national.
Contestants represented themselves and not their nation or
city state. These city states were at continuous warfare
with one another, but for the duration of the games borders
were opened and hostilities were suspended. The ancient
Greeks esteemed individual excellence above almost anything
else, and they made a strong effort to divorce the games
from current politics.
Times have changed, and sports today sometimes seem
to be warfare "carried out by other means". This is not
good, but at least we should be aware of how things got
to be the way they are. That, of course, is the study of
history, and history, in Mason Williams' immortal epithet,
is a thing of the past.
""""
Have you noticed how many people seem to think that
the deal is more important than the product? Such people
would rather get a good discount on a Suzuki Sidekick than
to pay list price for a Ferrari-assuming that they had the
cash in the first place. People with this viewpoint
probably wind up spending less money for a warehouseful of
second-rate gadgetry. To each his own, of course, but my
father always maintained that the quality of the product
was more im-portant than the price. If you cannot afford
it, do not buy it, but do not think that you can deal
your way to a better life.
""""
Things proceed on an upward path here at Gunsite. The
changeover to the new concept instituted late last year
has not been without certain difficulty. Trying to run
one school on a marketing basis along side another devoted
to superior output is tricky, but we are getting there,
and I think we will have things pretty well straightened
out in the months to come.
Part of this changeover in policy has resulted in the
"Masters Series" of rifle and pistol classes, conducted by
me personally six times a year. The concept here is to
expose each student to the attentions of the very best
possible staff instructors, each of whom is fully qualified
to run his own school. We made a couple of mistakes in
trying to run too many people at one time, but that will
not happen again. From now on, the student in the Masters
Series will benefit from the personal attention of a small
group of preeminently qualified Master Marksmen. "Master,"
of course, means "teacher," not necessarily expert, but the
people we will have in forthcoming Masters classes will be
both master marksmen and master teachers. Classes will be
kept small and attention will be personal.
""""
"Website? Website! We don't need no stinking website!"
""""
To my utter amazement I am informed that Saburo Sakai's
ruined eye has been rebuilt, replaced, and renewed, and
that the great ace can now see perfectly out of both eyes.
Sakai, you will remember, was Japan's foremost fighter
pilot, but was hit in the face by one 30-caliber round from
a TBF Avenger he was pursuing. He made it back to base in
fearful agony and was, of course, taken off full flight
duty. When Japan began losing the air war, he prevailed
upon his chiefs to let him fly again, and he saw action in
the Mariannas and over Iwo, where his superior flying skill
was still apparent, de-spite the loss of his eye.
Saburo Sakai will be in Washington in mid-October,
where he will engage in conversations with Joe Foss. To
have these two legendary air warriors discuss matters
face-to-face should prove a truly historic occasion.
""""
I talked to Joe Foss at some length at the last
meeting of the NRA board, and, as always, I learned
various fascinating things. For instance, I had not
known that Joe was a "point shooter" who removed the
sight from his airplane after a friend of his had his
face mashed in by the sight on a forced landing. Joe
thereafter simply pointed his airplane reflexively and
thus became the all-time hero of unsighted fire-but I
will not tell anybody in the pistol class about that!
""""
The people at Steyr are under no obligation to do
what I tell them, but I do wish that when they choose to
make major changes in a weapon of my design they would
tell me about it. As an example, they appear to have
changed the composition of the stock on the Dragoon,
apparently to strengthen the rear magazine well, which
did have the disconcerting ten-dency to drop the reserve
magazine if the weapon was improperly mounted into the
shoulder. This has caused an increase in weight of a
full pound. My Dragoon weighs 7 pounds 1� ounces. Eric
Ching's weighs just over 8. Extra weight does not
invalidate a Scout, but it does diminish the concept.
You have doubtless noted that the factory has almost
stopped advertising the Scout rifle, and I believe this
is due to the fact that the new boss at Steyr is a
marketer rather than a shooter. Witness the fact that
we now have a curious artifact known as the "Poodle
Scout" in caliber 223. I now await the Luftscout, which
is an airgun riding in a Scout stock. Well, as I have
said before, I've got mine, and thank you very much.
""""
At this point we are being pestered by persnickety
peccaries. A recent phone call for the Countess elicited,
"She can't come to the phone just now. She's away
chasing wild pigs out of the garden." The Game and Fish
people frown on our popping pigs for the pot, and we
always obey game laws, but we are sore tempted. To quote
an old hillbilly reaction, "Who's gonna know?"
""""
As you know, the people usually referred to as
"Neanderthals," but preferably termed "Ancients,"
disappeared completely from the record, replaced by what
we have called "Cro-Magnon," or more properly "Moderns."
There was nobody around to tell us how this happened, but
I have a theory. I think that the Moderns wiped out the
Ancients by the use of the bow. The Ancients were stronger
and heavier (and smelled worse, if you can believe the
Sasquatch stories), but they fought and hunted at arm's
length. The Moderns seemed to have developed the bow,
and though the two races lived contemporaneously for a
while, there is no way a rock thrower can stand up to
an archer. This is just a notion, of course. Doubtless
future digs will illuminate the matter further one way
or another.
""""
Africa is still dangerous, and do not let any bunny
hugger tell you otherwise. Here we learn from family
member Jim Sutherland of Namibia about a group of unarmed
animal watchers who got out of their car to watch the
elephants. The "alpha cow" took offense and avenged
Bambi. One tourist was killed, one was seriously injured,
and the third just made it to cover. The danger in Africa
is what makes it Africa. Danger, as we have always
preached, is the spice of life.
""""
I guess one should not watch old movies. It makes
for esthetic sorrow. The Arabs maintain that a beautiful
woman is proof of God's existence. But even the most
beautiful woman must fade with time, if she does not die
first. This seems unkind of God. (Sorry about that.)
""""
We have scheduled our first Safari Prep course for
5 - 7 March of next year. This idea has been kicking
around for some time, but now we are going to put it
together and see what happens.
Accounts from Africa suggest that too many people
are undertaking the great adventure without any clear
notion of what they are about. No one, of course, is
required to enjoy himself, but it is certainly
unfortunate for people to take the time and money to
attempt the African hunt without reading into the
problem. Shooting is only part of this problem, though
certainly an important part. In the Safari Prep course
you will shoot your African rifle, under field
conditions, and you should have details like position
assumption, bullet placement, bullet selection, and
sighting system pretty well sorted out before you take
off.
There are several other considerations, not the
least of which is the selection of your outfitter and
the type of hunting you wish to enjoy. Your relationship
with your professional hunter is a delicate one, and no
two people will ever approach each other in exactly the
same way. He will do his best to see that you have a
good time, but just what is your idea of a good time?
I suggest that the student in the Safari Prep
course be pretty well qualified with his rifle before
he comes to school. We will only be in session for
three days, and we cannot teach rifle marksmanship in
that short a time. Probably you should have a 270 ticket
Gunsite, but the approximate equivalent from Clint Smith
will get you through nicely. It will do no harm to
address the problem of hunting area and weapon selection
with us by mail in advance before you spend money on the
wrong things.
There are certain considerations of mind-set in the
hunting of big game, and especially in the hunting of
dangerous game. About the only dangerous animal we are
able to hunt today in Africa is the buffalo, and I do
not suggest that you go to Africa with the idea that it
is buffalo or nothing. There are many grand things about
the African hunt, and while a trophy buffalo is certainly
a great goal, such is not necessary to the success of your
trip. The notion that you are only go-ing to do Africa
once is misleading. Doing one African hunt is like
eating one salted peanut. It can be done, but it is
hardly satisfying.
So if you are contemplating enjoying the tail-end of
one of our culture's overwhelming personal experiences,
come see us here at school. We will discuss these
matters at length, and I think you will have a better
time in Africa. Sign up now.
Please Note: These "Commentaries" are for personal use
only. Not for publication.
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Pity about the comment on the web site - but then the
great man doesn't subscribe to Cybershooters!
Kenneth Pantling
Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.
(Edmund Burke�1729-97)
--
Actually I think the .223 Tactical Steyr Scout might
be quite useful for target shooting, but if you take
a plastic stocked rifle and shoot .376 Steyr through
it you will have problems.
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
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