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Jeff Cooper on Trigger Weights

I've been slowly making my way through Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip 2, the collection of Col. Jeff Cooper's monthly newsletters from 1990 through 2000. It's a testament to the Colonel that his writing is still engaging and thought-provoking more than a decade later. Just today, while reading the second newsletter from 1999, I ran across the answer to a question I'd been unable to find the answer to previously. But first, some background.

About six months ago I decided to upgrade the trigger on my Smith & Wesson M&P 45. While an otherwise excellent example of a modern polymer service pistol, the trigger as it comes from the factory is certainly sub-par. I can live with a two-stage trigger, although I greatly prefer the crisp single-stage trigger of a good 1911, but I couldn't stand the gritty, creepy stock trigger with its excessive over-travel.

To remedy this I sent my pistol to the good folks at Apex Tactical to have them install one of their Forward Set Sear and Trigger Kits. By default the kit produces a trigger pull somewhere between four and five pounds, but I wanted a trigger pull closer to my favorite 1911's four-pounds. In fact, I thought it might even be better at 3.5#, but I began to wonder what Col. Cooper's preferred trigger weights were. He shares as much blame as anyone for turning me into a trigger snob, so I figured it'd be wise to research his thoughts on the matter.

Alas my Google-fu must have been weak, as I wasn't able to find a first-hand statement from the Colonel online. I went ahead and requested a 3.5# pull and it turned out to be spot-on for me—enough so that I was able to graduate with distinction from Front Sight's pistol class back in December. So it was with some delight that I ran into the following passage earlier today:

In my opinion, a service pistol should break at four lbs or a little under. Three-and-a-half is better. On a heavy rifle (45-caliber and up), 3½ lbs is about right. With a light rifle you can go quite a bit lighter, though this tends to shake up the liability lilies. The trigger on my factory-tuned SS [Steyr Scout] breaks at 26 ounces, and it is the same on my Blaser 93.

Finally Finished "The Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip"

Whew! It took me over a year to make it through Col. Cooper's 702-page collection of the first nine years of his newsletter. Written like a blog long before there ever was such a thing, each issue of Gunsight Gossip was a collection of short articles on issues of interest to the Col. He covered everything from history and politics to culture, linguistics, humor, and of course many aspects of firearms and hunting.

Gargantuan Gunsight Gossip covers 1981 through 1989, and it was quite the trip down memory lane to read his commentary on issues that were prominent as I was becoming politically aware in middle and high school: apartheid, the contras, political correctness, Panama, SDI, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and more. In retrospect he seems quite accurate in his understanding of the issues and challenges, and I found myself nodding in agreement throughout most of the book.

Probably the most challenging aspect of reading this collection was that it was rare to get more than half-way through a chapter before I had to run to the computer and Google for more info on an interesting topic. I must have spent as much time learning more about the topics he mentioned as I did actually reading the book. Fortunately the blog-style of writing made it easy to put the book down and pick it up later without losing continuity.

My journey through the Gossip archives isn't finished, however; there's a second volume that weighs-in at over 1,100 pages and covers 1990 through 2000. (Man, the first volume was uncomfortable enough to hold up while reading!) I still need to finish Atlas Shrugged first, though, and I ended up starting Lucifer's Hammer last weekend since it was more convenient to carry while I was traveling than either Gossip or Shrugged. Nice problem to have!

Book Review: "Another Country"

This is another great collection of stories of Col. Jeff Cooper's life, this time written by the Col. himself (as opposed to the tales his daughter tells in "The Soul and the Spirit").  The Col. was lucky to grow up in a wonderful time and enjoyed considerable privilege as the son of a fairly wealthy man.  Yet, unlike so many others in similar shoes, Col. Cooper developed an amazing sense of responsibility and independence for it.

He got to spend summers on Catalina island exploring the land and swimming and fishing the seas, killing wasps with a sabre and shooting sharks with all manner of firearms.  As a young man we learn of his adventures in the Marines, both in training and at war, and his inventive journey home.  Post-war, we get to look over his shoulder as he explores the wild remotes of Central America for fun and adventure.  Lastly we are taught about all manner of African fauna and the honorable pursuit of such.  While clearly opinionated, Col. Cooper is a joy to read and learn from—a real man's man with an appreciation for the finer things in life and an ability to clearly communicate those values to anyone willing to listen.

Sadly, the Col. passed away on September 25th, 2006 at the age of 86.  At the conclusion of "Another Country" you can tell that he is acutely aware that he is in the winter months of his life.  As he writes in the final paragraph of the book:

"An iron constitution, an inquiring mind, a high pain threshold, a great talent for appreciation, brilliant parents, continuous learning, rewarding labor, an adventurous disposition—and above all a perfect wife and a beautiful family—such blessings cannot be deserved, but they are deeply and humbly appreciated."

We should all be so lucky and strive towards so much.  Godspeed, Col. Cooper.

New! Reading List

I've added a list of the books I've been reading and re-arranged the layout of this site to accommodate it.  I don't read as many books as I'd like, but maybe this list will motivate me to read more?  I certainly have enough unread books at hand!  Here are some capsule reviews for the most recent:

"The Da Vinci Code": I'm trying to avoid being the last person on the planet to read Dan Brown's wonderful book.  A wonderful, romping read, but folks are mistaking this work of fiction for fact?  Amazing!

"Slander": I'm terribly behind in my reading; I have a couple shelves of unread books, yet I continue to buy more as I see new and interesting titles. One of the (many) problems with this is that topical books can become stale by the time I read them. Sadly, this applies to Ann Coulter's extensive documentation of the rampant bias and slander against conservative principles that regularly appears in most traditional media. Published in 2002, I'm sure that the revelations were startling to many at the time. By now, however, the pervasive bias is pretty well understood and Ann's litany of abuses are old hat; liberal newspapers and the major TV networks continue to lose readers/viewers as people seek out other opinions and less-biased reporting of events. So, if you've been hiding in a cave for the last four years, or you've somehow missed the news revolution, please pick up this book. Otherwise, there's not a lot of new information, and although well written it lacks the timeliness it did back in 2002.

"C Stories": A wonderful collection of Col. Cooper's life experiences throughout the world, in both war and peace. If you want to read about someone who took Teddy Roosevelt's incitement to lead a vigorous life to heart, read this book.

"The Soul and the Spirit": This is the story of Jeff Cooper, as told by his daughter Lindy. Fairly well written, and it covers a lot of Col. Cooper's early years that the rest of his books don't talk about, including his home life and his passion for racing Porsches. This book really helped round out my knowledge of the foremost expert in armed self defense.

"Prey": In college I used to think I wanted to be a nanotechnologist, but after my first chemistry class I discovered I couldn't hack it. I looked forward to reading this book, and I wasn't disappointed. Yes, a few things are a stretch, but it was well told and gripping. A great summer read.