I'm sorry to hear about the death of Jeff Cooper, a legendary gun firearms instructor who was more than a spokesman for Second Amendment. He lived it.

The Prescott (Arizona) Daily Courier remembers him:

America lost a national treasure Monday, but most Americans will never know it.

Yet many of those Americans may be alive today because of John Dean "Jeff" Cooper, who died Monday afternoon at the Sconce, his beloved home near Gunsite, the shooting training center he founded about 10 miles north of Chino Valley.

Most people who know anything about guns and shooting know who Jeff Cooper was. They rightly called him "The Gunner's Guru." He was the world's foremost expert on small arms (rifles, shotguns and handguns).

He was born John Dean Cooper on May 10, 1920. He earned a master's degree in history and taught history. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II, Southeast Asia and Korea. He separated from the service as a lieutenant colonel and most who knew him called him "The Colonel."

In the course of his military combat experience and shooting contests he organized in Big Bear, Calif., in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he developed the "modern technique" of using a handgun for personal protection.

In 1976, he founded the American Pistol Institute or Gunsite, near Paulden in 1976. Since then, nearly 18,000 people have received training there in how to use handguns, rifles and shotguns to protect their lives and the lives of others.

There's too much hoplophobia in the world today, and one less voice against it.

Rest in peace, Colonel Cooper.

UPDATE (09/27/06): Glenn Reynolds remembers Jeff Cooper, as does Samizdata's Jonathan Pearce. And Marc Danziger has a personal tribute as moving as it is interesting.