The More Cooper I Read, The More He Agrees With Me.

I have been perusing(read: not skimming) the late, great, Col. Jeff Cooper's Commentaries. In November 1996 Vol. 4, Number 13 We read the following:

"The question has arisen as to why we seek all the power we can possibly control in a handgun but do not demand the same from a rifle. The answer hinges upon the difference in principle between the two instruments. A pistol is an emergency defensive weapon designed to turn someone off who is trying to kill you at close range. This is an emergency for which you cannot reasonably expect to be prepared. You will normally be extremely excited and possibly not entirely in control of your nerves. Your first shot must hit hard. It must prevent your assailant immediately from doing what he is trying to do - which is usually trying to kill you. Pistol cartridges are not very powerful, and to meet the violent emergency demand of a lethal, close range confrontation you should choose a pistol cartridge that will give you the best possibility of an instant stop, even if the hit is not perfectly placed.

"The situation is entirely different with the rifle, which is essentially an offensive weapon used at a time and place of the shooter's discretion. The rifle shooter "freezes himself cool" and places his shot with surgical precision. If he has properly studied the anatomy of his quarry, he knows exactly where the vital zone lies, and he plants his bullet just there. Therefore it is rather pointless to push for excessive power in rifle cartridges, since almost any popular center-fire round will do a good job on either game or enemies if it is properly used. (I make an exception of the buffalo, whose extraordinary resistance to gunfire puts him in a special category.)"

Very, very, very few people around today can put words together like he could. If anyone wished to give me a copy of "The Art of The Rifle" or "Another Country", I would not spit in his eye. This is another of the pitfalls of not having enough disposable income: my short-list of Books to Read is at Zero right now. Books to Own list: growing.