Cooper Arms 1989-2009

[Bamaslammer]

Wow, what a treat to have the man himself here. I’ve only heard the best about Cooper rifles. Thanks for coming here.

thank you sir

 

[Bamaslammer]

Thanks for joining us! Glad to have you

thank you sir

When did you first decide to start making your own actions and is this when the business as we knew it started? You must have built quite a few rifles on everything else prior to your own line. Was there a favorite action that you based yours off of? Welcome by the way, I've always wanted an older Cooper rifle but could never afford one 15 years ago. It's still on my list of things to get though!

Dan,
What time frame was Leroy doing the stock work at cooper? And what models was he working on?
Thanks,
James

James I can’t think of any model he DIDNT work on. He and I always had like a mind meld of what I wanted but let there be no doubt that LeRoy put it to wood. For dates I can say 1991-2007

 

[Bamaslammer]

My buddy has a LH 38 in 17 HeBee. Special ordered, etc. Agreed that if the 5 units per year thing is correct, they’re rare birds.

I believe that to be true, likely bought thru The Outdoorsman, Tom Thomas

 

[Bamaslammer]

Welcome to the board Dan. I have a M57 in 22 long rifle that i bought from The Outdoorsman in PA. in 2001,
3 digit serial number. Prettiest rifle I own, and it shoots!
James

that’s great news just keep on shooting they only get better with time…I had a BMW 740i that used to drive at 140mph and I asked the mechanic one day about my abuse…He said your BMW loves you and never stop driving her hard.
Rifles made in my tenure were designed and made to drive hard. The more you shoot the better they get! Please do enjoy!

 

[JohnHenry]

Welcome Dan, I am fortunate to own a number of Cooper's rifles. Among them is a single digit serial number Cooper Peregrine falling block action in 218 Bee. How many of the Peregrines did Cooper produce? Thank you.

 

[Drop Port]

Never owned one but I have a friend that has a safe full. If he ever sells his Cooper Mannlicher 17 Squirrel that will be my first.

 

[kleanbore 1]

OMG you have one of the first 50 M21’s ever made!!! Congratulations what a find! The CC stands for custom classic. Are you sure of the serial number? did it have an X one it? Shilen made the bbl

No x, it's actually A113. Do you remember what the wood was finished with? Time frame?
Thanks and welcome.

 

[Bamaslammer]

I have heard that many times over the years. I think that it was supposed to be because of Todd Kindler and near him. It did not happen, though.

Danny

Todd had a signifant on the decision yes! But sadly it was started and never came to fruition.

 

[Bamaslammer]

No x, it's actually A113. Do you remember what the wood was finished with? Time frame?
Thanks and welcome.

A113 was one of the first produced. The wood was finished was several coats of natural oil but the make iludes me sorry

 

[Bamaslammer]

A113 was one of the first produced. The wood was finished was several coats of natural oil but the make iludes me sorry

What a great rifle to own my congratulations on having it, a true part of our history

 

[Bamaslammer]

I have heard that many times over the years. I think that it was supposed to be because of Todd Kindler and near him. It did not happen, though.

Danny

Dan,
WELLLLLLL,
Ok, I get it that you like strength, and what I am about to write is not something to slight the rifles, just an observation. For a while, when I first got some Model 21s, then was only handling them for a while, I went back to do some things to my Remington 700 .223 Varmint Synthetic and a Ruger 77 VT .223. Handling those after the model 21s made those two feel like crew served weapons. This is not to say that you made the 21 and 38 too small, but rather that the others are HUGE!

Danny

The Model 16 is the real monster! Built as the precursor to the M52. Coopers were built to with stand pressures of the experimenting handloader. I wanted to make sure we gave the handloader strength and security but still be sexy.

 

[Bamaslammer]

Welcome Dan, I am fortunate to own a number of Cooper's rifles. Among them is a single digit serial number Cooper Peregrine falling block action in 218 Bee. How many of the Peregrines did Cooper produce? Thank you.

Only about 25. OMG they were the coolest to make too! I’d love to make them again.

 

[Bamaslammer]

Only about 25. OMG they were the coolest to make too! I’d love to make them again.

Congratulations on owning one of a truest custom rifles we made

 

[Bamaslammer]

Never owned one but I have a friend that has a safe full. If he ever sells his Cooper Mannlicher 17 Squirrel that will be my first.

Thank LeRoy Barry for that one! That’s a really cool rifle. Thank you for the memory

 

[Bamaslammer]

Only about 25. OMG they were the coolest to make too! I’d love to make them again.

No x, it's actually A113. Do you remember what the wood was finished with? Time frame?
Thanks and welcome.

Takes a while for memory to kick in, it was finished with Watkins natural oil finish

 

[Bamaslammer]

As I heard it, you went on a squirrel hunt in eastern Arkansas and you were guided by a fellow named Jackson. He was a game warden or something of that sort. He described his idea of the perfect squirrel gun and you took notes. As the story goes, Mr Jackson got the first one of that model.
Even close to the real story?

hope u saw my reply

 

[19 Badger]

Welcome Dan... I have one of the model 21's in .19-223 and is an absolute tack driver! Beautiful firearms, very proud to own one....

 

[varmintshooter]

I don't a 223 would fit in a M38 but thanks for the response. Where there any failures with the M38 due to the small lugs?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

What caused your exit and your barrel supplier to buy the company?

 

[Tommie]

Lol oh you’re talking bout Pete! Well pretty close. Pete and uncle Zell came to the factory out in MT. Zell was one of my BOD at the time. Now keep in mind this all happened in a day along with the Cooper crew and of course LeRoy Barry. I told Pete (Mr Jackson) that we should build the Ferrari of all squirrel hunting rifles. I had the concept in mind and LeRoy in his brilliance put everything to work. I’ll never forget telling Zell we needed a name for the Ferrari of all squirrel rifles, proved in accuracy, presented in uncompromised off hand feel, and the nicest wood I had in stock, I decided on calling it the Jackson Squirrel Rifle.
Yes Pete (Mr Jackson) has the first and I still have #2.
The most fun I had in my factory. Everyone including the checkers, machinists, and Laura could feel the energy. Everyone was suddenly on board. We thought we might sell a cpl hundred. The demand was so high we ended up selling over 3000 until 2009 when I sold the company.

Dan thanks for sharing the story