Cooper Firearms of Montana was founded in 1990 by Dan Cooper and two other former Kimber of Oregon employees.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Firearms |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Stevensville, Montana |
Key people | Dan Cooper, Founder |
| Products | Firearms, weapon |
| Revenue | unknown |
Number of employees | 38[1] |
| Website | www.cooperfirearms.com |
History
Cooper was created to build affordable custom-quality accurate rifles. As they put it "Rifles should shoot as well as they look and vice versa".[2] All Cooper rifles carry an accuracy guarantee. The guarantee for rimfires is 5 shots in .25 in (6.4 mm) at 50 yards (46 m),[3] while for centerfires it is 3 shots in .5 in (13 mm) at 100 yards (91 m).
Rifles are built mostly for hunting, with an emphasis on varmint hunting. As such, a wide variety of calibers is supported, including many common and popular wildcat rounds.
Cooper has achieved a reputation for high-quality accurate rifles.[4][5] Gun writers have noted that the rifles are both good-looking and well-built as well as accurate.[6][7]
In 1993 Cooper created their first single-shot rifle in .223 Remington. This rifle later became their Model 21. In 2005 they made their first rifles that had synthetic stocks. Previously all rifles had wood in a variety of grades. In 2007 the first Cooper repeater (non single-shot) rifle was created - the Model 52.[8]
Models
Summarize
Perspective
Rifles center on a few particular actions. In 2007 a centerfire repeater (Model 52) was added in a few calibers.[9][10]
- Model 7 (discontinued) - falling block action chambered in hornet and 223-based calibers. Less than 40 exist, and is considered the rarest of Cooper rifles.
- Model 16 (discontinued) - single shot action for cartridges based on the WSSM family, as well as 6 mm BR and 6 mm PPC.
- Model 21 - single shot bolt action for cartridges in the .223 Remington family.
- Model 22 - single shot bolt action for cartridges in the .308 Winchester and family and similar.
- Model 38 (discontinued) - single shot bolt action for cartridges based on the .22 Hornet and similar.
- Model 40 (discontinued) - repeating bolt action for cartridges based on the .22 Hornet and similar.
- Model 52 - repeating bolt action for cartridges in the .30-06 Springfield as well as belted magnum families.
- Model 54 - repeating bolt action for cartridges in the .308 Winchester family.
- Model 56 (discontinued) - repeating bolt action for cartridges in the .300 Winchester Magnum family.
- Model 57-M - repeating bolt action for rimfire cartridges.
- Model 51 - repeating bolt action for cartridges in the .223 Remington family.
Political donation controversy
On October 27, 2008 a USA Today article featuring executives supporting Barack Obama for president was published naming Dan Cooper as a financial supporter of the campaign.[11] Scandal soon erupted across gun-related web forums and blogs when it was made public that Dan Cooper supported a pro-gun control Presidential candidate and had donated several thousand dollars to his campaign. Gun owners and blogs reacted to the news calling for a boycott of his company.[1]
By October 28, 2008 Cooper Firearms released a message on their website, noting that the company itself had not contributed in any fashion, and clarifying Cooper's contributions.[12]
On October 29, 2008 Cooper Firearms updated the message on their website indicating the board of directors asked Dan Cooper to step down as CEO of the company.[13] In an October 30, 2008 article from USA Today Dan Cooper confirmed that he did indeed resign as CEO.[1]
See also
References
External links
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