Its been a long road to my first Cooper Varmint Rifle!
Last month I was shopping Rifles and scopes from a recently deceased Varmint Hunters extensive collection.
In fact I was told by the broker the collection consisted of over 150 guns mostly rimfire and centerfire Varmint and target Rifles with a few pistols thrown in.
Among other guns I chose was my first Cooper Rifle a Model 21 Montana Varmint with AAA+ wood and a fluted stainless barrel in caliber 223 Remington.
Now Lord knows I did NOT need another 223 Varminter but the wood on this one and the immaculate condition it was in (as new with box and papers) pushed me over the edge and I brought it home.
I had been after a Cooper Varminter for 28+ years now and over that time various things just kept coming between me and owning one for all that time.
First it was my doubts about those beautiful Rifles actually living up to their accuracy guarantee (stupid me back then!) this worry was based on my ill advised opinion that an action that small and dainty could not shoot as well as the company maintained (even with their guarantee).
Secondly the cost. This is self explanatory and I kept piddling around year after year hoping to find a "clean one" on the used market for "cheap"!
No such luck was to befall me, for many years anyway.
Every year I would start my Varmint Safari 10 day vacation to Montana with a trip through Ronan, Montana where the wonderful Ronan Sport Shop used to exist. The owner there had an "in" with the Cooper Firearms owner/factory personnel and of all the shops I had perused Cooper Rifles in this Ronan Sports had by far the best inventory of Cooper Rifles! And they always had exquisitely stocked Coopers in both rimfire and centerfire versions.
Still I did not "pull the trigger" on one.
Then in about 2,008 I got wind of the owner of the Cooper Firearms Company having given money to, and endorsed, barrack hussein obama for President of the United States of America! And to top that off he had given money to barrack hussein obama when that anti-American rat ran for the United States Senate!
I was put off by that to the extreme - and to Cooper chasing, for a few years.
Numerous Varmint Hunting friends of mine owned Cooper Rifles though and from time to time I shot them (both rimfire and centerfire) and the Cooper flame began to grow again in me.
Finally here in December of 2,020 I came across this estate liquidation and the AAA+ wood (or so the serialized factory carton it came in says) Cooper Montana Varmint Rifle.
I quickly looked up the current prices for this Model and for the upgrades (AAA+ wood $375.00 to $600.00 extra and the fluted barrel $185.00 extra) and eventually negotiated a price near 1/3 the current cost for this barely used (bore scope and bolt face inspections verified this!) Rifle.
I simply think the broker for this estate did not fully understand that "options" on Cooper Rifles add up quickly and varying models have different price ranges?
Off I go with my long sought treasure with the thought in the back of my mind "what if it doesn't shoot very well" - what then?
I mounted a nifty Weaver Grand Slam 6.5x20 variable scope with the fine cross hairs and fine dot reticle onto the Rifle. I had been saving this scope for a special occasion.
The scope looks great on the Rifle and the trigger, dry fired with snap caps (as I am not to familiar with Coopers), let off at an amazingly crisp 30 ounces!
I was pumped and couldn't wait to make dedicated handloads for this Rifle (or for the winter winds to quit) so I grabbed some known accurate 223 Remington Varmint ammo I have on hand for another Rifle and when the winds quit I headed for my friends private 100 yard range.
It was 14 degrees when I got to my friends range shack but the air was dead calm and the sun was blazingly bright and at my back!
As I loaded the first round into the Coopers chamber I again feared that this dainty Rifle would be hard pressed to attain "accuracy" with!
And, my "accuracy load" I brought along was built with the humble Hornady 40 grain V-Max bullets (along with Winchester brass, Federal 205M Match primers and W 748 powder).
I shouldn't have worried - after getting the load on paper the first group (5 shots at 100 yards) measured .410" and the second five shot group measured .348" there at 100 yards!
I was thrilled.
I was tempted to fire some more rounds but I was starting to shiver and half way through the second grouping the dead calm air was allowing the 1/2" white square inside the 1" black square bench rest target to "blur" with the tiny amount of heat coming off the Coopers fluted barrel. I mean I could barely feel the barrel "heat" with my ungloved hand but it was showing up in the bright sunlight wavering/distorting my aiming point.
AND.. then my battery operated fan for dispersing heat waves off of barrels had dead batteries - I decided to call it a day however brief it was.
I was cold and trembling when I loaded up the Cooper but could NOT have been happier with the results of the day.
My next handloads to try are made with the wonderful 52 grain Berger bullets and I have some brass dedicated to this Rifle that I will be fireforming then.
All in all (accuracy, beautiful wood stock and exceptionally fine trigger) I could NOT be happier with my first Cooper Rifle.
Anyone holding "on the edge" regarding buying a Cooper Varminter - I now heartily and personally recommend the purchase.
Long live Cooper Firearms.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy