Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Bullet Deflector

If you shoot Cowboy Fast Draw long enough, you'll shoot down the boot.  It is what it is, and it's not a matter of IF, it is a matter of when.  So, we have bullet deflectors added to our holsters as a way of not shooting yourself in the leg.

Here's a picture of the toe of a holster with a steel bullet deflector.


And, here is a picture of a holster with a leather bullet deflector.


I recently commissioned a holster made by my son, and he's come up with a novel way of making a bullet deflector out of scrap leather.


And here is another perspective.


Interesting the way the scrap of leather cups the bottom of the holster.  I won't see the holster for another week or so, but I'll review it when I get my grubby paws on it.

4 comments:

The Displaced Louisiana Guy said...

The leather one on that Mernickle rig (as with all the leather ones I have seen) are actually steel, wrapped in leather. My goal with this design was to make one solely out of leather, that was tough enough to work properly as a bullet deflector. There is some creative cuts and stitching on the back of that thing, and it has had a chemical stiffener applied, as well.

waepnedmann said...

In 1973 I was in the last week of MP School at Ft. Gordon, GA. I was posted at the McKenna Gate on a 1600-2400 Hours shift.
Early into the shift I had read the plaque mounted near the gate remembering Pvt Robert McKenna who had been killed at the gate in 1966 while trying to stop a pair of armed robbers.
The shift dragged on into the evening when at about 2000 Hours a car, coming onto post, pulls up and the driver sticks his hand out of the window of his car. He is holding a revolver around the cylinder. He hands it to my partner and says, "My buddy was practicing his fast-draw and shot himself in the leg. We are on our way to the hospital."
When he first stuck his hand out the window my mind just screamed "Gun!" Even though it was held in a non-threatening manner I wa preconditioned by reading the plaque earlier in the shift to know that bad things can happen.
The driver did not wait for a response, hit the gas, and was gone into the night before I could react.
Anytime I think of fast-draw I think of a bullet in the leg and McKenna gate.
Bullet deflectors are a good idea.

Old NFO said...

Looks like it will work well. Waiting for the AAR.

Unknown said...

What gauge steel is the bullet reflect made of?