Combat Leather

During Bruce’s entire law enforcement career, he always had space to work on his holster business on the side, developing his craftsmanship and designs under the name Combat Leather Limited and stamped each piece CLL. In 1985, Bruce retired from the CDOJ, and he and Sandy moved to a house at the end of a long dirt road in the Catalina Mountains, outside Tucson, Arizona. Sandy became a partner in a big law firm and commuted to the city. He began building full time under the new name Bruce Nelson Combat Leather. There’s a period in the late seventies through the eighties that is referred to as the resurgence of American craftsmanship. This occurred in all fields, from furniture to bicycles to holsters. Bruce’s interests and passion concurred with this period and he had the ability and talent to be a leader in that world. Bruce made holsters, one at a time, by hand. There was no such thing as a Bruce Nelson “second.” If it wasn’t perfect, he cut it into pieces and threw it away. Demand always exceeded supply.

All of Bruce’s law enforcement and practical shooting background combined with the 25 years as an exacting holster designer and leather craftsman contributed to the success of his business, Bruce Nelson Combat Leather. His influence on holster design has been considerable. His #1 Professional and Summer Special designs have inspired generation of imitations. Bruce’s philosophy was to produce and offer to his clients only what improved upon the designs already on the market. He worked hard to assure meticulous quality in his very personal craft. 

When he joined the California Department of Justice, he became an undercover “narc” adopting a long-haired, scruffy look that enabled him to bust many a doper. He tried carrying his Colt .45 Commander concealed in a cheap, clip-on, inside-the-belt-holster, and quickly discovered the
limitations of that design. So, he set out to improve it, on his kitchen table, using the skills John Bianchi had taught him. 

First, he replaced the clip with a snap-on strap, so that when he drew his gun, the holster didn’t come with it. Then he reinforced the mouth of the holster with a strip of metal sandwiched inside another strip of leather, so that once a criminal was on the sidewalk and ready for handcuffing, he could re-holster one-handed and eyes-off. He used slightly heavier leather-still thin, but stiff rough side of the leather out, to “grab” the clothing and help keep the pistol properly positioned.

He sent a sample holster to Jeff Cooper, who responded with a cryptic note:” Summer Special looks good.” The name stuck. Bruce made a few Summer Specials for his fellow undercover cops, but didn’t have enough time to satisfy the demand. One of those cops made his way to the remote Idaho shop of Milt Sparks and said, “Can you make a holster like this?” Milt called Bruce and asked permission. “No problem. Go ahead,” said Bruce.

Bruce’s other major contribution to holster design was the rearbelt slot. Holsters had always been made with a” tunnel” belt-loop, using either a folder-over flap from the holster body itself or a sewn-on, separate piece. Added to this, Bruce’s invention, the rear slot, pulled the gun butt in tight to the body for better concealment. Other holster makers picked up the idea. Bruce’s “#1 Professional” holster inspired Milt Sparks’ #55BN (guess what the “BN” stands for), the Gordon Davis “Liberty,” the Bianchi “Askins Avenger,” and many others.

Bruce’s gear has been sent all over the world, England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Austria, Botswana, Norway, Sweden, Hong Kong –even a woman in Argentina – Bruce’s client list goes on and on. “I get orders with some unusual addresses – in care of U.S. embassies in strange places,“ he said with a grin. Design work for special operations units and elite military teams is another Combat Leather specialty, with complete confidentially promised.

“There are more gun owners in foreign countries than in the United States,” he points out, “Even in England, where there are a lot of sports shooters. There’s a British holster builder who sells here in the U.S. In Switzerland, every male over age 18 must own a rifle because he’s in the Swiss army reserve. And the government comes around every year and inspects the rifle and makes sure that there’s ammunition for it in the house,” Nelson notes. “Yet Switzerland has the lowest crime rate in the world and almost non-existent homicide rate.”

Nelson’s years on the mean streets have given him a special insight into the gear a plainclothes law enforcement officer needs for survival. He’s been there. He said there were seven or eight incidents in which his ability to quickly draw his handgun may have saved his life. One involved fugitives driving a stolen car and armed with a double-barreled shotgun; the second, a fugitive who reached for his AK-47 when Nelson burst into a Chula Vista apartment to serve a warrant. In both incidents, the fugitive decided against using their weapons when Nelson beat them to the draw.

“Concealment is especially crucial in undercover narcotics work”, Nelson says, “since experienced dealers look for weapons”.

Bruce loved photography. He studied at workshops with Ansel Adams. Ansel even printed one of Bruce’s negatives. Bruce took all the pictures in his famous catalog, did the layout, everything. 

Conclusion

Both Bruce and Sandy became active in the NRA, she as a member of the Board of Directors, later as President, and he as a member of the Law Enforcement Assistance Committee. They were active in politics, too, volunteering to raise funds, pass out flyers, stuff envelopes, make phone calls, and write position papers on gun rights. More than one politician came to realize that the “gun lobby” was not the villainous gang portrayed by the talking heads on TV, but a bunch of decent, intelligent,hard-working people like Bruce and Sandy.

For a man trained in the art of combat and survival, Bruce was infinitely gentle, loving and understanding. He and Sandy would sit outside and watched the jackrabbits, lizards, javelinas, coyotes and birds on whose land Bruce and Sandy lived. They shot from the back porch at the Pepper Poppers that decorated hills behind their home. Once in a while, they would carry the Browning M2, .50 onto the porch, and invite a few friends over for an evening of Class III divertissement. They played with Dave, the French lop-eared rabbit, who had the run of the house.

In November 1994, Bruce and Sandy were hiking in the Grand Canyon, and Bruce felt tired and short of breath. They figured it was the altitude and the extreme cold. The breathing difficulty continued, off and on. A doctor prescribed a succession of asthma-type inhalers, which didn’t seem to help much. Bruce insisted on “working through it,” and continue his exercise routine. He was scheduled to take some pulmonary-function tests on the afternoon of February 15th 1995. That morning, he collapsed in his living room. He died in the ambulance, on the way to the hospital. Cause of death was a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in his lungs. Bruce was not a religious man. No clerics were present at his memorial ceremony. (However, it probably set a record for the largest collection of .45s in Summer Specials.)

Sandy said they often told each other that they loved each other. She said, “A day never went by that we didn’t talk about how perfect our lives were: we lived in beautiful surroundings, we did work that we loved, and we had each other. Bruce will be remembered as a man of unwavering principles. He counted many friends but no enemies. His life was full of great adventures and many pleasures. A loving husband, son and brother, a superb craftsman, a loyal friend, a true defender of American rights and an outstanding gentleman in every way."