For hunters and pipers this Christmas?

The Telegraph reports that a Scottish firm is producing something new in the way of hunting clothes.

Tweed, the hard-wearing fabric favoured by the landed gentry, has been adapted into bullet-proof clothing.

A Scottish textiles company has launched a range of jackets and waistcoats, complete with body armour sown into the fabric, in an effort to stop sportsmen being injured.

However, Jack Ellis, the Angus-based firm behind the new garments, is also targeting them at Russian oligarchs keen to protect themselves from assassination attempts.

Stewart Liddell, the company’s sales director, said they will appeal to “an ever-expanding market” despite costing between £600 and £1,000 [between about US $950 and $1,600] each.

“The bullet-proof tweed is ideal for shooting parties on Scotland’s grouse moors. Every season you hear of an accidental shooting,” he said.

“Now nervous gamekeepers can provide clients with extra protection, especially from trigger-happy Italians who get excited on the moors.

“It is also ideal for upper-end security, especially overseas, with the likes of Russia proving a large and expanding market for us.”

He said the waistcoats and jackets are very lightweight, allowing easy movement, but will “easily” stop a shotgun blast thanks to ceramic plates inserted into their linings.

The tweed ‘soft armour’ also includes a weave of aramid, a super-strength synthetic fibre that diverts bullets off at an angle. The exterior is covered by a thin layer of Teflon, which is waterproof and offers extra protection.

Although the waistcoats appear slightly padded, it is virtually impossible to tell the difference between a normal shooting jacket and the armoured version.

. . .

“We have our own firing range in Worcester where we test our products with various weapons, including shotguns, handguns, Uzi sub-machineguns and AK-47s,” he said.

“We currently provide body armour for the media, including Sky TV, with Ross Kemp using our vests on his recent series in Afghanistan.”

There’s more at the link.

What interests me most about this new fabric are its possibilities for Highland dress. Kilts are made from a twill fabric, of which tweed is another example. If you can make bulletproof tweed, you can make bulletproof kilts as well. This could revolutionize the Highland regiments, and render Scottish bagpipe bands immune to even ballistic complaints about the noise they generate! Unkillable kilts and shrapnel-proof sporrans might be just what the piper ordered!

Peter