Thell Reed

As a teenager, Reed competed in Jeff Cooper's Big Bear "Leatherslaps" shooting competitions at Big Bear Lake, California. The Leatherslaps became the "South Western Combat Pistol League" or "SWCPL". Reed competed so successfully that he became one of six "Combat Masters", so called because they would almost always take the first six places in the competition.[1] Of the six Combat Masters, Reed had the quickest draw.[2]

The Combat Masters were:

• Jack Weaver
• John Plähn
• Elden Carl
• Ray Chapman
• Thell Reed
• Jeff Cooper

After the SWCPL matches, Reed went on to compete in fast draw competitions in which he achieved fame. His celebrity gained him entry into the movie industry and he became an advisor to the movie industry on the use of firearms. He trained actors such as Russell Crowe and Brad Pitt for acting roles involving the use of pistols.[3] He also trained Michael Biehn for the film Tombstone. Biehn portrayed Johnny Ringo, a notorious and highly skilled gunfighter.[4]

Reed is the father of set armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was the head armorer for Rust during the October 2021 Rust movie set shooting incident.[5]

• Weapons master
• Fast Draw

• Thell Reed at IMDb
• The SWPCL competitions Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine