A few weeks ago a co-worker linked me to a blog dedicated to showcasing cool gadgets that you just can’t help but spend money on. While I wasn’t interested in the item she had linked to, Bullet Bouquets was featured on the right in the suggested posts column and it sure caught my attention real quick. My desk, suit jacket, and refrigerator are now ballistically enhanced . . .
[15% off coupon code included in Conclusion section near bottom]
We’ve all looked at expanded hollow point bullets and thought that many brands look a lot like flowers, right? Apparently Bullet Bouquets sure did, and they even decided to make a business of it. They fire bullets into a water trap to expand them — at this point they call them “blooms” — spray them with a clear coat to seal the lead and copper, then build them into all sorts of accessories from women’s jewelry to boutonnieres to magnets, lapel pins, cuff links, flower bouquets, ornaments, and more.
Bullet Bouquet’s most popular product is their original product — the Classic Bullet Bouquet with two .40 S&W blooms and one 9mm bloom. I considered going with a larger version, but in the end stuck with the simpler, original one as a desk ornament.
Copper wires are glued or epoxied to the bottom of a flower pot, and empty .22 LR shells are included in a separate baggie to pour in as “soil.” Soldered to the other end of each flexible, positionable wire is a Federal HST bloom. From 3 blooms to 36 blooms, mixed calibers or all .45 ACPs, it’s up to you. As laser engraving is currently included free for the flower pot Bullet Bouquets, I had them add the TTAG logo.
HSTs really do make pretty flowers!
I’d rather not admit to having a small collection of lapel pins, but suffice it to say there was no way I was walking away from Bullet Bouquets’ website without one. This guy’s a 9mm. It came with both types of backing plates, and I happen to think it’s pretty cool.
Next up: fridge magnets. A .45, .40, and 9mm to keep the kids’ artwork on the fridge.
A rare earth magnet is epoxied to the bottom to provide a strong magnetic stick.
Okay, so the fridge thing lasted as long as it took for the wife to notice, at which point they became further decoration on the metal cabinet in my office.
Deviating now from decorations and accessories is Bullet Bouquets’ “Boom Box.” It’s exactly what it says on the label above: an example kit showing expanded hollow points of different brands and calibers.
My local indoor range and gun shop was really excited about this one, as they think it’ll be a neat teaching tool for use in their various handgun courses, and may also be helpful when customers have questions about which defensive load they should carry.
Each bullet is labeled on its base.
And a key is provided inside of the lid to help with identification. I’m not sure I’d agree that this is “typical expansion” so much as maybe “ideal expansion,” since we’re looking at bullets fired into water and not through a barrier of some sort (even clothing) then into various types of bone and tissue. It’s definitely still a neat tool to visualize potential differences between brands and calibers, though.
Finally, there’s something to write with. Bullet Bouquets makes cartridge pens in six different calibers.
I figured .338 LM would be big enough to use comfortably, although there’s also a .50 BMG option. After using it for a while I don’t think I’d want to write a lot with anything smaller, but I’m also not sure bigger would be any better. The length and width of the .338 LM do seem to work well.
And hey, it even writes! Actually, it writes quite well. Bullet Bouquets is using a Zebra Sharbo X refill, which glides smoothly and is available in many ink and gel colors and line thicknesses. The refill is also easily replaceable, and the heft of the cartridge feels good in the hand.
Conclusion
This is a cool idea and Bullet Bouquets has executed on it really well. Everything looks good and is put together solidly. While most of their products are purely decorative, the pen, magnets, and Boom Box have functional purpose. That said, although I thought it was cool I had no real use for the Boom Box, so I gave it to my local range after seeing how excited they were at the prospect of using it during classes. Sounds like they’re planning on picking up a couple more for the display counters as well.
I asked Bullet Bouquets if they’d be willing to create a coupon code for TTAG readers that I could include in the review, and they obliged. Enter “TTAG15” (without the quotes) for 15% off through June 5th, 2016. If you’re visiting this review too late to take advantage of the discount, they told me they send out coupons to their mailing list, which you can join via the Bullet Bouquets website. To be candid, I’ve historically avoided asking retailers to offer coupon codes — even though most would go for it and many have suggested it themselves (in many cases after seeing an already-published review). Basically, the optics are off and I fear my impartiality will be questioned. We’re a bit of a cynical crowd, eh? In this case, I went for it since the price points here are relatively low and these products don’t carry the sort of importance that a firearm or piece of firearm gear (optics, holsters, triggers, etc) can. Neither I nor TTAG will receive any sort of benefit whatsoever from including the coupon code here.
Ratings (out of five stars):
Quality * * * * *
I think they covered all of the bases here (pun intended). Bullets are attached solidly and are clear coated for protection from lead exposure. I’d guess a custom order with all-copper bullets wouldn’t be out of the question, though. The laser engraving on the terracotta pot is sharp, but a little light in tone — definitely gray, not black, and not entirely opaque — whereas it looks darker and more solid on the brass shell case. That’s really the only nitpick I can come up with and, of course, engraving is optional.
Overall * * * * *
Sweet. I’m looking forward to showing off the lapel pin, am impressed with how cool the magnets look and how solidly they hold — they actually may be my favorite of these items — the pen works great, and the bouquet is a nice touch on my desk. It sounds like the shooting range will get a lot of use out of the Boom Box, too.