Size of Original Shooting Bags?

[Smokey Plainsman]

T.C. Albert suggests using 3-4 ounce (veggie-tanned) leather in his book on pouches. That is 3/64-1/16" thick. Leather doesn't have to be all that thick to be tough enough for your purpose. My pouch, made of that aforementioned bark-tanned deerskin, is about 8 ounces on average and is probably overkill (though I do like that thick, stiff strap, coming to think of it...)

A couple things I suggest you do before you order another pouch. First, get ahold of a couple books: Madison Grant, The Kentucky Rifle Hunting Pouch; T.C. Albert, Recreating the 18th Century Hunting Pouch; and the Book of Buckskinning, Vol. VI, which contains an article on hunting pouches. The Book of Buckskinning and Madison Grant's book are probably available via Interlibrary Loan (I know they were at one point, 'cause that is how I got them...), you will probably have to buy T.C. Albert's book. Those will give you an idea of what the historically correct choices are - for the mid 19th century you have a quite a variety to choose from.

Once you have an idea of what you are looking at, you can think about whether you want to recreate a "poorboy" set of accoutrements to go with your rifle, or a high-end set, or something in between.  IIRC you aren't a reenactor. You don't have to have a persona (I don't) but it wouldn't be a bad idea to figure out what kind of person would have used the kind of rifle you are going to be using and to use that as a basis for picking out what kind of bag would go best with it.

At that point you should have an idea of what you are shooting for, which allows you to know what kind of questions to ask. Ask here, and ask the person who will be making your pouch.

In the meantime, you can be using the pouch you already have...actual use may give you a better idea of what you want functionally out of your next one.

Thank you so much!! I will search for those books. I do have one other hunting pouch and I really like it, made by October Country, their "free trappers" bag if I recall. But I am wanting a more authentic and one of a kind bag for my caplock squirrel rifle I am having made for me.

I would have to say the setup I'm looking to recreate would be for an 1840s-1850s Mississippi river area hunter of modest income. I will for sure be doing more research before "jumping in" to my next bag purchase. I want the next one to be high quality and also very HC/PC.

Those books that you recommend, they also talk about the items that go into the hunting bag? I am also interested in getting those as HC/PC as I can for that time period to go along with my rifle.

Thank again for the help, I greatly appreciate the patience and knowledge that you guys have for a "newbie" to the world of traditional American rifle shooting and hunting!!

[Smokey Plainsman]

Okay, I just bought The Kentucky Rifle Hunting Pouch by Madison Grant. They had it on Track of the Wolf and I had another order I went ahead and placed with them as well. Can't wait to read it!!

[Elnathan]

Take Grant's descriptions and dates with a grain of salt. He has a lot of pictures, but he tends to be a bit spare with real info in his descriptions, and he was writing many decades ago when folks did not know as much about the development of the American longrifle as we do now. On the other hand, one of the biggest problems in this area is dating artifacts earlier than they really are, usually 19th century objects being taken as 18th century. Grant is actually pretty conservative in that regard - only three of the hundred-plus pouches are claimed as possible 18th century pouches, and you are looking for later pouches anyway. Also, unlike, say, knives, I don't think that there has been any real significant changes in our understanding of pouches since he wrote his books.

All this to say: If you find a pouch you like, cross-reference it with similar pouches from the other two books and see what they have to say too.

[David Rase]

There is a new 2 disc DVD from American Pioneer Video featuring Ken Scott making a hunting pouch and the antiquing and aging it.  I received my copy from Jim Wright on Friday and am halfway through watching it for the second time.  I highly recommend this DVD.  Some parts seem to move a bit slow and others I had to watch a couple of times to understand what Ken was describing/showing.  I have made a dozen or so hunting pouches and I managed to learn a lot from this DVD that will help me with future pouches.  You can call Jim or Karen at  1-270-782-7506 and order your own copy.
David

[Clark Badgett]

I would have to say the setup I'm looking to recreate would be for an 1840s-1850s Mississippi river area hunter of modest income. I will for sure be doing more research before "jumping in" to my next bag purchase. I want the next one to be high quality and also very HC/PC.

Think plain and small. Large enough to hold some balls and caps. A day horn of some sort would be more appropriate than a big one. The Mississippi River covers a whole lot of area. From the Gulf to almost in Canada.

Something like this would be completely correct. http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=43674.0

[Smokey Plainsman]

I would have to say the setup I'm looking to recreate would be for an 1840s-1850s Mississippi river area hunter of modest income. I will for sure be doing more research before "jumping in" to my next bag purchase. I want the next one to be high quality and also very HC/PC.

Think plain and small. Large enough to hold some balls and caps. A day horn of some sort would be more appropriate than a big one. The Mississippi River covers a whole lot of area. From the Gulf to almost in Canada.

True! I would say I'd be interested in what they would have used from the region around St. Louis along the river. That's where I grew up and where I'll do some squirrel hunting hopefully in the near future with my rifle and trappings. 

Also I forgot to mention that I am having a man in Nebraska make me a small simple day horn for my rifle. The one I use for my big plains rifle is pretty large so I wanted a smaller one for hunting and plinking. I conversed with him about making it historically correct for the time period I'm looking for.

[thecapgunkid]

Hungry Horse;   I blame the Rendezvous for this. Most of us shoot more in an afternoon at Rendezvous than the old timers shot in a month. So, one has to be prepared for all kind of malfunctions, and breakdowns, which pretty much fills up your Sampsonite shooting bag.

Yup.  That about says it.  I could not get minimal enough on trek or a trail walk, and ended up buying a canvas pouch from Track so I could stow everything from ear plugs to staplers and glasses in it.  It is one item  that is permanently ensconced in the trunk of my Accent.

Also, if you're gonna blame rendezvous guys for the kitchen sink, then you also have to be careful with rulers.  After all, didn't the ..."Thirteen-stitches-to-the-inch"... guys generate a lot of heartache by thinking they were documented exclusively?

I'd get off a message to SligoBill for a good opinion and think more about a bag that is suited to the way you shoot rather than it's dimensions. 

Don't shoot yore eye out, kid

The Capgun Kid

[n stephenson]

Another option for a HC pouch is to kill a groundhog , case skin him , bark tan him, get a simple pouch made from this .Some are just sewn across the bottom after cut to lenghth and , straps added .  It will be HC , it will be the right size . Keep it simple . It is also very tough  and, will go well with a southern squirrel rifle  !!  Just a thought.

[T.C.Albert]

here is a link to a few restored bags on you-tube...



They range in size, shape and quality...might give you a few ideas...
for those that have seen it, I apologize for posting it here again...
tc

[Smokey Plainsman]

here is a link to a few restored bags on you-tube...



They range in size, shape and quality...might give you a few ideas...
for those that have seen it, I apologize for posting it here again...
tc

Beautiful! Thank you for that video, I really like those pouches and horns!

[Waksupi]

 A bag needs to fit the shooter. I have large hands, can't find gloves large enough to fit. I make them so I can get my hand in easily.
Frank Costanza had a collection of nearly 100 original bags. Most were pretty small. Makes sense, since most of the old guys were of smaller stature than people of today.

[Smokey Plainsman]

A bag needs to fit the shooter. I have large hands, can't find gloves large enough to fit. I make them so I can get my hand in easily.
Frank Costanza had a collection of nearly 100 original bags. Most were pretty small. Makes sense, since most of the old guys were of smaller stature than people of today.

I'm 5' 7" so about average height for back then.