Patterns for shooting bag?

[Chocktaw Brave]

A friend of mine came up with some tanned moose hide, I’d like to make a shooting bag out of it. Does anybody have any patterns?
Thanks!

[Mike Lyons]

Recreating the 18th Century Hunting Pouch is about the best place to start.  It’s full of patterns.  That moose  hide looks kind of thick for a small pouch. I get the best results from 3-4 oz.

[bluenoser]

Pretty thick for a bag, but would likely make a great pair of winter mocs.

[Chocktaw Brave]

I don’t know, I think it would make a pretty tough bag that would stand up to years of use.
Is is thick though, I just measured it out it .140”
Is there a way to get patterns without buying the whole book?
Looking at the conversions it’s about 10 ounce leather.

[RAT]

10 oz will make it pretty darned hard to turn the seam. 5 oz is about as heavy as I like to use. I develop my own patterns.

[Chocktaw Brave]

I’m going to give it a try, I made a bunch of leather items years ago, motorcycle side bags, purses, I even have a gun holster that I made when I was about 17 years old.
I watched a few videos on YouTube, doesn’t look too difficult. I still have all my leatherworking tools.
I am looking at something a bit larger than some of the bags I’ve seen. They all look to small to me.

[Daryl]

This is the bag for my .69 and I also use it for round ball shooting with my 20 bore flinter.
Measurements are :
flap - 9 1/2"
body 9 1/4"
Inner pocket 8 1/2" wide
Welt 1 1/2" wide at the bottom
Depth 8"
Strap 2 7/8" wide

When having 50 or more balls inside for a trail walk, the strap width is important.
Even if not so much weight, it is very comfortable to wear.
I don't use it when hunting. I use paper ctgs.

[Chocktaw Brave]

Daryl,
That’s a nice looking bag. Did you use a wider gusset on the sides? Than just the thickness of a piece of leather?

[bigsmoke]

For comfort and ease of use, I always want at least a 2" gusset.  For a larger bag, I go for 3".
I have found for the strap, I like about 2" wide.
John (Bigsmoke)

[Daryl]

Daryl,
That’s a nice looking bag. Did you use a wider gusset on the sides? Than just the thickness of a piece of leather?

Taylor made the bag for me and it has the same gusset(welt) width on the sides and bottom. It's about 3/4" wide after stitching and turning inside out.
Due to usually having a bunch of 480gr. round balls in it, the base is wider than the sides.
I've been using this bag since 1986.
The sinew strings have a powder measure and a vent pick. The pick is for the 20 bore.
I now carry the powder measure attached to my horn strap.

[walt53]

If you use that leather your gonna need a real good stitching awl and a good stitching chisel but your quest is doable and should look nice also,good luck walt

[Marcruger]

10 ounce is heavy.  Like holster thickness.  4 ounce is more likely bag thickness. I agree that turning it will be hard, and it may well end up bulky and inflexible.  I’d save it for another project.

[JBJ]

Marc is on target. Remember that 1 ounce leather is nominally 1/64th inch thick. A 10 oz. weight would equate to approximately 10/64th (5/32nd) thickness. That's heavy!

J.B.

[Chocktaw Brave]

But, it’s very soft and pliable. I was thinking I might have to add something in it to stiffen it up. So the bag just doesn’t fold in half while trying to use it.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Your moose hide is going to be very stretchy and will serve well for a larger tough bag.  It will also turn well, from outside to inside.  I assume it is like buck tanned leather.
To stiffen the leather so the bag holds its shape better, line it with your patch material.  I have sewn bags together out of brain tanned elk skin that I lined with my denim cloth patch material and they serve me well.  Use a leather awl, piercing about four or five holes in sequence, then sew it up and punch another five or six holes.  If you punch ahead too far, you may find that you might drop a stitch on one layer of leather or the other and your bag will shift so that it becomes awkward to continue sewing.  I glue the cloth to the leather with M77 contact glue spray.  The cloth greatly stiffens the leather and makes it nicer to handle.

[longcruise]

Is there a way to get patterns without buying the whole book?

There is soooo much more than patterns to the book.  It’s a full beginner course on leather work.  Do yourself a favor and invest in it.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Like others here, I too make my own patterns for bags.  When I see one I like, such as those by James Rogers, I save the photo to my files, and make my own patterns out of Corn Flakes box card stock, which I save.  You'll end up with a collection of your own patterns in short order.  The patterns are useful so you can lay out all of the pieces ALL OF THE PIECES on your leather to be sure you have enough leather and that the pieces don't have flawed leather that will detract from the strength or visual quality of the finished bag.  I have TC Albert's book too, and found it a useful reference book, though I have never used any of his patterns.

[Daryl]

But, it’s very soft and pliable. I was thinking I might have to add something in it to stiffen it up. So the bag just doesn’t fold in half while trying to use it.

Like Taylor suggests, gluing patch material to the bag will help. I suggest 10 to 12 ounce denim. A decently heavy canvas will also work, like something in the .022" to .025" thickness range.