What does your smoothbore bag look like? An update on a new bag and horn.

[New Fowler]

I don't like big bags, and I don't like cramming a bag full. This is my smoothbore bag. It has just the tools I need to operate the gun, and not much else. When doing specific trade gun matches at my local club, the little shot pouch comes with me, if not it's just balls and cut paper. All I have are a turnscrew/knapping hammer, a few flints, a vent pick, a ball pulling jag and a cleaning jag. My powder measure is on a hand braided line made of synthetic waxed linen. It rides in the bag walking around, and hangs across the back of the bag, and dangles in front of the bag on my right side. The bag measures six by seven. What do you carry in your smoothbore bag?

[rfd]

I built my shooting bag over a decade ago to use with whatever flinter I wanted to shoot.  Having now sold off all flint rifles I'm committed solely to flint smoothbores that are 20ga, 16ga (my fave), and a .69 Charlie musket for reenactments (along with a proper haversack, bayonet frog, and cartridge box) - the bag works well for all those guns and any more I'd care to add.

On the bag strap is a turn key knapper (custom made out of special steel and I wish I could remember who made it for me a decade or so ago as I'd like a few more ti's that good!) and a fixed powder measure commensurate with the gun used.  On the bag itself is a fixed sheath containing a Green River blade with red oak scales that I brass riveted on along with the working end of a jag as a handy ball pusher, a leather cylinder pouch for cleaning patches, and a bit of cotton cleaning cloth on a cotton string.  Appropriate for the gun I'm toting, inside the bag is a leather pouch for balls, rolls of patch strips that are pre-lubed with Gato Feo #1, leather flint wallet, leather accoutrements pouch containing a jag, ball worm, extra touch hole pick, and a brass adjustable powder measure.  All my long guns will have a leather thong knotted to the trigger guard and contain a touch hole pick and most also have a small brass pan brush.

Aside from the bag, I also made the powder horn that's always loaded with Swiss 1-1/2F for both tube and pan.  Sometimes I'll also carry a ball board "speed loader" for woods walks.

[New Fowler]

Vey nice. I have a rifle bag that I carry a lot more accoutrements in, its a double bag. Do you carry shot, or do you use a shot snake?

[rfd]

Vey nice. I have a rifle bag that I carry a lot more accoutrements in, its a double bag. Do you carry shot, or do you use a shot snake?

I rarely load shot, always patched ball or paper cartridge ball.  For shot loads I add into the shooting bag wads, an adjustable shot measure, a pouch of loose shot, and pre-measured shot loads in paper tubes (the tube is discarded and not loaded, just saves me measuring time).

[rich pierce]

Belt bag, bought here, when hunting. For woods walk competitions, a cartridge box.

[New Fowler]

Vey nice. I have a rifle bag that I carry a lot more accoutrements in, its a double bag. Do you carry shot, or do you use a shot snake?

I rarely load shot, always patched ball or paper cartridge ball.  For shot loads I add into the shooting bag wads, an adjustable shot measure, a pouch of loose shot, and pre-measured shot loads in paper tubes (the tube is discarded and not loaded, just saves me measuring time).

How do you store the paper tubes of shot? Are they loose in the bag or are they in a container?

[rfd]

Vey nice. I have a rifle bag that I carry a lot more accoutrements in, its a double bag. Do you carry shot, or do you use a shot snake?

I rarely load shot, always patched ball or paper cartridge ball.  For shot loads I add into the shooting bag wads, an adjustable shot measure, a pouch of loose shot, and pre-measured shot loads in paper tubes (the tube is discarded and not loaded, just saves me measuring time).

How do you store the paper tubes of shot? Are they loose in the bag or are they in a container?

I have a small loading block to add to my shooting bag - just a hunk of wood with 3/4" holes for the "blank cartridges".

Here's my blank cartridge build video ...



Here's how I load ball paper cartridges (cartridge blocks can be seen) ...



Also an 18th century military cartridge box.  Mine is of Brit design and I drilled the load block with 29 cartridge holes.

[RonT]

Bag by Nate Moore, contents nothing more than i need.
Cheers,
R   

[New Fowler]

Bag by Nate Moore, contents nothing more than i need.
Cheers,
R   

That's a nice setup. Are you cleaning with the tow, shooting with it, or both?

[RonT]

I use the tow to wipe after ‘introducing warm, moist air’* down the barrel to soften fouling.  Note the ‘W’ on my powder cartridge, which indicates ‘blown in insulation’ that I use as a wad.
My loading process is to rip of the sealed end of the powder cartridge, pour the load, invert the paper shell/wad and ram home. The shot follows with the fold removed and card over that.
Cheers'
R
* Yep, I’m one of those guys, and will see if I can find a $#@* to give to the naysayers!

[bluenoser]

Been carrying this one with my Tulle for North of 30 years.  Simple single compartment bag with pockets for card and cushion wads.  Pockets are made of pigskin, which is thin and tough.
Contents from left to right are ball bag and turn screw, knapper, primer with pick and brush attached, bag containing spare flints and leather, jag, screw and a few cleaning patches, pouch containing precut patches and a small tin containing a few balls for buck and ball loads.  The shot pouch, when carried, is carried separately.  If I don't expect to be shooting round ball, I will just drop a few balls and patches in the bottom of the bag rather than carry the larger quantity.
Has worked well for me.  Know I could prime from the horn, but prefer not to.

[New Fowler]

I use the tow to wipe after ‘introducing warm, moist air’* down the barrel to soften fouling.  Note the ‘W’ on my powder cartridge, which indicates ‘blown in insulation’ that I use as a wad.
My loading process is to rip of the sealed end of the powder cartridge, pour the load, invert the paper shell/wad and ram home. The shot follows with the fold removed and card over that.
Cheers'
R
* Yep, I’m one of those guys, and will see if I can find a $#@* to give to the naysayers!

I don't blow down the barrel or wipe between shots, I've never had a gun that required it. But I also recognize that how you want to do things is how you want to do things. Your loading procedure would drive me nuts lol.

[rfd]

I will ALWAYS blow down the bbl - not for softening the BP residue, but as a safety measure before dumping down the next load of powder.  That was de rigor in the 18th and even 19th centuries.  Dumb thing when such a practice was outlawed by the NMLRA ....

[whetrock]

We had a lot of discussion about blowing down the bore on here just a few weeks ago (in August 2025). Here are two threads where it was discussed. If guys want to discuss it further, you might want to add to one those threads. I think it would be best not to reopen the topic here, as it would highjack the OP's thread on bags and accoutrements.

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=85909.0

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=85553.25

[rfd]

We had a lot of discussion about blowing down the bore on here just a few weeks ago (in August 2025). Here are two threads where it was discussed. If guys want to discuss it further, you might want to add to one those threads. I think it would be best not to reopen the topic here, as it would highjack the OP's thread on bags and accoutrements.

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=85909.0

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=85553.25

Well, yes.  Topics do tend to drift more often than not, as is their nature in a healthy discourse environment.  Not unusual as long as the discussion is civil.

[Daryl]

My fowler bag was purchased at Track.

[Hungry Horse]

 More than a few years ago, I went to a gun show and saw a smoothbore flinter with its original shooting bag. I’ve never forgotten that bag. It was a double bag, made primarily from a singe wide piece of oak tanned buckskin, or elk leather. The front of the outer most compartment doubled around to make the back of the compartment as well. But it didn’t stop there. Instead of the back simply becoming the front flap, it double back and became the front and back and front flap, of the pouch. Because it had no sewn seem on the bottom of the pouches failed seams and pouch leakage was less likely. I thought this was an ingenious system.

Hungry Horse

[Robby]

Daryl, I use that very same bag for my 16 Ga's. Very handy for organizing all my stuff and even leaves a bit of room for a sandwich if I plan to be out for a while! The more it gets used the better it looks!
Robby

[Bob Gerard]

I have three dedicated bags- the one I use for my Fusil de Chasse is shown below, made of Elk hide. In it I keep a pouch of shot, turn screw, some rags, some torn brown paper for wadding, a small folding knife, flint wallet, worm and a few round balls. My powder and shot measure are attached with a lanyard, as are my vent pic and pan wisp.  My horn is not attached to this rig. It’s quite ample for a long squirrel hunt and some clays 🙂

[Mad Irish Jack ODonnell]

I've used this bag for 5 smoothbore guns. The only change of contents are for ball or beans. I divested myself of 2- 20ga, an India trade and a Tulle, 1- 16ga French musket and a 12ga Pedersoli Brown Bess. I have matched my Early Lancaster Long Rifle with a matching EL plain smoothy. Both are .54 cal and the smooth is .28ga. I hope every smoothy owner has tried small game hunting as well as larger game. Real fun and rewarding.

[whetrock]

Mad Irish Jack,
Welcome to the forum!
Whetrock

[New Fowler]

I have three dedicated bags- the one I use for my Fusil de Chasse is shown below, made of Elk hide. In it I keep a pouch of shot, turn screw, some rags, some torn brown paper for wadding, a small folding knife, flint wallet, worm and a few round balls. My powder and shot measure are attached with a lanyard, as are my vent pic and pan wisp.  My horn is not attached to this rig. It’s quite ample for a long squirrel hunt and some clays 🙂

That is a beautiful pairing of bag horn and gun. Very nice setup sir!

[New Fowler]

I've used this bag for 5 smoothbore guns. The only change of contents are for ball or beans. I divested myself of 2- 20ga, an India trade and a Tulle, 1- 16ga French musket and a 12ga Pedersoli Brown Bess. I have matched my Early Lancaster Long Rifle with a matching EL plain smoothy. Both are .54 cal and the smooth is .28ga. I hope every smoothy owner has tried small game hunting as well as larger game. Real fun and rewarding.

It would be nice to match calibers, both smoothbore and rifles. Hmmmm. This forum is bad for my wallet lol.

[Daryl]

Same here, guys. I really like the bag. Instead of the latch they provided, I made a "button" out of a .69 cal. ball, flattened and sewed onto the flat.
On my .69 rifle's leather bag, I have 2 of those "buttons', one on each corner of the bag. The extra weight I felt, is needed on that flap.
On all my bags, that is the method of closing them.
I also put a layer of 14 ounce denim of the underside of the flap to increase it's weight. I prefer it to the original, soft floppy flap.




What isn't shown, is that there is a flap under the main flap. Lifting that flap opens up 3 more little pockets. I usually just put some patches or cleaning cloth (flannelette) in them.

[Waksupi]

Bag and horn, by Doug Horn from Iowa.