Griz44Mag
70 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2017
- Messages
- 4,326
- Reaction score
- 4,386
- Location
- Republic of Texas, District of Krum
I ran across a collector with a half dozen or so powder "bags" made of lead.
Said he got them from his father who got them from a trader in merry old England during WWII. They were already very old.
The bag was a sheet of lead folded around a die of sorts, then rolled and flattened the edges to seal them, filled with powder and stamped with the weight. The small remaining corner flap was rolled tight and dipped in what I think was probably bees wax.
The idea was that you could carry them anywhere - they were sealed and totally weatherproof.
When you need powder and balls, you opened the bag, poured the powder in your horn or flask, melted the bag in your fireplace ladle and poured balls with the lead. The idea was to have enough lead and enough powder to make a shooting bag and horn full of your carry ammunition.
He had no idea how old they were, but a little bit of recon I could find on the internet indicated the idea goes back to almost medieval times.
Anyone else seen these or happen to have some references to them?
The idea intrigues me.
After I left I kicked myself for not taking pictures. He wanted a fortune for them, and likely worth it since they are likely several hundreds of years old.
Said he got them from his father who got them from a trader in merry old England during WWII. They were already very old.
The bag was a sheet of lead folded around a die of sorts, then rolled and flattened the edges to seal them, filled with powder and stamped with the weight. The small remaining corner flap was rolled tight and dipped in what I think was probably bees wax.
The idea was that you could carry them anywhere - they were sealed and totally weatherproof.
When you need powder and balls, you opened the bag, poured the powder in your horn or flask, melted the bag in your fireplace ladle and poured balls with the lead. The idea was to have enough lead and enough powder to make a shooting bag and horn full of your carry ammunition.
He had no idea how old they were, but a little bit of recon I could find on the internet indicated the idea goes back to almost medieval times.
Anyone else seen these or happen to have some references to them?
The idea intrigues me.
After I left I kicked myself for not taking pictures. He wanted a fortune for them, and likely worth it since they are likely several hundreds of years old.