leather

[b737tvc]

Im sure this has been asked in the past but who sells good hides for shooting bags and possible bags.

B.T.

 

[neal b]

Tandy leather has a good selection. tandyleather.com

 

[MountainRanger]

Distant drums is good and so is the leatherman of mn

 

[Artificer]

Not sure if you want just enough leather for a couple of Shooting Bags or if you think or are planning on going "whole hog." If you are only looking for a couple of bags, you don't need a whole hide and maybe/probably not a half hide, but a shoulder or a couple of half shoulders may be all you need.

I strongly prefer and recommend to look at and feel the temper of leather before buying it. Since you live around Lake Leelanau, the Grand Rapids Tandy Leather store is probably the closest to you. (Not sure about any other retail sellers of leather in Michigan, though.)
2314 28th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Manager: Courtney McGowan
[email protected]
Phone: 616-452-8621

You are in luck. Right now Tandy is again advertising their Craftsman Single Shoulders of Veg Tanned leather for only $29.95 each. That is a GREAT deal on good leather. https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/economy-single-shoul...

Now, those hides are advertised at 4-5 oz., which is just a bit too thick for what many people like to use, BUT when you walk into the store, ask to go through ALL the hides in their stack of those Single Shoulders, like I did a few months ago. You will almost certainly find some in the 3-4 oz. range and with really good temper for Shooting Bags. I found a few hides that I would not have paid the Sale Price for them, HOWEVER I found a LOAD of great hides and it was fun deciding amoung them. I only planned on buying a couple of these, but the hides I chose were so large and such nice leather, I walked out with Five Hides; 2 thinner ones, 2 thicker ones and one sort of in the middle.

Now, you normally cannot get a one piece strap out of this leather for the Bag, BUT mine are plenty large enough for two piece straps, which I prefer to make and use anyway, and still have plenty of leather for the bags. If you want a one piece leather strap, they will most likely have “Economy/Slender Craftsman Strips that look like pre-cut and thin belt blanks. Once again you need to check each one and find one that matches the thickness of the leather you chose, as close as possible. If you cannot find one in the length and thickness you want, ask the dealer because in many stores they will cut strips you want while you wait.

If you are unfamiliar with weight/thickness of leather, please use this link for a better explanation. https://www.tandyleather.com/en/leather-buying-guide.html

Tandy only normally runs these sales for about a month, so I suggest calling the store near you about when the Sale Time runs out and before you drive down there. It would not be a bad idea to call them before you drive down there to see what kind of selection they have.

Gee, I think I will have to get over to my store in Richmond next week and will probably walk out with a few more hides.

Gus

P.S. If you want to use a One Piece Strap, make sure you measure the length you need before going to the store. The Craftsman/Economy Strips come in different lengths and you don't want to buy one that is too short.

 

[MountainRanger]

I remember when there was a Tandy store in Roanoke, but sadly, it't been closed for many years. I have ordered from the Tandy web site and it seems that they send your order to the closest store which for me is Richmond. Ok for mail orders and the fellow who runs that store is great, but it's a bit far to run down to. R'mond is a good 3 hours away, darn it.

 

[Katahdin]

hair on or not ?

 

[b737tvc]

non hair.

BT

 

[b737tvc]

Thats Great Im going to be down in GR this week, I will check them out. You went the extra mile for me thanks so much for the info. Im planning on making a rifle case like the one I have right now. So maybe 50 inch or a few more. Then a few small bags for hunting and misc. items.

B.T.

 

[Artificer]

Thats Great Im going to be down in GR this week, I will check them out. You went the extra mile for me thanks so much for the info. Im planning on making a rifle case like the one I have right now. So maybe 50 inch or a few more. Then a few small bags for hunting and misc. items.

B.T.

I learned a long time ago to bring the paper patterns I had made for projects to the Leather Store, when I go to buy leather or at least a small tape measure to ensure the piece of leather was big enough for what I wanted to make. I still bring a small tape measure with me, though I learned to "eyeball" leather for project size since then.

They often/if not normally have some of those economy/craftsman grade strips around 60 inches in length, so that sounds like what you want for the one piece strap. Not completely sure, but it looked like on their website that those strips may be On Sale, as well. That's something I will be sure to check, myself.

Always glad to share information with others in hopes others won't make NEAR as many mistakes as I did in the days before the Internet. :redface: :haha:

Gus

 

[Artificer]

Back in the early 70's, the Richmond Tandy store was in Old Town Richmond on Broad Street and moved once or twice before Tandy shut their Retail Stores down for some years. Fortunately for us, the Richmond Store was one of the first to come back when Tandy decided to open retail stores again. However, it seems just my luck that they move the store between times I need to go buy leather or supplies.

When I bought the leather this Spring, I drove to the other side of Richmond, to their Old Store location and the store was not there. WOW, trying to find a pay phone with a Yellow Book Directory today is almost ancient history. Turns out they had moved TWICE since I had been there last three years before and the new store was less than half the distance from my home. Oh, they also notified me they were moving BACK to Broad Street in the next couple of weeks after I visited. So I guess I get to find their latest store location. :haha:

Gus

 

[Katahdin]

The Tandy in VA.Beach and NorVA both closed.Go on line now to get leather.Big Tannery just a few town over from me,was a time when I bought direct,sweet.Talk about it closing now,have to check it out..

 

[BrownBear]

I strongly prefer and recommend to look at and feel the temper of leather before buying it.

That's the biggest reason I'm reluctant to order leather online. There's a little variation (and sometimes a lot) from order to order, and I'm real particular about what I get. I've been burned too many times when ordering sight unseen as shops keep changing their sources over time, while still using the same names and order numbers.

Since Tandy is the most widespread and easiest to find, I get a bunch of my leather from them.... All bought in person after a long session of pile pawing. The other side of that is, I tend to buy a year's supply all at once. Pretty big stack of sides and a lot of money. But I get what I want and no excuses or apologies... or shipping the wrong stuff back and forth to suppliers.

 

[Artificer]

I strongly prefer and recommend to look at and feel the temper of leather before buying it.

That's the biggest reason I'm reluctant to order leather online. There's a little variation (and sometimes a lot) from order to order, and I'm real particular about what I get. I've been burned too many times when ordering sight unseen as shops keep changing their sources over time, while still using the same names and order numbers.

Since Tandy is the most widespread and easiest to find, I get a bunch of my leather from them.... All bought in person after a long session of pile pawing. The other side of that is, I tend to buy a year's supply all at once. Pretty big stack of sides and a lot of money.

:haha: Me TOO!! :rotf:

This Spring there was a pile of about 60 or more hides in that Half Shoulder Sale Pile. I went through EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM. I went from wanting two hides to walking out with FIVE and of course other things. Grin.

Of course, I also check other pieces and especially some other piles of leather and found some great deals there as well. I'm going to look to see if our store has some of those "Stoned Oil Hides" you mentioned in another post.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

The Tandy in VA.Beach and NorVA both closed.Go on line now to get leather.Big Tannery just a few town over from me,was a time when I bought direct,sweet.Talk about it closing now,have to check it out..

My goodness, YES!! You may be able to get some unbelievable deals.

Gus

 

[BrownBear]

I'm going to look to see if our store has some of those "Stoned Oil Hides" you mentioned in another post.

Careful now....

There lies addiction! :rotf:

 

[Artificer]

Four Decades too late, my friend. :rotf:

Gus

 

Im sure this has been asked in the past but who sells good hides for shooting bags and possible bags.

I'm sure it has. :rotf:
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/300924/

 

[Crewdawg445]

Not all leather is the same... Now I strictly tan my own so I know exactly what I'm getting. However I've had great luck in the past obtaining hides from etsy and eBay. You need to know what your wanting and for what to ask questions. I made one order from crazy crow for two split elk hides (when they were on sale) and was very impressed with quality of leather I received, might give them a go. Personally though, I dislike purchasing leather unless I can get my hands on it.

 

[LRB]

What kind of tanning are you doing?

 

[Crewdawg445]

Brain, small quantities.

Time consuming yes, however like rendering my own suet, sometimes these time consuming tasks just yield a superior product IMO.