Need help making a hunting bag!

[William Joy]

Never really worked with leather before but want to make a hunting bag for my double percussion shotgun. Somewhere along an english hunting bag.
I went to tandy leather and I am bewildered in the selection of leather.
Now here my questions:
What kind of leather ( and weight) do I use? What kind thread? How to colour and finish leather?
Thanks for your help guy's!

 

[David G]

Vegetable tanned leather in the 3 to 4oz. weight range would be a good start from Tandy. You can buy linen thread either waxed or not. You can do your own waxing if you like,just get you a cake of beeswax for that. Know any beekeepers? As far as dyeing, Tandy should have plenty of dye that will be compatible with Veg. tan,just make sure it is before you buy. Seems like the trend in leather dyes is towards a more enviromental friendly product(water base).As far as conditioning the leather from time to time I like pure neatsfoot oil. Anyhow, TC Albert has an excellent book on constructing hunting pouches that will put you on the right track if you need that. :thumbsup:

 

[crockett]

I would NOT try dying the bag because it is difficult to get an even dye job, a lot of times it is blothed, AND the dye can stain clothes.
The 3-4 oz leather is thin, which is what you want. You'll also probably want a gussett between the front and back panels. Share with us your design before you make the bag- could get some useful comments.

 

[William Joy]

I was thinking about 11x9 inch insize with a 2 inch guesset. Would like to have a small pocket inside and 2 compartments ( one for overpowder wads, one for overshot wads). On the strap, I would like a shotsnake. I also would like some game carriers, however not on the flap as this is very inconvienient to get into the bag.....

 

[dlpowell]

3 to 4 oz. leather will work fine. However if you want a bag that'll last forever go up in weight and get one of the oil tanned cow hides. Tandy has these in some earthy browns, nice burgandys, and other colors. You definitely will appreciate the heavier leather if you use leather for the bag strap. The oil finish can be dyed. Tandy has a new tube soft paste dye that's as easy as polishing your shoes. Medium brown gives a great finish.

 

[ladysmithtrading]

11x9!!!!!!!with a 2" gusset thats way huge, what are you going to carry in that?

 

[El Lobo]

I concur with the suggestion you get a copy of Tim Albert's book. Just google "T.C. Albert hunting pouch". His book will teach you everything you need to know. Trust me.

Tim also has a website dedicated to making hunting pouches and other traditional leather crafts. Amazingly enough, it is located at www.thehuntingpouch.com. It is kind of like this website, full of friendly and knowledgeable folks. Good luck with your project.

 

[Dave K]

Good luck with a good shotgunning/hunting bag. I have been looking and I even own a few. But, I have not found one that really is the answer. Personally I tried the snake and found it can be in the way of mounting the gun. I know others find it very convienent. I personally prefer the shot flask. Let me know what design you make or find.

 

[HFD60]

here's a couple of pictures of a shotgun bag that i made...hope this helps with ideals

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Here is a photo of an original game bag that was at the Oregon Gunmakers Fair in May. I remember that it was larger than most bags and may have been around 11 inches in width. The rings on the leather straps attached to the flap are for securing the game. The netting reminded me of fishing net. A very interesting piece...
Scott