Shooting Bag Contents?

[Baxter]

My daughter and I are about to get into BP shooting; we have a percussion "Hawken style" rifle and a flintlock Lancaster style rifle, both in .54cal. Each of us has a possibles bag, powder horn, ball bag, 6-ball loading block, jag, ball-puller, patch worm, short starter, dry and lubed patches, adjustable powder measure, range rod. One bag will be dedicated to the percussion and contain caps while the other bag will be dedicated to the flintlock and contain flints, vent pick, pan brush or wiping cloth and pan charger. My question is, for each rifle, how much/what "stuff" is usually put into the possibles bag and what items are typically hung on the possibles bag strap? I would anticipate that experienced range-shooters (we are not yet ready for re-enacting or hunting) typically carry certain items in the bag and certain items attached to straps? We realize that many different opinions exist and we are ready to listen to as many as wish to post. Thank you. Baxter.

 

[Trench]

The only thing I have hanging off my bag is my vent pick. Inside the bag I have loose cut patches, a little flint and tool pouch, and a small priming horn. I carry balls in a pouch that hangs on my other shoulder. That's about all that's in there for shooting from the bag during club shoots.

 

[nchawkeye]

On a leather thong I have both my preset powder measure and my loading block...To reload, I simply fill up the measure, charge the barrel...Get my short starter out of the bag, use the loading block to get a ball started, drop the ball starter back in the pouch and ram the ball home...

I then have a small powder horn that I keep in my pouch to prime with...

The other stuff is down in the bag...Extra balls in a bag...Patching rolled up in the patch box and cleaning patches in the front pocket in the pouch...For a day's hunt this is all that is usually needed...

 

[necchi]

I personally find items hung from the strap to be actually inconvenient and a hindrance.

When you walk they swing around tangling and catching on stuff, if you lean over to pick something up they dangle and catch on stuff.

When your just standing, you can't easily get at them because they've been swinging around when you where walking and getting tangled.

At a Rendezvous, there are tables/benches set up and shared for assorted gear that's needed for repeated loading, when you step up to the line all you need do is prime or cap.
Otherwise your told to "shoot out of the bag" for a special match or woods walk.

"Shooting out of the bag" is kind of a practiced thing,, being able to locate items with just a hand reaching in the pouch tends to make one keep items in the bag to a minimum.

I've seen flint shooter with the brush an pick hanging freely, I have a thong with a heavy bead attatched to my capper and that hangs just outside my bag for easy access,,

Usually at a vous` guys will carry a "Shooting Box" with plenty of extra needfull items up too those shooting benches, it's alot easier to carry the box (like a small tackle box) than carrying 12#'s of everything you need hanging around your neck :wink:

 

[George T.]

I use an adjustable measure until I decide on my hunting load. I then make a measure out ob Antler that I hang from my powder horn. Other than that I leave things in the bag. I bought my hunting/possiable bag from Cutfinger here on the forum. It has a small pocket on the front and a pretty good sized pocket on the rear. I put a small antler button on the front one and I put a nipple wrench , spare nipple and a vent pick in it. I keep patches and caps in the can in the rear. In the larger center compartment I carry the loading block , ball bag and short starter. My patch knife is in a sheath on the bag strap.
It may just be me bt when I tried hanging more things it moved a lot and seemed noisy to me!
Geo. T.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I have nothing hanging off my hunting bag strap. On my horn I hang the measure off the neck - and usually a vent pick bent into an "L" shape so it hangs beside the measure. I have a three-shot block that slips into a sheath on the horn strap and a wang to keep from dropping it. I keep little priming flasks on the back of the horn strap in another "hidden" sheath.

Where I hunt anything that dangles, jangles or tangles is more bother than worth. I even removed my patch knife in favor of just a belt knife that I would have at all times anyway.

My rifle bag has a sheath on the back for a five-hole ball block. With the three-hole on the horn strap I can fire eight fast shots without opening the bag. Though when shooting "officially" I keep a priming horn in the bag and a roll of pre-lubed patching in a waxed deerskin bag and load with those.

 

[Shooey]

My powder measure and loading block are tied to my bag strap, but I tuck them into the bag so they don't dangle. I can yank them out of the bag easily though by tugging on the cord. I use a small day horn for hunting, and I keep a priming horn in the bag. Extra flints, patches, and a jag are in the bag too. My vent pick is on the plug of the priming horn. Good luck!

 

[buzz]

I realy dont carry much powder horn balls patches vent pick ball puller and flints screwdriver and nipple wrench and caps last two if im shooting percussion
I never not needed anything else but i some guys and gals carrying more then ihave in my shooters box at home

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I keep my capper on a leather thong with a loop tied on one end of the thong. I wrap the thong around the bag strap and pass the capper through the looped end of the thong to attach it to the bag. Then I drop the capper into my bag. It comes off easily and does not damage or wear the on the strap. I couldn't lose it even if I dropped it. Very secure.

Then there is sometimes a small patch knife on the strap and a short starter. They can also end up inside the bag.

 

[flyfisher76544]

I try to keep it simple, it just depends on what I am doing....shooting or hunting. Basically its pre-lubed patches in a small bag, about 10 to 15 balls in a small bag, primer, vent pick, short starter and a small bag with extra flint and jag/ball puller. If I am hunting I will add a small tin with some lube, some cleaning patches and a ball point pen(for marking tags) and a cows knee that is strapped to my bag. The only "dangly" I have is my powder measure which hangs from my horn strap.

 

[robtattoo]

If I'm hunting, my bag contains:

Six ball loading block,
Powder flask with the appropriate spout,
Half a dozen cleaning patches,
Capper.

I also carry a small leather pouch in the pocket of my bag containing a tiny nipple wrench, spare nipple & a ball puller.

If I'm out for a longer day's shooting, the only changes I make are I'll toss in a handfull of loose balls, a cap tin full of pre-lubed & cut patches & I'll exchange my flask for my horn & pre-set measure.

I like to keep everything simple & minimal.

 

[BrownBear]

When you're first starting out, bring it all. Fill your shooting bag, add a box or two and have extras in the trunk of your car. The first rule of thumb is whatever you need most, you probably forgot and left it at home.

Over a few shooting sessions you're going to sort the stuff into what you absolutely have to have and what might be useful sometime, someday. The nice-to-haves will end up staying in your trunk cuzz you're tired of shuffling it, while the important stuff has migrated to your shooting bags because it's easier to get to the shooting line in one trip.

Little more shooting and the load in your bag will start to shrink. More stuff has moved from need-to-have to nice-to-have. Now you're on track.

At that point, contents is going to depend on what you're doing with the guns. Having a separate bag for each gun really works for me, because it's too darned easy to leave out critical stuff as you switch between guns.

I'm about 99% field shooter, and I get real tired of sorting through stuff in a large bag to get at what I need, not to mention wearied by lugging extra weight over hill and dale. My bags are now really minimalist, both in size and content like others have mentioned here. I'm also in heavy brush country, so I've minimized danglies from my bags and extra straps on my body. Not the best solution for everyone, but it's the end result of the kind of sorting I described in the beginning of this long winded post.

 

[Rod Lassey]

I approach this from a historical aspect, here's a photo (if everything worked) of my bag and contents.

A couple of turnscrews, a pocket knife, flints in a bag, a tin of patch grease and patches, extra patching material, a small whetstone and a candle stub, a sealed tin with emergency fire starter [steel, charred material, tinder, sealed with wax, completely waterproof], tow for cleaning, and a Turlington's bottle with oil --in this case, goose grease. My measure is attached to the horn, and I tuck it into the front corner of my bag so it doesn't dangle, but pulls loose easily.

Rod

Well, that turned out tiny for some reason--it should be obvious I'm way more comfortable with my shot bag than with this #%&@ computer.

 

[Hawgeye]

I keep a capper, turnscrew, a roll of pillow ticking for patches, a flat tin with patch grease and ball bottle in the bag. I have a patch knife on the bag strap and a short starter in a loop on the side of the bag. My nipple wrench, spare nipple and pick, jag and patch worm are in a small pouch sewn to the back of the bag. My powder horn with charger attached is hooked to the bag straps above the pouch flap.

 

[russecv58]

This is what i have in my bag when hunting. The only thing that changes is if I carry my flintlock I leave the nipple wrench and capper at home and toss in a couple spare flints. the only things attached to the strap is my powder measure. I try to keep it as simple as possible.

 

[Baxter]

I appreciate all of the responses, thank you. I am setting up separate bags/sets for the percussion and for the flint lock. Trying to put the basics in each bag with thin leather thongs to just dangle under the bag covers for retrieval until we become more proficient at fumbling in the bags without looking by becoming familiar with the feel of things and for my arthritic fingers (is it her lipstick or the powder measure?).

 

[Coot]

(is it her lipstick or the powder measure?).

Her lipstick belongs in her possibles bag, not in your shooting pouch. :grin:

 

[tenngun]

I have a knife in a "squaw"sheath tied in the back of my pouchs.my mesure is in my short starter and load from a block extra flints balls and combination vent prick,napper,screw turner nothingon my front strap :wink:

 

[cynthialee]

Not even I keep lipstick in my possibles bag. Maybe some Burts Bees lip balm.

 

[codymobley]

I've got the bare minimum PC items that I've found that I use in the field:

Bag knife attached to the back of the bag, hemp cord and cotton cloth cleaning kit for the bore, tallow in an earthenware vessel for waterproofing the pan if it starts raining, bullet board, braintan buckskin ball bag, tin of prelubed cloth (beeswax and tallow), turnscrew, and in the bag is my worm and extra flint.

Cody