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What do you take in smoothbore hunting bag?

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jeffdrown

40 Cal.
Joined
Dec 22, 2011
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Heres everything I take in my bag for "smoothbore" Hunting. Everything I need to load shot and round balls in my 20 gauge Pedersoli double barrel !

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Horn is FFF powder...Elk Antler shed #6 Shot...Olive oil/ bees wax and #11 caps in small round tins. Square tin holds round balls and Olive oiled patches. Pillow "tickle" Cloth bags to hold everything else!
 
For my flint fowler I'll take a few extra flints, forged screwdriver, three hole loading block with patched balls in it, flannel cleaning patches, a pulling screw, vent pick and that is about it. There might be a small flashlight and a couple candy bars. I do use horns for loading and priming. Both are small for day trips.
 
:surrender: I carry all of my stuff in my pockets. 1/2 dozen balls, 6 lubed patches in a cap tin, a short starter, powder measure. A little flat horn that hold about 12 shots of powder, a spare flint.....
For shooting shot I grab a hand full of cards and wads, and a flask of powder and a flask of shot, spare flint all go in the pockets......that's about it. I HATE wearing a bag while hunting. I always get hung by the neck in cornstalks and barbed wire.....multiflora rose :cursing: . The less manure I have hanging off me the better.
 
Horn and irish buckskin snake on my side. Caps overcard and fiber wads in pockets in bag. Thats it! Plus the bag has looped buckskin thongs for carrying squerrils. Then once they are field dressed they go inside the glove i just Wore turned inside out. And into the empty big spot in my bag. Plus my forged hawk on my side for the brush pile divers. Light and simple! My36 flintbag lots more cluttered
 
I don't wear my bag, can't but its with me. It has whatever I need to keep the lock functioning, bare minimum. Everything else is in my coat pocket, primer and 2 or 3 premeasured charges, ball/patches while deer hunting.
 
This, less the ball block (patched balls were too tight) so I added the paper cartridges in a tin box. Also, I carry heavy paper and a dowel section to form shot cups at the muzzle.

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And a horn & priming horn.

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Then put it all together with a pound of shot in a leather bag.

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May change to carrying the shot in the main hunting bag.
 
For my SxS 12 I carry a small hunting horn with attached measure, small shot flask, and small wad pack. Capper on the bag strap. There's a little pocket on the back panel with a few cleaning patches and a nipple wrench.
 
If hunting with round ball I just carry a low capacity loading block with tallow greased patches. As I end up shooting from a bag most of the time I normally use a very small bag and horn.
In the bag are a priming horn, extra flints and wraps and a turn screw. Hunting is not an 18 shot woods walk for me so I go minimal. I tried having the stuff in my pockets one time and it just did not feel natural to me.
 
Usually. Powder horn, shooting bag with cards/wads or patches, bag with ball or shot, primer, short starter. I like using a hunting bag but occasionally put the stuff in my pockets along with pre-measured powder cartridges.
 
Not all in my pouch but tow for cleaning and wadding, shot, powder flask or horn, turnscrew, extra flint, scour, measure if not using my screw top flask that is also a measure.
Does not take much! :thumbsup:
 
I'd just like to clarify, my hunting these days is not of the "period" type but more a day hunt wearing modern duds. If I were doing a "period" hunt things would probably be different.
 
If I'm hunting small game,a small leather shot bag with #4 shot.a chunk of wasp nest for wad,always in the pouch flint wallet with 3 flints,a small leather bag with tow and wire worms,musket tool knapper pick screwdriver combo.folding knife.Large game I carry four rolled cartridges on top of all this,all in a wool shoulder(30 + years old) bag,prime from the main horn.
 
My bag used for deer hunting is not all that period correct either. My bag carries a leather bullet bag with about 6 balls, a starter, brass powder flask, flattened priming horn flask, powder measure, baggie of patches lubed with mink oil, screw drivers, extra flints, pan brush, roll of pillow ticking, vent pick, worm, ball puller, cleaning jag, hunting knife, leather for flints, and maybe a few other possibles.
 
When I am hunting the majestic Eastern Wild Turkey I do not go with traditional accoutriments. For my TC Black Mountain Magnum sidelock 12 guage I carry the following.

Capper with musket caps.
Small open faced wrench used as a nipple wrench.
Three plastic speedloaders made for muzzleloading shotgunning. In that I have my charge of powder, shot and a plastic shot cup and over shot wad.
One ramrod worm.
I keep all of this in a camoflage fleece belt pouch that is approximately 5 x 5 inches. It has two zippered pouches. One has my wallet with the required hunting license, turkey permit and special public land permit( for my area) along with truck keys and a small pocket knife. The other side has all of the shooting accountriments.

When I smoothbore hunt it is for wild turkey. I am going to get one maybe two shots for the whole day. So I do not carry a large amount of shooting supplies. Now if I take up something like duck hunting with the MZ shotgun that will be a different story.
 
I have a pic of my Great Grandpa Charles hunting Upper Michigan. Way Back.... With two bucks on top of his Mod. T. So I have been dressing up like he was back then (1920's Era)when hunting with BP smoothbore, It is just a cool way. I love it and I miss him !
 
jeffdrown said:
I have a pic of my Great Grandpa Charles hunting Upper Michigan. Way Back.... With two bucks on top of his Mod. T. So I have been dressing up like he was back then (1920's Era)when hunting with BP smoothbore, It is just a cool way. I love it and I miss him !
:thumbsup:
 
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