Whatever one calls the bag, it seems in my situations it will carry too much or not enough. I opted for a small belt bag with a strong belt instead of the over shoulder I carried for 30 years for shooting purposes. As I grow older it seems that my possibles have grown. I just slap on a back pack for the water, meals, I would rather eat a bite in the field than mess up the kitchen, oh, yes the lipstick and rouge, I like to impress the neighbors in the woods with a good impression. I generally carry a pound of lead, mold and a ladle, just because I feel invigorated casting some ammo after dining with the forest's dwellers.
I’m not going to get my breechclot in a wad when I hear “possibles”. Like most on this forum I thought it was the correct term for a shooting pouch when I got in to this. Later I learned different, and spent some years being careful not to say possibles bag, and was known to correct people who said it around me.
Now it come natural to say shooting pouch or bag or on the rare occasion kit.
Howsomever, I just made a couple of small shooting pouches that can carry plenty for a stay in the tall timber. I sold off one of my last October country bags that could carry my kit, cooking supplies, months worth of food and double as a tent when needed. They do make fine bags.
Looking at my new bags, made small and looking at bags in the Mountain Man Sketch book I notice small is handy as are big OC style.
One historic bag has a wide strap, with sewing awl, striker and mold on the strap, another comes at least with the mold.
Our tendency to travel light is historic, but so to it seems was every possible thing.
‘Possibles bag’ a non historic name? Most likely. But we don’t seem to care as much when we hear ‘frizzen’ when we mean steel, ‘hammer’ when we mean cock, ‘flint lock’ when we mean fire lock, ‘fowler’ when we mean fowling piece
Woe be on to the newbi who says musket when he means rifle, but I have to chuckle when I hear some say musket was only a military gun, forgetting that some civilian guns were also called muskets, or that the term was first used for a large two man gun, that was used by a squad for flank coverage.
Saying possibles bags is a big neon new I sign, but is it any less historic?
