Black Powder, a New Gun, some Bags, and some Old Horns Part 2

After I got my flint lock rifle ready to go and firing, I needed a pouch to carry all the stuff that went with it.  Being the somewhat forward thinking man I am, I had already tried to remedy this problem when having a rifle was just wishful thinking.  I had some commercial tanned leather scraps and some scrap material that I figured would make a decent pouch.  I over worked the seams by wrapping them thoroughly in the linen thread I was using, but I guarantee it won't break a seam ever.  Here's what it looks like-

And here's the interior-

I made a little "canoe" pocket on the inside, but overall I didn't like using it.  It was too small and floppy for my liking.  The hand hole was too small also, as I have giant hands.  It never took the field, and now functions as the overflow to my extra black powder shooting supplies.  It stays in the car or on the bench at the range when I'm shooting.  

After figuring out this little pouch ain't gonna cut it, I looked elsewhere for inspiration.  Muzzleloader Magazine was printing the two part series on how to make a German hunting pouch, so I figured since they are larger they have to be better.  I added some bells and whistles to this new bag, as well as some cow hide I buck skinned.  Here it is in all it's well used glory-

You'll notice I attached a leather net bag to the side, I used that for a variety of purposes, but mainly it holds a water bottle or canteen.  It can hold small game or other things that won't slip out the holes.  

I only put one extra pocket on this one, and moved it to the front.  The strap is completely adjustable too by relacing the leather cord.  I used this bag during my whole second year of reenacting, but I found that it hung too low and was overall too heavy.  The leather itself weighs at least 3lbs, and when trekking it was unreasonable to carry such a big bag in addition to all the other bags I was carrying.  It is retired from reenacting now, but it serves as my bushcrafting/woods walking bag and does a damn good job.  I know it'll last with it's thick leather and waxed linen.  Aside from the deer hide net on the side and the linen string, it is entirely made from part of that one cow hide I tanned.  

So in light of my two other bags and the experiences I had with them, I decided I needed a smaller bag with some key features.  The real kicker was dragging the cowhide bag around while deer hunting, it was too big and heavy and made a lot of noise.  So I took some of the deer hides I tanned and made this little bugger-

I had narrowed down the bare minimum accouterments that I needed to make my rifle run in the wilds and came up with this bag.  It is made of deer hide and linen, and I wove the strap too.  The button came from one of the deer's antlers whose hide I tanned and I based the architecture of the bag after a few remaining hunting/long hunter pouches that still exist.  It's simple, rugged, and holds everything I need.  I'd show you the inside but it's crammed full of shooting supplies.  It has one small inside pocket where I keep stuff like ramrod tips, my vent pick, etc... basically quickly accessible stuff.  It has loops for a small ax on the rear,  to which I attached a patch knife I forged.  I'll talk about this set up some other time, 'cause I have a lot to say about it, but I still use this pouch and I couldn't be happier.  Ole Dan'l Boone knew what he was doing carrying a smaller bag into the wilderness!  

Next up I'll have a word about some powder horns, so stay tuned!