New Shooting Bag from Buckskin Jim

[exMember]

Ordered mine a while back and Jim had to custom make it.

I got a surprise in the mail today and unboxed my new shooting bag! I am completely blown away with the quality of work Jim puts into his stuff! This bag warmed my heart when I saw on it on his site. It completely melted my heart when I opened the box and pulled it out!

Size measurements, 9"x8"x1.5"

It's consistent with bags depicted by the artist Alfred Jacob Miller at the 1837 Rendezvous.

The lace is cut from the same hide as the bag so the colors are consistent.

This is one heavy duty leather bag made to stand up to use!

The bag hangs close to your body and does not flop around and worse, try coming around you when you bend over.

Jim also put 4 leather thongs on the bag so you can either decorate it a little or in my case, I used 3 of the thongs to attach my powder horn. 2 to hold the horn itself, and 1 that attached to the horn plug so I do not lose it.

The bag is sewn together with leather as well. A 2 compartment bag with plenty of room to spare!

Later I will make an antler powder measure and attach that to the last thong and I will be set.

The strap is only 3/4" wide but because this is an actual hunting bag, it does not cut into your shoulder like you originally would think. Right now my bag consists of the tools I need to remove the wedge key and nipple, nipple pick, a tin of lubed patches, spare caps, ear plug, powder measure, small ball starter & leather capper.

I could actually remove the extra patches as the patch box on my rifle carries a ton of them. The only thing I do not put into my bag of course is my ball bag. That is real heavy and aggravates my neck when I start over loading. My ball bag is tied onto my 3" wide leather belt around my waist.

 

[patocazador]

I like that auxiliary pouch. It will come in handy.

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

I like that auxiliary pouch. It will come in handy.

Oh, yeah.

I have a smaller auxiliary pouch I thought would be useless. But, it holds my hunting/land permissions and any paper permit/licenses I might have and keeps it nearby, but forgettable until I need it. FG, you will find a use for it and be dang glad it is there! Nice bag!

 

[lighthorseman]

:thumbs up: Here's two examples of bags I built with interior pockets. These are of a different era and style.

I put my flint wallet, tools, compass and small folding glasses in my inside flap pocket!

 

[exMember]

Here's some actual pictures of my bag. Did a little walking with it today and love it. Nice and light weight. I changed out my huge powder horn for a smaller hunter friendly horn.

The color is a super dark brown.

 

[Marty1]

Nice grab-n-go setup FG with that small powder horn!

 

[patocazador]

I like that a lot. It looks better than the one on his web site. The dark bag and the dark rifle really look nice together. :thumbs up:

 

[lighthorseman]

Yep...a good combination!

 

[Buck Conner1]

Here are a few I've had over the years, have built or traded at least 150 bags being in the business for years - good side money.

The inside with pillow ticking always get guys attention.​

One I always go back to because of its style.  Great bags for all your small misc. items. I have found the larger the bag the more items you carry. If you make a note of what you have, then mark off what you really use, you'll leave the rest at home and travel lighter.​

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

Buck, your pics are not showing... "Image hosted by Tripod?"

 

[Buck Conner1]

Buck, your pics are not showing... "Image hosted by Tripod?"

Thanks KC.

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

Buck, your pics are not showing... "Image hosted by Tripod?"

Thanks KC.

Fixed now!

Those are really nice.

 

[BrownBear]

Gotta have a bag for each gun.  It's a rule!  :lol: 

Actually there's some very good sense to it.  If you have a complete setup for that gun in its own bag, you never forget to pack anything. Just grab the gun and its bag and go.

I started making bags for each of my guns after I hopped a float plane to join friends for a week-long hunt in a remote 7-deer area an hour's flight from town. None of them were muzzleloaders, and the first morning I discovered I'd packed everything for my 62 caliber rifle but shooting patches.

Here's another thing for you to know:  Eight layers of cotton t-shirt makes a very respectable shooting patch, but the t-shirts get a little breezy when the wing comes up. 

 

[Buck Conner1]

Gotta have a bag for each gun.  It's a rule!  :lol: 

Actually there's some very good sense to it.  If you have a complete setup for that gun in its own bag, you never forget to pack anything. Just grab the gun and its bag and go.

I shoot one caliber whether its rifled or smoothbore, know where everything in the bag is location without looking and have been able to find what is needed in the dark as everything is always put back in its place, always.

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

BrownBear has the right of it.  

Plus, it is an excuse to collect cool stuff!

 

[Buck Conner1]

BrownBear has the right of it.  

Plus, it is an excuse to collect cool stuff!

Since being involved in black powder shooting since 1945 and having carried more crap than good sense you will find the bare minimum makes the most sense. Look at what are forefathers carried, lived out of and got by just fine (just what was needed). I have pictures of original hunting pouches with bare amount of items and many of these pouches were used daily being settlement and town providers of meat. 

American Riflemen Magazine had an article back in the 70's that showed a half dozen of these bags with their original wares. Pretty limited for their contents, their theory was using one tool for several different functions. A good example was an "L" shaped turn screw that also was used as a striker. Short starters aren't seen until after the War of 1812 (big conversation on the Internet about this).

The clue is make your wares service multiple duties, you'll travel lighter, probably hunt or cover more territory with less wasted energy. We have done this for over thirty years on treks that took 8-10 days on foot and horseback, canoe trips as long as 1640 river miles without any issues. Those trips are another story, try going from Ft. Morgan CO by canoe to 60 miles south of St. Louis (unsupported with period equipage and edibles available to Lewis and Clark's Corp of Discovery).  Hard but looking back what an adventure that most just dream of today.

 

[BrownBear]

Short starters aren't seen until after the War of 1812 (big conversation on the Internet about this).

I watched that hair ball roll up and down the court and decided to see how well I could do without a short starter.

I cut my patches at the muzzle, so I  just spun my knife around backwards and used the butt of the handle to press the ball down flush with the muzzle, then reversed the knife and cut the patch. Then I "choked up" on the rod till there was just about a inch poking out below my hand to go ahead and move the ball lower into the bore before using a bunch more short strokes to finish the job.

It worked so well I seldom carry a short starter. And I sure don't miss it.  No pursuit of history there, just idle curiosity. Can be done and done well.

 

[Buck Conner1]

It worked so well I seldom carry a short starter. And I sure don't miss it.  No pursuit of history there, just idle curiosity. Can be done and done well.

Bear, I have done the same for years, lost my short starter on a hunt and found this works. Good point friend.

 

[exMember]

I used to have many possible bags, but had to cut back due to space issues. I keep it simple. One for flintlock and one for percussion guns. Marty sent me a leather bag a couple years ago and I use that for my flinters due to the larger size for the extra flinter stuff I carry.