Possibles bag recommendations

[armoredman]

Like the title says, I am looking for two "possibles" bags, one for me and one for Da Boy. However, we have different requirements;
I am thinking someday I will take my TC Renegade out hunting, some day. So I want something that will hold enough for a days hunt, and maybe enough for a day's just recreational blasting, that carries well and is functional - not decorative.
Da Boy has less than zero interest in hunting - he shoots on the range and that's about that. But the bag I bought for his muzzle loading stuff is junk, and he wants an "official" muzzle loader bag for his BP stuff. We keep the new fangled cartridge stuff away from the front stuffers - don't want to start a fight in the range bag!
So, any thoughts or ideas?

 

[hawg]

A real possibles bag is about 8X9X1 1/2. They don't hold much. It sounds like what you want is a haversack. This is one of my possibles bags.

The pic makes the inside look bigger than it is.

 

[Armored farmer]

There are really nice bags on Etsy......
Look what I found on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/295233473/woodland-beavertail-possibles-bag?ref=share_v4_lx
Everyone likes to go light with their hunting equipment but if you dryball your rifle, you're done hunting until you get your puller jag or a CO2 discharger.
Just don't get a small pouch...you'll fill it up quicker than you think.
A patch knife attached to the strap is really nice too.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Make them yourself. That's part of the fun of muzzle loading. Check out the videos on U-toob.

Original bags (F&I War and Rev War) were very small and not the purse sized containers we see today. By necessity the Fur trade era they were bigger.

You may want to attach things to the strap so you have doon't have to fish around the bag looking for things. This could be the horn, capper, short starter and a bullet loading block.

 

[Bazoo]

I have a small leather woman's purse that is just right for a large possibles bag. I have plans to do some modifications (longer strap, drop the brass buckle) to suit my fancy. I appreciate this conversation, thanks all.

 

[Hellbender Bob]

I have several possibles bags mimicking traditional patterns and modern takes on classics, from both friends who made them and professional leather workers.
My absolute favorite is the Eastern Hunting bag by:

The Leatherman line of leather muzzleloading supplies and shot gun shell belt bags. Accu-riser line of cheek pads and comb risers.

blackpowderbags.com

His stuff is not cheap, but it is made to last a lifetime of hard use, and I cannot recommend his work highly enough. It's larger than a traditional possibles bag, but the perfect size for everything I need in the field or even at the range if I don't feel like carrying my full box.

 

[Lefty38-55]

All that my friends and I use are the Leatheman bags too! 1st rate quality!

 

[Armored farmer]

I have several possibles bags mimicking traditional patterns and modern takes on classics, from both friends who made them and professional leather workers.
My absolute favorite is the Eastern Hunting bag by:

The Leatherman line of leather muzzleloading supplies and shot gun shell belt bags. Accu-riser line of cheek pads and comb risers.

blackpowderbags.com

His stuff is not cheap, but it is made to last a lifetime of hard use, and I cannot recommend his work highly enough. It's larger than a traditional possibles bag, but the perfect size for everything I need in the field or even at the range if I don't feel like carrying my full box.

+1 on the Leatherman products.
That's what I was looking for but couldn't remember his name.
I saw his products at the NMLRA shoot in Friendship, In. His stuff is top shelf. Heirloom stuff for sure.

 

[hawg]

The one in my pic is a Leatherman but I don't remember which one.

 

[Lefty38-55]

Just be aware that even empty ... these are no lightweight bags! But I tell you, they are awesome and I bet you a good 1/2-dozen others - besides my friends who use them too - bought these Leatherman bags as a result of seeing the features and quality offered!

This one is the Eastern, sized 10" wide x 8" tall. It is gusseted and there's a button-close pocket on the front under the main flap, plus a slit pocket on the interior, as well as one on the back of the bag. I personally don't like the 'longer in the middle of the flap' beavertail shaped bag flaps, but that's why they make so many options! Note their Woodland model is heaaaaavyyyyy! To me, this one's size and features are perfect!

It holds everything I need for shooting and some for whilst hunting ... where anything else goes into a Haversack. Tools in the button-closed pocket, with a patch knife and spare patches and flints in the inside slit pocket, plus the ever essential 'TP/office stationary' in the rear bag slit pocket along with my hunting license et al. The main compartment holds a ball block, small horn (rarely carry a full-size powdah horn hunting) and/or priming horn, etc., whatever's need to fire the fire lock.



Haversacks - Since I mentioned them, I use this oil skin (waterproof!) one from Panther Primitives - only $20 - a bargain if I do say!

 

[.38 Special]

I mostly use the Leatherman bags and have no real complaint. Lately, though, I have been looking for more unique and period correct stuff - which in some ways translates to "lower quality" - and have been happy with several Etsy purchases. In particular I have been buying from "Longbranchlongrifles" and gotten some real treasures. https://www.etsy.com/shop/Longbranchlongrifles?ref=yr_purchases#items

 

[.38 Special]

Just be aware that even empty ... these are no lightweight bags! But I tell you, they are awesome and I bet you a good 1/2-dozen others - besides my friends who use them too - bought these Leatherman bags as a result of seeing the features and quality offered!

This one is the Eastern, sized 10" wide x 8" tall. It is gusseted and there's a button-close pocket on the front under the main flap, plus a slit pocket on the interior, as well as one on the back of the bag. I personally don't like the 'longer in the middle of the flap' beavertail shaped bag flaps, but that's why they make so many options! Note their Woodland model is heaaaaavyyyyy! To me, this one's size and features are perfect!

It holds everything I need for shooting and some for whilst hunting ... where anything else goes into a Haversack. Tools in the button-closed pocket, with a patch knife and spare patches and flints in the inside slit pocket, plus the ever essential 'TP/office stationary' in the rear bag slit pocket along with my hunting license et al. The main compartment holds a ball block, small horn (rarely carry a full-size powdah horn hunting) and/or priming horn, etc., whatever's need to fire the fire lock.

View attachment 1180069View attachment 1180070View attachment 1180071

I use that exact Leatherman bag as my "possibles" bag - it holds general purpose stuff for all my flintlocks, as opposed to the smaller "shooting bag" which belongs to each individual rifle - and like it very much. My only issue is that the strap is much too long!

 

[hawg]

I mostly use the Leatherman bags and have no real complaint. Lately, though, I have been looking for more unique and period correct stuff - which in some ways translates to "lower quality" - and have been happy with several Etsy purchases. In particular I have been buying from "Longbranchlongrifles" and gotten some real treasures. https://www.etsy.com/shop/Longbranchlongrifles?ref=yr_purchases#items

My Leatherman is fairly PC except for the short starter loop which I don't care for.

 

[.38 Special]

My Leatherman is fairly PC except for the short starter loop which I don't care for.

These days I see perfectly tanned leather and machine-straight stitching and think "Hmm... Give me a ragged patch of fur and stitching that looks like it was done by a drunk with a kerosene lantern."

 

[hawg]

These days I see perfectly tanned leather and machine-straight stitching and think "Hmm... Give me a ragged patch of fur and stitching that looks like it was done by a drunk with a kerosene lantern."

I'm sure some of them were but the lamp would have been whale oil. Most of them were factory made and people just bought or traded for them. Same with those fancy etched powder horns. Most of them were made by professional horners.

 

[CraigC]

The Leatherman stuff is nice but they use heavier a weight of leather than is necessary. You can make them look a little more period correct by restitching by hand with artificial sinew or linen thread.

There's really two different types of bags. There's shooting pouches, where all they contain are the items you need to shoot and maintain your rifle, which will vary according to the kind of rifle you're using. Then there's the bag you carry everything else in. This was kind of a quick and dirty shooting pouch I made a couple years ago. It's made from 3-4oz goat skin with a period cotton fabric lining and a hand forged buckle.

Then I carry everything else, my game processing kit, water (bota bag), a pouch of jerky, headlamp, etc., in a linen haversack with a woven strap.

 

[hawg]

Personally I like the heaviness of my Leatherman. If I want to carry a whole bunch of stuff I have a leather purse that belonged to one of my exes. I took the brass catch off of it and replaced it with a piece of wood dowel. It has dividers in it like a period bag. I should probably replace the thin strap for a more period one but I'm the only one that ever sees it.

 

[Lefty38-55]

Beautiful goat skin bag CraigC!

 

[.38 Special]

This is typical of the shooting pouches I use - this one is from Etsy:





I toss loose balls into the main pouch, along with precut and prelubed batches. When loading I can just blindly fish around and pull out what I need. Spare flints are handy, and an extra little pocket can hold a combination tool - I usually use a screwdriver/vent pick/flint knapper combo from Larry Callahan/Bagmolds. I also like to attach my powder charger to the bag strap with a length of fake sinew. This makes loading faster and easier, and I never lose the darn things any more.

I keep one such bag with each rifle and it usually is the only bag I need to get into during a range trip or casual woods walk. (I keep a hank of tow and a combination tow worm/ball puller in the patchbox, for in-field cleaning and dryballing.)

All the rest of the usual muzzleloading crap goes into the big Leatherman, and I'm glad I don't usually need anything out of it in the field.

(I do have a big linen haversack from Townsends, in which I keep all the nonsense I never use and probably shouldn't have bought: primitive sewing kit, hand-forged throwing knife, 18th century spectacles, etc.)

 

[1KPerDay]

Mike Beliveau/ @duelist1954 on YouTube has some good videos on bags and pouches FYI.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

October Country in Idaho has some nice, but inexpensive bags. I only carry some bare necessities in mine, anything else goes in my pack. (or PC/HC would be the haversack) The only things I carry in the bag are a small tin of lubed patches, a cap-tin of lube-pills for the pistol, and a tin of caps, maybe six or seven loose ball, and six or seven paper cartridges. Two spare flints. Lately I've been carrying a small powder horn, in the bag, (enough powder for spillage, priming and about nine shots) instead of the traditional way. One less thing flopping around on the outside of me. !!

On the outside of me and hanging around me neck I have enough junk. Capper for the pistol, loading block, and lately a boda (SP?) bag for water. Plus the bag. Only thing hanging off the bag is a powder measure, which sits in an outside loop, and is also on a tether. Patch knife on the strap is a nice touch...but I never cut my patches in the field, so don't have one there.

That's all I need for hunting/trekking, a "shooting bag" would be a whole other thing.

 

[david58]

It's easy to want to carry everything and the kitchen sink.
Take a minimalist look if you are hunting. If you are at the range, minimalist still works, you have your range box there.
I prefer to use a small/medium-ish sized bag, the big ones have been or will be given away.

David
NM

 

[Ugly Sauce]

The bag pictured above was a tan color, but rubbing it down with bear oil turned it that dark color. Probably pretty water proof, but it does not have a greasy or oily feel. Bear oil/grease rocks.

Yes, I keep everything and the kitchen sink in my pack instead of the bag. Which is, as far as the rifle and pistol go, a small cleaning kit, consisting of jag, worm and ball puller for the rifle or musket, small slotted rod for the pistol, nipple wrench for the pistol, tiny bottle of Windex, tiny tube of oil, cap-tin of Wonderful Lube 1000, and some strips of cloth for cleaning patches.

If I need to clean the rifle or pistol, or pull a load, I'm going to take the pack off anyway and get comfortable.

 

[Ed]

A real possibles bag is about 8X9X1 1/2. They don't hold much. It sounds like what you want is a haversack. This is one of my possibles bags.

The pic makes the inside look bigger than it is.

I have that exact same bag. Bought it 20 years ago. I got it from a brick and mortar BP shop. What bag is it?

 

[hawg]

I have that exact same bag. Bought it 20 years ago. I got it from a brick and mortar BP shop. What bag is it?

It's made by Leatherman but I don't remember which model.