What makes for great leather "possibles bag" construction?

[Tallbald]

I'm a range BP shooter only and cannot hunt any longer because of spinal disease and damage. Love my Ruger Old Army's, CVA Optima V2 pistol, and Pietta brass frame Remington-style. But I'd like to make a leather "possibles bag" from vegetable tanned leather with a shoulder strap. Just because. To those who can still enter the field with their BP guns for the hunt or hike, what characteristics make for a great bag? Adjustable shoulder strap? Sectional dividers in the bag? What kind of closure? Soft pliable leather or stiff shape retaining hide?I hope to learn and craft something that would serve me well in my (now) fantasy hunts and hikes.
Thank you. Don.

 

[david58]

Don't make it too big. The "everything and the kitchen sink" bag, containing the aforesaid sink, is a typical first mistake. You'll see experienced woods walkers carrying a smaller hunting bag, the "possibles" bag being a haversack or snapsack or similar. I prefer an adjustable strap, to account for seasonal differences in my clothing. Two pockets, rather than one single pocket. I like iron hardware, and stitching with linen rather than the fake sinew. No closure, just a nice long flap to cover the bag, which makes it easier to dig into quickly. Otherwise, a big pewter button with a leather loop to hold things closed (if the bag is deep and not overfilled, the closure may not be needed).

 

[daboyleroy]

Sorry to hear of your lack of shooting and enjoying the "smoke"
This may help
http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/search?q=Hunting+pouches

http://www.efleishershotpouches.com/For-Sale.html

http://ewingscreekpouches.blogspot.com

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=43689.msg427276#msg427276

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/50/3/BAG-UPLAND-C


http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=43433.0 Good ones

http://www.crazycrow.com/possibles-bags

http://rendezvous-country.com/leather-bag-products.html

Hope this helps

 

[Armored farmer]

I will comment on what I like.
It takes a good deal of gear to keep a flinter running, so I like to have all the essential gear with me. Ball puller, cleaning jags, spare flints, powder measure of choice, speed loader boards, and all the other necessities. You know what they are. I like the bag to be large enough to keep my gear in separate leather kits. Like ball bag, flint wallet, jag and puller wallet, so they don't rattle. When I'm hunting, I like to keep my powder in the bag too, so it isn't dangling from a shoulder and rattling.
I said all that to say this.....
I prefer a large possibles bag, with plenty of room for my shooting gear plus room for an extra item or two.
I like a large flap with no closure. I want the bag to hang high enough that I can reach the bottom easily.
Sewn on D- rings with leather thongs to carry small game, or woods treasures, and rings with thongs at the top so you can tie a jacket on if you need to shed a layer.
Best wishes, I hope I gave you a good idea.

 

[DD4lifeusmc]

Depends on your needs and desires.
I make bags out of both veg tan cowhide, and softer ones of Moose, buffalo, elk and New Zealand Red Deere
Veg tan 2 , 3, 4 oz is plenty stiff enough
Adjustable strap with a buckle is fine or if custom fitting to you, make it exact your choice
I make them with and without dividers.
How many pockets do you really need.
1 for capper, 1 for measure, 1 for tin of caps 1 for nipple wrench etc or none really isn't that hard to find what you want in a one pocket pouch.
Are you going to hand sew? thread or sinew. you will need a leather awl to punch the holes plus saddle needles,
heavy duty cotton / polyester thread works, but I use a bonded nylon thread. doesn't rot or mildew and is much stronger.
Or are you going to lace it together depending on dimensions ( common 6"h by 8"w) you will need about 10 ft of lace
Closures Bone button or a wood peg ( use wood pegs for splicing wood together sometimes)
and size depends on personal preference how much range stuff are you going to carry to the range, how much do you need?

 

[Noz]

Depends on your needs and desires.
I make bags out of both veg tan cowhide, and softer ones of Moose, buffalo, elk and New Zealand Red Deere
Veg tan 2 , 3, 4 oz is plenty stiff enough
Adjustable strap with a buckle is fine or if custom fitting to you, make it exact your choice
I make them with and without dividers.
How many pockets do you really need.
1 for capper, 1 for measure, 1 for tin of caps 1 for nipple wrench etc or none really isn't that hard to find what you want in a one pocket pouch.
Are you going to hand sew? thread or sinew. you will need a leather awl to punch the holes plus saddle needles,
heavy duty cotton / polyester thread works, but I use a bonded nylon thread. doesn't rot or mildew and is much stronger.
Or are you going to lace it together depending on dimensions ( common 6"h by 8"w) you will need about 10 ft of lace
Closures Bone button or a wood peg ( use wood pegs for splicing wood together sometimes)
and size depends on personal preference how much range stuff are you going to carry to the range, how much do you need?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.


Be aware that canvas works easily, is cheap and wears well.

 

[Sunray]

Soft leathers make better, um, luggage. Moose and elk are both thick(roughly 1/4"), but still soft and easy to work. They'll both keep the shape with no fuss too. Buffalo seen on-line is usually water buffalo not Bison and is thin but strong as Hades. Made a jerkin years ago out of it. Friggin' stuff was almost bullet proof. Stolen.
"...you will need a leather awl to punch..." You need a hole punch of some type. A filed sharp common nail works remarkably well. Makes a nice clean 1/8" hole that's just the right size. Slow though. Hole punches are readily available from Tandy's Leather. And use waxed linen thread. That can usually be found in regular fabric or sewing shops. Tandy's will have it too. A mattress/darning needle will work as well as glover's needles and saddle needles. Doesn't really matter which. Used all of those myself with no fuss.
You may want to think in terms of leather lace instead of thread. Different look and if you're opting for veg leather easier to do. Different needle required though. Buy one of Tandy's How-to make holsters and/or books. Just be advised that once you start making your own kit, you'll never be happy with store bought anything ever again.
https://www.tandyleather.com/en/

 

[4v50 Gary]

In the F&I era they were small and called shot pouches or shot bags. They were not huge things like a woman's purse. Learnt that from Wallace Gusler.

 

[DD4lifeusmc]

also consider are you going to just sew a front and back together or add a gusset to make deeper front to back?
either way, if sewing it looks nicer if you sew it inside out, then turn it right side out.
If lacing and using a gusset double the amount of lace needed, I always use a couple extra feet just to be sure it is long enough
Soft leathers, are still more than strong enough
Canvas is good too, but shreds easily, so best to double fold all edges and hem, looks neater too.
And most home sewing machines can handle it.
I have a singer 401k and it will handle two layers of 2 - 3 veg tan and moose and buffalo but don't use a zig zag base plate, only simple hole plate. I also have a larger singer clone, but it goes too fast for me, and I have a tippmann boss and a cobra class 3 for the heavy duty stuff.
plan what you want on paper. on paper fold it in half and cut your rounded corners so they will be the same, then transfer to poster board.
If lacing 1/8 latigo works good. punch all holes in one piece first. about 3/16 " apart and about same distance in from the edge.
this gives a good strong tight seam. then lay the other pieces on top and mark the holes. you can spread the spacing to whatever you want
you can buy pliers type leather punches at Tandy, but Hobby Lobby and Michaels are usually a few dollars cheaper or you can buy a single punch you hit with a hammer
I find laying leather on a piece of mud flap helps prevent dulling it, but easy to sharpen with jewelers file.
I use a piece of 3/8 steel plate as the backer as it don't give with the rubber on top actually I use 8oz leather instead of the rubber as I always have scraps
hope this helps and gives you some ideas.

forgot to say, after punching all the holes in one piece, lay it on topof next piece, mark the holes then punch them out

 

[Armored farmer]

Mine is too small for what I want to take along.
I end up with shooting gear in my pockets. I don't like that.
I have the luxury of being able to hunt 5min from my back door. I like to grab my rifle, and bag, and have everything needed to hunt already in the bag. No special clothes, no looking for gear, no loading up pockets like the Michelin man.

Smne other features that I want when I build my dream bag....
Patch knife sheath on the shoulder strap, possibly a knife or hawk sheath sewn on the back of the bag.

 

[DD4lifeusmc]

sheath on the strap is fine or a separate neck knife but sewing a knife or hawk sheath on back of pouch will be uncomfortable.
put the hawk sheath on your belt or a separate belt.
if your pouch bottom is below your hip, the handle of Hawk will always be bumping your leg causing missteps and such

 

[Tallbald]

These are wonderful links and suggestions. I really thank you all. Even though my shooting is limited to the range only nowadays I enjoy the accessories needed for a day walk as I used to be able to do. So wish I had discovered black powder in my 20's instead of not until my late 40's. I've missed so much.
I will study the help here and come up with a design I think fits the bill. or several designs. I machine sew because arthritis precludes hand stitching any more, and have Hermann Oak veg tanned cow hides in several thicknesses on hand which I use for my custom belts, belt bags and flap holsters. When I've made a few I think are nice enough to show I will share photos here.
Thank you again everyone. Don Sterchi

 

[entropy]

I use a military 2 qt. canteen cover for a possibles bag while ML hunting. Not very authentic, but I am in Blaze Orange anyway. I shouldn't think you'd need one bigger than that.

 

[DD4lifeusmc]

the pictures are crappy but here is a bag I made for a guy he never picked up
you can use the shoulder strap or put it on a belt. It is made from moose hide
the belt area is reinforced with a piece of cowhide. That is machine sewn to the back, the pouch itself
is hand sewn with sinew.
a pouch for the capper, tin of caps, and a cellphone ( or whatever)
I try to use the natural edge of the leather in forming the flap. Uses a period authentic wood button

 

[DD4lifeusmc]

here's a bag I made for another guy 4 oz veg tan cow about 7 x 8 I did same on this as one above, reinforced the belt slot area by machine rest is all hand laced rough side out. Lot of tedious work hand punching all the holes