Bag Question

[Spotted Bull]

OK, I wanna know what folks like as far as shooting/possible bag color and style?  Leather straps or woven straps?

Yep, snake eyes ya got me to thinking...do a little market research!!

[trent/OH]

I prefer a leather pouch, medium brown to reddish brown, with a woven strap. I also like the flap of the pouch to be personalized or ornamented a little bit, but that's something I like to do.

[BEAVERMAN]

Bull, your going to find the entire range out there, best you can do is build what looks good to you and hope someone else likes it also

[Uncle Russ]

Bull, your going to find the entire range out there, best you can do is build what looks good to you and hope someone else likes it also

I agree with Jim. I have seen "preferred styles" change over the years. Heck, even my own choice of what I now consider a nice bag has changed a great deal since the 1970's.

It seems that when I was first getting started, every single thing was leather with lots of long fringe....not bad then, and it's still okay for certain areas today.

However, I believe the information age has given us a little better insight to styles that are more accurate for a given time and era.

Still yet, I can not help but believe there were many more "cloth" bags than what we actually see being worn.  Many feel cloth was a high dollar commodity while skins were less expensive and more readily available. I believe this is most likely true. However, I still can not rule out a heavy cloth being used for for both the bag and strap.

I did have a cloth bag, early on, and it did create a lot of controversy. I still have that bag, and it is still one of my favorite bags.
It is my plunder bag, and it works quite well as a shooting bag, a haversack, a game bag, or even day trippin with a very PC "Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich" tucked away inside.

Roaring Bull, I think it was you once that ask me about a picture of this old junky bag....well here it is.

It is made from a heavy upholstery type material, and if memory serves me right,I made this during the bicentennial in 1976...I do remember us being in El Paso at the time, and I was a member of the "Paso Del Norte Muzzleloaders"...a very old muzzleloading club who tried hard to be as period correct as the times permitted. I'm not sure they ever really accepted my old ugly "Plunder Bag", but  the world seemed good and I was a happy camper, even without their blessings.





It is ugly...no doubt about that, but it is extremely practical.
The "Flap" is an old piece of leather, the inside of the bag is lined with old "oil cloth".... remember that stuff?
I have carried a lot of bloody birds and rabbits in this bag, and the mess wipes right out.



I think Jim is right on the money when he says, "build what looks good to you and hope someone else likes it "....I would add "or not"!
It's your bag, for your use, so why not make what pleases you and to heck with the other guy. You don't need approval from anyone to make something that you like and use....we've got enough Mark Baker's in the world, different can be good.

Uncle Russ...

[Spotted Bull]

Hey Russ, my girls were in here when I looked at this thread and they both loved the bag...

[Loyalist Dave]

I wear a plain, brown, leather bag, with leather strap.  No buckles, just leather whangs to adjust the strap.  The 'hawk is in a sheath that is sewn to the back of the bag, and the only ornamentation is the button I use to keep it all closed.  It gets lots of abuse, so I really didn't want to ornament it much.  

LD

[Three Hawks]

I wear a plain, brown, leather bag, with leather strap.  No buckles, just leather whangs to adjust the strap.  The 'hawk is in a sheath that is sewn to the back of the bag, and the only ornamentation is the button I use to keep it all closed.  It gets lots of abuse, so I really didn't want to ornament it much.  

LD

That's a pretty good description of my shooting bag.  Onliest differences are the patch knife sheath sewn to the strap and no axe sheath.  I've never had anyone even look twice at it.  That sort of invisibility tells me it is most likely pretty close to PC for the 1830 - 1840 period I fancy.  

I have had a couple of appreciative remarks about the Old Hickory paring knife I use as a patch knife.  It's a darn good all round camp knife, too.

Three Hawks

[pathfinder]

I use Madison Grant and Jim Webb's books to make my pouches from. All original designs and I do alter the patterns to fit my or my customers needs. Have used both cloth and leather,like 'em both,cloth is easier to sew and kinda feels better when I need to carry a lot of "stuff".

[Longhunter]

I've got quite a few shooting bags. Here's one of my favorites that I use probably more than the others. It's bark tan leather which is thicker than most bark tan that I have seen.  I think what I like most about it is that it looks like it was used "back then"

[Gordon H.Kemp]

IMHO, I think there were a lot more fabric  used  in bags  than it appears. The average homesteader family diidn't throw a fabric item out because of stains and/or worn spots.  The wife spent several hours a year preparing fabric scraps to use in quilts, nothoing was wasted! I also suspect that the man of the house weedled some of the scrap fabric for a shooting/hunting/possibles bag. If he were good at weedling he might even have gotten her to sew the bag. (use it up, wear it out, make it do , or do without )

[Fletcher]

Mine is a home tanned buckskin from a deer I shot.  Some folk have said it looks plumb rugged (and they was bein nice) but it is all mine and carries everything I need.

I still have not figgered out how to post a pic even though I got a digi camera now.

Maybe I can look back at some of the posts y'all put up to straighten me out a while back and put some pics up here and there.

Bottom line, if it holds what you need and is made of material that could have been obtained in the 1840's no one should complain (unless it looks as bad as mine!)

[raynor]

Made this bag a couple years ago,  wanted something different.

It's burlap ~~ burlap strap ~~ pillow ticking lined ~~ leather flap ~~ antler button ~~ measures 8"x 8"

[Spotted Bull]

I do really like the burlap!!

[Gordon H.Kemp]

Looks to be a great working bag. I think you flung a craven on me and I'll have to dig out the burlap i've been saving.

[IronDawg]

I like that lil buff color half circle bag you made bull. other than that I like the worn look