Lucky's Trekking Tips - Muzzle Blasts November 2024

Powder Horns:  I have held off on discussing powder horns for trekking because it can be an extensive topic and fraught with opinions. Powder horns also have a lot of “schools” depending on where they were built and who built them.

The simplest thing to remember about picking out a powder horn is what era are you portraying. A longhunter or ranger would have a larger horn for more capacity because they found themselves gone for extended periods of time without resupply. If you are doing the F&I period, you would want a horn with a double twist and perhaps even green. For those doing Revolutionary War or simple trekking for shorter periods a smaller horn is perfect as resupply was available.

Rather than dive into the myriad of variations of horns we should talk about the practicality of the powder horn as a part of the “hunting tools”. The very first thing everyone needs to realize is that powder horns, bags, knives, and hawks were not fashion items and not carried to look good. They were referred to as “hunting tools” and carried for “function”, period. Today there are many fancy horn makers, but they were not the norm. In fact, many horns were made on the homestead or in the field as a matter of necessity.

What side do you carry it on? What side did they carry it on? Well, that depends on what is comfortable and practical. Are you right-handed or left-handed? Tip of horn curled in or curled out? Again, all these things were done as a decision by the owner as to what worked for them. There is no right or wrong with how you carry your horn. In fact, many were carried on the same strap as the bag while others had their own strap. Some horns were carried on the opposite side as the bag. Again, function, not fashion.

One thing is for sure, they did not carry their horn and bag down low to flop around when running as we see so often at events. Typically, they would have been carried high up so they could hold the bag and horn down with their arm when running or riding a horse. Put your gear on and go outside and run around or ride your horse and see how your bag and horn handle it and you will see what I mean. Same with your knife and hawk.

I cannot emphasize enough that it is about function and practicality, not fashion. The fancy horns that still survive most likely never saw use and were “presentation horns” like those at Fort Ticonderoga, NY. When it comes to the knife I see many people, based on artwork, who carry their knife behind their back. I find this totally impractical for ease of access and putting it away. Mine are always up front. This is only a small glimpse into powder horns but as always, feel free to contact me for a deeper discussion. See you by a fire!

Written by Gerry "Lucky" Messmer. Reprinted with permission from the author.